Social media has been awash with speculation since several Tiktok videos of Paul Wesley (Vampire Diaries, Tell Me A Story) along with Christina Chong (La’an Noonien-Singh) appeared online in which the pair can be seen filming season two of the new Paramount+ show Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Since the videos and images appeared online the cat was out of the bag, Prarmount+ has now officially revealed that Paul Wesley has been cast in the iconic role of James T Kirk along with the confirmation they also released the first official image of Welsey sat in the Captain’s chair.
When talking about casting Wesley in the role, Strange New Worlds executive producer Alex Kurtzman and showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers in a statement.
‘Paul is an accomplished actor, an astonishing presence and a welcome key addition to the show,’
“Like all of us, he is a life-long Star Trek fan and we are excited by his interpretation of this iconic role.”
The 39-year-old actor joins the legendary William Shatner and Chris Pine as actors who have also played the historic USS Enterprise captain.
Mount To Stay
Fans petitioned Paramount+ for this series so this news obviously upset some who think that Wesley’s casting will see the departure of Anson Mount as Pike, however, this is not the case and Mount will continue as a series regular on the program in season two and beyond.
So while we all know Kirk will take command of the USS Enterprise eventually we do not have to worry about this happening any time soon.
Tweets Tweets Tweets
Since the announcement, William Shatner has offered Wesley his personal congratulations, Star Trek Head Alex Kurtzman and Wesley himself even Tweeted how humbled he was to be cast in the role.
@paulwesley Keep my ship and crew safe, Captain! 😉 Congratulations!
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) March 16, 2022
From one generation to the next, this is everything. Oh captain, my captains! https://t.co/32Yfv6YiB9
— Alex Kurtzman (@Alex_Kurtzman) March 16, 2022
I am deeply humbled and still a little startled to have been given the honor of playing the inimitable James T Kirk. Ever since I was a kid, I have been awed by the imaginative world Gene Roddenberry created.
— Paul Wesley (@paulwesley) March 15, 2022
Recently, I boarded a flight to LA to discover that the man in the pic.twitter.com/U8GVD4ZemP
Kirk On Set
Several images have appeared online of Wesley in his role, most notably the one above that shows him wearing a badge that differs from the rest of the cast.
You can also see him with his fellow costar filming in downtown Toronto in the Tiktok videos below, in which they appear to be filming in a modern-day setting.
What Kirk
The first season of Strange New Worlds will take place in the year 2259, around one year after the events of Discovery season 2 episode “Such Sweet Sorry Pt 2”, and according to canon, which is fluid and can change, James T Kirk assumed command of the Enterprise at the age of 32 in the year 2265.
So before becoming the captain of Enterprise, Kirk served aboard the USS Republic as an ensign, the USS Farragut as a lieutenant, and as an instructor at Starfleet Academy.
So while we do not know how Wesley’s Kirk will appear, we have some ideas and some fun speculation. . .
- Commanding different ship on a joint mission
- Mission specialist
- Time travel shenanigans
- Is actually a changeling and thus “not the real Kirk”
- He actually just playing Sam Kirk who’s just shaved off his mustache to pretend to be Jim
- Confederation of Earth Spy
Nevertheless, literally, nothing is known about how Kirk will appear on the show but it stands to reason that Kirk will play a pivotal role in the second season as you do not just cast a character like the iconic Kirk for a one-off appearance
Trailer
Even before we get to find out exactly how Kirk will fit into Strange New Worlds we have the first season which launches May 5 on Paramount+ to look forward to.
Strange New Worlds follows Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), Science Officer Spock (Ethan Peck), and Number One (Rebecca Romijn/Una Chin-Riley) as they explore new worlds around the galaxy. Along with Mount, Peck and Romijn, the cast also includes Jess Bush as Nurse Christine Chapel, Christina Chong as La’an Noonien-Singh, Celia Rose Gooding as Cadet Nyota Uhura, Melissa Navia as Lt. Erica Ortegas, and Babs Olusanmokun as Dr M’Benga.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds debuts on Thursday, May 5 on Paramount+ in the United States, Australia, Latin America, and the Nordics, as well as on CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada. Additional international distribution has not yet been announced, however, it is likely that it will launch with Paramount+ when it launches in the summer of 2022.
