Why Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 4’s Klingon Replacement Actor Looks So Familiar

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4, Episode 4 - "A Case Of Chiaroscuro"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds reintroduces the first Klingon seen in Star Trek, who is played by a familiar actor replacing the late John Colicos. Directed by Meera Menon and written by Skylar Ojeda and Dana Horgan, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4, episode 4 strands the USS Enterprise's crew members on a world occupied by Klingons, in a film noir hour inspired by Casablanca.

In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4, episode 4, "A Case of Chiaroscuro," Commander Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn), Dr. Joseph M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun), and Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) go undercover to aid the resistance of the planet Mat'aar XII, which is under a Klingon occupation.

The Klingon governor of Mat'aar XII is Commander Kor, who is established as the same Klingon introduced in Star Trek: The Original Series season 1, episode 26, "Errand of Mercy," which was the Klingons' debut in Star Trek.

John Colicos originated Kor in his lone 1967 appearance, and Colicos reprised the aged Klingon in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, however, goes in a different direction with Kor.

Demore Barnes Plays Commander Kor In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Commander Kor in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4's "A Case of Chiaroscuro" is played by Canadian actor Demore Barnes. Demore may be best known for playing Sergeant First Class Hector Williams in CBS' The Unit, and as Deputy Chief Christian Garland in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Superhero genre fans would also recognize Demore Barnes as DC Comics villains Henry Hewitt AKA Tokamak in The Flash and William Wintergreen in Titans, as well as for playing Mr. Ibis in American Gods.

Demore Barnes also has plenty of sci-fi experience on his acting resume. Barnes played Agent Hubert in Fringe, Raphael in Supernatural, Fred Camp in Flashpoint, and Whitley in 12 Monkeys, which was created by Terry Matalas, the showrunner of Star Trek: Picard season 3.

A pair of Barnes' previous roles also connect to Star Trek. Demore played Tobias Budge in Hannibal, which was created by Bryan Fuller, who later co-created Star Trek: Discovery with Alex Kurtzman. Barnes recently played Franklin Beaumont in Boston Blue, which co-stars Sonequa Martin-Green, the series lead of Star Trek: Discovery.

As Kor, Demore Barnes vividly captured the Shakespearan eloquence and sense of decorum that John Colicos brought to the first Klingon seen in Star Trek. Kor's sense of honor and pride in the Klingons' power and dominance were on full display in Barnes' performance.

Strange New Worlds Retcons Commander Kor From Star Trek: The Original Series & DS9

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' "A Case of Chiaroscuro" makes it clear that Demore Barnes is playing the same Commander Kor that John Colicos originated. Dr. M'Benga describes Kor as "a descendant of Kahless," the original Klingon emperor, which is the identical backstory of Commander Kor in Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

When the Klingons apprehend Ensign Uhura, Commander Kor personally interrogates the undercover Starfleet officer with the Klingon mind scanner, the same invasive weapon that Kor tortures Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) with in Star Trek: The Original Series' "Errand of Mercy."

Demore Barnes' Kor requires fans to accept that this is the same Klingon about five years before he appears in "Errand of Mercy." played by John Colicos. Confusingly, Barnes' Kor and his soldiers look like post-Star Trek: The Motion Picture Klingons, which defies how Colicos' Kor looks in Star Trek: The Original Series.

Star Trek: Enterprise introduced the Klingon augment virus to retcon why Kor and the Klingons in Star Trek: The Original Series look more human. Kor later appears in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's 24th century as a shaggy-haired and ridged-browed, post-revamp Klingon.

Now, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds asks fans to further reconcile Kor's changes in appearance. Perhaps the augment virus affected the appearance of Commander Kor and his Klingon forces in the years before he encounters Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Spock on Organia.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4's new episodes premiere Thursdays on Paramount+