"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" promises to be a return to the storytelling style of "The
Original Series," but what does that mean in 2022?
Keep watching to find out.
Before James T. Kirk ever set foot on the bridge of the USS Enterprise, it was captained
by Christopher Pike.
Now "Star Trek" fans will finally get to explore the galaxy alongside this oft-forgotten Starfleet
hero in "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds."
"Someone's playing fast and loose with the rules today."
"Who, me?
The boy scout?"
"Strange New Worlds" will premiere May 5, 2022, exclusively on Paramount+, CBS Viacom's
digital streaming service, which has become the home to the current era "Star Trek" shows.
Although Captain Pike was first introduced in the unaired pilot of "Star Trek: The Original
Series" back in 1965, played by Jeffrey Hunter, he was soon replaced by William Shatner, who
took the role of Kirk when NBC rejected Hunter's episode as "too cerebral" according to Shatner's
memoir, "Up Till Now."
"Strange New Worlds" will follow the exploits of Captain Pike in a more contained episodic
format, going against the grain of serialized modern television in a return to the formula
that made the original "Star Trek" so accessible to viewers over so many decades.
He will be joined by characters both new and familiar, and the network has been teasing
fans with a steady drip of details.
So here's everything we know so far about the release date, cast, and more as the Enterprise
prepares once more to boldly go where no one has gone before.
The first teaser trailer for "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds'' gives us a glimpse at the far-future
universe of the Paramount+ Original.
We see a gliding shot of forested, snowy mountains with a cabin nestled amid the trees, followed
by an "Original Series"-style communicator lying on a wood bureau next to a rotary telephone,
signaling the connection to the time period that series was first released in, 1966.
"Chris, I need you back, Captain."
Next is an absolutely awesome-looking shot of Pike riding a horse across the snowy mountain
terrain before a shuttle whips past him to land on the far side of the canyon.
Then we see a montage of what can only be described as, well, strange new worlds.
Some look like futuristic cities, others like barren, unexplored landscapes.
The trailer ends with a shot of the original Enterprise moving at warp speed through the
cosmos and a proud-looking Pike in his command uniform gazing up into the stars from its
window.
If this brief glimpse into "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" tells us anything, it's that the
show will be a return to the formula of "The Original Series," where each episode is a
new adventure with new discoveries and challenges for Pike and his crew as they seek out new
life and new civilizations.
How far they will boldly go remains to be seen.
Just a few weeks after a 90-second teaser trailer was released, Paramount+ put out a
full two-minute trailer that gave audiences a much deeper look at the show.
It opens with Captain Pike beaming into a room full of squabbling alien delegates before
cutting to a series of majestic exterior shots of the starship Enterprise in space, and its
crew within, as the captain describes their mission:
"To push the boundaries of what is known and what is possible."
Interspersed are images of a team on a comet, in awe of their surroundings, dramatic shots
aboard the ship, and perhaps most excitingly, a sequence with Spock battling someone in
a fight to the death on Vulcan.
More shots of Pike meeting new aliens and adventure on and off the ship flash across
the screen as the captain says his team is the best of Starfleet.
We see everything from a phaser firefight on the Enterprise bridge to characters having
heart-to-heart conversations aboard the ship, in classic "Trek" fashion.
We see a little romance too, with Pike cozying up to a woman in bed, and Spock laying his
lips on a fellow Vulcan woman.
It all gives us the sense that the show will be a rip-roaring adventure as well as a series
with plenty of emotional drama.
When Captain Pike arrived in "Star Trek: Discovery," he was played by Anson Mount, and the same
will be true of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds."
Alongside Mount will be a gallery of familiar characters played by a range of talent, as
well as some newcomers who may be hiding some fascinating secrets.
Ethan Peck returns once more as Spock, who is still a science officer yet to receive
a promotion to Number One.
The current first officer of Pike's enterprise is Una Chin-Riley, played once more by Rebecca
Romijn.
Another character beloved to fans of "The Original Series" is Nyota Uhura, played by
Celia Rose Gooding.
Like Spock, she's not yet a commanding officer, and the casting reveal for "Strange New Worlds"
identified her as a cadet.
"Cadet Uhura, very happy to have you aboard."
"Glad to be here."
The Enterprise's Nurse Chapel will be another welcome return from the "Star Trek" of the
'60s, portrayed this time by Jess Bush.
Though he only appeared in two episodes of the original show, medical officer Dr. M'Benga
is back on board the Enterprise and will be played by Babs Olusanmokun.
Brand new characters abound as well.
But perhaps the most fascinating addition to the show for diehard Trekkies is Christina
Chong's character, La'an Noonien-Singh.
That surname will be familiar to fans who will no doubt recall Captain Kirk's most bitter
nemesis, Khan Noonien-Singh.
Writer Akiva Goldsman confirmed she's related to him, but is she hiding a dark secret?
It's sure to be one of the most intriguing mysteries "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds"
will explore.
While few plot specifics have been released and the trailers are appropriately vague,
producers have mentioned a few important aspects of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" that give
us an idea of what we can expect from the series.
