Jason Zimmerman (‘Star Trek: Discovery’ and ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ VFX supervisor): ‘Two different series with two completely different tones’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
“There’s a lot that was packed into a very short amount of time for the fans,” says Emmy- winning visual effects supervisor Jason Zimmerman about this new golden age of “Star Trek,” with “Star Trek: Discovery” ending with a bang after five seasons, and “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” hitting its stride with an acclaimed sophomore season. “Two different series with two completely different tones,” he says, declaring that “there’s a little something for everybody!” Watch our exclusive video interview above.
SEE Exclusive Video Interview: Jeff Russo (‘Star Trek: Discovery’ composer)
The fifth and final season of “Star Trek: Discovery” opens with Captain Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery navigating the complicated politics of a newly re-formed Federation over 900 years into the distant future. However, they soon stumble upon an age-old mystery that sends them on an epic adventure across the galaxy to uncover an ancient power whose very existence has been deliberately hidden for centuries. The series’ swansong season co-stars Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman, Wilson Cruz, David Ajala and Blu del Barrio, with Emmy nominee Alex Kurtzman (“Star Trek: Short Treks”) and Michelle Paradise serving as showrunners. “I was definitely emotional about it,” Zimmerman admits when cast and crew found out in March this year that the show’s fifth season, which concluded production in November 2023, would be its last hurrah. “‘Discovery’ was my first ‘Trek’ job. It was my foray into the franchise, and I was there from day one of shooting all the way through to the last day of shooting,” the VFX maestro explains. “It’s been a privilege to be involved all along the way and be able to see it evolve and to work with all the great directors and writers and crew members and everybody. It’s just been such a great ride.”
Kurtzman also co-created “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” alongside Oscar winner Akiva Goldsman (“A Beautiful Mind”) and Jenny Lumet, The Paramount+ sci-fi series is a prequel to the legendary 1960s “Star Trek,” following Captain Pike (Anson Mount), Science Officer Spock (Ethan Peck) and Number One (Rebecca Romijn), who reprise their roles from the second season of “Discovery,” as they continue to explore new worlds around the galaxy on the U.S.S. Enterprise. The series’ second season sees Pike and crew continue exploring new worlds in the 23rd century during the decade before “Star Trek: The Original Series,” ending on a cliffhanger as the Enterprise investigates an attack on a colony at the edge of Federation space and encounters the return of the Gorn, one of the Federations most formidable enemies. “That’s one of the episodes out of all the episodes I’ve done, and I’ve done a lot now a lot of seasons of ‘Trek.’ That’s one of the ones I’m the most proud of. I think the sequence with Chapel and Spock and the adult Gorn was such a fun one to work on. We had some really epic, beautiful shots we were able to create that helped with the story. Just a great episode. We got to really stretch our legs technically.”
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