New Guest Stars Announced for Strange New Worlds Season 3

Paramount+ has officially released the trailer for Season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. The trailer comes ahead of the show’s official premiere date of July 17, 2025. Fans had previously only been given a brief teaser for the third season back in April.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 will pick up directly from the last episode of the previous season. Season 2 ended on a cliffhanger with the Enterprise and several other crew members held captive by the Gorn. Gorn had previously attacked a Federation colony world, and while the Enterprise was sent to protect the colony, it was also caught up in the battle. The season 2 finale saw Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) deciding whether to follow Starfleet orders and retreat or disobey and try to rescue the hostages.

True to form, Pike decides to take the more heroic option and tries to help. Last October, Paramount+ released some footage from Season 3 during New York City Comic-Con. The footage begins at the same moment that Season 2 left off, and the crew of the Enterprise is shown stuck in a thrilling space battle with the Gorn. It seems that the trailer for Season 3 will pick up after this point. The trailer shows off more of the show’s larger-than-life space battles and appears to promise the finale of the Gorn war, as well as new conflicts and adventures.

Paramount+ is very explicit in the description of the trailer that the show will be changing things up with Season 3. Not only will the crew have to find a way to finish this war, but they will also have to deal with new foes. This new antagonist will reportedly “test the very bonds of loyalty, courage, and resilience of Pike and his crew.” Strange New Worlds Season 3 also appears to have more thematic variation than previous episodes have. The trailer teases episodes about faith, duty, romance, and friendships, as well as “classic” Trek science fiction and adventure. Episodes will also reportedly have different tones to them, and will branch into comedy, drama, and mystery in the same way that previous Star Trek series have not.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 will continue to be led by the same main and recurring cast as previous seasons. Newcomer Cillian O’ Sullivan has been added to the cast to play Dr. Roger Korby. Korby was a Star Trek: The Original Series character, who was played by Michael Strong. On Strange New Worlds’ timeline, Korby is known as a famous archaeologist and expert in medical archaeology. He is also a long-lost fiancée of Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush). Spock and Chapel have started a relationship in the current timeline, which could present some awkward moments for Chapel when Korby returns. In addition to O’Sullivan, Rhys Darby and Patton Oswalt have also been cast as guest stars in Season 3. Rhys Darby, a comedic actor who is known for shows like What We Do in the Shadows and The Flight Attendant, will reportedly appear in “action-packed episodes”. Patton Oswalt has become well known for voice acting, but is also a veteran comedian, and will also star in action episodes of Strange New Worlds.

Paramount+ had first teased a variety of genre episodes in April’s teaser trailer for Season 3. The trailer sees crew members recapping a recent mission, and it is implied that they are retelling various types of episodes that have aired. This includes action, horror, and parody or homage-style episodes. The new trailer seems to support this and features numerous characters sharing inside jokes and bonding over it. Moments of joy and light-heartedness can be seen for characters such as Uhura and the bot Elnor. The main romance, between Chapel and Spock, is also seen being played out in the trailer. Romance is a central part of this season, with Kirk’s familiar voice being heard in the background, hinting at events from Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan.

During the trailer, a science experiment blows up on the Enterprise, and one of the science officers is poisoned, seemingly resulting in his death. There was previously a similar incident in Season 2, which Pike noted in a lighter tone that death in space was a “very common occurrence”. Additionally, during the trailer, Kirk (Paul Wesley) is briefly put into the Enterprise command chair, as Pike briefs him on leadership. It is unclear why Kirk is in command, but it is clear from Pike’s dialogue that it will be significant. It is almost implied to be Kirk’s “testing” as Captain, which is a central part of Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan. In the scene, Pike is talking to Kirk while he is in the command chair and tells him, “The choices you make in that chair, they are yours to make and yours to live with.”

The trailer ends with the only fully comedic sequence in the preview, involving Spock and Patton Oswalt’s character, a Vulcan of some sort. A beat-for-beat scene shows Spock teaching the Vulcan a “high five” trick. He successfully pulls it off once, then imitates the “too slow” move when asking him to do it “down low.” The Vulcan replies, “Why would you do that?” Spock then delivers one of the most Spock lines in Trek history: “Because you are too slow.”

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Release Date and Episodes

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 will premiere on Paramount+ on July 17, 2025. The episodes will drop weekly on Thursdays until September 11, 2025. The series was renewed for a Season 4 before Season 3 had aired, so fans will be able to see a full two seasons of Strange New Worlds.