Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 is coming. It’s practically here! Here at Fangirlish, we’re polishing up our boots and setting our phasers to fun for the upcoming season. Set to premiere on July 23, 2026, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is broaching some perhaps uncharted territory. Dinosaurs, dragons, and puppets…?
Yes, puppets, and a whole host of other things. We’ve got a new trailer giving us a taste of what’s to come in the next season. And if there’s one thing you can say about Star Trek, it’s never boring. Watch the latest trailer and let’s discuss everything we know so far about Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4.
Leaning Into the Weird: The Trailer
If there’s one thing Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has done well thus far, it’s really leaning into the weird, and somehow managing to pull it off. Episodes like “Subspace Rhapsody,” “A Space Adventure Hour,” and “Those Old Scientists” come to mind. In this new trailer, we’ve got images of dinosaurs and what appear to be space dragons?!
To the best of my knowledge, as close as we’ve ever come to dinosaurs in Star Trek outside of models and museums is an episode of Star Trek: Voyager, “Distant Origin,” where the prevailing theory is that the alien race, the Voth, evolved from hadrosaurs. And if you’d like a real dino deep cut, check out the 1979 Star Trek Story Records #10, Dinosaur Planet.
All that being said, are we going to Jurassic Park? Is that Dinosaur Planet story record about to quadruple in price on eBay?! I guess we’ll have to watch and find out!
Now, let’s talk space dragons. Shockingly, dragons have been more likely to show up in Star Trek canon than dinosaurs. References to dragons can be found in episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Animated Series, and most recently in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 2 episode 7 “Where Pleasant Fountains Lie.”
Andy Billups talks about having pet dragons on his home planet of Hysperia. There are a few different planets where dragons or dragon-like creatures exist in the Star Trek universe, but most of them have only been referenced in passing. We’ll have to see which strange new world is dragon-infested this season!
Genre-Bending
Star Trek has a history of adding a sci-fi spin to a multitude of genres. We’ve had gangster stories in episodes like Star Trek: The Original Series’ “A Piece of the Action,” or detective stories with Picard’s Dixon Hill holodeck adventures or Data’s adventures as Sherlock Holmes in “Elementary, my Dear Data.” This season it looks like we’re doing something like that again by going back to the Old West.
Shots of three folks on horseback ride across the screen in the trailer. I’d say it’s a good guess that one of them is Captain Pike, who, according to Una is “utterly unsentimental except when it comes to horses.” While this isn’t the first time Star Trek has dabbled in the western genre, this is the first time that we’ve seen the genre in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
It looks like we may be dipping our toes into the horror genre in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4. We have a shot of a screaming and horrified Jim Kirk. There’s another shot of someone picking up what appears to be a large knife in a darkened room. And while it’s only on screen for a moment in the trailer, we have a shot of what appears to be a dead starship and an eerie-looking crew member gazing out the window with a finger to her lips, silencing anyone who might scream. I am in love with the idea of adding a splash of horror to my Star Trek. I can’t wait to see whatever this may be!
Finally, it’s hard to judge based on the small snippets we get, but we do see La’an doing a good bit of sword-fighting with a couple of folks dressed in armor and bearing swords. I’m always down for watching La’an kick butt and take names. However, my inner Lower Decks fan can only hope we’ve landed on Hysperia, which is effectively Planet RenFest. Bring it on, and while we’re at it, can we get Paul Scheer to cameo as Andy Billups’ ancestor? Please and thank you!
Final Thoughts
There are several other things I’ve got questions about in this Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 trailer. Pike’s face is scratched up or scarred in one scene. We’ve got a few new characters, some Andorians, and an alien race I didn’t readily identify, though they did remind me a bit of Jaylah in Star Trek Beyond. Also, who’s that kissing Scotty at the end of the trailer?! And while they’re not seen in this trailer, we were told last summer that we’re getting a puppet episode this season. As much as I want to see that episode, I’m glad they’re keeping it under wraps for now. I want to be as surprised as possible when I see it.
Finally, there appears to be an awful lot of Jim Kirk in a show that’s supposed to be about Pike’s Enterprise. And while I’ve gone on record to say that I think Paul Wesley is an excellent Jim Kirk, and I’m even prepared to say that he might be my favorite Jim Kirk, I do wish they would use him more sparingly in this series. Also, Spock seems to be opening up quite a bit to Jim. They did the mind meld in the Season 3 finale, so they do know a good bit about each other now, but this came across as rather intimate. Kirk/Spock shipping has existed since the show’s premiere 60 years ago, and fun fact, is the whole reason “slash fiction” got the name “slash fiction.” We’ll have to see where the series is going to boldly go.
As my girl, Lt. Erica Ortegas says in the trailer, “Hang on to something. Anything. EVERYTHING!” Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 looks to be an exciting ride at maximum warp.
What do you think of this new Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 trailer? Did you spot something I missed? Leave me a comment and let’s talk Trek!
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds seasons 1-3 are streaming now on Paramount+. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 will premiere on July 23, 2026, on Paramount+.
