Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is bringing back James Kirk.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has set itself up as not only the story before the original Star Trek took place but also as a prequel of sorts. One that tells the tale of not just Captain Christopher Pike, the original lead character of the first ever Star Trek pilot, but now it’s started to tell the story of select members of the original crew.
A “Before they were stars” sort of show, but for the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Not only are we getting to know more about Pike before his heinous accident, but we’re also seeing people like Spock, Nurse Chapel, and Uhura all get some significant backstory.
Not to mention secondary characters like Dr. M’benga and George Kirk. Another character is looking to get his past expanded upon, and that character is James Kirk, brother of Geroge. James Kirk made his debut in the season one finale of Strange New Worlds, as an older, alternate version of himself. A version of Kirk where he was the captain of a Starfleet vessel but not the Enterprise, as Pike had never sacrificed himself, and was still in command of the vessel.
Now, Kirk will be returning to the show but as the Kirk from this time period. Just a lieutenant at this point in his career, Kirk is a first officer now, and that means he may be even more of a loose cannon.
James Kirk may be a lot of fun in season two of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
We’re not sure how long James Kirk will be part of the second season, my guess is a few episodes, but what I can say for sure is that this version of Kirk may be the most fun version yet. Strange New Worlds’ co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman spoke to SFX magazine and told the magazine (via TrekMovie.com) what fans can expect from Kirk’s arrival on the Enterprise in season two;
"What we’re dealing with is Lieutenant Kirk, First Officer Kirk. We’re not dealing with Captain Kirk, and there’s opportunity there. Paul Wesley is really this wonderful – to me – hybrid of Shatner’s Kirk and his own. That is, of course, serviced by this moment in the Kirk timeline where he’s dating Carol Marcus. So you’ll see…"
I can safely say this sounds fantastic and I’m looking forward to how Kirk reacts at this point in time in his life.