Star Trek Meets Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” In Strange New Worlds’ Horror Episode

Published Jul 30, 2026, 10:48 PM EDT John Orquiola is a New & Classic TV Editor, Senior Writer, and Interviewer with a special focus on Star Trek. John has over 5,000 published articles at SR, and he has interviewed the biggest names in Star Trek on the red carpet and VIP events, among other beloved shows, movies, and franchises. Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4, Episode 2 - "The Griffin Incident" Star Trek: Strange New Worlds pays a perfect homage to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" while filming its new horror episode. Directed by Axelle Carolyn and written by Robbie Thompson, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4, episode 2, "The Griffin Incident" is a startlingly spooky affair. Lieutenant La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong), Lieutenant Spock (Ethan Peck), and Lt. Commander James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) board a ghost ship, the USS Griffin, and face their deepest fears thanks to the malignant entity possessing the derelict starship. Image credit: Paramount+ On her Instagram, Christina Chong shared a photo dump from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4, episode 2, that concludes with a brilliant video of herself leading the zombies as they perform Michael Jackson's signature dance from his "Thriller" music video. Joining Chong and the zombies are director Axelle Carolyn and writer Robbie Thompson. Check it out below: Christina Chong is a talented dancer and singer, and she matches Michael Jackson's iconic moves from his classic music video directed by John Landis. All that was really missing was Vincent Price's eerie voice-over. Of course, it's impossible not to think of "Thriller" when La'an is surrounded by zombies in the USS Griffin's Engineering bay. The timing of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' horror episode and "Thriller" homage couldn't be more in sync with the zeitgeist. Just a few months ago, Michael, director Antoine Fuqua's biopic about the King of Pop, grossed over one billion dollars worldwide and reignited the pop culture relevance and global love for Michael Jackson, thanks to Jaafar Jackson's uncanny portrayal of his late uncle. Credit: MovieStillsDB Christina Chong, who is also a popular recording artist, previously released new music to coincide with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' second and third seasons. However, as Christina told ScreenRant, she was too busy filming Strange New Worlds seasons 4 and 5 back-to-back in 2025 to hit the studio and cut new tracks. Perhaps Christina Chong will include a Michael Jackson song cover if she releases new music in tune with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' fifth and final season. In the meantime, Christina understood the assignment and became the life of a "Thriller" zombie party while filming "The Griffin Incident." Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4, episode 2, "The Griffin Incident" is now streaming on Paramount+ Release Date 2022 - 2027-00-00 Network Paramount+ Showrunner Henry Alonso Myers, Akiva Goldsman Directors Dan Liu, Amanda Row, Maja Vrvilo, Akiva Goldsman, Dermott Downs, Eduardo Sánchez, Jeffrey W. Byrd, Jonathan Frakes, Jordan Canning, Leslie Hope, Valerie Weiss, Sydney Freeland, Christopher J. Byrne, Rachel Leiterman Writers Onitra Johnson Franchise(s) Star Trek Creator(s) Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet