The USS Enterprise of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will be crewed by many characters familiar to fans of Star Trek: The Original Series. Perhaps the most exciting new Star Trek series in Paramount+'s growing lineup, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is a prequel set in the years before Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) took command of the Enterprise. Strange New Worlds centers on the adventures of Kirk's predecessor, Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), which are voyages Trekkers have only imagined but have never seen before.










Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is based upon "The Cage," the original pilot of Star Trek, and Pike's exploits as commander of the USS Discovery in Star Trek: Discovery season 2. After saving the galaxy from a rogue A.I. called Control, Pike returned to the Enterprise along with his First Officer, Number One (Rebecca Romijn), and his Science Officer, Mr. Spock (Ethan Peck). Crucially, the trio is guarding the secret that the USS Discovery and Spock's adoptive sister, Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), time-traveled to the 32nd century. With the Discovery and its crew now erased from Starfleet's records in the 23rd century, Pike refocuses on the continuing voyages of the Starship Enterprise to seek out strange new worlds, contact new civilizations, and boldly go where no one has gone before.










Related: All 3 Versions Of The Enterprise In New Star Trek Shows











After Star Trek embraced serialized storytelling in the Peak TV era, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will also return to the franchise's original episodic format, where the original Enterprise's crew will tackle "a big idea of the week," although the characters' arcs will continue through serialization. Captain Pike's show will present the kinds of episodic morality plays and problem-solving that Trekkers loved about TOS and Star Trek: The Next Generation. But as a prequel series, Strange New Worlds is also introducing several characters who would later appear in TOS and become Star Trek icons in their own right. Thanks to an eventful character reveal video that aired during Star Trek Day 2021, here is everything we know so far about the crew of the original Starship Enterprise in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and who is stepping into some of the most legendary roles in Star Trek.







Captain Christopher Pike


















Anson Mount (Hell on Wheels) returns as Captain Christopher Pike in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Pike was originally played by Jeffrey Hunter in Star Trek's original pilot, "The Cage," and the critically injured Pike who appeared in the TOS two-parter "The Menagerie" was played by Sean Kenney. Captain Pike also appeared in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness movies where he was played by Bruce Greenwood.











Mount's portrayal of Captain Pike in Star Trek: Discovery season 2 was wildly popular with fans, and he returned as Pike in Short Treks before headlining Strange New Worlds. A humble and inspiring leader, Captain Pike is admired by his crew for his courage, and when his time as Captain of the Enterprise is over, Pike is remembered as one of the greatest commanders and explorers in Starfleet history. However, Chris also has a dark cloud hanging over his head because Pike received a vision of his inevitable future when he's paralyzed by delta rays and forced to exist in a wheelchair. It will be fascinating to see how foreknowledge of his unavoidable destiny will influence Captain Pike in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.







Spock


















Ethan Peck (Penny Dreadful: City of Angels) takes over the role of Mr. Spock, which was created by the legendary Leonard Nimoy. The logical Vulcan was also played by Zachary Quinto in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movie trilogy. Peck's younger version of Spock debuted in Star Trek: Discovery season 2, which retconned him as the adoptive little brother of Michael Burnham and explored their volatile relationship but unbreakable bond since childhood. Peck also returned in Short Treks, which depicted Spock's first arrival aboard the original Starship Enterprise.











Related: Star Trek Reveals The Federation Knows What Happened To TOS' Spock










In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Spock is a Lieutenant and the Enterprise's Science Officer. Peck's version of Spock is more prone to emotional displays than Nimoy's, and this honors how Spock smiled and showed emotion in "The Cage" and Star Trek's second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before." Peck's younger Spock still has years to go before he becomes the best friend and First Officer of Captain Kirk and Trekkers will see Spock's journey to becoming the Vulcan Leonard Nimoy portrayed.







Number One



















Rebecca Romijn (X-Men) debuted as Number One in Star Trek: Discovery season 2 and she returns as the Starship Enterprise's First Officer in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Number One was originated by Majel Barrett-Roddenberry in "The Cage" and the character is credited as the first female First Officer in Star Trek. Number One's real name was unknown for decades but Star Trek: Strange New Worlds reveals it's Una Chin-Riley. Whether this means Una has any relation to Lieutenant Kevin Riley (Bruce Hyde) in TOS remains to be seen. While little is known about Number One, Romijn promises that Strange New Worlds will flesh out Una, who is "way more complex" than fans know.







