The Star Trek Universe panel at San Diego Comic-Con unveiled an extended clip from season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds that still has fans talking. But there was more discussion about the upcoming season and beyond from the showrunners and cast on the Hall H panel.
More genres, romance, and Scotty in season 3
The Strange New Worlds section of the big Trek panel featured executive producers and showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers along with cast members Ethan Peck (Spock) and Rebecca Romijn (Una/Number One). Anson Mount was not able to attend due to a last-minute personal reason (see his Twitter/X post). Things kicked off with Myers asked about season 2 ending on a cliffhanger, and the co-showrunner talked about how this was inspired by Trek history:
Henry Alonso Myers: It was important to us to do something that you’d seen on other Star Trek shows and tried to do it as well as it could possibly be done. I love original two-parters on the show. And so we really wanted to do part one, and part two. And my favorite thing about part two is when they say “And now comes the conclusion.” That’s what you’re going to get season 3.
The series has prided itself on mixing up different genres each season and Goldsman talked about how the show will continue to play with different styles in season 3:
Akiva Goldsman: We obviously tested ourselves with the musical and we’re so delighted by the result. We hear the clarion call of the original show, which is keep your stories emotional, and then use genre as a lens to talk about today’s problems, tomorrow’s problems, maybe remedies, and also to entertain. So we have a sort of steady pulse, which is a little bit the Twilight Zone, a little bit of O. Henry, what’s the moral of the story? And then we have sci-fi action adventure, because that’s the bread and butter of the narrative. And then we try, as The Original Series did, to reframe in genre. Jonathan Frakes has already shared that we are doing a “Hollywood murder mystery,” which we indeed are. Although I will say that, like the musical, it is rooted in Star Trek reality. So there’s a reason for it. But we will do any genre that we feel the cast can work in and so far we haven’t found one they can’t. We’re trying, but so far they keep beating us to the punch.
Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman, Henry Alonso Myers, Ethan Peck, and Rebecca Romijn at San Diego Comic-Con (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Paramount+)
Goldsman also talked about how romantic entanglements, especially with Spock and Christine Chapel, have been integrated into the show and how they are adding a new element in season 3:
Akiva Goldsman: The little secret of our show is we although we have returned to episodic, we get to do serialized character arcs. And when you’re trapped in a small, or not so small, spaceship with a lot of very attractive people, shit happens. So we are constantly trying to evolve what we secretly call “Love stories in space.” And just to mix it up this year you will meet Dr. Roger Korby, and that might throw a monkey wrench.
On Saturday Paramount+ confirmed Irish actor Cillian O’Sullivan (In From The Cold) has a recurring role as Dr. Roger Korby (portrayed in Star Trek: The Original Series by Michael Strong).
Speaking of canon characters, the season 2 cliffhanger introduced Scotty, played by Scottish actor Martin Quinn. During the panel Myers confirmed we will be seeing a lot more of Quinn’s Scotty:
Henry Alonso Myers: We get we get some more Scotty. Scotty is a regular on season 3. You will see Scotty. Scotty works on the ship.
Ethan Peck at San Diego Comic-Con (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Paramount+)
A lighter side of Una
Actress Rebecca Romijn teased what’s new for Una in season 3:
Rebecca Romijn: We’re getting a lighter side of Una now that she is no longer hiding behind the shame of being an Illyrian. And we get to see a side of her you’ve never seen before. She’s going to behave in a way you’ve never seen, without saying anything. We can’t say. [What would the emoji be?] Laughy tears? Horror crying?
When asked about how we see her in the captain’s chair in the clip shown at the panel, Romijn said there is more in season 3:
Rebecca Romijn: It feels great in the captain’s chair. Actually, I got to sit in the captain’s chair quite a bit in season 3. I mean, that’s the job of number one when the captain is out. Felt great, yeah. It’s a fun place to sit.
Speaking of the clip, Ethan Peck talked about what it was like for him to have other members of the cast as Vulcans:
Ethan Peck: So on one level it was like being with family for the first time on the ship. They’ve all got pointy ears and then they were so insulting and mean me that I was outside all over again. But it’s nice to have a little bit of home with you wherever you go. Vulcans are better.
The Spock actor also revealed he didn’t need to give them much Vulcan acting coaching:
Ethan Peck: Yeah, a little bit. I mean, they really came up with their own Vulcan personalities themselves and I was surprised and delighted to see them on set. They didn’t need very much help, to be honest with you. I spoke at some length with Celia about my internal process, but yeah, it turned out beautifully. And they were hilarious.
Rebecca Romijn at San Diego Comic-Con (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Paramount+)
Odo and a “Subspace Rhapsody” stage show?
During the audience Q&A a fan asked what characters members of the panel would love to see on the show and Myers suggested he would be interested in bringing back someone from DS9:
Henry Alonso Myers: I’ve always wanted to bring in Odo. I’m a Deep Space Nine fan and I would love I would love to see him returned in some way. And I know there are reasons why that’s not technically possible, but it is possible in the way we can do television shows.
The executive producer does acknowledge that the passing of René Auberjonois makes bringing back Odo a challenge, but it does appear he has put some thought into ways to make it happen.
