Many fans are under the impression that Star Trek is on a downward slope right now, given how many of the new shows in the streaming era of the “Star Trek universe” have been (or are about to be) retired. Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Lower Decks, and Star Trek: Prodigy have all come and gone, while the most acclaimed series in the new class, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, is on its way out. And now, many fans are waiting (and hoping) for a new wave of Star Trek content to take its place.
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Discovery created an easy and obvious segue from that series (which jumped into the furthest future point on the Star Trek timeline) to the upcoming Starfleet Academy series; Picard ended on a launchpad for a new Star Trek: Legacy series, which would see a new generation of Starfleet heroes (many of whom are children of Star Trek: TNG characters) teaming with legacy characters to help get Starfleet back on its feet after it was compromised by the Borg (in Picard Season 3).
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds still has a fifth and final season to go, but reports from the set of the show are hinting that the series could also be setting a third new series – the one that most fans arguably want to see, most of all.
Strange New Worlds’ Latest Casting Hints At A Star Trek Original Series Reboot
The latest casting news for Star Trek was that actor Thomas Jane (The Punisher) is going to appear in the finale episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Not only is Jane joining the Star Trek franchise, but he’s been cast as an iconic character from the original series: Dr. Hank “Bones” McCoy. That casting has been so high-profile that it has led to a lot of speculation that Paramount is working on something bigger than just an epic send-off for Strange New Worlds. Rumor has it the original Star Trek cast is being slowly but surely recast with established talent so that a new series featuring the original series characters can be launched.
If you’ve been keeping track of things, the recasting of Star Trek: The Original Series is already mostly complete: Actor Paul Wesley (The Vampire Diaries) was brought into Strange New Worlds at the end of Season 1 as the new James T. Kirk, and has been slowly earning fans’ admiration along the way as a recurring guest star. Strange New Worlds is already a prequel series about Kirk’s predecessor, Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), and his command of the USS Enterprise, so naturally, original series characters are already a part of that story. That includes Mr. Spock (Ethan Peck), Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush), Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), Number One (Rebecca Romin), and Montgomery “Scotty” Scott (Martin Quinn). With Bones McCoy now being played by Thomas Jane, and newcomer actor Kai Murakami playing Lt. Hikaru Sulu in the Strange New Worlds finale, the stage is all but set for a new Star Trek series about Kirk’s crew.
A Star Trek: TOS Reboot Is What the (TV) Franchise Needs
Star Trek was one of many franchises to stumble massively in the early 2020s, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the onset of the “streaming wars” between various media companies. It’d be an understatement to say that Star Trek fans had varied opinions on the shows launched on Paramount+, with Discovery and Picard being particularly divisive additions to the franchise.
Strange New Worlds was a different sort of animal: the series quickly became (and stayed) a favorite with new and old fans alike, largely due to the way it mixes the nostalgic feeling of the Original Series and its era with new-age themes, characters, and fun stylistic departures (cosplay episodes, musical episodes, etc.). The cast of Strange New Worlds has also been one of the biggest successes for the Star Trek brand in recent years (both on and off-screen); retaining a large portion of that cast, in a series that would generate some of the biggest hype for the franchise in years, would be smart.
There’s also plenty of room for the new series to play in the original series’ sandbox, without stepping on any of that show’s lore. When The Original Series’ first episodes take place, Kirk and the crew are estimated to have been together for less than a year; that’s a good section of undocumented time to explore. How Kirk takes command and first earns the respect of a crew, many of whom are still mourning their former captain. Star Trek: Year One sounds good to us.
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