Paramount+ series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has announced casting for iconic characters Leonard 'Bones' McCoy and Hikaru Sulu, to appear in the fifth and final season's finale. Thomas Jane will portray McCoy, while Kai Murakami makes his TV debut as Sulu. The season, which has wrapped production, leads up to the original Star Trek series events.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, the Paramount+ prequel set before Captain Kirk's command of the Enterprise, has cast Thomas Jane as ship doctor Leonard 'Bones' McCoy and newcomer Kai Murakami as helmsman Hikaru Sulu. The characters will debut in the final episode of the show's fifth and final season, which recently wrapped production ahead of season 4's 2026 release.
Bones and Sulu were key Enterprise crew members in the original Star Trek TV series, played by DeForest Kelley and George Takei, respectively. They reprised the roles in several Star Trek big-screen movies. In J.J. Abrams' rebooted Star Trek movie franchise starting in 2009, Karl Urban portrayed Bones and John Cho played Sulu.
The series stars Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike, with Ethan Peck as Spock, Rebecca Romijn as Number One, and Celia Rose Gooding as Uhura. Martin Quinn joined in season 2 as engineer Scotty, and Paul Wesley guest-stars as Kirk. Season 3 concluded on Paramount+ in September 2025.
Jane, a veteran actor, is best known for his role as Ray in HBO's Hung (2009-2011), earning three Golden Globe nominations. His credits include The Expanse, Arrested Development, and films such as Deep Blue Sea, The Punisher, Boogie Nights, and The Mist. He also played Mickey Mantle in the 2001 HBO movie 61*.
Murakami's television debut comes after stage work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and motion-capture for video games like Assassin's Creed Shadows and Rise of the Ronin. He is represented by Identity Agency Group in London.
Showrunners previously indicated season 5 would bridge to the original series. Executive producer Akiva Goldsman stated, 'We'll try to get right up to Kirk's first day of command' of the Enterprise. Fellow EP Henry Alonso Myers added about more Kirk appearances, 'Yes, absolutely. No maybes about it.'
The series premiered in 2022, with season 2 in 2023 and season 3 in 2025. Paramount+ renewed it for the fifth and final season in June 2025.