Filming for the fifth and final season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds concluded over the weekend in Toronto. Today, Paramount revealed a “holiday surprise for the fans” by announcing the casting of two iconic characters from the original Star Trek in the Strange New Worlds series finale. The cast have been announcing their completion of filming.
Thomas Jane as Dr. McCoy
Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy, portrayed by the renowned DeForest Kelley with characteristic grace and wit, was always a part of the core troika from Star Trek: The Original Series, with Captain Kirk and Spock. Additionally, Paramount announced today that Thomas Jane will play Dr. McCoy in the Strange New Worlds series finale.
Fans of the genre are likely most familiar with Jane from his appearances as the lead in the 2004 movie The Punisher and as Detective Miller in the series The Expanse. The 56-year-old has a long career in acting, directing, and writing. The main role in the HBO comedy Hung, for which he received three Golden Globe nods, is Jane’s greatest claim to fame outside of the genre. In HBO’s 61*, he portrayed the legendary Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees, earning him praise from critics. The Predator, The Thin Red Line, Boogie Nights, Deep Blue Sea, The Mist, and Play Dirty are just a few of the movies in which Jane has appeared. His nonfiction work A Human’s Guide to Visiting Aliens is presently being finished by Jane.
Kai Murakami as Hikaru Sulu
Hikaru Sulu, portrayed by Japanese actor Kai Murakami, will also be revealed in the series finale. George Takei first played the part in Star Trek: The Original Series. Kai is most known for his theatrical work. He played Kazego in the highly acclaimed, multi-Olivier award-winning stage production My Neighbour Totoro, which was adapted by Tom Morton-Smith (Oppenheimer) with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Next year, Kai will play Oba Yozo in Art’Morte’s 2026 stage adaptation of No Longer Human. Major worldwide games like Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows (as Yasuhira) and Rise of the Ronin (as Ogasawara Kiyokane) are among his performance-capture credits.
Where’s Chekov
All of the major characters from Star Trek: The Original Series, including the Chief Medical Officer of the USS Enterprise under Captain Pike, can now be seen in Strange New Worlds, along with Kirk (Paul Wesley), Spock (Ethan Peck), Uhura (Celia Rose-Gooding), Chapel (Jess Bush), and Scotty (Martin Quinn). Adding McCoy will have an interesting impact on Dr. M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun), the current chief medical officer.
Ensign Pavel Chekov, formerly portrayed by Walter Koenig, is one well-known TOS figure that was left out of today’s press release. Chekov wasn’t revealed until the second season of TOS. The SNW showrunners hinted that they would introduce Sulu and McCoy in an interview earlier this year, but they were clear about the young ensign’s appearance, with Goldsman saying it doesn’t make sense.
“Kirk’s first day of command” of the USS Enterprise will be featured in the last episode, according to reports. The showrunner pointed out that Kirk’s first time in the big chair occurred long before his first appearance in Star Trek’s second pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” In reality, Akiva Goldsman is hoping that Paramount would approve his concept for Star Trek: Year One, a television series depicting Kirk’s first year in command that stars Paul Wesley.
The fifth and final season of Strange New Worlds won’t air for some time. The fourth season of Starfleet Academy is scheduled to premiere “soon” in 2026, most likely shortly after the first season concludes in March.
Learn more about Star Trek: Strange New Worlds at the official Paramount page.
What do you think of the casting of the final season of the show? Let us know in the comments and on social media!
