Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is going to remain the most fun show in the franchise—and on television—with the upcoming third season, based on the first looks as part of its presence at San Diego Comic-Con.
The Paramount+ series returns in 2025—and has already been renewed for a fourth season—and new photos and a sneak peek have been released. Furthermore, Cillian O’Sullivan will recur in the legacy role of Dr. Roger Korby; the character was first introduced in Star Trek: The Original Series —and was Chapel’s (Jess Bush in Strange New Worlds) ex-fiancé—and played by Michael Strong. Korby was mentioned during “Subspace Rhapsody” in Season 2 (the musical episode) as Chapel (Jess Bush) awaited news about a fellowship and described as “the Louis Pasteur of archaeological medicine.” Chapel was accepted into the fellowship.
Paramount+
As the clip and photos above and below show, an upcoming mission in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds requires Pike (Anson Mount), Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), La’an (Christina Chong), Chapel, and Pelia (Carol Kane) to become Vulcan. Chapel jury-rigged the serum that turned human Spock (Ethan Peck) back into a Vulcan to make that happen.
“The sensory change is brief, the feeling is instantaneous. I will guide you through the sensation until you are acclimated, which should not take long. Physical adjustments follow soon after. I would suggest a deep breath. By the time you reach 3, it should be over,” Spock informs them. One by one, as the serum works, the others fall to their knees, overwhelmed … except for Pelia. And she’s a little jealous that she’s not feeling what the others are as they become Vulcan.
Paramount+
“Everything I once found dull now seems to be…” La’an notes, with Chapel finishing the thought with, “Fascinating.”
Since Pelia can’t go on the mission, Spock says he can cover her part. But the others note that he’s only half-Vulcan … and it won’t be the only time they do so. When the five of them walk into the transport room, Scotty (Martin Quinn) greets them with, “Wow, your ears are so pointy.” (We had a feeling he’d be fun after his introduction in the Season 2 finale.)
Paramount+
On the bridge with Una (Rebecca Romijn), Pelia expects the mission to take them a few hours, only for them to be done pretty much immediately. Once they’re back on board, M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) injects them to turn them back, as Spock reports that for him, the mission was “ironic, as I was constantly reminded that I was logically the least Vulcan member present.” But then no one changes back, and after taking a scan, Chapel reports that they will remain Vulcans indefinitely.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is based on the years Captain Pike manned the helm of the U.S.S.Enterprise. It follows Pike, Science Officer Spock, Number One, and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise in the years before Captain Kirk (Paul Wesley) boarded the starship, as they explore new worlds around the galaxy. The series also stars Melissa Navia (Ortegas), and Wesley and Kane remain special guest stars in Season 3.
Season 2 ended with a couple of major cliffhangers. Batel(Melanie Scrofano) and her crew ran into some serious trouble with the Gorn, and Enterprise rushed to help. But Batel was infected, and her fate remains unknown. Meanwhile, La’an, M’Benga, Ortegas, Sam (Dan Jeannotte), and others were taken by the Gorn.
The series is produced by CBS Studios, Secret Hideout, and Roddenberry Entertainment. Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman, Jenny Lumet, Henry Alonso Myers, Aaron Baiers, Dana Horgan, Davy Perez, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Rod Roddenberry, and Trevor Roth serve as executive producers.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Season 3 Premiere, 2025, Paramount+
