Amidst a 2025 TV schedule that lacked Star Trek shows in the final months of the year, the Khan audio drama provided a fix for those craving new content. The story recalled the events of what happened to the infamous villain between his appearance in the TOS episode "Space Seed" and his return in The Wrath of Khan, and produced an exciting reveal.
As exciting as the adventure was, there was a question of whether or not any of what was revealed was canon. Now, thanks to TrekMovie.com, we have some answers, and I'm pretty excited about what this means for future shows I'll be watching with my Paramount+ subscription.
Kristin Beyer Clarified Where Star Trek: Khan Stands In Canon
It wasn't that long ago that Star Trek: Khan co-writer Kristin Beyer revealed she wasn't sure on where the audio production stood when it came to being a canon story in the universe. Fortunately, she's had some conversations as of late and delivered the latest info that points more toward it being canon than not:
Okay, here’s what I can tell you. Because I have had a few conversations. There is nobody who comes along and like waves a scepter and dubs a thing ‘canon.’ What I can tell you is that for the people currently working on Star Trek, [Star Trek: Khan] will be treated as canon, meaning it will not be overwritten, contradicted. And it will be—when possible—incorporated into future storytelling.
For now, I'll ignore the headache of trying to figure out how Star Trek: Strange New Worlds changed the timeline of when Khan came into power, and just skip to being happy. I appreciate the fact that this great story is relevant to the greater lore, but perhaps most important, that fans have an exciting new character who could feasibly continue to appear in the Star Trek universe.
When Will We Hear From Dr. Rosalind Lear Again?
The most substantial reveal of Star Trek: Khan was that the titular character had a daughter with Marla McGivers named Kali. At the end of the story, fans learned that Kali escaped the planet without her father and lived under the name of Rosalind Lear. Decades later, she petitioned Starfleet to allow her transport to Ceti Alpha V, so that she could secretly discover the story behind her father's time on the planet.
At the end of Star Trek: Khan, the only person who knew of Lear's true identity as the daughter of Khan was Tuvok. The then-Ensign vowed to keep Lear's true origin secret, meaning she could continue the life she had built for herself.
Given that, I would love to know what Dr. Rosalind Lear did after reading those logs. Is it possible she could make an appearance or get a mention in the final season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds? It may be too late depending on where production currently stands, but maybe a future season of Starfleet Academy could make mention of her work during a class lesson or something? Maybe Tuvok let something slip to the EMH when they served on the Voyager together? Regardless, I'm excited with what can potentially be done with the canon.
Star Trek: Khan is available to listen to in full on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube. For those who still haven't checked it out already, I highly recommend doing so, as it's a great drama that's worth a listen.
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