A key character in the upcoming Star Trek: Strange New World series will have a connection to franchise antagonist Khan Noonien Singh.
During a Television Critics Association panel, Strange New Worlds co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman was asked if La'an Noonien Singh (Christina Chong) was related to Khan. He confirmed that is indeed the case. "We don't want to bring folks into the show to be splashy," Goldsman said. "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." At this time, it's still not clear just what role La'an will play on Strange New Worlds.
Introduced in Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1, Episode 22, "Space Seed," Khan is one of the sci-fi franchise's most well-known and beloved villains. Originally played by Ricardo Montalbán, Khan is a genetically-engineered human with superhuman abilities and a penchant for tyranny. He later returned as the villain of 1982's Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Later, the second film in J.J. Abrams reboot series, Star Trek Into Darkness, introduced Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds follows the crew of the Enterprise, specifically the version from The Original Series' original pilot. This team consists of Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), Una Chin-Riley/Number One (Rebecca Romijn) and Spock (Ethan Peck), all of whom played a key role in Star Trek: Discovery Season 2. The series will bridge the gap between Discovery Season 2 and The Original Series.
Created by Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek premiered in 1966 and followed the crew of the USS Enterprise on their five-year mission in space. While the original Star Trek ended after just three seasons, the franchise has never stayed out of popular consciousness for very long, having spawned a number of movies, video games and new shows over the years.
In 2015, the rights holders of Star Trek began working on new TV projects, which culminated in the release of Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 in 2017 on the CBS All Access streaming service. CBS All Access eventually became Parmaount+, which has played host to a number of new Star Trek shows.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds premieres May 5 on Paramount+ and will run for ten episodes. The series has already been renewed for Season 2.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter