Even though Star Trek : Discovery is a prequel to the original serial , it ’s added quite a few newfangled aliens and creatures to Star Trek ’s database . The most notable would be Saru ( Doug Jones ) , a Kelpian with serious fear instincts and a strut like a gazelle supermodel . However , the original architectural plan for Saru ’s look did n’t include a butt - like olfactory organ and a lunchmeat - tinted face . It was more consanguineous to something out of Pan ’s Labyrinth .
During a Star Trek : DiscoveryFacebook Live(as shared byTrek Core ) , creature designers Neville Page and Glenn Hetrick went into how they designed — and later re - designed — Saru for the serial publication . In a behind - the - fit video render during the live schmooze , Page describe how original showrunner Bryan Fuller “ had this imagination of doing a multi - eyed case that had a specific V - form to it . ” This 10 - eyed exotic design was name duringPaleyFestlast yr , along with someearly conception art , but this is the first time we ’re seeing it in the flesh . Here ’s a slideshow with some effigy from the video :
The initial makeup trial on Jones count weird yet promising , but Page explain it came with some logistic problem — like require a bunch of post - production CGI to make the eyes and other parts of the case seem naturalistic . Page take note that he was n’t really a fan of doing multiple - eyed creatures , because the “ biological dubiousness ” of why a android would have that many eyes did n’t have a satisfactory answer . Plus , the whole structure limited Jones ’ power to emote ; given how he ’s an authoritative substantiate character reference , they felt up it would hinder his ability to do his task . Of course , it ’s Doug Jones , who can give a large performance no matter what you stick him in — remember , he played the amphibious star of Best Picture succeeder The Shape of Water — but why not make give him more room to work with ?
“ It ’s been done so many times , ” Hetrick said . “ You ’re kind of wasting Doug Jones underneath all of that animatronic or just unchanging non - moving head [ design ] there . ”
So , “ with a few weeks left ” before they were set to shoot the first two episodes , Page and Hetrick went back to the drafting board , bulge Saru ’s designing from scratch — while also creating 20 Klingons and design the Torchbearer lawsuit . Hetrick state it was “ the greatest amount of work … hands down ” they ’d ever done in one time time period . The artists decided to remove Saru ’s multiple eye , simplify the facial structure to give Jones more room to work with , and change his skin to more of a flesh tone so that he ’d be this weird cross of human and alien . That way , audience would feel he was both part of the mostly human bridge crowd and isolated from them .
“ It allowed us to obtain a blot between human and foreign that does n’t experience like a human and hopefully does n’t even feel like makeup . It just feel like a really cool version of some real thing that Doug ’s playing . And without that trial , we never would ’ve gotten that , ” Hetrick said .
“ We all knew what [ Saru ] require to be , round two . And I think we — not think , I ’m confident we got a expert look , ” Page said . “ And I know that Doug is able to do his chore and apprize being able to be Doug . Be Saru . ”
Star Trek : Discovery come back with season two sometime in 2019 .
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