Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 trailer teases dinosaurs, cowboys, and a dragon

1 month ago 12

Published Jun 16, 2026, 10:00 AM EDT

The show is boldly going back in time

The final full season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds launches on Paramount Plus on July 23, and if this new season 4 trailer is any indication, showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers are taking some big swings. Season 5 will be just six episodes and cover the handoff of the Enterprise from Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) to James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley), but the fully episodic season 4 will very much be living up to the show’s promise of exploring strange new worlds.

The trailer opens with the aftermath of Kirk and Spock (Ethan Peck) mind-melding at the end of season 3, with Spock expressing his desire to share all his hopes, dreams, and fears with the man who will become his best friend. Kirk later quips, “I’m sure one day you’ll get to aim that logical mind of yours at some lucky captain.” That’s obviously meant as a nod to their future relationship aboard the Enterprise, but it’s odd given Spock is currently working for Captain Pike.

Beyond figuring out new relationships, the crew of the Enterprise is having some wild adventures. They're seen dressed as cowboys riding horses across a planet with floating stone platforms, aiming a phaser at a roaring T. rex while pterodactyls fly overhead, and sword fighting in a forest. Spock is manipulating some energy that could be psychic but looks almost magical, and a fire-breathing dragon attacks the Enterprise. Chief of security La'An Noonien-Singh and first officer Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn) are wearing fancy dresses and glowing. It looks like there’s going to be a horror-themed episode and a trip to a beachfront resort.

This being Star Trek, the fantasy elements could be anything from a holodeck incident to an omniscient alien messing with the crew, and the dinosaurs could definitely be the result of time travel. Strange New Worlds has embraced all of these gimmicks before. The trailer also promises more standard sci-fi adventures, with an SOS that turns out to be a trap, helmsman Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia) doing some fancy flying, and multiple cosmic explosions. Also, Joe Morton (Scandal, Eureka) shows up as a Starfleet officer with a mission for Pike, so that probably means trouble given Morton’s expertise at playing charming bad guys.

The trailer shows transporters flickering, which might be the lead up to the puppet episode teased last year. Strange New Worlds has previously pulled off a musical episode and an animated crossover, and the showrunners are making the best of the time they have left by continuing to push the envelope.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds returns July 23, with new episodes releasing Thursdays on Paramount Plus through Sept. 24.

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