Strange New Worlds S3 Continues Where Season 2 Left Off

Paramount+ finally released the first trailer for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 on July 16, 2024. The new season of the live-action series, which follows the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise on their adventures through the galaxy, premieres July 17, 2025.

The season 3 trailer arrives just over two months before the season premiere date. It’s also the first major look at new episodes of the series since a brief April teaser trailer.

Season 2 ended on a cliffhanger, with the U.S.S. Enterprise and Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) called to respond to the Gorn invasion of a Federation colony world. The ship rescues dozens of survivors from the planet, and during the chaotic battle, several crew members are taken hostage by the Gorn. Pike is forced to make the decision to either follow Starfleet orders and retreat or go against them to try and rescue the hostages. Pike, of course, chooses the latter, and the season 3 trailer picks up at this point.

A brief clip of what would become the season 2 finale first appeared in a trailer at New York City Comic-Con in October 2023. In addition to picking up after the second season’s cliffhanger, that preview also offered a look at a high-stakes space battle, a staple of the Strange New Worlds formula. In this trailer, that battle is with the Gorn, and it picks up where the last season finale left off. It’s then revealed that the Gorn invasion is over, and Pike and his crew are going to give chase and try to rescue their colleagues.

The new trailer continues from this point, as the Enterprise’s chase ends with Pike’s decision to rescue the hostages. However, while Pike can rescue the hostages and crew members taken by the Gorn, the trailer also promises that the season will pick up on the Gorn threat and more.

Paramount+ called out that the Gorn’s invasion and assault on the Enterprise crew will have a resolution in season 3. However, that also doesn’t mean that the season won’t also have a new “major” villain to deal with. According to the streaming service, Pike and the crew will face a new enemy in season 3. This new villain is promised to test “their loyalty, courage, and resilience.”

Season 3 also expands on the variety of stories, going beyond traditional Trek storytelling to include other genres. Specifically, the network also teased that the new episodes will not only include an episode focused on faith and Starfleet, but episodes of romance, comedy, and more. There’s also the hint that there could be a detective-style episode in the season, something the network promises will be unlike any Star Trek series.

The full cast of the first two seasons of Strange New Worlds will return for season 3. This includes a mix of both main cast members and returning and recurring cast. A few guest stars will also be returning for the new season, but one of the more notable additions will be Cillian O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan is best known for his work on the Irish comedy-fantasy The Picket Fences of Home. He’ll be joining the cast as Dr. Roger Korby, a legacy character from Star Trek: The Original Series.

Korby was first portrayed by Michael Strong in the TOS episodes “The Final Frontier” and “The Conscience of the King.” In the Strange New Worlds timeline, Korby was a famous archaeologist, known specifically for his medical archaeology. He is also the missing fiancé of Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush). Korby’s sudden appearance is, of course, promised to make things complicated for Chapel, who, since Korby’s disappearance, has become romantically linked with Spock (Ethan Peck).

The season will also feature two major comedic guest stars in Rhys Darby and Patton Oswalt. The April trailer teased that the new season would have a wider range of genres, including space operas, and what appeared to be a side story of more comedic tones. This tone is more clearly present in the season 3 trailer, which also shows moments of camaraderie among the crew. The crew is also shown navigating a subplot between Chapel and Korby, but there are also some mishaps on the Enterprise after a science experiment goes wrong.

One moment from the trailer stood out from the more serious and emotional beats. James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) is put in the Enterprise’s captain’s chair, and Pike tells him that he’s going to make it up. The look on Kirk’s face as he takes command says a lot, but the viewer doesn’t get any real context for the scene. While the entirety of the season 3 trailer is in chronological order, there’s a very strong chance that this Kirk clip is either a different event or closer to the season finale. It’s never said in the trailer, but based on Pike’s line, the scene Kirk is in is meant to teach Kirk about the Starfleet lifestyle. “The choices you make in that chair, they are yours to make and yours to live with,” Pike says.

What’s also striking is that this scene is more than likely Kirk’s next big step on his character journey. There’s the implication in previous episodes that Kirk is on a steady path to becoming a cadet at Starfleet Academy. However, Kirk’s next step seems to have been prepping him for that, teaching him what it’s like to be in command of a Starfleet vessel. This sequence also appears to be the buildup to Kirk making a Starfleet command decision, only to look back at Pike for approval. Kirk pauses for a moment, heaving, and the frame shifts to Pike, with Kirk’s decision already made.

The trailer’s final moment is also a funny one, showing what may be the series’s first actual “high five” joke. The exchange comes after Oswalt’s Vulcan character asks Spock to do a high five and calls him “too slow.” In a previous high-five exchange, the Vulcan is easily beaten by Spock, who is a noticeably faster reactor. This moment leads to Oswalt’s character asking Spock to go “down low,” and as Spock complies with his request, the Vulcan character asks, “Why would you do that?” To which Spock calmly responds, “Because you are too slow.”