The Star Trek: Khan Audio Series Actor Is Perfect – And He Should Play Him In Live-Action

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"Star Trek" might be set to right one of its most complex and nuanced wrongs — and it involves the biggest baddie of all, Khan. The franchise has historically been considered a cultural pioneer and trendsetter, even if there have been plenty of well-meaning (though no less controversial) missteps along the way. From the casting of the late, great Nichelle Nichols as Uhura during the Civil Rights Movement to including a Russian crewman like Chekov (Walter Keonig) at the height of Cold War tensions to countless more real-world parallels, "The Original Series" alone was responsible for some of the most daring and risk-taking creative choices of its time. "Space Seed," the episode that introduced the fearsome superhuman despot Khan, is no exception. Ricardo Montalbán's performance as the tyrannical ruler from Earth's Eugenics Wars led to one of the most memorable and well-rounded villains in "Trek" lore ... but the casting of a Mexican man as a character originally from India was always bound to raise a few eyebrows, to put it mildly.

Decades after both "The Original Series" and the sequel film "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" turned Khan into a household name, however, the property is about to reimagine the notorious figure in the best way possible. 2026 marks the 60th anniversary of the property, which means there are already plans in motion for all sorts of celebrations and special events worldwide. One of the more intriguing ones, according to Deadline, takes the form of a scripted podcast debuting today (and available to listen to on the official "Star Trek" YouTube channel) titled "Star Trek: Khan." The new series focuses on the titular antagonist and his followers in the years after the events of "Space Seed," bridging the decade-and-a-half gap before his reappearance in 1982's "Wrath of Khan." And in a genuinely inspired bit of recasting, former "Lost" star Naveen Andrews has been cast as the voice of Khan.

Not only does the hiring of a British/Indian actor mark a long overdue first for the character (the less we say of Benedict Cumberbatch in "Star Trek Into Darkness," the better), but it also has us dreaming of the future of "Trek." Some Trekkies may argue that there's no real upside in returning to the Khan well again. But with Andrews now officially taking over, we're ready to start the campaign for his live-action casting as well.

Naveen Andrews would be the perfect Khan casting in live-action Star Trek

Could Naveen Andrews be destined to go from the sunlit beaches of Hawaii to the coldest reaches of space? Best known for his portrayal of the Iraqi torturer Sayid Jarrah in "Lost" (another complicated bit of casting that, in the vitriolic years full of racial animus following 9/11, still deserves all sorts of credit for being such a nuanced and three-dimensional character), the actor has now joined the "Star Trek" family as Khan ... in audio form, at least. What we're proposing, naturally, is that he takes another major step and jumps over into live action. Part of that, of course, has to do with a casting decision that finally lines up with the character's actual ethnic background. While speaking with Inverse, Andrews explained how this was a core part of the appeal:

"'I'm not just of Indian descent. I actually am full-blooded Indian. And that's part of why I thought I should do this."

In addition to Andrews' reclaiming of the character, what's even more exciting is the new spin he's putting on a supervillain that many a Trekkie assumed they were well familiar with by now. Later in the interview, he discussed what makes this version of the character different from where he ends up in "The Wrath of Khan" and the real-world influences he used to bring his voice performance to life: 

"He was still a Renaissance man. It seems right to think of him in a way that puts him in literature. He was a man of letters, I suppose. For me, even more than Milton, it's Shakespeare."

Could there be a way for Andrews, now 56 years old, to bring this to live-action? "Strange New Worlds" obviously has a Khan connection through Christina Chong's La'an Noonien Singh, a direct descendant of the warlord, and its setting as a prequel to the original "Star Trek" series (with the door wide open for a continuation taking us through the Enterprise's five-year mission). Not to be outdone, rumors have swirled for years over a potential "Wrath of Khan" series reboot, although, as of yet, nothing has come to fruition. And if the enthusiastic fan response to this podcast series helps tip the scales in Andrews' favor for some sort of live-action Khan exploration down the line, well, all the better. 

New episodes of "Star Trek: Khan" release every Monday.