What La’an Noonien Singh has in common with Khan

Christina Chong will portray La’an Noonien Singh on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Star Trek fans knew the moment we heard the name of the character Christina Chong would play on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds that it wasn’t a coincidence. La’an Noonien Singh. There was absolutely no way she wouldn’t be related to Khan Noonien Singh, the villain from Star Trek: The Original Series “Space Seed” and one of the best Star Trek movies ever, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. And while the producers did acknowledge their ancestry, they still left us in the dark about how much of Khan La’an would have in her. Chong recently spoke with Screen Rant, and it turns out, the two do share some striking similarities.

As the Enterprise’s security chief, La’an has some commonalities that were passed down from Khan, like her natural abilities for war and combat. Chong explains that La’an is very tactical, resilient, and she’s a formidable person. Who does that sound like? And with those capabilities, it’s no wonder she was chosen as the security chief.

But will La’an Noonien Singh have any of her ancestor’s darker traits?

Kahn, portrayed by Ricardo Montalban, oozed charm at first, but there was always an undercurrent of deception about him. And while Chong says she wanted to make sure that La’an is the good version of the Noonien Singh family, she does ask the questions that everyone else will ask given her ancestor’s tendencies.

"“But who knows what can come out of that? Who knows what’s gonna happen?”"

It’s not fair to judge someone by who they’re related to, but this one is tough as there were no redeeming qualities in Khan. Even though the events that happened with Captain Kirk haven’t yet taken place in the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ timeline, Khan’s past is enough to make us question whether there is any of that need for power and control in La’an. And if she can be completely trusted.