James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) joining Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 could end up undercutting Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount). Best known for starring as Stefan in The Vampire Diaries, Paul Wesley was announced as Kirk, making him the latest actor playing the legendary Star Trek Captain, following William Shatner and Chris Pine. Wesley's version of Kirk is the canonical younger incarnation of the same character originated by Shatner, who played Kirk from 1966-1994 in Star Trek: The Original Series and in seven Star Trek movies. But the addition of Kirk to Strange New Worlds may be another dark cloud hanging over Captain Pike.
The canonical timeframe of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds places it sometime between Star Trek: Discovery season 2 in 2258 and when Captain Kirk took command of the Enterprise in 2265. This, of course, means that Kirk is a already member of Starfleet and rapidly rising through the ranks. It's logical, then, that Kirk would meet Pike, Spock (Ethan Peck), and his future starship, the Enterprise, in Strange New Worlds season 2. During this particular era, Kirk has served on the USS Republic, the USS Farragut, and has been an instructor at Starfleet Academy. Kirk could also be shown meeting his other future Enterprise shipmates like Nyota Uhura (Celia Gooding) and he can canonically meet Number One (Rebecca Romijn) for the first time. These are all good things and exciting Star Trek events to look forward to in Strange New Worlds.
However, it's how Kirk joining Star Trek: Strange New Worlds affects Captain Pike that causes concern. The announcement of Jim Kirk's casting and that he's appearing in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 is a surprise, especially since season 1 hasn't even premiered yet. But the fact that Kirk will indeed appear already jeopardizes Pike's status as Strange New Worlds' main character. Only Spock and Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) truly rival James T. Kirk in the Mount Rushmore of Star Trek icons. Even as a younger man played by a new actor, Kirk is a towering figure in Star Trek. Kirk's presence in Strange New Worlds is a direct reminder that he's destined to inherit the Enterprise from Pike and that Kirk's legendary heroics will eventually outshine Pike's. Even if the more experienced and wiser Pike puts Kirk in his place in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, every Trekker knows Kirk will eventually become a greater Captain of the Enterprise.
Certainly, Anson Mount's Pike is the lead of Strange New Worlds but Star Trek canon records a dark future for the Captain. Pike is destined for a tragic accident that will leave him critically injured, a fact he became aware of in Star Trek: Discovery season 2 and will continue to haunt him in Strange New Worlds. Indeed, Kirk and Spock (Leonard Nimoy) play pivotal roles in giving Captain Pike a merciful future in the TOS two-parter, "The Menagerie," when the Enterprise brought Pike to Talos IV so he can live out his days in a world of their psychic illusions. Kirk's presence in Strange New Worlds would also unavoidably remind Trekkers of the sad ending to come for Pike. Further, in real-life Shatner's Kirk replacing Jeffrey Hunter's Pike is one of the main reasons Star Trek received a green light to become an NBC TV series in 1966.
Besides potentially upstaging Pike, Kirk's presence in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds throws other curveballs at canon. Set photos from the series' production in Toronto show Paul Wesley's Kirk interacting with La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong). This means that both Spock and Kirk know La'an, who is confirmed as a descendant of Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán), years before they encountered the genetically-engineered supervillain in TOS - a fact that neither will mention in Star Trek: The Original Series or Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. It's yet another reminder in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds that Kirk and Spock are destined to have epic and legendary Star Trek adventures regardless of how thrilling Captain Pike's voyages are in Strange New Worlds.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds premieres on May 5, 2022, on Paramount+.
