Anson Mount has revealed that he’d be open to returning to Star Trek: Discovery. The actor debuted in the second season of the show as Christopher Pike, and a large aspect of the storyline focused on his brief tenure as Discovery’s captain.

Pike was introduced in the second season’s first episode, temporarily taking command of the Discovery due to it being without a captain after Lorca’s betrayal in season 1. He went on to lead the ship and its crew in the investigation of a series of unexplained signals appearing from various points in the galaxy, along with how they were connected to a mysterious figure known as the Red Angel. Quickly proving himself an adaptable and capable commander, he was subsequently revealed to be a man as close as possible to the living embodiment of Federation starship captain ideal, while also not above admitting when he was wrong and owning his mistakes.

Related: Who Is Captain Pike? Star Trek: Discovery's Classic Character Explained

Mount commented that he’d like to return to Star Trek: Discovery while speaking to the Calgary Herald ahead of the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo. Stating that “It’s a character I love, it’s a franchise I love, it’s an experience that I have already loved,” he would welcome the opportunity to revisit the show and continue working with its talented creative and production team. He also talked about the freedom of playing a character who's so revered, despite there paradoxically being so little information about him. He reasoned that although audiences know where Pike’s story begins and ends, everything in between was a mystery, which gave him the opportunity to portray the character as he saw fit.

Star Trek Discovery Michael Burnham and Christopher Pike in Season 2 Finale

Prior to Star Trek: Discovery, Mount was best known for the western series Hell On Wheels, playing the central role of a former Confederate soldier driven by thoughts of vengeance who became involved in the building of the First Transcontinental Railroad, becoming a part of the titular mobile shanty town of degeneration that followed its construction. It’s an appropriate prior credit, as Gene Roddenberry originally envisioned Star Trek as a western in space, the exploring starships taking the place of rumbling wagon trains, and their crews the restless pioneers heading fearlessly into uncharted territory. Mount even revealed that when he was a young boy in Tennessee, playing spaceship captain ultimately supplanted his original games of pretending to be a cowboy.

Pike was only ever intended to be around for a single season, his presence both providing a link to the original series and guiding the Discovery toward a point where the continuity issues caused by its very presence could be addressed. However, as Mount stated, audiences know so little about Pike’s journey between the events of Star Trek’s original pilot “The Cage” and his exposure to delta ray radiation that ended his career, that the opportunity to further develop his story is one with a great deal of potential. It remains to be seen exactly how he could continue to be a part of Star Trek: Discovery now that the ship has soared off into futures unknown, but there's definitely an appetite to see more of a character so well received by audiences and critics alike, as well as the man who has now definitively brought him to life.

Next: How Star Trek: Discovery Season 2's Finale Sets Up The Section 31 Show

Source: Calgary Herald