With the advent of “Star Trek: Discovery” drawing nigh, rumors abound of another Trek project being developed by Nicholas Meyer, the director of “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.” The project will, so the story goes, involve one of the more iconic villains of the Star Trek universe, Khan Noonien Singh.
Who was Khan Noonien Singh?
Khan first showed up in a classic Trek episode “Space Seed.” The Enterprise comes upon a spacecraft that had been launched in the 1990s (then in the future) containing the cryogenically preserved bodies of a number of people who turned out to be genetically enhanced humans who had seized power in the 1990s in a number of countries in the Eastern Hemisphere.
Khan, their leader, was placed with great flair by the late Ricardo Montalban. Kirk and company thwarted the attempt by Khan and company to seize the Enterprise and, instead of imprisoning or killing them, marooned them on a planet called Ceti Alpha 5. Khan reappeared in the before mentioned. “Wrath of Khan,” again played by Montalban, and in “Star Trek Into Darkness,” played by Benedict Cumberbatch.
What will the series be about?
According to the rumor, the limited series will be about how Khan and his enhanced humans struggled to survive on Ceti Alpha 5, between “Space Seed” and “Wrath of Khan.” The battle became especially challenging when the explosion of a nearby planet turned Ceti Alpha 5 into a hell world.
By the time the USS Reliant discovered the castaways 15 years later, Khan was in the mood for vengeance.
What should the show really be about?
As interesting as a story about superhuman mutants trying to survive on a desolate planet, and even more fascinating scenario would be the story of Khan’s rise and fall from power in the alternate 1990s. The Trek universe is different from our own in a number of respects, including a faster advance in technology, but especially due to the Eugenics Wars that ravaged the end of the 20th Century in the timeline containing Kirk and company.
“Khan: Rise to Power” could meld Star Trek with real world history. Which historical figures participated in the great war to take down the mutants?
One suspects that, as had been the case during the previous two world wars, the United States led the coalition that finally ended the tyranny of the mutants. Alternate versions of well know politicians, generals, and other celebrities could have walk-on roles. And, besides, the cool battle scenes that an alternate history war picture would involve would be worth watching such a series.