All The Original Characters Returning In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Even more casual "Star Trek" fans may recognize the surnames "Noonien-Singh," originally used by the dreaded Khan from "Star Trek: The Original Series" and "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." First played by Ricardo Montalban, Khan's actions were responsible for the temporary death of Spock in the "The Wrath of Khan." Another version of Khan, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, killed both Christopher Pike and James Kirk in "Star Trek: Into Darkness," although Kirk, like Spock in the main "Star Trek" timeline, was also later revived.

The fact that La'an, a character new to "Star Trek" played by Christina Chong, shares part of Khan's name highly suggests a connection to the gene-modified villain, though what that could be remains a mystery. A descendant seems like the best guess, but "Star Trek" does like to throw curve balls at viewers now and again.