The Original Star Trek Characters Paul Wesley Wants To See On Strange New Worlds
The Paramount+ original series "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" is set in the decade preceding the events of "Star Trek: The Original Series," and as such, the crew of the USS Enterprise is made up of many of the same characters from that original series — albeit, aged down versions to represent the different time period. These include Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), Spock (Ethan Peck), Christine Chapel (Jess Bush), Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), and of course James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley).
In a twist of fate during the first season finale of "Strange New Worlds," Captain Pike has the chance to alter the course of history in order to save his own life, a decision which would sadly create disastrous consequences for the universe at large. In the alternate timeline, Kirk becomes the captain of the USS Farragut, rather than the Enterprise, in essence temporarily threatening the canon of the original series. We get a glimpse of this alternate timeline with the help of an older, time-traveling Pike, but before the end of the hour, Pike ultimately opts to accept his fate, negating the alternate timeline entirely.
Still, the brief journey to the future gifts us our first glimpse at Wesley's take on the iconic captain. Since we already know that Wesley will be returning as Kirk in "Strange New Worlds" Season 2, chances are we'll get plenty more nostalgic callbacks to the original series moving forward. In fact, Wesley himself has already called for the return of one of Kirk's most iconic enemies — the Gorn.
Wesley wants to see the Gorn return
During an exclusive interview with Collider, Paul Wesley was asked which original series characters he would like to see in the new series, to which Wesley simply replied: "Well, the Gorn... That's the most iconic."
The Gorn first make contact with the USS Enterprise in the original series episode "Arena" — appearing as large humanoid-reptilian hybrids with immense strength. The slow, deliberate fight between Shatner's Kirk and a Gorn from the episode has since become perhaps the most iconic scene in all of Star Trek canon (albeit, one which is unintentionally hilarious), and the Gorn themselves have appeared across countless "Star Trek" media throughout the years.
Hilariously, the Gorn have technically already appeared in "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" –- once in the form of several Gorn spaceships seen from afar, and once in a sequence wherein a group of Gorn hatchlings terrorize the crew in a manner akin to the movie "Alien." Obviously, Wesley is referring to the Gorn we meet in the original trilogy: the humanoid, intelligent creatures who have an entire society and culture — not the baby Gorn we meet in the series' ninth episode. Still, it is somewhat funny that the characters Wesley most wants to return to the series have already played a major role in the show, and will most likely return in greater force as the series continues.