Strange New Worlds: Paul Wesley Teases a "Magical" TOS/Series Finale

Posted in: Star Trek, TV | Tagged: star trek, Star Trek: The Original Series, strange new worlds

Strange New Worlds S05: Paul Wesley Teases "Magical" TOS/Series Finale

Strange New Worlds star Paul Wesley teases his upcoming signature Kirk moment next season in the series finale with the final TOS crew.

Published Sat, 12 Sep 2026 09:37:09 -0500
by Tom Chang
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Last updated Sat, 12 Sep 2026 09:37:25 -0500
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Article Summary

• Paul Wesley says Strange New Worlds season 5 delivers a magical finale as Kirk joins the emerging TOS crew.
• Wesley teases standout chemistry with Spock, Uhura, Scotty, Bones, and Sulu in Strange New Worlds' last episode.
• Orders of Magnitude offers Strange New Worlds' strongest Kirk yet, as he clashes with an admiral aboard Enterprise.
• A proposed TOS-era follow-up centered on Kirk's first year reportedly stalled after Paramount passed on the project.

As the saying goes, "Be grateful for what you have, because you never know if an opportunity like this will ever come again," especially when it comes to a franchise like Star Trek. It's something that star Paul Wesley, who's currently the franchise's Lt. James T. Kirk, the one who would be the captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise that becomes the William Shatner incarnation of The Original Series, has, but something that could have been so much more. As we're seeing shades of the man he would become in Strange New Worlds, the strongest showing to date is in the latest episode, "Orders of Magnitude," which sees him butting heads with Admiral Simon Reger (Joe Morton), who takes over the Enterprise on a provisional basis with Captain Pike (Anson Mount) and Cmdr. Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn) is away, as he takes the ship on a dangerous mission that could cost the Federation dearly unless his provisional first officer, Kirk, discovers the dark truth between the admiral and his father. Wesley spoke with Screen Rant about the series' most anticipated moment that doesn't take place until the next and final season, which is the series finale that sees Kirk's TOS crew take final shape.

Strange New Worlds Star Paul Wesley on the Much-Anticipated Final TOS Moment for Season 5 in the Series Finale

Proposed by showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers, they had plans for one last TOS prequel series that would see the bulk of the SNW cast retained with Ethan Peck's Spock, Jess Bush's Chapel, Celia Rose Gooding's Uhura, and Martin Quinn's Scotty, along with SNW series finale additions Thomas Jane as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy and Kai Murakami as helmsman Hikaru Sulu for Year One that sees Kirk embracing the captain's chair as he gains experience to become the much more seasoned TOS incarnation. Unfortunately, Paramount passed on the project.

When asked what his favorite time playing Kirk was, or if it's still to come, Wesley didn't have to go far. "It's very hard because, you know, 'favorite.' There's always something special about many different moments. I will say, it was announced, as you guys know, that we cast Bones and we cast Sulu. We obviously have Spock, and I will say, without giving anything away, that there was something truly magical about having these characters on screen together. Our own version of it. When we were on set, I was like, 'Wow, there's something magical here. There's something working.' The chemistry's on point, and certainly, that was the case for 'The Original Series,' and I think we have a bit of a semblance of that as well."

Is it something that Paramount will change its mind on with the final season still to go? Sure, but it's far less likely since the SNW sets have already been destroyed and, short of the need to redesign the Enterprise from scratch to transition more closely to the 1966 very-dated TOS set, it's quite doubtful. For more, you can check out the interview. The final two season 4 episodes of Strange New Worlds, which also stars Christina Chong, Babs Olusanmokun, and Melissa Navia, stream September 17th and 24th on Paramount+.

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