If you’re a Star Trek fan who’s ever thought about the franchise’s greatest villains, chances are that Khan Noonien Singh is one of the characters who comes to mind, if not being first right out the gate. Memorably played by Ricardo Montalbán in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode “Space Seed” and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and then by Benedict Cumberbatch in Star Trek Into Darkness, this baddie exceptionally antagonized the crew of the James T. Kirk-captained USS Enterprise in multiple timelines. Now Khan is set to have the spotlight pointed on him yet again, in a manner of speaking, and this story will have some cool sci-fi actors attached to it.
Two months after The Wrath of Khan was added to the National Film Registry, the first Star Trek movie to earn that honor, it’s been announced that Lost’s Naveen Andrews and For All Mankind’s Wrenn Schmidt will star in CBS Studios’ scripted audio series Star Trek: Khan. Andrews will voice the title antagonist and Schmidt will voice Marla McGivers, the Enterprise’s historian who grew enamored with Khan in “Space Seed” and joined him in exile on Ceti Alpha V. More castings for the series will be announced at a later date.
In addition to his time playing Sayid Jarrah on Lost, Andrews also has genre experience from playing Jafar in Once Upon a Time in Wonderland and Jonas Maliki in Sense8. Those who have an Apple TV+ subscription can currently see Schmidt playing Margo Madison in For All Mankind, and her other notable credits include Boardwalk Empire, Person of Interest and The Americans. I’m looking forward to seeing how these actors do as Khan and McGivers, though hopefully this doesn’t prevent them from also appearing in any of the upcoming Star Trek TV shows should the opportunity arise.
Set in the main Star Trek timeline, Star Trek: Khan will delve into the events that unfolded on Ceti Alpha V, the world where Kirk left Khan, McGivers and Khan’s followers stranded following their failed attempt to take the Enterprise. Unfortunately, the planet became an apocalyptic wasteland after the neighboring planet Ceti Alpha VI exploded, and McGivers died long before the surviving superhumans from the Eugenics Wars (which now take place in the 21st century thanks to Strange New Worlds) finally escaped their exile. Thus, we’ll learn more in this audio series about Khan’s quest for revenge in the 1982 Star Trek movie. Here’s what the official Star Trek: Khan plot synopsis says:
History remembers Khan Noonien Singh as a villain, the product of a failed attempt to perfect humanity through genetic engineering whose quest to avenge himself on Admiral James T. Kirk led to unimaginable tragedy and loss. But the truth has been buried for too long beneath the sands of Ceti Alpha V. How did Khan go from a beneficent tyrant and superhuman visionary with a new world at his fingertips to the monster we think we know so well? Recently unearthed, the rest of Khan’s story will finally be told in STAR TREK: KHAN.
Star Trek: Khan will be released on all major podcast platforms sometime later this year. Meanwhile, break out your Paramount+ subscription if you’d like to watch of the Star Trek movies and TV shows, including the recently-released Section 31.
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