Rainn Wilson Is Fighting To Return As Star Trek’s Harry Mudd
Rainn Wilson is fighting to get back on Star Trek.
Rainn Wilson made his stamp on Hollywood as Dwight Schrute in The Office. Since then, he has had a successful career full of TV shows and movies. One role he had that was a dream was in Star Trek: Discovery as Harcourt Fenton Mudd, where he appeared in two episodes of the first season. He returned in Star Trek: Short Treks, but now he wants to do more as the character.
Appearing at Creation Entertainment’s 55-Year Mission Star Trek convention in Las Vegas on Thursday (August 12), Rainn Wilson spoke all things about the sci-fi franchise, especially his hopes to reprise his character from Discovery. When asked about returning, he revealed that not only would he like to, but he has been actively trying. He wrote to Akiva Goldsman, the executive producer, and showrunner for Strange New Worlds. He has written to other producers about returning, but Goldsman got back to him saying that he would “think about that.”
Having that establishment in the Star Trek universe could prove to be helpful. Outside of starring in Discovery and Short Treks, the actor directed one of the episodes of Short Treks that he starred in titled The Escape Artist.
Getting the role for Star Trek: Discovery was purely from putting himself out there. Rainn Wilson revealed he spoke to co-creator Bryan Fuller (Hannibal) after he had read that CBS was doing a rebooted series. The next thing he knew, a phone call came, and he got the offer to play Harry Mudd. The character was originally played by Roger C. Carmel (The Transformers) in The Original Series, except this iteration of the character was darker, as is the whole rebooted show.
The slate of Paramount+ shows in the Star Trek universe is continuously growing from family-friendly projects like Prodigy, mature cartoons like Lower Decks, and traditional live-action series like Picard, Discovery, and the upcoming Strange New Worlds, which will hit the streaming service in 2022. As plans move forward to expand in different directions, anything is possible for the return of Rainn Wilson as Harry Mudd.
Outside of Star Trek, Rainn Wilson has plenty going for him for the future that will keep him busy until the hopeful day arrives where his phone rings about rejoining the sci-fi franchise. He will appear in the series The Power with Auli’i Cravalho (Moana), Rob Delaney (Deadpool 2), Alice Eve (Star Trek Into Darkness), Edwina Findley (Fear the Walking Dead), Nico Hiraga (Booksmart), Toheeb Jimoh (Ted Lasso), and John Leguizamo (John Wick). The Emmy-nominated actor will star in the animated movie Robodog with Steve Zahn (The White Lotus), Elliot Page (Juno), and Ron Perlman (Hellboy). Right now, he is filming Jerry and Marge Go Large with Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect), Annette Bening (Captain Marvel), and Michael McKean (Better Call Saul). Another animated film is on the actor’s schedule for Hitpig with Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones).
On the Star Trek end of things, Prodigy will hit Paramount+ on October 21, then Nickelodeon when all 10 episodes are out. Lower Decks is currently running with its second season as the premiere just passed on August 12.
