J.J. Abrams‘ Star Trek movies take place at the same time as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, but do some of the show’s characters exist in the alternate Kelvin Timeline? Abrams’ Star Trek trilogy tells how a parallel reality version of James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) became Captain and assembled the crew of the USS Enterprise. Strange New Worlds and Abrams’ Star Trek movies share several legacy characters, including Kirk, Mr. Spock, Uhura, and even Captain Christopher Pike, and Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness take place in 2258/2259 while Strange New Worlds season 1 begins in 2259.
The cast of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek are the younger versions of the USS Enterprise crew in Star Trek: The Original Series, as are many of the characters in Strange New Worlds. But the TV series invented many new characters as well, and it’s possible or even likely that they also exist in the Star Trek movies’ alternate reality. Of course, Strange New Worlds went into production over a decade after J.J. Abrams cast his first Star Trek movie released in 2009, but many of Strange New Worlds characters also have ties to the Enterprise crew in Abrams’ Star Trek. Presuming the characters of Strange New Worlds also exist in the Star Trek movies’ Kelvin timeline, here is where they could be.
11 Number One
There is no mention of Commander Una Chin-Riley AKA Number One (Rebecca Romijn) in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek movies. Una, a genetically engineered Illyrian, was apparently never the First Officer of the USS Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood). In fact, the Enterprise was under construction in Iowa in 2255, and the starship launched 3 years later in 2258 with Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto) as Pike’s First Officer. If Number One does exist in the Kelvin Timeline, she has no known ties to the Enterprise, and perhaps she is in command of a different starship altogether.
10 Nurse Christine Chapel
Nurse Christine Chapel definitely exists in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, although she wasn’t definitively seen on screen. In Star Trek 2009, Dr. Leonard McCoy (Karl Urban) called for Nurse Chapel to administer 50ccs of cortisone to cure James Kirk’s allergic reaction to a Melvaran mud flea vaccine. In Star Trek Into Darkness, Chapel was also name-dropped by Carol Marcus (Alice Eve) to Captain Kirk, who apparently didn’t remember having a relationship with Christine. The Kelvin Timeline’s Chapel took a very different path from Strange New Worlds‘ Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush), who had a relationship with Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck).
9 Dr. Joseph M’Benga
There is no indication Dr. Joseph M’Benga served on the USS Enterprise in J.J. Abrams Star Trek, unlike in Strange New Worlds where Dr. M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) is Chief Medical Officer under Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount). M’Benga’s past in Strange New Worlds as an operative in the Klingon War didn’t happen in the Kelvin Timeline, which had no Klingon War in 2256-2257. In Star Trek: The Original Series, Dr. M’Benga (Booker Bradshaw) was an expert on Vulcans, and it’s also not clear if this is so in Abrams’ universe since Vulcan was destroyed by the Romulan time traveler Nero (Eric Bana) in Star Trek 2009.
8 Lt. Sam Kirk
George Samuel Kirk’s status in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek movies is unclear and tricky. As the older brother of James T. Kirk, Sam must exist in the Kelvin Timeline because he was born before the destruction of the USS Kelvin in 2233, which created the alternate reality. However, Star Trek 2009 makes it seem like Jim Kirk is the only son of the late Lt. George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth) and Winona Kirk (Jennifer Morrison). Sam Kirk’s whereabouts in the Kelvin Timeline is an open question, but unlike Lt. Sam Kirk in Strange New Worlds (Dan Jeannotte), he likely never served on the USS Enterprise as long as his little brother Jim is Captain.
7 Lt. La’an Noonien-Singh
Lt. La’an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) was wholly invented by Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, but he has complex ties to Khan Noonien Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch) in Star Trek Into Darkness. It’s unknown if La’an or her family’s line of Khan’s descendants exist in the Star Trek movies’ Kelvin Timeline. Complicating matters is Khan was born hundreds of years before the Kelvin Timeline was created, but Strange New Worlds has also altered the timeline to move Khan’s birthdate up to the 21st century. Either way, if La’an exists in the Kelvin Timeline, how much of her backstory where she survived a Gorn abduction as a child and was inspired to join Starfleet by her rescuer, Una Chin-Riley, is an open question.
6 Lt. Erica Ortegas
In Strange New Worlds’ Prime Timeline, Lt. Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia) is the best pilot in Starfleet and predates Lt. Hikaru Sulu (George Takei) as helmsman of the USS Enterprise. Ortegas was nowhere to be found when Captain Pike took command of the Enterprise in Star Trek 2009, and Sulu (John Cho) replaced a helmsman named McKenna who was sick with lungworm. If Erica Ortegas exists in the Kelvin reality, she would have a very different life away from the Enterprise, and she would not be a veteran of the Klingon War of 2256-2257, which didn’t happen in J.J. Abrams’ movie universe.
5 T’Pring
J.J. Abrams‘ Star Trek changed Spock’s life drastically, and that includes his Prime Timeline fiancée T’Pring (Arlene Martel). Spock and T’Pring were supposed to be betrothed as children, but that may not have occurred in the Kelvin Timeline. Instead, Spock pursued a romantic relationship with Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana) and T’Pring was never mentioned in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek. Strange New Worlds‘ T’Pring (Gia Sandhu) is coping with her relationship troubles with Lt. Spock, but that would be preferable to the possibility of the Star Trek movies’ T’Pring perishing when Nero destroyed Vulcan.
4 Captain Marie Batel
Captain Marie Batel (Marie Scrofano) was a character invented by Star Trek: Strange New Worlds to be Captain Pike’s significant other, but does this mean she retroactively exists in the Kelvin Timeline? Pike’s life in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek movies was different and cut short. Chris was injured by Nero and bound to a wheelchair at the end of Star Trek 2009. A year later in Star Trek Into Darkness, Pike is killed when Khan attacked Starfleet Headquarters. Whether the Kelvin Timeline’s Pike ever met and had a relationship with a fellow starship Captain named Batel is a question that may never be answered.
3 Admiral Robert April
In Star Trek’s Prime Timeline, Robert April (Adrian Holmes) was Pike’s predecessor as Captain of the Enterprise. It’s unclear if this was also the case in J.J. Abrams’ Kelvin Timeline since the USS Enterprise was built and launched in Star Trek 2009 with Captain Pike in command. There is no mention of Admiral Robert April in Abrams’ Star Trek movies; instead, Starfleet was overseen by the corrupt and war-mongering Admiral Alexander Marcus (Peter Weller) in Star Trek Into Darkness.
2 Lt. Hemmer
The late Lt. Hemmer (Bruce Horak) was Chief Engineer of the USS Enterprise until the end of Strange New Worlds season 1, but this was not the case in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, where Montgomery Scott (Simon Pegg) ran the Enterprise’s engines. Of course, Hemmer was created for Strange New Worlds, but the gruff but wise, blind Aenar could also exist in the alternate Kelvin Timeline. Where Hemmer could be in the Star Trek movie universe is anyone’s guess, but he was never the beloved mentor of Zoe Saldana’s version of Uhura.
1 Commander Pelia
Commander Pelia (Carol Kane) was created to replace Hemmer as Chief Engineer in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, but her backstory adds a wrinkle to J.J. Abrams’ Kelvin Timeline. Pelia is a Lanthanite, an extremely long-lived race, and she had been hiding on Earth for at least 2,000 years before she joined Starfleet prior to Strange New Worlds. This means Pelia predates and canonically exists in the Star Trek movies’ Kelvin Timeline as well as the Prime Timeline in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. But who knows whether Pelia joins Starfleet in the Kelvin Timeline or if she remains a collector (and thief) of art and antiquities in The Archeology Department in Vermont.
