Star Trek (2009) placed Lieutenant Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana) and Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) on an altered career trajectory where they almost end up switching starships. Abrams' 2009 reboot successfully recast the iconic characters from Star Trek: The Original Series with younger actors. Set in the alternate Kelvin timeline, Star Trek The characters in (2009) lived different lives than those in Star TrekMain timelineincluding how they all met and became crew members on the USS Enterprise.
Star Trek The Kelvin timeline (2009) was created by Nero (Eric Bana), a Romulan time traveler seeking revenge against Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and the United Federation of Planets. Nero implemented his plan to annihilate the Federation in 2258, destroying a Klingon moon and an armada with his massive 24th century starship, the Narada. While a cadet at Starfleet Academy, Uhura decoded a Klingon distress call. During James T. Kirk's hearing for cheating in the Kobayashi Maru no-win scenario, Starfleet was mobilized to defend Vulcan from Nero's attack.
Kirk and Uhura almost switched starships in JJ Abrams' Star Trek 2009
Spock almost sent Uhura to the USS Farragut
Starfleet Academy placed its cadets on active duty to intercept Nero and protect Vulcan and assigned the trainees to various starships. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Karl Urban) was helping James T. Kirk stowaway aboard the Federation's newly built flagship, the USS Enterprise. Nyota Uhura was furious when she discovered that Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto) had assigned her to the USS Farragut. . As Uhura and Spock were in a romantic relationship, the Vulcan agreed with Nyota when she demanded to be assigned to the Enterprise.
In Star TrekIn the Prime timeline, it is James T. Kirk who serves on the USS Farragut before becoming captain of the Enterprise. Kirk was a lieutenant on the Farragut and rose to become first officer. In Star Trek (2009), neither Kirk nor Uhura serve aboard the Farragut. Ironically, Uhura's insistence on being assigned to the USS Enterprise saved her life. The Farragut and the rest of the Starfleet armada were destroyed by Nero. The Enterprise was only spared because it arrived late, but that luck kept Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) and his crew alive.
Strange New Worlds Explains Kirk and Uhura's Star Trek Prime Universe Starfleet Careers
We finally see Kirk as Kirk and Uhura join the company
Star Trek: The Original Series never described how the crew of the starship Enterprise came together, and J. J. Abrams' Star Trek (2009) served as a substitute origin for the Enterprise crew in the Prime and Kelvin realities. However, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is a prequel set in Star TrekMain timeline and reveals how the future crew led by Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) gradually came together. It turns out that Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) was a Starfleet cadet when she was assigned to the Enterprise under the command of Captain Pike (Anson Mount).
Meanwhile, Lieutenant James T. Kirk was serving on the USS Farragut and became first officer on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2. Kirk meets Uhura when he boards the Enterprise to learn from Lieutenant Commander Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn), Captain Pike's First Officer. After helping Uhura and becoming her friend, Nyota introduced Kirk to Lieutenant Spock (Ethan Peck). Star Trek: Strange New Worlds'the story between Kirk and Uhura begins very differently than in Star Trek (2009), but they teamed up aboard the Starship Enterprise in both timelines.