There are two stories today that MIGHT be April Fool’s pranks. This isn’t us trying to fool you either, we genuinely don’t know whether these are legit or not but we’re certain enough, in both cases, to report on them if they are. Just, with a healthy dose of skepticism. And a lot of salt.

We’ll get to the second one in a bit but first up, TV Line confirmed yesterday that Harcourt Fenton Mudd is coming to Star Trek: Discovery. Harry, to his friends, appeared in two episodes of the original TV show ‘Mudd’s Women’ and ‘I, Mudd’ and an episode of the animated show, ‘Mudd’s Passion’. He’s also referenced briefly in Star Trek Into Darkness, proving he exists in the Kelvinverse too. An endlessly charming, amoral and slightly rubbish con man, Harry caused lots of trouble for the Enterprise crew and was the centre of some of the original show’s more light-hearted episodes.

Now he’s coming to Star Trek: Discovery and will be played by Rainn Wilson. Best known for his role as Dwight in the US version of The Office, Wilson is a gifted and versatile actor whose work on Backstrom and Super shows just how far he’s prepared to commit to a character.
Which is good because, honestly, this is the first piece of Star Trek: Discovery news to worry us a little. Harry is very, very dated and we’re not sure he could be revamped successfully. Likewise, while Wilson is excellent, the worry that he’ll be asked to basically play Space Dwight, or go very very broad with the performance is a real one. Nonetheless, the rest of Star Trek: Discovery’s casting has been spot on so far and we’re really excited for the show so we’ll be giving Harry a chance.
Star Trek: Discovery is filming now and will be coming to Netflix in Autumn 2017.