Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Paul Wesley Reveals His ‘Kirk/Spock Dynamic’ With Ethan Peck, Plus Details About Their Characters In Season 2

Paul Wesley in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
(Image credit: Paramount+)

Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1 finale, “A Quality of Mercy.” Read at your own risk!

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds recently wrapped up Season 1, and boy, what an adventure it was. Paramount+ subscribers saw Captain Pike live out a “What-if?” scenario in which he avoided his training accident and fought a Romulan ship alongside a familiar captain who fans know well: James T. Kirk. Paul Wesley made a surprise debut in the Season 1 finale and even had an encounter with Ethan Peck’s Spock. The exchange may not be quite what fans wanted, but Wesley shared some details with CinemaBlend about how they’ll progress in Season 2. 

Spock and Kirk are an iconic duo in Star Trek, but in Pike’s alternate reality that he experienced, they never had the chance to forge that strong bond. The two share a couple of interactions in the finale, however, and will ultimately build a strong bond in the actual future beyond Strange New Worlds. I asked Paul Wesley whether he talked out those scenes with actor Ethan Peck, and he shared that the two actually have a Spock/Kirk dynamic at the present, plus just a smidgen of information on Season 2:

For my Episode 1 [with Spock], we kind of went with what was on the page. In Season 2, we get to explore more of their dynamic. I can’t get too much into it. What I will say is that Ethan and I are actually genuinely friends now. It’s so funny, and I’m not sure if it’s subconscious, but we actually have this Kirk/Spock dynamic in real life. It’s so funny. We chat, we hang out, we’ll grab dinner, we’ll go get a drink. We text all the time. We have this sort of natural thing that he and I have developed. It makes it so much easier on screen because we can kind of just be ourselves.

It’s amazing to hear that the new Kirk and Spock actors are now friends. It’s also good to hear that we’ll see more of the two characters interacting in Season 2, considering that wasn’t a given with Kirk’s current status in Strange New Worlds. As CinemaBlend learned earlier in the season, Kirk will be an officer on the Farragut in Season 2. The season finale further confirmed that, as Pike evaluated Kirk’s file once he returned from the alternate reality shown to him in the time crystal. 

Paul Wesley did tease more scenes with Spock in Strange New Worlds Season 2, but added something that’s important to note. Wesley alluded to how one moment in the Season 1 finale spoke to what’s in store for Season 2:

You get this glimmer in the finale of Season 1. The first time Kirk appears on the screen, and he says, ‘Impressive, Mr. Spock.’ He immediately recognizes that this guy has a different way of thinking that is very intriguing to him. So, we get glimmers of it, but that’s not what that episode is about. And ultimately, in Season 2, this is still Pike’s show. It’s Pike and Spock and Uhura. It’s pre-Kirk Enterprise. Everything that happens, Kirk is part of that timeline. It’s just not Kirk’s show, that’s just [not] what this is, yet [laughs].

Paul Wesley threw in a joke at the end there that might raise a few eyebrows, though Anson Mount assured to CinemaBlend in so many words that Pike isn’t going anywhere. Strange New Worlds is a pre-Kirk Enterprise show, so perhaps we shouldn’t head into Season 2 immediately wondering what Kirk is up to, but rather how he factors into the story of the current bridge crew. 

Season 2 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds recently completed production, and many in the cast claim it’s even better than Season 1. That’s a pretty high bar to set given the praise by critics and fans alike, so it’ll be interesting to see what new adventures are on the way, and how the crew responds to them.  

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1 is available to stream in its entirety over on Paramount+. The wait is on for the next Star Trek series, and for the litany of shows planned beyond. 

Mick Joest
Content Producer

Mick Joest is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend with his hand in an eclectic mix of television goodness. Star Trek is his main jam, but he also regularly reports on happenings in the world of Star Trek, WWE, Doctor Who, 90 Day Fiancé, Quantum Leap, and Big Brother. He graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Radio and Television. He's great at hosting panels and appearing on podcasts if given the chance as well.