Paramount has announced that Vampire Diaries star Paul Wesley is set to play James T. Kirk in Season 2 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. 

The show’s first season has yet to premiere, but Wesley’s casting is cause for excitement. He will be the first to portray the iconic U.S.S. Enterprise captain on television since William Shatner originated the role back in the 1960s, and only  the third actor ever to play James Kirk – the other being Chris Pine, who took up the mantle in the 2009 rebooted film franchise.

“Paul is an accomplished actor, an astonishing presence and a welcome key addition to the show,” executive producers Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers stated jointly. “Like all of us, he is a life-long Star Trek fan and we are excited by his interpretation of this iconic role.”

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will follow Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), Science Officer Spock (Ethan Peck) and Number One (Rebecca Romijn) on their adventures though the stars, and will work as both a spin-off of Discovery and a prequel to the original Star Trek series.

It’s therefore expected that Paul Wesley’s Kirk will follow a similar storyline to that played out in J.J. Abrams’ 2009 film: namely, that we see Kirk work his way up the ranks of Starfleet to eventually become Captain of the Enterprise.

Strange New Worlds was renewed for a second season in January 2022, with that season already in production in Toronto.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds premieres on May 5th. Season 2 has yet to announce a release date.