Star Trek: Discovery came to an end in May of 2024, and now that the dust has settled on the series, it is the perfect time for some retrospectives. After Star Trek: Enterprise concluded in 2005, Discovery was the first Star Trek television show to air in more than a decade when it premiered in 2017. At that premiere, Discovery had a daunting task. The only other new Star Trek media in the 2010s were the comics and three movies in the Kelvin timeline. Discovery, therefore, was essentially responsible for re-launching the franchise on television.

In order to draw in old and new fans alike, Discovery was set about a decade before Star Trek: The Original Series. As such, Discovery could feature events and characters that were already familiar in Star Trek. Discovery opened in the middle of the Federation-Klingon war and continued onward through the events that led up to The Original Series. Perhaps the most famous Star Trek character Discovery brought back was Spock (Ethan Peck) as then-commander Michael Burnham's (Sonequa Martin-Green) brother. But Discovery also brought some less well-known Star Trek characters played by some very famous actors from our reality, but one of them was sadly utterly wasted.

Rainn Wilson’s Harry Mudd Has Been Wasted By Star Trek Since 2019

The Star Only Shows Up Three Times, But He Could Have Done More

Season 1 of Discovery saw Rainn Wilson as the con artist and smuggler Harry Mudd, otherwise known as Harcourt Fenton Mudd. Mudd was originally introduced in The Original Series, where Roger C. Carmel played him. Harry Mudd only appeared in two episodes of TOS, "Mudd's Women" and "I, Mudd," but he left a big impression. That Harry Mudd was a charming criminal rogue, but in Discovery he was significantly edgier and more dangerous. In Discovery, Mudd was shown running afoul of the Klingon legal system instead of the Federation: a much more dire situation.

Despite this revival being a generally popular move, however, Rainn Wilson's Harry Mudd has only appeared in one Star Trek property since Discovery: a single Short Trek. It was an amazing early win for Star Trek to get Rainn Wilson involved in their newest project, so it feels like a letdown to see him fade back into the background of Star Trek. During The Original Series, Harry Mudd did not return because Roger C. Caramel was busy with other projects, but it's a shame that the character couldn't have been brought back a little longer in the new era of Trek.

Even if it was only a cameo, including Mudd would have made Section 31 feel so much more like a Star Trek movie.

​​The opportunity to bring Mudd back feels particularly wasted given the new Star Trek: Section 31 movie. Since the eponymous "Section 31" is tasked with handling Starfleet's dirty laundry, so to speak, it would totally have made sense to have an older Harry Mudd show up in Section 31. Even if it was only a cameo, including Mudd would have made Section 31 feel so much more like a Star Trek movie. With rumors of a Section 31 sequel, it is still possible that we will see the return of Rainn Wilson's Harry Mudd to Star Trek.

Why Harry Mudd Appearing In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Is A Problem

Cannon Makes More Appearances Impossible

Of course, there is a reason that we haven't seen more of Harry Mudd in new Star Trek. The constraints of a human lifespan would have made it difficult for Mudd to appear in Star Trek: The Next Generation or other shows in that era, and after Discovery jumped forward in time, it would have been completely impossible to bring Mudd back. But theoretically, Harry Mudd could appear in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

​​​​Unfortunately, it is basically guaranteed that Harry Mudd will stay far away from the Enterprise. When Harry Mudd shows up in "Mudd's Women," the crew of the Enterprise does not know who he is. But since Lt. Spock and Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) both work on the bridge, there is no way they wouldn't recognize Mudd in The Original Series if they met him in Strange New Worlds. So for now, at least, we will have to be content with Rainn Wilson's only appearances as Harry Mudd happening in Star Trek: Discovery.