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'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Renewed For Season 4 At Paramount+
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Looks like Paul Wesley is trading in his vampire teeth for a captain’s chair — or at least, space. The former Vampire Diairies star is joining Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 in the iconic role of James T. Kirk.
“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,” Executive Producer Alex Kurtzman and Showrunners/Executive Producers Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers said in a statement provided to Decider.
Strange New Worlds doesn’t premiere until May 5 on Paramount+, but Season 2 is already in production in Toronto. A spinoff of Star Trek: Discovery, Strange New Worlds follows the adventures of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) years before Kirk took command of the Enterprise. The show also stars Rebecca Romijn as Number One, Ethan Peck as Science Officer Spock, and more.
So how does Kirk fit into this? The role, previously played by William Shatner, and then more recently by Chris Pine in the reboot movies, had a long history with Starfleet before he took over the Enterprise from Pike. In the same period depicted on Strange New Worlds, Kirk was a Starfleet Academy instructor, followed by a stint on the USS Farragut. As to how he comes into contact with Pike and crew in Season 2? That’s TBD.
Wesley, for his part, has been busy with a lot more than vampires since his role on The CW hit ended. In addition to directing episodes of Roswell, New Mexico, Shadowhunters and Legacies, he’s built up a career Off-Broadway, as well as starring on TV in Paramount’s Tell Me a Story, and on Netflix in Medal of Honor. He’ll also co-star with Stephanie Beatriz in Shudder’s History of Evil.
Still, getting cast as the new Kirk is a Big Deal, and despite the reported done-in-one nature of Strange New Worlds episodes, it certainly seems the show has a lot more on its agenda than just visiting some quirky, new planets. Will Pike and Kirk come to blows? Or team up? That too, is TBD.
The 10-episode first season of Strange New Worlds premieres May 5.
