Strange New Worlds has to get Klingons right for Star Trek fans to buy in

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is a direct prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series.

Captain Christopher Pike will take the helm of the USS Enterprise to launch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, a show that will serve as a direct prequel to the original series. Fans may not know this but there was a pilot episode of Star Trek that went unused and was later re-commissioned into a season one episode, called The Menagerie. It was also the show’s first two-part event.

The events of the Menagerie became the foundation of a prequel of sorts, taken apart from the original pilot episode; The Cage. Now the original pilot episode and its subsequent reworking have become canon. Those characters introduced in that established canon are the foundation of the upcoming Strange New Worlds series, which will feature Anson Mount taking over as the very first-ever Star Trek captain, Christopher Pike.

Since this show has direct ties to the original show and only has a handful of years in between the events of the two series, a lot of fans are wondering just how the series is going to address several things. Firstly, and most importantly, The Klingons.

The Klingons have been the most modified species in Star Trek history. The classic Klingon look made famous in the Star Trek films has appeared chronologically as early as the pilot episode of Enterprise; the very first series in Star Trek lore. Yet, in the original series, the Klingons looked like regular guys with Fu Manchu mustaches.

Yet, in Discovery, which is a precursor to the original series, they look more like purple oddities that looked nothing like classic Klingon looks.

Fans have obviously rejected this look, as it was considered an unnecessary change to the canon. The Klingons only looked the way they did in the original series due to cost issues. The movies and subsequent series were always how they were envisioned to be.

The change to them in Discovery has always angered fans but now more than ever due to Star Wars. When Disney started making prequels, instead of making everything look shiny and new, they’ve actually made sure everything looks in line with established canon lore. Something Star Trek has refused to do. This has further angered Star Trek fans as so many of these changes are needless and hamfisted for no other reason than to remake Trek canon into something unfamiliar.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds can’t afford to keep screwing with cannon

That said, there is some wiggle room to get out of the mess the executives got themselves in. Discovery was an unexplored time period for Star Trek and the brand. There weren’t a lot of known, in-canon, adventures or dealings. So fans got a unique look at unique things.

In Deep Space Nine, Worf describes the changes the Klingons went through as a period of great shame, mostly due to the fact the Klingons were experimenting on their own DNA. This could easily be used to explain why the Klingons in Discovery looked so awful. The DNA modifications could also bring back the iconic look that fans want.

This is something that Strange New Worlds will need to do, as it is touching on established canon. Maybe this wouldn’t have been a big issue in 2016 and 2017 but now that Star Wars is doing prequels in their own universe, where they’re doing everything possible to keep up with established lore, Trek fans see that it’s possible to keep things current and new but also in line with what came before. They have been fed up with the constant changes and have been demanding that Secret Hideout upholds tradition.

Fans want the classic look for Star Trek, and they want classic Klingons that most fans grew up on in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. The executives at Secret Hideout know that Star Trek fans are divided over the new properties, which is why such an effort is going into shows like Strange New Worlds and Prodigy, in an attempt to get the fanbase back.

Rectifying issues, like the Klingon abominations, is a key factor in getting fans back.