Christina Chong talks Kirk, while Akiva Goldsman hints that Korby could be coming to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Kirk and Korby could both be coming to STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS

JUNE 10, 2022 - In March, Paramount+ announced Vampire Diaries actor Paul Wesley will join the cast of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as James T. Kirk in the second season. Since then, very little has been released about what to expect from Jim Kirk (or anyone else) in season two. Thankfully, a new report from Trek Movie has brought together a few clues for us all to chew on for the next year or so.

Acknowledgement of Wesley’s involvement in Strange New Worlds came shortly after the actor was seen filming with series regular Christina Chong on the streets of Toronto. Speaking with Cinema Blend, Chong was reluctant to reveal much about the plot surrounding Kirk, but praised the actor playing him. “I can say that Paul Wesley is very funny, and I love working with him,” Chong said. She went on to say, “We just have this thing where [...] every interaction we’ve had at work has ended up in fits of giggles. [...] I really enjoy working with him, and it’s great to have him on board for Season 2.” Coverage of the interview also noted co-showrunner Henry Alonso Myers had previously revealed Wesley’s Jim Kirk will be an officer assigned to the U.S.S. Farragut.

In the same interview with Cinema Blend, Chong told audiences to expect an epic second season. “If you enjoy season 1 and you think season 1 went all the way,” she said, “season 2 takes it to a whole other level in a way that you won’t believe. It’s gonna shock a lot of people, I think.”

It seems like James T. Kirk won’t be the only TOS “legacy character” audiences will see in the second season of Strange New Worlds. Trek Movie tracked down a social media exchange between Trek Geeks podcaster Bill McGabe and Strange New Worlds co-creator and executive producer Akiva Goldsman, indicating one-time TOS character Roger Korby would appear in the series. Referring to the recent episode “Spock Amok”, McGabe tweeted, “Somewhere, a Trekkie about my age or older is very mad there was no mention of Roger Korby,” along with a photo of Nurse Chapel (as played by Jess Bush).

Goldsman responded to the tweet with the simple phrase “Stand by”, which almost certainly means we’ll be seeing Korby onscreen somewhere in the next 14 episodes of Strange New Worlds. It would make sense, as it was established in The Original Series that Chapel’s motivation for joining Starfleet was - in fact - to search for her long lost fiance, Dr. Roger Korby.

That’s all we have for now. Catch up on all of the excitement of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds! The first six episodes are available to stream now on Paramount+.