Star Trek has a long history of compelling villains. Few are as memorable as the Borg Queen, or Data’s brother Lore; few were as deplorable as Gul Dukat; and none were more entertaining than John de Lancie’s Q. The unifying thing about all of them is that despite defeat – and even death in Dukat’s case – the best villains always return in Star Trek. And arguably the most famous of all Star Trek villains – and indeed, one of the best sci-fi villains – is coming back for a new series in 2025 that has just received its first trailer.
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Close to a decade after the original plans to make a 3-episode miniseries focused on Khan, Kurtzman’s plans are finally coming to fruition. That’s thanks to new audio series Star Trek: Khan, which is set to release later this year. The series was already confirmed to star Lost alum Naveen Andrews as Khan, and Wrenn Schmidt as Enterprise historian and Khan’s wife in exile, Marla McGivers, who was played in The Original Series by Madlyn Rhue. And now there’s a brand new trailer thanks to the Star Trek panel at Comic-Con, and more new cast additions. Here’s the trailer:
Reacher season 3 star Sonya Cassidy joins the cast as Starfleet doctor Rosalind Lear, who sets out to discover more of Khan’s lost past in exile on Ceti Alpha V. Excitingly, Star Trek: Khan will also see the return of two Star Trek icons to the franchise. First, George Takei returns as Captain Hikaru Sulu, Lear’s commanding officer (aboard his ship the USS Excelsior), having appeared relatively recently in both Star Trek: Very Short Treks and Lower Decks. Alongside him, Voyager‘s Tim Russ returns as Tuvok, who, at this point in the timeline, is just an ensign and served as Excelsior’s junior science officer. Russ reprised his role most recently for Star Trek: Picard.
Star Trek: Khan promises to fill in some of the gap between Khan’s first appearances in Star Trek and the 20 years he spent in exile. It was initially optioned in 2017 but canceled over the prohibitive cost of making a three episode miniseries, before it was then retooled in 2022 as part of Alex Kurtzman’s plans to expand the franchise with serial podcasts. Official word on the series says it will explain how Khan went from being a “beneficent tyrant and superhuman visionary” to the vengeful monster who returned in The Wrath of Khan. While it’s not a new TV series, it’s a good reward for Star Trek fans looking to celebrate the franchise’s upcoming 60th anniversary.
Star Trek: Khan‘s nine-episode series will premiere on all major podcast streaming platforms on September 8, 2025.
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Image courtesy of Focus Features.
