Trekkies have been following the final days of filming on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds intensely over social media as the show officially wrapped season 5 last week, which is the final hooray for the crew of the starship Enterprise. However, as it turns out, Strange New Worlds’ swan song won’t come to a close without the inclusion of both Dr. Leonard McCoy and Hikaru Sulu. Yes, it’s official, the final two legacy characters who have yet to appear in the prequel saga have been cast — but don’t get too excited, fans. The showrunners really dropped the ball on this one.
Newcomer Kai Murakami has been cast to portray Mr. Sulu (per Variety), and Thomas Jane of The Punisher, Hung, and The Expanse fame will pick up the mantle of Dr. McCoy. While fans will have to wait and see how Murakami pans out on streaming, since he’s primarily only done stage work prior to SNW, Jane is an excellent choice to play Bones.
Nevertheless, there is still an issue to address concerning this breaking news: the problem with this casting announcement is that the two Star Trek legacy characters will ONLY appear in the final episode of season 5, which is the series finale. One episode!
For those who aren’t hardcore followers of Strange New Worlds, Mr. Chekov is the one Trek legacy character who won’t ever appear in the prequel series. So, bringing in McCoy and Sulu is exciting, but what a waste to only use them in one episode. So, why would showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers bring these beloved characters in for only one installment? (Continued...)