Star Trek: Strange New Worlds executive producer and co-showrunner, Henry Alonso Myers, provided a significant update on Star Trek: Year One, their proposed spinoff focusing on Captain James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) and the Starship Enterprise. The fifth and final season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds concluded last Christmas, and the team is currently in post-production.
During the promotional activities for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, executive producers and co-showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers indicated that they were actively pursuing a Paul Wesley-led spinoff about James Kirk’s first year as Captain of the Enterprise. However, as production ramped up for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 5 in the fall, news regarding Star Trek: Year One became less prominent.
TrekMovie‘s Anthony Pascale spoke with Henry Alonso Myers on the red carpet of the 53rd annual Saturn Awards, where Star Trek received the Hall of Fame Award. Myers confirmed that he and Goldsman have officially pitched Star Trek: Year One to Paramount+. While it’s currently “in their hands right now,” Henry assures that “there’s a lot of love” for both Strange New Worlds and Star Trek at the studio:
Henry Alonso Myers: Yeah, we’ve brought them a lot. We’ve done a lot to give to them. It’s in their hands right now. They’re taking a look at it, trying to decide it. I mean, there’s a lot of love for our show over there, and obviously a lot of love for Star Trek.
We think it would be a great [show], it’s the next thing for Star Trek, we think, in the story that we’ve been telling. But it’s out of our hands… We think it would be a great [show], it’s the next thing for Star Trek, we think, in the story that we’ve been telling. But it’s out of our hands.”
A positive note from Henry Alonso Myers is that the sets for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ are still intact. Filming took place at CBS Stages Canada in Mississauga, outside Toronto. This indicates that Paul Wesley’s Captain Kirk may soon take command of the Starship Enterprise bridge from Anson Mount’s Captain Christopher Pike:
Henry Alonso Myers: “Well, our sets have not been destroyed yet. That is what I can say… That makes this the big decision for them, because it’s about, do you hold on to the sets, currently? As I said, they have not been destroyed, so we’re waiting to find out what they want to do.”
Henry Alonso Myers also addressed TrekMovie‘s inquiry about whether Paramount+ is waiting to see how Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 performs this year before deciding on greenlighting Star Trek: Year One. It appears much depends on Akiva Goldsman’s negotiating skills with the studio:
Henry Alonso Myers: “I don’t know. The way I tend to look at it, my job is to get [post-production on season 4 and 5] done, to finish the show. I try not to think about what our partners at the studio have to do because that’s a whole other world. Akiva likes to go in and really push hard, and I’m probably more of a softer push on that, but my heart is where Akiva is.”
Finally, regarding TrekMovie‘s question about whether Henry Alonso Myers believes that there being no new Star Trek in production or greenlit for the first time in a decade represents a “pivot point”, Henry stated his priority is completing post-production on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds:
Henry Alonso Myers: “No, because, for me to read that… I’m literally working every day on [Strange New Worlds] and I’m like, nothing has changed. We have 16 episodes that you haven’t seen. We have two whole seasons that we’re still working on, and we’ll be working on for quite some time. And [Starfleet] Academy is happening at the same time, and they just wrapped their season, like, literally, like a week or two ago… But, look, these things take a long time to do and do well. I mean, I want to say it’s probably like an 18-month process.”
A previous revelation by Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers indicated that Star Trek: Year One would explore new stories about Captain Kirk’s first year aboard the USS Enterprise before Star Trek: The Original Series‘ second pilot episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” Importantly, Star Trek: Year One will not recreate episodes from Star Trek made 60 years ago.
The sixth episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, directed by Valerie Weiss and written by David Reed and Bill Wolkoff, tells the foundational story of Lt. Commander Kirk’s initial experience as acting Captain of the USS Farragut.
Kirk’s first time in command coincidentally placed him among his future USS Enterprise crew members—Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck), Scotty (Martin Quinn), Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), and Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush)—all of whom are expected to return for Star Trek: Year One.
The sixth episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, titled “The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail,” was so well-received that it alleviated skepticism regarding a Paul Wesley-led Captain Kirk spinoff. This episode effectively served as proof that Star Trek: Year One could succeed while continuing to develop the camaraderie between Wesley’s Kirk and Ethan Peck’s Spock.
The announcement from Paramount+ regarding Thomas Jane’s casting as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy alongside Kai Murakami as Hikaru Sulu—and their appearances in the series finale of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds—also fueled interest in Star Trek: Year One.. After all, casting an actor as notable as Thomas Jane for a single episode suggests groundwork for a potential spinoff.
The wait continues for season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , expected to premiere on Paramount+ during summer. The future direction of Star Trek, as Paramount Skydance decides how to proceed with Gene Roddenberry’s decades-old sci-fi franchise remains uncertain. Fans hope it will include new adventures featuring Paul Wesley’s Captain Kirk alongside Ethan Peck’s Mr. Spock in Star Trek: Year One.
