Paul Wesley has been cast as James T. Kirk in the forthcoming second season of Paramount Plus’ Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Unfortunately, the revelation has not gone over well with franchise fans. The program, which was renewed for a second season in January, will return on May 5, 2022. Strange New Worlds executive producers and showrunners Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman, and Henry Alonso Myers commented:
“Paul is a talented actor, a commanding presence, and a valuable addition to the program.” He, like all of us, is a lifelong ‘Star Trek’ fan, and his rendition of this legendary character excites us.”
I am deeply humbled and still a little startled to have been given the honor of playing the inimitable James T Kirk. Ever since I was a kid, I have been awed by the imaginative world Gene Roddenberry created.
Recently, I boarded a flight to LA to discover that the man in the pic.twitter.com/U8GVD4ZemP— Paul Wesley (@paulwesley) March 15, 2022
Paul Wesley expressed his pleasure on Twitter immediately after the news broke. He said that he had been a long-time fan of the program and remembered the amusing episode in which he met an older version of himself.
Why is there such a division on the internet around Paul Wesley’s casting as Captain Kirk?
Loyal Paul Wesley fans flocked to Twitter to congratulate their favorite Vampire Diaries actor on this new journey, and they all agreed that he had both the looks and the ability to play the younger Captain Kirk. While one half of the Star Trek fanbase welcomed the casting with open arms, the other half was certain that the actor was unsuitable for the part. Most fans also expressed worry that they were confused about the narrative of Star Trek’s future, having apparently mixed up the years between the two periods.
This dissatisfaction derives mostly from the fact that fans had previously petitioned for a Pike series rather than a Kirk prequel. Some Twitter users even apologized to Wesley, stating that although his casting was flawless, they weren’t quite ready for the transition. They also wanted that the Star Trek series would create new tales with new characters and time travel rather than reliving old ones again and over. Paul Wesley is best known for his role as Stefan Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries, a CW drama series in which he appeared for eight seasons and around 170 episodes.
