Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is officially completing its Kurtzman-era recast of the original series cast with the addition of Sulu and Bones in the show’s final season.
According to Deadline, the Paramount+ series has cast Bones and Sulu for its fifth and final season. Thomas Jane will portray Leonard “Bones” McCoy, while Kai Murakami has been cast as Hikaru Sulu. Both characters are set to appear in the final episode of Season 5, which will also bring the series to a close.
The move effectively rounds out the show’s gradual recasting of Star Trek: The Original Series crew (save for Chekov who canonically joins Star Fleet later)—notably at a time in which the show’s creative team is actively campaigning for an Original Series reboot.
A Late Arrival for Two Iconic Characters
Neither Bones nor Sulu has appeared previously in Strange New Worlds. The series is set years before the events of The Original Series, but fan speculation has persisted that the show would eventually introduce the remaining Enterprise crew as it moved closer to the original timeline.
That speculation has now proven accurate—if limited.
DeForest Kelly and George Takei as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy and Sulu in Star Trek The Original Series – Paramount+
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Rather than integrating the characters across multiple episodes or seasons, Strange New Worlds is holding their introductions until its final hour. It’s a decision that signals closure more than expansion, offering a nod to what comes next without fully stepping into it.
Casting Choices That Invite Curiosity—and Caution
Thomas Jane’s casting as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy places an experienced genre actor in one of Star Trek’s most beloved roles, originally portrayed by DeForest Kelley. Jane’s résumé includes The Expanse, The Punisher, and The Thin Red Line, making him a familiar presence for science-fiction audiences.
DeForest Kelly as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy in Star Trek – Paramount+
Kai Murakami’s casting as Sulu marks a very different kind of milestone. Strange New Worlds will be his television acting debut, following acclaimed stage work with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He steps into a role famously originated by George Takei.
In another era of Star Trek, these castings might have been treated as the foundation for future storytelling. In the current one, they function more as a punctuation that evokes fear of continuation from a fractured fandom.
Modern Star Trek’s Uneven Track Record
While Strange New Worlds was initially positioned as a tonal correction—returning to episodic storytelling and familiar archetypes—modern Star Trek under executive producer Alex Kurtzman has struggled with consistency across projects.
A screenshot from the trailer to Star Trek Starfleet Academy – YouTube, Paramount Pictures
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Some seasons and episodes have resonated with fans; others have drawn criticism for tonal whiplash, uneven characterization, and an emphasis on contemporary messaging that many viewers feel overwhelms narrative clarity. As a result, legacy casting announcements no longer arrive with automatic goodwill.
That context matters here.
Captain Pike on Star Trek Strange New Worlds – Paramount Plus
The inclusion of Bones and Sulu feels less like a triumphant culmination and more like a careful, controlled gesture—acknowledging franchise history without committing to a broader reinterpretation.
Or it could signal something more…
Previous Talk of Continuing Into a New Original Series Reboot
The timing of Bones and Sulu’s introduction also carries added significance in light of past comments from Strange New Worlds leadership about where the Star Trek franchise could go next.
As previously reported by That Park Place, the show’s co-showrunners have openly discussed the idea of following Strange New Worlds with a new series set aboard Captain Kirk’s Enterprise, effectively functioning as a “Year One” reimagining of Star Trek: The Original Series.
James T. Kirk on Star Trek Strange New Worlds – Paramount Plus
In those remarks, the creative team framed Strange New Worlds as a bridge—one meant to gradually assemble the familiar Enterprise crew before transitioning into a new show that would revisit the Kirk era using what they described as the “storytelling values we have today.”
While no such follow-up series has been officially announced, the comments fueled long-standing speculation that the current show was designed as a deliberate on-ramp to a full Original Series reboot.
William Shatner as James T. Kirk in Star Trek Generations (1996), Paramount Pictures
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Viewed through that lens, the decision to limit Bones and Sulu to a single final-episode appearance is notable. Rather than clearly positioning them as the foundation for a direct continuation, their inclusion now reads as more ambiguous—acknowledging the possibility of a Kirk-era future while stopping short of committing the franchise to another wholesale reinterpretation of The Original Series.
Direction Still Unclear
For longtime fans, Bones and Sulu are not simply familiar names—they are foundational pillars of Star Trek. Their arrival at the very end of Strange New Worlds carries symbolic weight, but it also lands amid lingering uncertainty about where the franchise ultimately intends to go.
Given past statements from the show’s creative leadership about potentially continuing into a Kirk-era “Year One” series, these final castings invite interpretation as much as reflection. They can be read as a respectful closing gesture—or as a cautious hedge, acknowledging the remaining Enterprise crew without fully committing to another wholesale reinterpretation of The Original Series.
Alex Kurtzman speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for “Star Trek: Discovery”, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
After years of uneven results across the modern Star Trek slate, audiences have learned not to treat legacy nods as promises. Whether Bones and Sulu’s inclusion feels earned, obligatory, or merely transitional will depend entirely on execution—and on whether the franchise chooses restraint over reinvention once Strange New Worlds concludes.
James T. Kirk on Star Trek Strange New Worlds – Paramount Plus
For now, Star Trek Strange New Worlds casting Bones and Sulu stands less as a confident handoff and more as an unresolved pause: a reminder of what the franchise was, a signal of what it might attempt again, and an acknowledgment that trust, once strained, is not easily restored.
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THE two worst original cast members will somehow become worse.