Paramount+Since 2017, the relaunch of Star Trek as a streaming TV empire has produced a huge swath of new characters. From Discovery, to Lower Decks, to Prodigy, and even the first two seasons of Star Trek: Picard, a key feature of most new Trek shows has been new characters, regardless of which time period each show takes place within. That said, Discovery started as a TOS prequel, which gave us new versions of Captain Pike (Anson Mount), Mr. Spock (Ethan Peck), and Number One (Rebecca Romijn). And now, with the fourth season of Strange New Worlds coming at us at warp speed, it’s possible that this season might have the highest number of legacy characters in any modern Trek show to date. But, only if Strange New Worlds Season 4 is hiding a few surprises character appereances.Now, one could argue that Picard Season 3 has the highest number of legacy actors simply because it’s basically a Next Generation reunion. And, in terms of actors from previous iterations of Star Trek appearing in a single season of a new Trek series, that’s certainly true. But when we talk about legacy characters, things get a bit more interesting. Strange New Worlds is already packed with legacy Trek heroes The Kirk brothers are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of SNW legacy characters. | Paramount+Just in its core cast alone, at this point, Strange New Worlds has seven legacy characters right off the bat: Pike, Spock, Number One, Scotty, Uhura, Chapel, M’Benga. Yes, Chapel, M’Benga, and Una might feel more like SNW characters at this point, but all three originate in The Original Series; Una/Number in “The Cage” (or “The Menagerie,” depending on how you look at it), Chapel in “The Naked Time,” and M’Benga in “A Private Little War.” Pike and Spock have obviously been there from the beginning, in “The Cage;” while Uhura first appeared in “The Man Trap” (or “The Cormbomite Manuever” if you’re going by production order); and Scotty first appeared in “Where No Man Has Gone Before.”Previous seasons of Strange New Worlds have also had the following legacy characters making appearances: Sam Kirk, Admiral Robert April, T’Pring, Roger Korby, Amanda Grayson, and, of course, James T. Kirk. If we go even deeper, across all three seasons so far, you’ve also got Trelane, Q, Sybok, Commander Hansen, Chief Kyle, Stonn, a member of the Metrons, and Khan, as a child.Season 5 is set to include Sulu, as played by Kai Murakami, and Bones, who will be played by Thomas Jane. Because SNW Season 5 will be a six-episode special event that will link the series to TOS, it’s safe to assume that the upcoming season will have even more legacy cameos than anything we’ve seen in a long time. And yet, Season 4 could be equally jam-packed.Strange New Worlds Season 4 could introduce a few deep-cut charactersGary Mitchell (Gary Lockwood) on the Enterprise in 2265. | CBS/ParamountAlthough it’s very unlikely that we’ll see Chekov in SNW Season 4 or Season 5 — simply because he might be too young — it is possible we’ll start to get hints at other deep-cut folks sooner rather than later. And if SNW S4 introduces just a few of these characters, played by new actors, it could break the record for the most legacy characters in one new season of post-2017 Trek.For example, what if we got an early version of Gary Mitchell this season? We know he’s been Kirk’s bestie for ages; could he be hanging around on the Farragut or somewhere else in Starfleet? Mitchell is famously the helmsman of the Enterprise in “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” which implies he will, at some point, replace Erica Ortegas. SNW S4 could either reveal Mitchell outright in Season 4 or hint at his existence via dialogue with Kirk.Then, there’s the other chief medical officer of the Enterprise before Bones: Dr. Piper. Played by Paul Fix in “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” the character of Dr. Piper was replaced by Dr. McCoy, played famously by DeForest Kelley. But could SNW give us a hint at Piper’s role in the years leading up to Bones coming on board? And how does that work out with M’Benga?SNW could also give us versions of Janice Rand, the famous yeoman from TOS Season 1, as well as Kevin Riley, an underrated supporting TOS character. Riley was ludicrously funny in “The Naked Now” but deadly earnest in "The Conscience of the King.” Riley also has a past with James Kirk, as both witnessed the horrific actions of Kodos on the planet Tarsus IV in 2246. On top of all of this, we could also get some high-ranking Starfleet admirals or other captains. After being mentioned in the Season 3 episode “Terrarium,” it’s possible Season 4 could give us an on-screen version of Matt Decker, captain of the USS Constellation, well before he went nuts in the TOS classic “The Doomsday Machine.” There’s also Commodore Stone, a higher-up in Starfleet who oversaw Kirk’s hearing in “Court Martial.” Finally, SNW has made reference to Carol Marcus, the mother of Kirk’s son David, though we have yet to see her onscreen. Clearly, even if just a few of these characters were to drop into SNW Season 4, the series would quickly feel closer and closer to TOS than ever before. After all, the current tagline for Strange New Worlds Season 4 is “Boldly one step closer to where it all began.” And if that’s true, then it seems reasonable that hardcore fans can expect to recognize some old friends with new faces.Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 hits Paramount+ on July 23.Phasers on Stun!: How the Making — and Remaking — of Star Trek Changed the WorldAmazon -