A fourth season of Hannibal is now looking even more unlikely as it has been revealed today that Bryan Fuller (who is currently adapting Neil Gaiman’s American Gods) is setting his sights on CBS’ upcoming Star Trek TV series as both its showrunner and co-creator.

He’s far from a newcomer to the franchise too, as he actually began his writing career penning some of the best episodes of Star Trek: Voyager and Deep Space Nine!

“My very first experience of ‘Star Trek’ is my oldest brother turning off all the lights in the house and flying his model of a D7 Class Klingon Battle Cruiser through the darkened halls,” Fuller said in a statement released today. “Before seeing a frame of the television series, the ‘Star Trek’ universe lit my imagination on fire,” said Fuller. “It is without exaggeration a dream come true to be crafting a brand new iteration of ‘Star Trek’ with fellow franchise alum Alex Kurtzman and boldly going where no ‘Star Trek’ series has gone before.”

Plot details are a closely guarded secret, but this Star Trek TV show is set to launch next January on the US network’s digital service. It was previously revealed though that the creative plan is for the series to introduce new characters and civilizations, existing outside of the mythology charted by previous Star Trek shows and the current movie franchises.

“Bringing ‘Star Trek’ back to television means returning it to its roots, and for years those roots flourished under Bryan’s devoted care,” added executive producer Alex Kurtzman. “His encyclopedic knowledge of ‘Trek’ canon is surpassed only by his love for Gene Roddenberry’s optimistic future, a vision that continues to guide us as we explore strange new worlds.”

 

“For the past 50 years, ‘Star Trek’ has been a groundbreaking franchise that not only changed the landscape of television, but made a significant impact on pop culture,” said David Stapf, president of CBS Television Studios. “When we began discussions about the series returning to television, we immediately knew that Bryan Fuller would be the ideal person to work alongside Alex Kurtzman to create a fresh and authentic take on this classic and timeless series. Bryan is not only an extremely gifted writer, but a genuine fan of ‘Star Trek.’ Having someone at the helm with his gravitas who also understands and appreciates the significance of the franchise and the worldwide fan base was essential to us.”