Star Trek: DiscoveryThe final season of celebrated the series and brought an ending that made actors like Doug Jones feel like they had closure with their characters. However, that doesn’t mean everyone felt that way, as actor Wilson Cruz recently revealed to CinemaBlend that he felt Hugh Culber’s story had more potential to develop. With several discovery Members of the cast of Starfleet AcademyCulber could also return, but would the actor show up?
Cruz was kind enough to speak with CinemaBlend to promote the upcoming digital release of Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 is out August 26 and on Blu-ray and DVD August 27. We discussed the entirety of Culber’s story in the series, which fans can rewatch with a Paramount+ subscription, and how Season 5 finally felt like the ship’s doctor had overcome his inner turmoil and was ready to move on. Cruz talked about his feelings on the final story arc and the potential it had:
I was really excited that we’d closed that chapter of who he was going to be now, right? He was firing on all cylinders at that point. So I think we’ll probably see more of him in his consulting work and on these away missions. There were a lot of opportunities for that. So I think by the end of the season, this was a completely three-dimensional character. We’ve seen him in every position imaginable. I could really take him anywhere and I felt like as an actor I could step into any situation and make it work.
Hugh Culber had a new zest for life after his resurrection that he had been lacking, and it sparked a real change in him that could have been explored in another season. Of course Star Trek: Discovery was canceled and I think we missed out on what this new era with Culber on the show could have offered.
Part of this transformation was due to the episode “Jinaal,” in which Culber volunteered to be a temporary vessel for a Trill, Jinaal Bix, who had information that discovery crew. Although the ritual made the process only temporary, Wilson Cruz confirmed to CinemaBlend that echoes of Jinaal remain in Hugh’s body:
If you look at the rest of the season – I haven’t really talked about this yet – there was still an element of Jinaal in him. There was still this awe, you know, the thing with Jinaal was that he was so locked up for 800 years, and there was a joy in being alive again that (Culber) understood but never allowed himself to live. And I feel like Jinaal gave him the ability to say, “Yeah, this existence is amazing and can be exciting and fun, and I need to embrace that part of it.”
Imagine Culber retaining some semblance of his boldness as Jinaal and taking it with him on new away missions! It kills me that we won’t get another season of Star Trek: Discovery to investigate this, although I thought the conclusion to the series was solid enough.
There is an upcoming Star Trek Series that Hugh Culber could participate in, and it has already been added discovery characters to his cast. I felt like I already knew the answer, but for posterity’s sake I asked Wilson Cruz if he would like to play Culber again Starfleet Academy to get a chance to show the new side of the character. He replied:
Yes. They know where I am. They know my email address. They know my phone number. They know all my representatives and they know I would come back. I’ll leave it at that, but I wasn’t asked.
I have the feeling that once Star Trek: Discovery Characters appear in Starfleet Academywe’ll see some of them pop up and disappear in the show. I definitely think Wilson Cruz’s character is an obvious choice and that he could teach cadets a lot about medicine and mentoring others on a ship.
Starfleet Academy is a show of its own, however, and with the huge cast it already has, it could tell more stories about the 32nd century rather than the story of Star Trek: Discovery. That doesn’t mean that there are no ways to connect with it, because even shows like The next generation Found ways in The original series actors, in addition to numerous guest stars, despite a 100-year gap in the timeline.
If a performance in Starfleet Academy out of the question, there are still novels and comics that continue Hugh Culber’s personal journey. After all, the story in Star Trek is never really over for the characters when the show ends, unless they die like Trip Tucker in PursueFinale. Other than that, however, I would expect to see Culber in more Trek Adventure regardless of the medium.
Star Trek: Discovery is now available to stream on Paramount+. I plan to watch seasons 3 through 5 again before Starfleet AcademyI’ve used the release of The 32nd Century to refresh my memory on life in the 32nd century, and hope many fans have the same idea so we can revisit it together.
