The first image from Anson Mount as Christopher Pike, Rebecca Romijn as Number One, and Ethan Peck as Spock. Strange New Worlds landed a season 2 renewal, ahead of the premiere of the first season, which releases this May.
Kirk was famously portrayed by William Shatner from 1965 in The Original Series to 1994 in Star Trek Generations, and in several different projects in between. Actor Chris Pine also famously portrayed a younger version of Kirk in the 2009 reboot of Star Trek directed by J.J. Abrams, as well as in 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness, and again in 2016's Star Trek Beyond. Pine is also set to reprise the role in the recently announced Star Trek 4, which will reportedly also feature the return of several other Kelvin Timeline stars, including Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Zachary Quinto as Spock, and Simon Pegg as Scotty. Now, a new face will take on the legendary James T. Kirk.
As announced by Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 as James T. Kirk. Wesley will be playing a younger version of the character. The first image from season 2 was also released, revealing Wesley in the iconic role. Strange New Worlds' Executive Producer Alex Kurtzman along with co-showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers released a statement to Variety expressing their excitement about Wesley ing the cast and added, "Like all of us, [Wesley] is a life-long ‘Star Trek’ fan and we are excited by his interpretation of this iconic role." Check out the full image of Wesley's James T. Kirk down below:
Wesley, who is perhaps most recognized as Stefan Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries, s the Star Trek universe as the third actor to portray the role of Captain Kirk in live-action. While Shatner will forever be known as the Captain Kirk and Pine has undoubtedly also made the role his own, it will be interesting to see what Wesley brings to Strange New Worlds' version of the character. The new image from the series is an exciting glimpse at the younger Kirk, and Wesley looks well-suited to take on the major role.
Stepping into a role that has already been made famous by other notable actors, can certainly present challenges. However, the Star Trek universe is a massive one, allowing audiences to engage in various timelines and experience the different adventures of these legendary characters from The Original Series in new settings and storylines. With that said, this news of Wesley stepping into the role for the prequel series is exciting and most likely to be highly anticipated by audiences. Catch Wesley's Kirk in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, following season 1's run on Paramount+ beginning on May 4.
Source: Paramount+