There's a lot of anticipation right now to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as it will feature the USS Enterprise crew headed by Anson Mount's Captain Christopher Pike several years before James T. Kirk took over in The Original Series. The upcoming series will also feature Spock and Uhura in their earlier years as well as a character who seems to be related to an iconic villain in the franchise. As it turns out, that is actually the case.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, during Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Television Critics Association panel, showrunner Akiva Goldsman addressed if the new character La’an Noonien-Singh, played by Christina Chong, is related to the iconic villain Khan Noonien Singh which fans have been speculating ever since the cast and characters were announced.
"She’s related to Khan, for sure, and, uh, and the deal will unfold...” Goldsman said. “We don’t want to bring folks into the show to be splashy. We want to dig deeply into characters that are part of our ensemble and then, obviously, we’re open to getting our arms... but right now, what you see is what you get."
It is interesting to get confirmation that the new character is indeed related to Khan, who is one of the most well-known villains in the franchise. Based on Goldsman's comments, it looks like there is a possibility that they might bring Khan himself in the series which could work given that it is a prequel to The Original Series.
However, La'an's connection to Khan poses some problems when it comes to the continuity of the franchise. When we met Khan in The Original Series and The Wrath of Khan, Spock and Uhura never mentioned that they worked with one of his relatives named La'an. Given that they were supposedly in the same crew years before, they should have at least mentioned La'an, who we didn't know that she exists until the upcoming series, especially since they had her relative as their adversary. Spock wasn't even familiar with Khan when he first encountered him even though his relative was his fellow crew member.
It is intriguing to find out how they will handle the character's connection to Khan in the series. Hopefully, they'll be able to address all the loopholes that it may cause, especially with someone like Khan who is one of the most well-known characters in the franchise.
Also Read: Star Trek: Section 31 Series Gets Intriguing Update
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds premieres on May 5 on Paramount+.
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