This summer Anson Mount returned to our screens as Captain Christopher Pike in the latest Star Trek spinoff series, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Mount first took up the role in the second season of Star Trek: Discovery, and by popular demand, Strange New Worlds was ordered with Mount, alongside Ethan Peck as Spock and Rebecca Romijn as Number One. Recently, Collider's own Christina Radish got the chance to catch up with Mount ahead of his upcoming role in Joseph Sorrentino's MK Ultra, which is based on a true story. Naturally, Radish took the opportunity to check in with the actor about the upcoming second season which was filmed back to back with the first.
While Mount couldn't give away any spoilers for the hotly anticipated Season 2, Radish asked the actor how the sophomore season compares to Strange New Worlds' first outing. "It's like Christopher Guest in Spinal Tap, discovering that these knobs all go up to 11. Akiva [Goldsman] and Henry [Alonso Myers], our two showrunners, are so courageous," Mount said, sharing praise for those at the helm of Strange New Worlds. The series genuinely leans into the Star Trek premise of "boldly go"-ing, and Mount explained that that sense of pushing the envelope is very present in the show's second season.
Mount continued:
"I really am not a conservative storyteller, at all. I am all for saying, “F—k tradition, let's do it our own way.” But I've even found myself going, “Really? Can we really do this?” Their mantra is that Star Trek can be a lot of things. Star Trek isn't Star Trek because there's no such thing. Star Trek can be a lot of things because Star Trek, as the best TV does, operates as a metaphorical platform, and when you jump into that wholly, you can really find a lot more elbow room than you think, including playing with not just story, but genre."
While we don't know much about the overall plot of Season 2, Strange New Worlds Season 1 exemplified a return to episodic storytelling in the Trek universe. This narrative structure allowed the 10-episode first season to tell a variety of stories including fairytales and alternate universes. At San Diego Comic-Con's Star Trek Universe panel, Mount and the cast of the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks announced that there would be a crossover episode for the two shows which will feature a mix of live-action and animation. Mount told Collider, "If you thought we took some big swings in Season 1, and we did in a lot of different ways, we're going for the rafters in Season 2."
In addition to Mount, Peck, and Romijn, Strange New Worlds stars Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Melissa Navia, and Babs Olusanmokun. Season 2 will also feature the return of Paul Wesley as James T. Kirk and Carol Kane will be joining the cast in a recurring role. Season 1 is currently available on Paramount+. Stay tuned at Collider for more news on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 including release date, trailers, and more — and be sure to check out our full interview with Mount.