Another audience question asked about musical style choices made for the season 2 episode “Subspace Rhapsody” and during that conversation, Goldsman chimed in with an unexpected revelation:
Akiva Goldsman: You’ll be interested to know that we are in the very early stages of exploring whether or not we can bring a version of that [“Subspace Rhapsody”] to the stage.
There was no more elaboration on what they are considering, but this comment was a bit of a surprise. In fact, Rebecca Romijn reacted with: “Akiva, I can’t believe you just said that!”
Paramount+ has not yet set a date for season 3 beyond saying it is coming in 2025. They have also already ordered a fourth season, which is expected to start production in the spring of 2025.
ICYMI: The clip
More Star Trek SDCC 2024
Check out our SDCC category for more from the Star Trek Universe panel, including announcements and reveals from Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, and Starfleet Academy. And we will have more coverage of what was said at the panel later this weekend.
Keep up with news about the Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com.
It feels like the Strange New Worlds writers room is just the Gremlins 2 sketch from Key and Peele.
Yes… ha ha ha… YES!
Lol! You made my day with that joke.
OMG, that’s brilliant.
That tracks.
Probably in the Minority, but I thought season 2 was significantly better than season 1. Better wiring, stories and the actors got really conformable with their roles . I’m not sure if it was covid protocols but the chemistry in S1 was a little off, albeit still solid and beter than any season of Discovery IMO.
Yep… you are definitely in the minority with that one.
Agreed.
I saw Christina Chong (La’an) and Martin Quinn (Scotty) speak in person at a convention and they explained that the cast and crew basically had to live together for much of filming (I think Quinn was in the position that he came later so *wasn’t* part of it and felt a bit different initially as a result), so they got very close as a result. There’s some ‘family’ photos of them all on social media.
You’re in the majority. Every episode in season 2 was a 10+
I’m super excited for Scotty!!! Not so excited for more love stories. As a life-long unkissed single I simply cannot identify with that sort of stuff. I’m married to the Enterprise, the only love of my life next to Annika Hansen :-)
Dude really.? Got to put yourself out there man.
I really enjoyed this panel. It was fun to watch. Per usual didn’t give away a lot but you can tell everyone really does like working on the show.
I lol over Goldsman joke about Frakes not being able to keep anything secret.
Overall looking forward to season 3.
Glad to see a lighter Una, she’s not a very likeable character in the first couple of seasons. I mean she’s fine, she’s just kind of ‘there’. Not much personality.
It’s funny how they talk about how Trek did this, Trek did that.. I wish it wasn’t the focus. I wish they’d do at least 80% sci-fi..and then for 1-2 episodes go crazy.. musical, comedy, murder-mystery.. whatever. It feels like the opposite. Astonishing how the main thing is either barely or not mentioned at all.
For a show called Strange New Worlds, they visited very few in Season 2….
None of this really excites me, if I’m being quite honest. The series seems committed to being as beige as possible. I said it recently and I will say it again- the entire show is absolutely soulless with very little to say- which is ironic considering Akiva Goldsman seems to think they’re looking for what the moral of the story is. On that front, I’d say they are failing miserably.
Of all of the shows that we have received since 2017, Strange New Worlds is my least favourite. There is nothing remotely unique about it. Everything it does has been done before in the franchise, and has been done better. Even its Star Trek Universe opening sting doesn’t have anything. Discovery jumps into it, Picard has the Shrike in the background and then E-D for the final episode, and Lower Decks has the Koala. SNW is just the Enterprise flying around.
Strange New Worlds has ten times the amount of ‘soul’ than Discovery and Picard. Those two shows are beige. Strange New Worlds has as much energy and life as you can want in a Trek show.
As for your last point about the sting, wow.
I disagree with your opinion, but I respect that you feel otherwise.
Agreed, it’s a copy of the original with none of the depth. To many nothing characters especially on the bridge
That’s an absolute riot!
Damned I was hoping for more sci-fi, mystery of the week, strange new civilization or phenomena.
I was wrong.
I thought season 1 was okay, very average Trek. I loved Anson Mount, liked Rebecca Romijn. Hated that they shoehorned in TOS stuff – Khan, Uhura, Kirk, Chapel into a pre-TOS series instead of including original characters.
They keep pushing stuff like doing “new genres” or doing x, y or z “new” things in the franchise, but they never seem to want to do the one thing that they should be doing – great science fiction.
I felt like they doubled down on everything I didn’t like about the first season, and I stopped watching. I kept a very distant eye on the rest of season 2, and none of it was really appealing to me.
I could get upset, but I’m more apathetic at this point. I’m not sure anything is going to change until Paramount gets purchased and the new blood starts cancelling and declining existing contracts.
Oh look in the 3rd photo, Peck is acting out a Spock scene! Can’t wait.
Has anyone noticed the Anson Mount looks like Johnny Bravo as a vulcan?
Folks, I cannot believe we are in this timeline, getting new TOS (almost) content that’s absolutely top-notch in performance level, casting, effects, set design, and, the big ones, story and variety. SNW is ambitious! So inspiring!