Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Won’t Repeat One of Its Most Divisive Episodes in Season 3

The cast of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds promises that season 3 will continue to explore strange new genres with each episode – with one exception. Cast members Rebecca Romjin (Una Chin-Riley) and Ethan Peck (Mr. Spock) sat down with Variety along with showrunners and executive producers Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers at the recent San Diego Comic Con and teased what plotlines and characters viewers will see in season 3, set to premiere on Paramount+ in 2025. They did confirm, however, that there won’t be a follow-up to “Subspace Rhapsody,” last-season’s groundbreaking musical episode.

Paramount dropped a preview for season 3 of Strange New Worlds at SDCC, featuring members of the Enterprise crew being changed into Vulcans for an away mission, with disastrous results. It’s a plot device that’s been featured in Trek lore before, but Strange New Worlds provides a unique take, complete with a rock anthem in the episode soundtrack. The approach is why the series has earned a strong following, mixing a retro-Trek setting with unconventional twists on established Trek-tropes. The musical episode, however, earned mixed reviews from fans, and it won’t make a return in season 3, as Peck insisted with what seemed like a hint of relief:

Alonso Myers says the cast will be breaking new ground in the upcoming season. As fans have made it clear on social media, not all of the creative choices the show made last year worked. Regardless, producers seem intent on not playing it safe. “There are a lot of other kinds of performances that you have not seen before that will surprise you,” he said. Goldsman made it clear that,there are more genres to explore in the upcoming season:

“We have a bunch of ideas for the kinds of genres ‘Star Trek’ can accommodate. And we continue to try and stretch those boundaries. We are trying to, dare I say, go where we have not gone before when it comes to genre. Besides the tried and true, which is some sci-fi adventure and certainly our attempt to remember the cadence of at least regularly, there must be a moral to the story. We’re spreading our wings, and we hope you’ll like it.”

Watch Our Interview with Anson Mount & Rebecca Romijn Below:

The Gorn Return for Star Trel: Strange New Worlds Season 3

Season 2 ended with a cliffhanger, with the crew of the Enterprise encountering the Gorn, who have a much more sinister look than the “guy-in-a-suit” treatment we saw in the Original Series. Alonso Meyers says that season 3 will open with a conclusion to that episode, which also saw an appearance by Scotty, played by actor Martin Quinn. He said there will be a resolution to the episode that is “classic to Trek.”

“When you come back for the second part of a two-parter, it always says ‘The Conclusion Of,’ so, come season three, I promise you, you will see ‘The Conclusion Of.'”

In addition to Romijn and Peck, Strange New Worlds stars Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike, the doomed captain of the Enterprise; Babs Olusanmokun (Dune) as Dr. M’Benga; Christina Chong as La’an Noonien-Singh; Melissa Navia as Lt. Erica Ortegas; Jess Bush as Nurse Christine Chapel; Carol Kane as Pelia; and Celia Rose Gooding as Nyota Uhura. The strength of the ensemble is seen in the season 3 preview clip. Having the crew of the Enterprise turn into Vulcans doesn’t have any resonance without each character having a distinct personality to play off of. Because of that, the clip has since earned a positive response from fans, who praised Peck’s hilariously droll performance.

For Peck himself, the episode ironically caused some unexpected emotions for him.

“I was kind of shocked to see everyone as Vulcans, because I know them so intimately, having worked them for several seasons,” he said. “So to see them in Vulcan makeup was sort of endearing. I had this really bizarre and surprising sense of ‘this is family’ because I’ve been sort of isolated as a Vulcan on the show for the most part.”