Cadet Nyota Uhura


















Celia Rose-Goodin (Jagged Little Pill) takes over the role of Cadet Nyota Uhura in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. The role of Uhura was originated by Nichelle Nichols in Star Trek: The Original Series. Meanwhile, Strange New Worlds marks the second time the young Uhura is portrayed as a Starfleet Cadet aboard Captain Pike's Starship Enterprise; Zoe Saldana also played Nyota Uhura in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, which is set in the alternate Kelvin timeline. Of course, Uhura is the Enterprise's iconic communications officer, and Strange New Worlds is the beginning of Nyota's journey.







Nurse Christine Chapel



















Jess Bush (Playing For Keeps) takes over the role of Nurse Christine Chapel, which was originated by Majel Barrett-Roddenberry in Star Trek: The Original Series. In fact, Strange New Worlds means that both of Majel's TOS characters will share the screen and serve on the original Starship Enterprise at the same time. Nurse Chapel is also known for her unrequited feelings for Spock, and Strange New Worlds could reveal that Christine has been pining for the Vulcan even longer than fans knew.










Related: Star Trek: Why Number One Was Cut From TOS ( What Her Return Means)







Dr. M'Benga



















Babs Olusanmokun (Black Mirror) takes over the role of Dr. M'Benga, which was originated by Booker Bradshaw in Star Trek: TOS season 2's "A Private Little War" and season 3's "That Which Survives." Dr. M'Benga is a noted expert on Vulcan physiology and, in TOS, M'Benga takes over as Chief Medical Officer if Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForrest Kelley) is away. It's not clear if Dr. M'Benga is Chief Medical Officer in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds but his presence on Captain Pike's Enterprise retcons his familiarity with Spock when the Vulcan gets injured on the planet Neural, home of the poisonous white apes, the Mugatos, in TOS.







Hemmer


















Bruce Horak (Warehouse 13) plays a new character named Hemmer in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Hemmer is an Aenar, an albino subspecies of the blue-skinned and antennaed Andorians introduced in Star Trek: Enterprise season 4. Hemmer may be the first Andorian in Starfleet although it's not clear what his duties aboard the Enterprise are. Horak is also legally blind and Hemmer appears to be sightless as well, which is another huge step in representation by Star Trek.







La'an Noonien-Singh



















Christina Chong (Tom Jerry) debuts in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as a new character named La'an Noonien-Singh. Although little is known about La'an besides her red Starfleet uniform denoting that she works either in Engineering or Security, La'an's surname raises eyebrows. Noonien-Singh is also the last name of Khan (Richardo Montalban) and La'an may be a descendant of the genetically engineered warlord who joined the Enterprise years before Khan met Captain Kirk in TOS.







Lt. Erica Ortegas


















Melissa Navia (New Amsterdam) portrays a new Star Trek: Strange New Worlds character, Lt. Erica Ortegas. Erica doesn't appear to have ties to Star Trek: The Original Series but her red Starfleet uniform and rank could mean that she's Captain Pike's Chief of Security. If so, Lt. Ortegas would join (and predate) other female Starfleet Security Chiefs like Lt. Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby in TNG and Commander Ellen Landry (Rekha Sharma) in Star Trek: Discovery.










Next: Star Trek: Every Captain's First Ship ( How They Earned Command)










Star Trek: Strange New Worlds premieres in 2022 on Paramount+.































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About The Author



John Orquiola
(1822 Articles Published)


John Orquiola is a Features staff writer who has been with Screen Rant for four years. He began as a director’s assistant on various independent films. As a lover of film and film theory, John wrote humorous movie reviews on his blog, Back of the Head, which got him noticed by Screen Rant. John happily became the Star Trek guy at Screen Rant and he leads Feature coverage of the various Star Trek series, but he also writes about a wide range of subjects from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to Cobra Kai. His other great nerdy love is British TV series like The Crown, Downton Abbey, and Killing Eve. John can be found on Twitter if you want to see photos of the food he eats.



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