SNW Kirk Casting

 I’m becoming, to be quite honest, increasingly worried about the state of the collective Trek fandom and how invested a lot of people already are (for or against) in SNW. I hope you see that this is coming from a place of compassion (and truth be told, some bafflement) and a desire to provide some levity to a very high-emotion situation.

I do not mean to upset or offend anyone, but just want to provide y'all that are angry about the casting decision with a few points that may be worth thinking on and remembering:
 

1. Physical appearance can’t be changed/helped most of the time and in comparison to, say, the MCU’s typical expectations of their male actor’s bodies, this is a huge step in the right direction. To my best understanding, casting directors don’t focus too much on the overall physical appearance that can’t be changed (like a jawline) so long as the performance is what they’re looking for. Hair color, eye color, etc can be modified a bit here and there, along with overall body shape, but they’re more concerned with how well the acting is.
2. Judging an actor’s ability to perform in a specific role based on their previous body of work only gets you so far and doesn’t preclude their ability to pull it off. The cliché and mostly useless “don’t judge a book by its cover” comes to mind. But also remember that most acting decisions these days are made by the director (or the editor choosing one take over another after filming has finished) and not by the actors in front of the camera. This was not the case in the past when actors had more control over their characters in general. (Granted, directing styles exist on a spectrum, but I’m speaking about the general trends here.)
3. Being a fan especially beholden by TOS “canon” events and timelines is a dangerous road to travel. The literal hundreds of people making decisions about SNW largely do not care about what is canon and what is not and also likely don’t care if the show they’re making is considered apart of that canon or not. Paramount will be making some official statement (if they haven’t already) stating if SNW fits into the general Trek canon, which it is likely to, in my opinion (because it doesn’t make much logical sense if it doesn’t just from a franchise point of view). If only to drum up more controversy and interest (see point 5). The people who are making the decisions in a production are going to shoot for the middle of the road most of the time, to bring in as many viewers as they can. Because this is a business venture, not a passion project. They’re looking to make money and bring in new fans to the franchise (even if it’s not for this new show) while minimizing the number of people who refuse to watch anything about it.
4. They’re not making a rebranded TOS show. They have the freedom of technology to take things farther than TOS even believed could be possible in their wildest dreams back in the 1960s. So the stories are going to be different and the characters are going to be made to match, but with familiar names. But they will not be the same characters.
5. The promo picture for season 2 announcing this casting decision was chosen with extreme fucking care with every detail revealed within it purposefully present and (far fetched conspiracy theory incoming!) was meant to insight controversy amongst fans to drum up viewers. Because even hate watching contributes to the numbers and thus their bottom line. So if you really want to piss Paramount off and make them sweat a little, stop talking about it. (This will also keep those who are excited about this casting decision and the show more generally from wading through this negativity.)

Just remember at the end of the day, whatever you want to consider canon and however you want to interact with the world at large (and fandom more specifically) is within your control. Block tags and people and log off of sites if you’re getting upset. Visit new internet spaces that are apart from Trek if you need a break, or reread your favorite fanfiction or stare at your favorite fanart for a while to regain some balance.

Take care of yourselves and remember: no one can take away TOS and everything it means to you. It’s in the past, and it’s not going anywhere. And also remember that no matter how much you yell and scream that you’re not happy about something with SNW? You’re yelling into the void. They don’t care. And that should be freeing! Let them make whatever they’re going to make and refocus your energy into something more productive and positive.
 

Take care of yourselves out there.