Paul Wesley has been cast in the iconic role of James T. Kirk in the upcoming second season of the Paramount+ series “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” due to premiere on Paramount Plus on May 5.  “Strange New Worlds” also stars Anson Mount as Capt. Pike, Ethan Peck as Spock, and Rebecca Romijn as Una Chin-Riley, and takes place prior to the events of the original “Star Trek” series.

The show follows the adventures of Captain Christopher Pike, before Kirk became captain of the Starship Enterprise. Wesley will appear as a young version of Kirk, and is now the third actor to play the character. William Shatner played Kirk in the original “Star Trek” series as well as in multiple films, and Chris Pine has played Kirk in three “Star Trek” films to date, with a fourth on the way.

Wesley is best known for playing Stefan Salvatore for eight seasons in The CW drama series “The Vampire Diaries.” 

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