Star Trek To Recast James T. Kirk Again, Put Him On The Small Screen?
Are we going to get another version of James T. Kirk in the Star Trek universe? A ew rumor says it's true.
This article is more than 2 years old
James T. Kirk is one of the cornerstone characters of the Star Trek universe. There is no question that his presence will be crucial for a lot of fans when it comes to considering a new Star Trek property worthy of their time. With the future of the Star Trek film franchise in flux, it would not be out of the realm of possibility to consider whether or not Kirk will find new life in one of the many upcoming Star Trek projects scheduled for CBS All… er, Paramount+.
According to a new rumor, that is exactly what is going on with James T. Kirk. The plan is to recast the iconic captain and have him appear in the upcoming series, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. The new era of Star Trek television has already introduced a recast Spock in the form of actor Ethan Peck. It is not hard to deduce that other characters from Star Trek: The Original Series could also be slated for this new series. In fact, it might be something that fans will end up expecting with such a throwback show like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
If this new rumor about recasting Kirk is true, it really does seem like Paramount is giving up on the feature film franchise. Audiences and fans are certainly smart enough to understand when they are watching different iterations of a character, but it does muddy the creative waters to have two ongoing versions of the same character out there in the popular culture at the same time. And the press would undoubtedly bring up that issue in interviews with actors who might not be prepared to say the right thing about the double casting.
However, if we do end up seeing a new version of James T. Kirk on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, would that potentially steal away some of Captain Christopher Pike’s thunder? The show is going to be built around him as the lead character, along with his second-in-command, Una, and the aforementioned Spock. It is assumed that they will make up the core characters for this new show. Bringing in Kirk or other recognizable members from Star Trek: The Original Series could jeopardize this show’s cast and their chances of standing out on their own merits.
Perhaps Kirk would only show up in the finale Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ first season. A similar tactic was used in the first season finale of Star Trek: Discovery. Is this how the series will plan to backdoor the original USS Enterprise characters? If so, then Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will secretly be something of a reboot of Star Trek: The Original Series. That seems like a risky tactic to take for a franchise that has been struggling to carve its own unique path over the last decade.
Regardless, this Kirk rumor is just that: a rumor. It sounds like a plausible direction that we could see in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, so we will have to see if that’s the choice the show decides to make. If so, you can start your fan-casting for yet another new version of the iconic starship captain.
