Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has cast actor Rhys Darby as another legacy character from the Star Trek Universe – but who is it? The creators of Strange New Worlds got Star Trek fans wondering during the franchise’s panel at New York Comic-Con, where it was announced that Darby will have a guest-starring role in Season 3. Darby is best known for his role as Stede Bonnet in the pirate comedy Our Flag Means Death, as well as playing Nigel in the Jumanji reboot films. He also has a long list of voice-acting roles in some popular gaming and animated series (The Venture Bros., We Bare Bears, The Simpsons, Bob’s Burgers, SpongeBob, etc).
One early theory is that Darby (50) could guest star as George Samuel Kirk Sr., the father of James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) and “Sam” Kirk (Dan Jeannotte). The Kirk brothers have already appeared in Strange New Worlds, with Sam appearing first in Season 1, before James (future captain of the USS Enterprise) appeared at the end of the first season, becoming a regular cast member in Season 2.
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The only onscreen appearance of George Kirk Sr. was in J.J. Abrams’s Star Trek (2009), which used the character as the catalyst for a major timeline change, creating Star Trek’s “Kelvin Timeline” in which Abrams’ films take place. The “Prime Timeline” of the Star Trek franchise has yet to explore George Kirk’s character. We know that his total devotion to Starfleet and its mission took him away from his wife and sons quite often – leading to James, in particular, having conflicted feelings about his father choosing exploration and aiding strangers over his own family. Darby has demonstrated that he can nail the kind of comedy-drama line that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds revels in; an episode of Kirk family drama would also be the kind of Star Trek canon expansion that the series has excelled at.
As always, however, fans should hold on to any casting theories loosely, as there are literally a dozen characters from classic Star Trek: TOS episodes and lore that Strange New Worlds could be refitting for the modern era.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds stars Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn, Ethan Peck, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Melissa Navia, Babs Olusanmokun and Martin Quinn, along with special guest stars Paul Wesley and Carol Kane. The series is produced by CBS Studios, Secret Hideout, and Roddenberry Entertainment. Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman, Jenny Lumet, Henry Alonso Myers, Aaron Baiers, Dana Horgan, Davy Perez, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth serve as executive producers.
You can stream Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on Paramount+.