Videos by ComicBook.com
With Star Trek: Strange New Worlds reintroducing much of the classic Enterprise crew and serving as a sort of bridge into the Original Series era of Captain Kirk, some hoped this series might be when we would finally see the Khan-Chekov problem solved for good. After all, the show could offer some sort of explanation for the pair’s connection. Perhaps they met on some sidelined adventure? But now, the show’s producers have confirmed that Chekov will not appear on Pike’s Enterprise at all — closing the door on what may have been Trek’s final chance to fix the plot hole once and for all.
Strange New Worlds Skips Chekov for Continuity
Showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers reasoning is simple. Canon places Chekov’s birth in 2245, which means he would still be a teenager during the events of Strange New Worlds, too young even to be at the academy. That’s far too young to realistically serve aboard Pike’s Enterprise, particularly in a bridge role alongside seasoned officers like Spock, Uhura, and Number One, though it might be a nice dynamic to see how characters like Ortegas and Uhura respond to the ‘baby’ of the group.
From a continuity perspective, the decision makes sense. SNW has thrived by balancing its fan-service cameos with (mostly) sticking to canon, and shoe-horning Chekov into Pike’s era may have been a stretch too far. However, this also means the series has passed on perhaps the best opportunity to smooth over Khan’s curious memory lapse.
The assertion from Khan in Star Trek II, that he recognises Chekov, has led to countless fan theories over the years: Was Chekov already aboard, maybe serving on the lower decks but simply not seen on screen? Did he cross paths with Khan off the Enterprise? Or, more likely, was it simply a slip in continuity that the writers never corrected?
By introducing Chekov in Strange New Worlds — even in a background role as a cadet or junior officer — the series could have easily justified Khan’s recognition. A young Chekov quietly serving somewhere on the ship, unseen in earlier episodes, would have fit perfectly. After all, the J.J. Abrams Kelvin Timeline films flat-out ignored canon when it came to Chekov, asserting that he was a ‘Russian whiz kid’ serving on the Enterprise bridge at just 17 years old.
The show has already used retcons or small alterations to the canon to smooth over ‘gaps’ in the story, like showing us Kirk and Spock’s early friendship. It has also essentially rewritten canon for other characters, for example, bringing in Uhura, who didn’t appear in Pike’s TOS pilot episode “The Cage” and seemingly wasn’t serving aboard the Enterprise during Pike’s era either. One could argue that if Uhura can be retconned in, why not Chekov? But alas, the chance is gone.
