Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is halfway through its third season on Paramount+. As the series trudges along, new images from the sixth episode of the season have emerged, and the photos tease the return of a well-known character.
The official Star Trek site dropped 12 brand-new photos ahead of the Wednesday, Aug. 14 episode titled “The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail.” While plot details haven’t been released, Trek fans may recall that a sehlat is a bear-like beast native to Vulcan with large fangs. The animal is known for being a patient predator and able to stalk its prey for days at a time. Sehlats were also domesticated and were popular pets for Vulcan children, even given their aggressive nature.
Among the dozen new photos from the episode, fans see Lieutenant James T. Kirk, played by The Vampire Diaries alum Paul Wesley, talking with Spock (Ethan Peck). Another photo shows Kirk on the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise with Spock, Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush), Scotty (Martin Quinn), and Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding).
The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail” marks the first time in Season 3 of Strange New Worlds that Wesley’s version of Kirk appears. Wesley did guest star in the fourth episode of the season, titled “A Space Adventure Hour. In that episode, he played a character named Maxwell Saint, an actor in a prototype holodeck program run by La’an Noonien Singh (Christina Chong). Another of the dozen teaser photos shows Pelia (Carol Kane) looking tense as the crew of the Enterprise stands behind her.
Paul Wesley on Putting his Own “Spin” on James T. Kirk
Wesley’s Kirk has been a recurring character since the first season of Strange New Worlds. He recently talked to CBS Mornings about playing the character made famous by the legendary William Shatner.
“I watched, I rewatched every episode of TOS prior to getting on-set,” he said. “I made a conscious decision. I thought about should I imitate or try to emulate William Shatner in any way? I thought, god, he did such an amazing job. He was so iconic, why not do my own spin,” Wesley said.
The actor also touted Strange New Worlds as being one of his favorite jobs ever. “What I love about this show, first of all, it is incredibly optimistic and it is sort of an escapist playground. We get to watch this imaginative world filled with hope and positivity; inclusivity,” Wesley said.
Strange New Worlds recently wrapped production on its fourth season, with its fifth season set to begin filming later this year. Season 5 will mark the end of the Paramount+ Star Trek series. The fifth season will feature six episodes to wrap up the series, while the rest of the seasons have 10.
Strange New Worlds’ co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman teased that it might not be the end for the crew of the Enterprise after the show finishes its run. “Let me put it this way…I certainly wouldn’t say no (to a follow-up show set on the Enterprise),” Goldsman said in a previous interview.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds streams on Paramount+. The fourth episode of the season, “The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail” will premiere on Aug. 14.
Release Date
May 5, 2022
Network
Paramount+
Showrunner
Henry Alonso Myers, Akiva Goldsman
Directors
Dan Liu, Amanda Row, Maja Vrvilo, Akiva Goldsman, Dermott Downs, Eduardo Sánchez, Jeffrey W. Byrd, Jonathan Frakes, Jordan Canning, Leslie Hope, Valerie Weiss, Sydney Freeland, Christopher J. Byrne, Rachel Leiterman
Writers
Onitra Johnson
Anson Mount
Captain Christopher Pike
