Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Plot Details Revealed

The Star Trek: Strange New Worlds plot details have been kept closely guarded since the show was announced. Now, we have our first peek.

By Drew Dietsch | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

star trek strange new worlds plot feature

The Star Trek: Strange New Worlds plot details have been kept closely guarded since the show was announced. Now, we have our first peek at what this brand new show will focus on, and one of those facets is going to be a game-changer for Star Trek canon.

During an official panel discussion, the cast and crew of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds hinted at a number of plot elements to the upcoming series. We already knew that the show would take on a more episodic framework than Star Trek: Discovery, but series writer Akela Cooper mentioned that there will be “one plot point that we will be sprinkling through this series until we actually get to the episode.” So, it looks like there will be serialization happening throughout the first season.

One of those serialization elements will involve the character of Number One (Rebecca Romijn), also known as Una. This character showed up in the original pilot for Star Trek but was nixed when the show became a full-fledged series. She was revived in Star Trek: Discovery and will play a pivotal role in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Romijn mentioned that the writers’ room “floated an idea for Number One’s backstory that I’m not going to share right now because it blew my mind when they said it.” Sounds like Number One is going to have an important history that could affect the entirety of known Star Trek canon.

star trek strange new worlds plot number one

There is also going to be a strong focus on the core dynamic between Captain Christopher Pike, Number One, and Spock. Writer Davy Perez talked about how Pike and Number One act as “parental figures to the ship and in specific to Spock.” Spock is going to be a big focus for the show as he is “not the wise, old Spock from The Original Series, this is the young guy just out of Starfleet Academy and still finding himself—and what kind of Spock will he become?”

In regards to the more serialized elements, executive producer Henry Alonso Myers spoke about how the show will temper its episodic elements with carryover for the characters. “Audiences are sophisticated and so if Kirk falls in love and the love dies, the next week he’s going to still feel it and that is the kind of thing we wanted to carry over,” said Myers. “We want to bring a modern character sensibility to classic episodic storytelling.” This certainly sounds like the more classic way Trek has dealt with characters and storylines. It was most expertly showcased on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, so if Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is taking inspiration from that show, that is a very good sign.

Probably the biggest storyline will have to do with Christopher Pike and his eventual fate. Anson Mount knows where the character of Pike is headed and he is approaching that eventuality with the weight it deserves. “Pike didn’t just learn how he dies, he learns in what circumstances,” said Mount. “So we do know that at some point he’s going to be presented with a promotion opportunity to Fleet Captain. And he has to accept that in order for the fate to come into existence. So what is it that’s going to allow him, both in terms of circumstance and emotion, to accept that promotion?”

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is promising to return to a more classic mold of Star Trek storytelling, but it also sounds like there will be plenty of new serialized elements for fans of that kind of story. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will likely debut on CBS AllAccess sometime in 2022.

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