'Star Trek' release date, cast news: Jason Isaacs joins cast of new 'Star Trek' series

Jason Isaacs, Michelle Yeoh, and Sonequa Martin-Green have joined the cast of an upcoming "Star Trek" TV series on CBS All Access.

Isaacs, who is best known for his role as Lucius Malfoy in the "Harry Potter" film series, will play Captain Lorca, who is at the helm of a new ship, USS Discovery. Interestingly enough, however, his character will not be the show's lead, unlike in the past, such as in the case of William Shatner and Sir Patrick Stewart. Rather, it is Lieutenant Commander Rainsford, played by Martin-Green, who will be the main character of this new series. Michelle Yeoh, meanwhile will also play the role of a ship captain, Georgiou, who helms Shenzhou.

Titled "Star Trek: Discovery," the show is set as a prequel to the original television series, with its events taking place some 10 years in the past.

The series will feature a new cast of characters. Aside from Isaacs and Martin-Green, the other cast members are James Frain as Sarek, Spock's father, Terry Serpico, Doug Jones as science officer Saru, Chris Obi as T'Kuvma, a Klingon leader, Mary Wiseman as Cadet Tilly, Maulik Pancholy as Dr. Nambue, Sam Vartholomeos as Ensign Connor, and Anthony Rapp as an expert on space fungus. Also included are Shazad Latif and Mary Chieffo.

Bryan Fuller was originally identified as the showrunner of "Star Trek: Discovery," but he has since stepped down from the role, although he retains his position as the executive producer, and his scripts will still be used for season 1 episodes. The new showrunners are Gretchen Berg, Aaron Harberts, and Alex Kurtzman.

"Star Trek: Discovery" will air on CBS All Access in either late summer or fall this year. It was originally set to premiere in January 2017, but it was pushed back several times because of the extensive post-production work that needed to be done. The first season has 13 episodes.