2017 is turning out to be a pretty good year to be a Star Trek fan. In addition to Discovery, the first new Star Trek TV series to debut in 16 years, and The Orville, Seth MacFarlane’s Star Trek-inspired comedy/drama, there may be a third new Star Trek series on the way — one that deals specifically with a very iconic character.
A new series focused on the one and only Khan Noonien Singh is reportedly being developed by Nicholas Meyer, who you may remember as the director of perhaps the two best Star Trek movies: Wrath of Khan and The Undiscovered Country. Meyer had previously revealed he was working on a secret Star Trek project, and he also had been writing on Discovery, but now Geek Exchange claims he’s moved on from the Discovery gig to focus on his no longer secret project: the new Khan-centric series.
The mini-series event would chronicle an unknown period in Khan’s story, taking place in the time between when the character was first left on Ceti Alpha V by the Enterprise crew in the Original Series episode “Space Seed” and when they run into him again in Wrath of Khan. The series would examine his efforts to survive in exile on Ceti Alpha V as he eventually rises back to power.
The report is unconfirmed, but if it’s true, it could be a good rehabilitation for the character. Considered by many fans to be Star Trek’s greatest villain for decades, Khan’s reputation took a hit in Star Trek Into Darkness, as the film’s much-maligned twist that Benedict Cumberbatch was Khan all along did not sit well with fans, critics, or anyone, really. Casting a new Khan for the series will be difficult, as original actor Ricardo Montalban’s (who died in 2009) performance is so iconic that anyone attempting to fill his shoes will likely face lots of fan resistance — just ask Cumberbatch.
Still, with Meyer at the helm, we’re confident that this new series — if it happens — could be a very interesting and unexpected entry in the Star Trek canon.
