Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Beams Up Jonathan Frakes as a Director

Trekkies everywhere lost it when it was announced that Star Trek: Discovery would have a new spin-off called Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, a prequel to the original series that focuses on Spock and Captain Pike before Kirk together. There's obviously a lot of potential in this series and we're all looking forward to seeing how it does, especially since a familiar face is directing an episode or two.

Jonathan Frakes, who was Commander Willian Riker back in Star Trek: The New Generation, confirmed that he would be in the director's chair for Strange New Worlds during an interview with SyFy Wire. While Frakes didn't say how many episodes he would be directing, he did mention how much he's looking forward to the opportunity.

I've been asked to direct, and I'm looking forward to it very much.

I've had great experiences with all three of them (Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Rebecca Romijin). Anson and I worked through finding Captain Pike. And Ethan and I worked through finding who Spock was. And the mantle of Spock, in particular, was so complicated and so emotionally taxing and was such huge shoes to fill, and Ethan felt it. Rebecca and I have a long relationship from back on The Librarians, and we have a fabulous working shorthand, so it will be great getting back to the floor with three old friends.

Frakes has directed for Star Trek a number of times already, including a number of episodes for Star Trek: Picard, which has received mixed reviews thus far. Still, a second season has been greenlit and we're sure that they will be able to fix that show's flaws. Either way, it's always good having a veteran at hand to make sure the ship doesn't steer off the edge.

As of this writing, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds doesn't have a release date.

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