Star Trek: Jonathan Frakes Confirmed to Direct Strange New Worlds

Veteran Star Trek actor and director Jonathan Frakes will direct at least one episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. CBS All Access announced the Star Trek: Discovery spinoff in May. Frakes, who has directed episodes of Discovery and Star Trek: Picard, confirmed to SyFy Wire that the Strange New Worlds team invited him to work on the newest Star Trek series. “I’ve been asked to direct, and I’m looking forward to it very much,” Frakes says. Strange New Worlds stars Anson Mount as Capt. Christopher Pike, Rebecca Romijn as Number One, and Ethan Peck as Spock. Frakes worked with Mount and Peck while directing episodes of Discovery‘s second season.

“I’ve had great experiences with all three of them,” Frakes says. “Anson and I worked through finding Captain Pike. And Ethan and I worked through finding who Spock was. And the mantle of Spock, in particular, was so complicated and so emotionally taxing and was such huge shoes to fill, and Ethan felt it. Rebecca and I have a long relationship from back on The Librarians, and we have a fabulous working shorthand, so it will be great getting back to the floor with three old friends.”

Frakes directed episodes of Discovery‘s upcoming third season. He told ComicBook.com that he expects to return to direct episodes of Picard’s second season, and maybe see some old friends in the process.

“I do expect to be back to direct the show, and I also think it’d be a good bet that we’ll see some other members of Next Gen because I think the ‘Nepenthe’ test went very well,” Frakes says. When asked what that test was, he said, “I think to see if there was an appetite. I think they suspected there was, but I think to see if it would resonate to have Picard reunite with some of the people in a creative way. I’m glad we didn’t come back on the Titan, for instance, that we were found on another part [of the universe]. It’s 33 years or something. As Picard as changed, so has Riker and Troi, and so has Seven.”

Frakes also said in a recent appearance that he hopes to reprise his role as Commander William Riker again for future episodes of Picard. “I did find myself getting into the lean as soon as I sat down,” Frakes said, reflecting on playing Riker in Picard‘s first season finale. “I liked that scene actually. I thought the writing was clever. I was wary of when they had gone to the well to have Riker show up again because he had said he had left Starfleet. But I think between Akiva [Goldsman], and [Michael] Chabon, and Alex [Kurtzman], they cleverly wove it into the story. And I hope that we see him again. I certainly hope to have the spacesuit on again.”

Star Trek: Discovery‘s first two seasons are streaming now on CBS All Access.