Paul Wesley’s Jim Kirk Is Strange New Worlds’ Biggest Risk

One of the most universally enjoyed series in the new era of Star Trek is Strange New Worlds, set to begin its second season. The series follows legacy characters from the franchise’s earliest iteration, which is always a risky move. Yet, the biggest risk Strange New Worlds will take is bringing back Paul Wesley’s Captain James T. Kirk. The most famous captain of the USS Enterprise, Kirk’s green command wrap-around jumper is hard to properly fill out.

Wesley, perhaps best known for his turn on The Vampire Diaries, debuted his take on the iconic captain originally played by William Shatner in Season 1. However, his character was from an alternate timeline, so not the real “Kirk.” In fact, a line from the Strange New Worlds Season 2 trailer has some fans wondering if this isn’t the case for his Season 2 appearance. Kirk is seen struggling with what looks like a modern-day revolving door, saying “I’m from space,” when questioned by La’an. In Star Trek: The Voyage Home, Shatner’s Kirk said he wasn’t from space, “I just work there.” This has fans thinking his second appearance is similarly wrapped up in alternate-timeline shenanigans. However, his appearance in another trailer scene suggests Strange New Worlds will introduce the “real” Jim Kirk later in the season. This will be the show’s biggest risk, even more so than introducing Ethan Peck as Spock, a character defined by the late Leonard Nimoy.

What Makes James T. Kirk So Special in Star Trek?

Spock’s usual lack of emotion gives Peck room to make the character his own while still making him recognizable. However, Kirk is far more connected to his original actor, William Shatner, both in demeanor and performance. In an interview with Variety after the finale, Wesley talks about filling Shatner’s two-inch heeled boots. “I think the biggest insult would be to do an imitation of what William Shatner originated and what people fell in love with,” he said, adding such an imitation would be “blasphemous.” He also implies that Kirk will appear in multiple episodes of Season 2.

If his appearance is again an “alternate” version of Kirk, that can help mitigate some of the risk. Shatner’s performance as Kirk is as iconic as it gets. Sure, there was the stilted line delivery, but it’s more than that. Kirk was both a commanding presence and a charmer. With a smirk and twinkle in his eye, Shatner’s Kirk could crack jokes while facing death and make it all feel believable. As much as Star Trek

‘s various writers are responsible for the character, Shatner shaped him more than any single artist. Even at the moment of his death in Star Trek: Generations, Shatner wanted to make sure Kirk felt like Kirk. Despite the actor being in his 90s, it still feels strange to see another actor play the role.

There is nothing Paul Wesley can do that will remove Kirk from Shatner’s looming shadow. If Strange New Worlds introduces the “real” Kirk, fans may have trouble accepting any other actor. Chris Pine, who played Kirk in the Kelvin Timeline movies, was also an “alternate” version of the character. Wesley will be the first one to take on the character that Shatner played for almost 30 years. For fans, Kirk and Shatner are almost inseparable, and Wesley has to figure out how to both honor that and make the character his own.

Does Paul Wesley Have the Captain Kirk Swagger?

Chris Pine’s Kirk was a wholly different character than Shatner’s Kirk because of the inciting incident of 2009’s Star Trek. However, Pine was able to imbue his take on the character with the charm and swagger that made the iconic Enterprise captain who he is. He was also playing a younger version of the character than fans saw in Star Trek: The Original Series. In the Strange New Worlds Season 1 finale, Wesley’s Kirk is supposed to be the age Kirk was in the first show. What makes him different is that he hadn’t met Spock, Uhura or any of his other crewmates who helped define him as a leader and a man.

Wesley’s Kirk on Strange New Worlds could evoke Pine more than Shatner. Yet, unlike the movies’ Kirk, Strange New Worlds gives viewers the character who grew up with both parents and didn’t need to be dared to join Starfleet. Instead of being an actor who fans will compare, charitably or not, to Shatner, Wesley has a chance to define the younger Kirk in his own way. He just has to find the right mix of bravado, humor and no-nonsense leadership style that Shatner created so effortlessly.

For some, only William Shatner will ever truly be James T. Kirk. Perhaps Strange New Worlds knows this, offering another “alternate” version of the iconic captain. However, if Wesley gets to play the “real” Jim Kirk, the show could face massive backlash if fans deem that he got it wrong. In both the Season 1 finale and the Season 2 trailer, however, Wesley seems to be getting much more right than he doesn’t. But only time will tell.

Strange New Worlds debuts its Season 2 premiere Thursday, June 15, 2023, on Paramount+.