Captain Pike won’t exit Strange New Worlds when Kirk arrives

Anson Mount will portray Captain Pike on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

With the premiere of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds getting closer and the recent announcement that Paul Wesley would take on the role of Captain James T. Kirk in the series’ second season, fans have started asking questions. Most of them are concerns that Captain Christopher Pike’s time at the helm of the Enterprise will be shortened as Captain Kirk will take over when he arrives in season two.

Series star Anson Mount cleared the air with CinemaBlend when he was asked if there was anything he could say to ease the fears of Pike’s status going forward. The actor said that Strange New Worlds is meant to be a true prequel which is set during the Pike years. Bringing on Captain Kirk to captain the Enterprise would make Strange New Worlds a very different show, one that has already been done in Star Trek: The Original Series.

"“We wanted to do a true prequel — PREQUEL — to the original series, and that is couched in the Pike years. But, as you know, in the world of TV scripting, one season does not necessarily correspond to one year. As we get into the show, there’s really… I’m not sure we’ve really demarcated how far time is progressing between seasons. So, I don’t know. We’ll see where it ends up. But, yeah, no, that would be a very different show.”"

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will have Captain Pike at the helm of the Enterprise

It wouldn’t make sense to create a show that is based around Pike’s journey as the Enterprise’s captain only to hand the reins to Kirk the following season. Strange New Worlds has cast a new crew, with some familiar names, but it’s clear that the ship belongs to Anson Mount’s Pike.

Perhaps down the road there may be a reboot with Captain Kirk, but that’s iffy considering fans still only see William Shatner in the role of television’s Kirk. Since Pike has a good ten years before his accident, and the series could slow down the time as needed, there is no telling how long Strange New Worlds could actually air. With the streaming numbers like they are for Star Trek series, I’d be very surprised if it didn’t see at least seven seasons.