Could we possibly get a James Kirk: Year One Star Trek series? The man behind the current incarnation of Kirk sure seems open to it!
Stepping into the shoes of a character as iconic as James T. Kirk is no easy feat for any actor. William Shatner made Kirk one of the most famous characters in all of science fiction in both the original Star Trek series and the first seven movies. No matter how often the role has been parodied, Shatner’s performance is still what made Kirk a hero to generations of fans.
Chris Pine managed to make Kirk work in the 2009 reboot movie, aided by the fact that this was an alternate timeline Kirk, who would be somewhat different from Shatner. Pine did a great job in the part to bring this different Kirk to a wider audience in the film and its two sequels.
When Strange New Worlds began, it seemed inevitable that Kirk would show up at some point. The series is a prequel to The Original Series with new takes on Pike, Spock, Chapel, and other characters, so a younger Kirk made sense. It still seemed a surprise when he came in season 2, played by The Vampire Diaries star Paul Wesley.
His Kirk has made a few appearances since and likely more as the series continues onward, which leads to the question of whether Strange New Worlds could lead us into a series about Kirk’s early days as captain of the Enterprise. The showrunners have admitted the plan is for the fifth season (and series) finale to be about Kirk’s first day in the command chair, but Wesley himself would like more than that!
Paul Wesley on a possible Kirk spinoff
Speaking to TV Insider, Wesley mentioned the possibility of a spinoff on a younger Kirk and how he’s more than open to it, to the point of pitching it to the producers.
“It’s not up to me, but I have expressed my desire, probably all too often, to the showrunners and whomever else asks. I would love nothing more than to do a Kirk series along with our beloved characters in TOS and introduce the characters that we have yet to introduce in TOS, Chekov and Sulu, and, I mean, you name it. And I think it would be fantastic.”
The idea has a lot of potential as The Original Series started with Kirk established in command of the Enterprise and most of the main crew (minus Chekov) already set in place. SNW has given us Spock, Uhura, and now Scotty; however, there are still characters such as Sulu and Chekov, who, per Star Trek lore, were on the ship, just not part of the bridge crew yet.
It would be interesting to see Kirk adjust to command at such a young age, how Bones joins as the chief medical officer, and how the dynamic of the pair with Spock develops. There’s a risk of retelling The Original Series episodes, but also the fun in Wesley putting his own stamp on Kirk and showing how he became the strong leader fans know.
There’s also the possibility (if remote) of the writers following the lead of the 2009 reboot and revealing that Strange New Worlds is really an alternate timeline of the main Trek reality. That would allow them to break free of canon and offer fresh takes on some classic adventures to provide a great new wave of storytelling for Kirk and his crew.
Wesley admits the chances of it happening for now are low, “but speaking as a little kid who wants to play in a series, I think there’s so much room to explore. And I think you can go into the TOS sort of time. You can explore time between episodes, you can explore time before the first episode. There’s just so much story to be mined here, and I would love nothing more than to play in that series.”
Strange New Worlds still has two and a half seasons to go, giving the showrunners plenty of time to decide whether or not to go ahead with a Kirk Year One series. But Wesley’s words offer hope to fans that this new take on Kirk can continue to fly for a long time!
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds streams new episodes Thursdays on Paramount+.
More from Redshirts Always Die: