The Star Trek franchise is well known for bringing back franchise veterans, and it seems that may now be the case with one of its actors. A Star Trek: Discovery star seemingly shared that he might be returning to a series soon, only to delete the post from social media quickly. More specifically, it looked like James Frain jumped the gun a bit when hinting that his Sarek could be returning, and the moment is made even more iconic due to the caption shared with the post.
Frain, who played Spock's father and Michael Burnham's adopted father in Discovery, dropped a picture of himself in full Vulcan makeup on Instagram. As previously mentioned, though, the post didn't stay up long. Fortunately, I was able to get a look at it before it was taken down and can share the caption that Frain attached to the selfie of himself as Sarek:
Haven't posted for a minute, been doing a few different things that I'm on set for, which means I can't post any of the photos that I've been taking yet 'cause of secrecy and PR and all that stuff. But one of them involved this guy. Little hint.
The timing comes just as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is set to debut Season 4 on the 2026 TV schedule, though none of the footage released so far has shown Sarek. That said, it's not wild to think he'd make an appearance, given that Spock is on the Enterprise and has had a few adventures involving family throughout his time on the series.
If Sarek doesn't pop up in Season 4, fans should also consider that filming wrapped on Season 5 in late 2025. Based on what James Frain said, maybe he was hinting that he was featured in the final season, and I would love that. What if this means we're finally getting the payoff to the storyline with Angel, which soft-launched Spock's eventual showdown with his half-brother Sybok?
While we know Sybok and Spock cross paths in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, the character was mentioned after the Enterprise crew encountered his romantic partner, Angel. It seemed like the show was setting something up but, as of the end of Season 3, there's been no closure on that front.
There's also other ground to tread with Spock and Sarek, as Star Trek has shown throughout its history. Sarek disapproved of his son joining Starfleet over the Vulcan Science Academy and, while they would later reconcile, they often butted heads due to Sarek's more Vulcan mindset.
The father and son never really had a heartfelt exchange in an episode until The Next Generation episode "Final Days," which is available to stream with a Paramount+ subscription. In the episode, Spock is able to visit his father on his deathbed, and the two have a long overdue discussion about their feelings for one another. It's a heavy episode, especially considering Vulcans suppress their emotions.
As for other ways Sarek could reappear, I suppose it's possible he's featured in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy as a hologram, or there's some secret project from the franchise that's on the way. I don't think the latter is in the cards, but I guess if it is, maybe we'll find out at one of the upcoming Comic Cons in San Diego or New York. In any case, I'm excited about the prospect of James Frain's Sarek returning.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 premieres on Paramount+ on July 23rd. We'll have to wait and see if Sarek pops up but, in the meantime, I'm just happy to have new Trek to watch after a long hiatus in programming.
