‘Star Trek: Captain Pike’: Walter Koenig Joins Original Series Prequel
Original Star Trek actor Walter Koenig has joined the production of Star Trek: Captain Pike, an independent film currently seeking funding through Kickstarter which is set to explore the voyages of the Starship Enterprise before Jim Kirk took the captain’s chair.
Koenig announced his involvement with the project on Twitter, stating that he will serve as a co-writer and co-producer for Captain Pike. He joins a cast filled with other Star Trek alumni, as Space.com reports, including Robert Picardo, who played The Doctor on Star Trek: Voyager, Bruce Davison (Star Trek: Voyager and Enterprise), Dwight Schultz (better known to fans as Reginald Barclay), Linda Park (Hoshi Sato), and Chase Masterson (Leeta from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine). The titular role of Captain Christopher Pike will be filled by Todd Shawn Tei, who is also producing the show, and Ray Wise will appear as Pike’s father, according to the Tech Times.
I’ve joined the team as a co-writer and co-producer of Star Trek :Captain Pike. Please come aboard at kick starter. We need your help.
— Walter Koenig (@GineokwKoenig) May 22, 2015
The film will focus on a period when the Enterprise was commanded by Christopher Pike, previously depicted in the original, failed pilot for Star Trek. That episode, The Cage, was set in 2254, as the Enterprise departed Rigel VII, after some of its crew had fallen in combat with the local inhabitants. According to the project’s Kickstarter page, Captain Pike is set to answer some compelling questions about the Enterprise’s first commander.
1. What happened on Pike’s first mission with his female first officer, and his science officer, Mr. Spock?
2. Did Pike ever go into battle?
3. Which alien race did he encounter before any other Starfleet Captains? We know Captain Pike’s father is Admiral Josh Pike, but we never learned about the Admiral and which starship he commanded.
@MarinaSirtisFan @Marina_Sirtis @Kat_Sky Support @CaptainPike65 http://t.co/XBG0KNCNAl #helpbringtrektotv #retweet pic.twitter.com/wPfybzOaUy
— Forging Ahead (@ForgingAhead65) May 13, 2015
The group responsible for the project, Rigel 7 Productions, hopes to fund a 45-minute-long feature, Star Trek: Captain Pike, as well as a 90-minute-movie to be called Star Trek: Encounter At Rigel. Their work follows in the footsteps of other highly successful independent Star Trek films, including Axanar, which surpassed its funding goal last year, as the Inquisitr previously reported.
So far, Rigel 7 Productions have raised only $26,000 of their $112,000 goal, however, leaving the future of the film hanging in the balance. Star Trek fans can still help fund the project until June 3, however, if they wish to see Captain Pike brought to the screen.
[Photo: Rigel 7 Productions via Twitter]
