It’s been over two months since Trek producers Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman, and Henry Alonso Myers asked those in San Diego Comic-Con’s famed Hall H to start a “letter-writing campaign” in support of Star Trek: Year One, which would pick up where Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ends after its fifth and final season. Certainly, most Trekkies would enjoy such a spin-off sequel, but the actor who portrays Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) on SNW doesn’t want to rush things. Gooding said while attending the recent ST-NJ: TREK TO NEW JERSEY event (per TrekMovie.com):
“I think to sort of speak to my original point of just taking baby steps and not jumping the gun, so we can really flesh out every pivotal moment in this character’s life that gets them closer to The Original Series. And whether that all happens in Strange New Worlds… I think that it would be great to get almost there in Strange New Worlds just to leave a little room for [Star Trek: Year One], and just get there step by step-by-step."
Star Trek: Year One would follow the exploits of the USS Enterprise’s new commanding officer, Captain James T. Kirk, who would replace the starship’s beloved Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), presumably after he suffers the tragic accident Trekkies are all too familiar with. If Kurtzman and company follow the template laid down by Star Trek: The Original Series, Uhura will be one of the key characters in Year One. Uhura is known as one of the Core 7 characters, which includes Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy, Scotty, Lt. Sulu, Mr. Chekov, and, of course, Lt. Uhura.
However, Strange New Worlds has taken many liberties which Trekkies can compare side by side with TOS. Some examples include the age gap between Captain Pike and Kirk on the show. According to Commodore Mendez (Malachi Throne) in Part 1 of the TOS episode “The Menagerie,” Kirk and Pike are roughly the same age. Whereas SNW’s Mount (52 years old) portrays a mentor to Wesley (43) on-screen in the Paramount+ series rather than them being equals. This angle was also played up in J.J. Abrams' Kelvin Timeline Star Trek films.
Then, not to belabor the point, there’s the most glaring difference between TOS and SNW: Kirk, Uhura, and Scotty NEVER served with Captain Pike on-screen in the beloved ‘60s show. Only Mr. Spock was aboard the USS Enterprise under the command of Christopher Pike as far as the Core 7 is concerned back in the '60s source material.
Hopefully, if a Paul Wesley-led Star Trek: Year One is greenlit, Uhura will remain one of the main characters and won’t be subject to changes like Strange New Worlds made when compared to The Original Series. And, with any luck, Trekkies won’t have to wait long to finally see Dr. McCoy, Lt. Sulu, and Mr. Chekov join Kirk’s crew, too. Unfortunately, since the following did not appear in TOS, fans are left to wonder what fate has in store for beloved SNW characters like La'An Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong), helmsman Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia), and Dr. M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun). Share your thoughts and comments on the matter with us on the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages.
Live long and prosper, Trekkies!