Earlier today Paramount+ debuted a blockbuster new trailer for the third season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Whilst we wait for the series to return in summer we’re going to break down some of the key moments in the trailer and see what clues they might give to the direction of season 3.
Before we dive in, take another look at the teaser in the player below:
In season three, when we reconnect with the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, still under the command of Captain Pike, they face the conclusion of season two’s harrowing encounter with the Gorn. But new life and civilizations await, including a villain that will test our characters’ grit and resolve. An exciting twist on classic Star Trek, season three takes characters both new and beloved to new heights, and dives into thrilling adventures of faith, duty, romance, comedy, and mystery, with varying genres never before seen on any other Star Trek.
Resolving the Season 2 Cliffhanger
When last we saw the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise several of their numbers had been taken captive by the Gorn. Whilst Captain Pike (Anson Mount), Montgomery Scott (Martin Quinn), and Captain Batel (Melanie Scrofano) had safely beamed off the planet. La’an (Christina Chong), Doctor M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun), Ortegas (Melissa Navia) and Sam Kirk (Dan Jeannotte) along with survivors from the Parnassus Beta colony had been imprisoned.
After returning to the ship Pike is ordered to return to Starfleet, leaving behind members of his crew. Left with a choice between following orders or rescuing his crew, Pike makes a decision which leads to a lethal space battle and those three famous words which have haunted Trek fans since “Best of Both Worlds Part One”… to be continued.
The season three teaser returns to those moments in a number of shots. Firstly we see La’an brandishing a phaser rifle, staring down one of Strange New Worlds’ brilliantly redesigned Gorn. But we also return to the bridge of the Enterprise and that huge space battle. We’ve always known that the premiere would have to deal with the aftermath of “Hegemony”. But it certainly looks like the season 3 premiere will be one of the series’ most action packed to date.
A Holodeck Aboard the Enterprise?
To the casual Star Trek fan the holodeck was first glimpsed in 1987’s “Encounter at Farpoint”, the first episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. But in actual fact the technology was glimpsed in its infancy back in a 1974 episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series, setting a precedent for holographic technology to exist in the day of Kirk and co.
In the press release circulated today for season 3 of Strange New Worlds it mentions a murder mystery episode which forms the backbone of the teaser. It begins with a shot of La’an decked out in a costume which wouldn’t look out of place in a Dixon Hill novel. La’an stands next to Spock (Ethan Peck) as a very familiar backdrop of yellow squares slowly materialises in to a retro looking mansion.
A murder most foul is afoot and almost all of the U.S.S. Enterprise senior staff is on hand to investigate. It certainly looks like a fun episode with much of the cast exchanging their Starfleet uniforms for some 70’s threads. We get glimpses of Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush), M’Benga, Pike and Ortegas all getting in on the fun.
With last year’s musical episode Strange New Worlds set a precedent for off-beat, out-of-the-box episodes. But is this the only time we see what could be the holodeck in action?
Back to Where it All Began
After an establishing shot which emulates the look of old film, our first glimpse at any of the series characters is very unexpected. The first interior shot of the trailer finds Chapel, Ortegas and the now Lieutenant Commander James Kirk (Paul Wesley) on what looks like a set ripped right from Star Trek: The Original Series.
Complete with colourful lighting, overstated control panels and some very shaky camera work it looks like the crew is playing at their own version of Captain Proton. Could this be another trip to the holodeck? Given the technology would be so new then perhaps the crew could be forgiven for wanting to see what it was capable of. But two holodeck episodes in one, ten-episode season? How very mid-Star Trek: Voyager.
We’re struggling to think of any other reason why the cast would be pretending to be part of a classic sci-fi TV show. Another classic Trek Ten Forward theatrical production perhaps?
Telephones, Telephones, Telephones
Another motif which recurs throughout the trailer is telephones. They appear several times in quick succession in the trailer alongside a couple of intriguing establishing shots. With Pelia (Carol Kane) on the bridge alongside Ortegas, other members of the crew seem to be stranded elsewhere and struggling to communicate.
Doctor M’Benga is seen running through the corridors of the ship carrying a bundle of cabling. In another shot Una (Rebecca Romjin) connects up cabling in another of the ship’s corridors. This is all before all three character’s share a split-screen shot, each on the phone.
Could we be witnessing a classic Trek trope where the crew loses control of the ship through some wacky circumstances and they’re forced to use some analog means to solve the problem? Whatever is going on this is absolutely Star Trek: Strange New Worlds flexing its genre muscles to full effect.
Return of the Klingons
We haven’t seen much of the Klingons in Strange New Worlds so far. The series has shied away from showing off the classic Trek villains. Most notably they appeared in last season’s musical episode. But that cameo aside, following a controversial reinvention in Star Trek: Discovery, the series has mostly side-stepped the most famous foreheads in Trek history.
A couple of brief shots in the teaser appear to tease the return of the Klingons. But all is not quite as it seems. After an establishing shot of Pike standing near a landing ship, a female Klingon is see brandishing a whip, fighting an unseen assailant. It’s the next shot which spins this whole scene on its axis. In the next shot we see a male Klingon… zombie?! He certainly seems worse for wear and very much appears like the undead as he howls up towards the sky. Could this be Strange New Worlds dipping its toe back in to the horror genre?
One thing is clear. The design of these Klingon characters feels like a midway point between the grand redesign of Discovery and the more classic designs seen from Star Trek: The Next Generation onwards.
Is That Trelane? Or a Q?
One shot which has a lot of fans talking features an unknown character dressed rather like The Original Series Trelane. Played in TOS by William Campbell, the character was a puckish, childlike alien not unlike TNG’s Q.
Trelane was known for his flamboyant costumes. Something which the mysterious character in the Strange New Worlds trailer is absolutely guilty of. In terms of his appearances in TOS, Trelane was described as hailing from a non-corporeal species which lived on another plane of existence. Sounds familiar right? Whilst the connection was never made on screen, Peter David novel Q-Squared it was revealed that the character was indeed a Q.
The fact this mysterious character is seen clicking his fingers certainly indicates the Strange New Worlds team wants to get fans talking about just who, or what, he could be…
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds stars Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn, Ethan Peck, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Melissa Navia, Babs Olusanmokun and Martin Quinn, along with guest stars Rhys Darby, Patton Oswalt, Cillian O’Sullivan, Melanie Scrofano and Carol Kane, plus special guest star Paul Wesley. The series is produced by CBS Studios, Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment. Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman, Henry Alonso Myers, Aaron Baiers, Dana Horgan, Davy Perez, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Chris Fisher, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth serve as executive producers. Akiva Goldsman (Weed Road Pictures) and Henry Alonso Myers (HMRX) serve as co-showrunners.
Both of the first two seasons of Strange New Worlds are available to stream on Paramount+ in the US and UK. Episodes are also available on digital platforms, DVD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD.
