With the news that Paul Wesley will play a young Kirk in the upcoming Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, the former Vampire Diaries star will no doubt have his performance compared to that of its film counterpart, Chris Pine, who is also expected to return to the big screen in another announced Star Trek entry. But could Wesley become a better Kirk than Pine?
When Star Trek returned to screens, it became obvious that audiences were still craving the space adventures of the beloved franchise. The crew of the Enterprise had entirely new faces, including Chris Pine as Captain Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock. Since no other actors other than William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy had ever played the beloved characters, the novelty was quite well accepted because, not only did the pair have a lot of chemistry on screen, but their versions of the characters were quite loyal to the originals.
Later, the Star Trek: Discovery series’ second season went back in time to reveal a new iteration of the Enterprise when the captain was still Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), years before Star Trek: The Original Series. It was only a matter of time before a new version of Spock also made his way to the screen, and so came Ethan Peck. Now, with Strange New Worlds set to reprise the Enterprise crew from that season, audiences will also see a new Kirk played by Paul Wesley.
Of course, it is too early to compare Wesley’s Kirk with Pine’s since Strange New Worlds is set in different circumstances than the ones that played out in the latest big-screen trilogy. The first time audiences meet Pine’s version of Kirk, he’s still a cadet, but he quickly rises to the captain’s seat. Pine had the opportunity to briefly explore the character in his younger years, something William Shatner never did since he was already the captain of the Enterprise when audiences first met his version of Kirk.
Peck’s Spock was rather different from the one audiences were familiar with. In Discovery’s second season, he was rather arrogant and had a greater conflict with his human side, which created some quite dramatic moments with his step-sister Michael Burnham. Best known for his long run in The Vampire Diaries, Wesley is an accomplished actor and also a Star Trek fan, so one can safely assume he is more than prepared to take on the role.
Paul Wesley will play Kirk while he is still first officer to Captain Pike, so he will have the opportunity to explore a broader extent of Kirk’s younger years than any of his predecessors did. One thing is for certain: Kirk likes to occasionally live dangerously, and that’s a trait present in every version of the character. Particularly after his performance on Vampire Diaries, it is safe to say Wesley’s nuanced acting capabilities will take James T. Kirk to new frontiers.
To see how Paul Wesley fares as the new James T. Kirk, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds premieres May 5 on Paramount+.
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