The biggest clue we've been given so far is that the series will see a return to traditional
"story of the week" episodes.
Executive producer and first episode director Akiva Goldsman told TrekMovie.com,
"I really wanted to make a show that would have appealed to the 12-year old me that went
to that Star Trek convention in 1974."
But that doesn't mean that each episode will see a hard reset, or won't have long-lasting
effects.
Goldsman told the site,
"Character arcs are still serialized.
Our characters will carry with them what they suffer from, or what they learned, from episode
to episode.
But the stories are episodic."
Meanwhile, star Rebecca Romijn teased stories we might see in the series' first season,
telling Looper,
"It's a little bit lighter.
We are visiting planets.
We are visiting colonies, and we are so proud of our work so far."
"Battle stations!"
For "Trek" fans who have wanted to see something more like "The Original Series" or "The Next
Generation," this should come as music to their ears.
With the series returning to classic episodic stories of old, it also means that "Star Trek:
Strange New Worlds" will have the opportunity to live up to its name.
Anson Mount, who plays Captain Pike, told SyFy,
"We're going back to the big idea of the week, the new planet of the week.
I think that in itself is going to be exciting for old school fans, as well as new ones."
We'll also meet plenty of new characters and alien races, as evidenced by early trailers.
But that doesn't mean we won't see the return of classic heroes, villains, and characters
that Trek fans know and love.
In addition to series regulars pulled from past "Trek" adventures, footage screened so
far has shown a return to Spock's planet Vulcan.
It's also shown what appears to be the return of T'Pring, Spock's former love.
First introduced in the classic "Original Series" episode "Amok Time," they have been
bonded since childhood, and it looks like "Strange New Worlds" may explore their relationship
a little more.
So while it's clear that the series is looking to forge its own path with new adventures,
make no mistake: it hasn't forgotten about the franchise's wealth of backstory and history
either, and won't be afraid to revisit at least some of it.
Ever since the first original series of "Star Trek," the franchise has been known for its
self-referential nature, calling back to events and characters from earlier episodes and movies.
With nearly 60 years of stories, shows like "Star Trek: Picard" and "Lower Decks" are
packed with Easter eggs, nods to old adventures, and inside jokes for longtime fans to catch.
With "Strange New Worlds" set aboard the original USS Enterprise captained by Christopher Pike
and boasting a cast that includes several other classic characters, can we expect more
Easter eggs and references?
You better believe it.
Rebecca Romijn says fans can expect plenty of callbacks.
Romijn, a diehard Trek fan herself, gave Looper some juicy details about what to expect from
the new series.
In addition to describing a little bit about what may happen in the show, she said there
will be "so many" Easter eggs for fans to look out for.
From the look and feel of the series we've seen so far, it's clear the people behind
it have as much love for "Trek" as we do, and will take care to load the background
with elements that longtime fans can have fun with.
"Strange New Worlds" may take place on the original classic starship Enterprise nearly
a decade before the era of Captain Kirk, but the production of the series is far from the
low-budget "Original Series," and will of course utilize the most up-to-date visual
effects and state-of-the-art alien makeup.
It was confirmed by producers in 2019 that the series would use the same AR wall technology
popularized by "The Mandalorian" that is also being used by sister series "Star Trek: Discovery"
to portray not just alien environments, but complex interiors as well.
During a "Star Trek" convention appearance, "Strange New Worlds" producer Henry Alonso
Myers confirmed that the Enterprise's new engineering set used the AR wall to create
a bigger and more expansive version of the original set seen in 1966.
In addition, the series updated the sets and the costumes from its first appearance on
"Discovery" Season 2, with tweaks and improvements made now that Pike, Spock, and the Enterprise
are taking a starring role.
Anson Mount has commented on the rigorous Covid-19 protocols followed on the set, and
despite a few hiccups, the production seems to have gone relatively smoothly, with none
of the behind-the-scenes drama that plagued early seasons of "Discovery."
It was confirmed in early 2022 that the first season had completed filming ... with a second
season already underway.
Some of the cast was surprised by the early renewal, with Mount commenting that he had
presumed the series might only get a single season.
Beginning on March 29, 2022, the official Twitter account "Star Trek on Paramount Plus"
began releasing daily mini-trailers — vignettes focusing on individual characters.
Beginning with Cadet Uhura, they released brief 30-second clips for the entire main
cast
The vignettes weren't the first time we'd learned of the cast, but they gave fans a
good look at each of them, reaffirming some of what we already knew.
We'll see the return of classic characters Nurse Chapel and Dr. M'Benga alongside Pike,
Number One, and Spock.
We get a good look at alien engineer Hemmer for the first time, confirming that he is
not just an Andorian, but the subspecies Aenar, first seen on "Star Trek: Enterprise."
"Try it now."
"How did you…?"
"I am a genius."
The vignettes were a welcome surprise, and gave us a good feel for the tone of the series
and its characters.
From what we've seen so far, there should be no doubt that "Strange New Worlds" will
embrace drama, adventure, exploration, and a little bit of fun.
They also show how surprisingly faithful the series is going to be to the original "Star
Trek."
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