Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4: Release Date Rumors, Cast Shake-Ups, And Everything We Know So Far
You won't believe how unrecognizable Pike and the team become in a jaw-dropping, bizarre one-off episode that flips the show on its head.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is doubling down on delightful weirdness: one episode in season 4 turns the Enterprise crew into puppets. No, I do not know why. Yes, I absolutely want to see Captain Pike with felt hair.
So... puppets?
The show has gotten comfortable coloring outside the lines, and honestly, it suits it. We already had a full musical hour and that Lower Decks live-action crossover where Jack Quaid and Tawny Newsome hopped over from animation as Brad Boimler and Beckett Mariner. Now the team is pushing into puppet territory for one episode in season 4. The reason for the transformation is being kept quiet, but this one clearly took serious work. Showrunner Henry Alonso Myers said:
"A lot of time and care" went into it, estimating the work to have spanned "more than six months".
Inside baseball note: that timeline tracks. Building and shooting bespoke puppets that still read as these characters is not a weekend craft project.
When to expect season 4
No exact date yet, but Paramount Plus has the new season set for 2026. Production kicked off in March 2025, so pencil in late spring/early summer 2026 as the likely window — think May or June, which is when seasons 1 and 2 launched. Season 3 took the long way around thanks to the 2023 WGA and SAG strikes, but things are moving faster now. In fact, the show has already been renewed for a fifth (and final) season, which feels like a strategic move to get momentum back after the delays.
Who is back on the bridge
Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, and Celia Rose Gooding have been spotted on set, so they are locked in. Rebecca Romijn and Babs Olusanmokun are back as well, and we will see familiar faces returning as recurring guests, including Paul Wesley as a certain Kirk. The season 4 roster so far:
- Anson Mount as Christopher Pike
- Rebecca Romijn as Una Chin-Riley / Number One
- Ethan Peck as Spock
- Jess Bush as Christine Chapel
- Christina Chong as La'An Noonien-Singh
- Celia Rose Gooding as Nyota Uhura
- Melissa Navia as Erica Ortegas
- Babs Olusanmokun as Joseph M'Benga
- Martin Quinn as Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott
- Paul Wesley as James T Kirk
- Adrian Holmes as Robert April
- Dan Jeannotte as Sam Kirk
What season 4 is actually about
Per usual, the show is mixing classic Trek exploration with a few big swings. Expect the typical one-adventure-per-week structure, plus at least one comedic, reality-bending hour — the puppet episode — in the spirit of the musical and the Lower Decks crossover. Beyond that, specifics are under wraps for now.
Any footage yet?
No full trailer. Paramount Plus did screen a sneak peek of the puppet episode at San Diego Comic-Con 2025. When the official trailer arrives, it should land closer to the 2026 release window.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds streams on Paramount Plus, with season 4 set for 2026.