Is this only fan service or setting up Star Trek: Year One?
It seems like such a waste to me only including Dr. McCoy and Mr. Sulu in the final episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. So, are showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers revealing with this casting move that Star Trek: Year One is one step closer to being realized? Or is this the ultimate slap in the face to the fandom by clearly serving up two beloved legacy characters strictly for gratuitous fan service? Goldsman told TrekMovie.com the following earlier this year:
“I think Year One’s a dream. And it’s a good dream, and it’s a real dream. And we would do it in a heartbeat. And right now, we know we promise to end Strange New Worlds well, so that’s what we’re doing. And if, for some reason, that dream is shared by the folks at Skydance and Paramount [now the Paramount Skydance Corporation], that would be amazing. But we’re not relying on it. We’re ending the show because we promise to end the show in a way that is complete.”
Okay, let’s say it’s a dream that the Paramount Skydance Corporation isn’t going to make come true. Then what? If there isn’t a Year One following the crew of the USS Enterprise under the command of Paul Wesley’s James T. Kirk, are you telling me that the powers that be just wasted Thomas Jane’s Bones and Kai Murakami’s Sulu on one, single episode of Strange New Worlds?
Again, Murakami is an unknown acting commodity when it comes to television, but I think the casting of Jane as McCoy is spot on! And I can’t sit here and believe that a performer with the acting chops of Jane would be wasted on one episode of Star Trek. Perhaps, Year One is closer to becoming a reality than any of us really thought possible, and this casting is confirmation — although that was not offered up in the new report published by the trades.
If Star Trek: Year One is about to engage its warp-drive engines, though, to that possibility, I say, “Beam me up, Scotty!” But don’t forget Mr. Chekov this time around.
For more Star Trek content, and to share your thoughts/comments on the casting news, visit the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages. An official release date for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' final two seasons hasn't been confirmed yet, but season 4 will drop at some point in 2026.
Live long and prosper, Trekkies!