The New Klingons

[Myko]

I don't mind a redesign, but I don't like this particular design. They look like vampires/demons from Buffy more than an living alien race. The one in gold (T'Kuwma?) looks pretty different from the ones in the shot of three. I like his look better than theirs, but still not very good. I'm hoping all of these Klingons are found on the sarcophagus ship and the concurrent space-faring Klingons look cooler.

 

[Awesome Possum]

I like the makeup, it makes them look more alien. I hope they never explain why they look different and that they are just Klingons. I'm tired of fanwanky justifications for changes in makeup and art design.

 

[DamarsKanar]

I don't hate them personally, but they're not great. Just a bit overdone in my opinion.
I really like the idea of them being an ancient race of Klingons from the time of Kahless or something like that (though Kahless' clone looked squarely TNG era Klingon so that would still contradict canon...maybe pre-Kahless or something).

 

[cultcross]

People create Kahless in their own image...

 

[Mudd]

They're okay.

 

[SPCTRE]

They're okay.

yup

 

[cultcross]

They're okay.

That's pretty much how I feel. I'm not amazed by them but I'm not put off them either. I'll need to see how they're actually portrayed. The makeup is just another prosthetic head.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Ugh, no. I want to see them explore strange new worlds. Not a war series set in space.

Believe me I want strange new worlds as well, was just thinking that they might've gone down the FYW route given the timeframe and the number of Klingons they're casting.

 

[Captain Indecisive]

I like the makeup, it makes them look more alien. I hope they never explain why they look different and that they are just Klingons. I'm tired of fanwanky justifications for changes in makeup and art design.

It is too early for me to say whether I like the new look or not. I have to see them in action. I can only I'm very surprised that they changed it (assuming these are "proper" Klingons). Maybe it is improved design to make the actors more comfortable.

If these are "proper" Klingons, I agree with Awesome Possum - no retro virus malarky and no explanations. They just are Klingons, the same as the Klingons in TMP are just Klingons.

 

[ChristopherPike]

I'd like them better if they had hair. Particularly beards. That's what they're missing. You look at the race and that's what makes them Klingon throughout the evolving make-up. It's also what bugs me about the guy who takes his helmet off during Into Darkness... Although addition of pointy ears I didn't particularly care for. Piercings, tattoos, pointier heads, fangs, whatever they like. However it changes, goatees are kind of mandatory with the look I feel.

 

[INACTIVEUSS Einstein]

Many empires are very diverse, and while the Vulcanoid Romulans may be more ethnocentric, its possible that Klingons are a very ethnically inclusive empire like the Mongols or Huns, and have been cross marrying with alien nations since the Hur'q invaded their planet centuries ago, in which case they may have developed a plurality of Klingon features just as most of our own human nations have, with the Klingons from Into Darkness perhaps representing a province that was more isolated from the influence of the Empire's cosmopolitanism, and the Klingons of TNG representing a more cultured city-based majority.

Considering how Star Trek has gone to great lengths to not obscure actors features in the past I still think that it would be strange to hire a comprehensive list of recurring guest stars and then deliberately obscure them in a rubber mask..... unless the Klingon in the picture is indeed T'Kuvma.

 

[JasonJ]

I'm good with the look, although it may be a bit overdone for my tastes. I don't necessarily need an explanation for it, just as we never had one in 1979 either (I wasn't there but I presume there was none). The Klingons were just Klingons.

That being said, from what we know already about a "sarcophagus ship", I'm guessing these may be an older race of Klingon, or just a different race altogether of the Klingon species. The lack of hair could be a result of them being in hypersleep/cryo or something similar.. and perhaps they'll grow hair as teh season proceeds after awaking. It is interesting that the actual sarcophagus shown has a more traditional TMP/TNG era Klingon depicted.

Either which way, I don't really care. The remainder of the production quality seems high scale and top notch, so the redesign of Klingons is a minor point to me.

 

[.:: TSN ::.]

Just a plain beard. It would have made all the difference and made klingons look "klingon".

 

[Myko]

I pity the fool who doesn't surrender to the Klingon empire!

 

[.:: TSN ::.]

I pity the fool who doesn't surrender to the Klingon empire!

That came to my mind too when I applied the beard

But still, Klingons should have some hair. Sure, there can be occasional bald klingon, but hairstyles could be as diverse as human hairs.

 

[RAMA]

Love the new Klingons. Truly alien, as opposed to the putty encrusted, overused to death ones. They were fine in their time, but let's have something fresh now.

RAMA

 

[{ Emilia }]

Love the new Klingons. Truly alien, as opposed to the putty encrusted, overused to death ones. They were fine in their time, but let's have something fresh now.

Don't you think the prosthetics hide a bit too much of their facial features? I would assume that limits the effect of the actor's performance a little, sadly.

 

[RAMA]

They changed it a lot, just as we were told.

I don't know how much we should speculate given that not everyone may want to know potential plot points, but there has been a longstanding rumor that these may not be actual 23rd century Klingons, but some ancient relict population. I think everyone is familiar by now. This began with the leaking of some concept art from early in production that showed a gothic-Cathedral-like "Klingon sarcophagus ship".

The fact that it might be discovered around a black hole's accretion disk also raises the possibility of time dilation due to gravitational forces near the event horizon, meaning some ancient Klingons may have survived the centuries. Finally, the Klingons in the trailer may be a flashback to the launching of this ship centuries ago. But we don't really know a thing right now.

 

[RAMA]

Don't you think the prosthetics hide a bit too much of their facial features? I would assume that limits the effect of the actor's performance a little, sadly.

Makeup has actually progressed a lot in the last 12 years. Lots of new materials out there to let expressions come through.

 

[Kevin Wolff]

Way too much stuff on their faces to allow for subtle acting. Also it looks like makeup and prosthetics. These days you just map the actor's face and apply their "alien" look in post production, or at least enhance it in post to get rid of that latex mask look. I too think these are ancient Klingons and the body is Kahless himself. Maybe they got stuck in a "cause and effect" loop and haven't aged. They look like priests and monks, not warriors.