Star Trek Sets Up Kirk Demanding A Big USS Enterprise Change After Strange New Worlds

Published Aug 4, 2026, 8:00 AM 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"A traumatic event Lt. Commander James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) undergoes in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 could explain a major redesign of the USS Enterprise's bridge. Directed by Axelle Carolyn and written by Robbie Thompson, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4, episode 2, "The Griffin Incident," places Kirk, Lieutenant Spock (Ethan Peck), and Lieutenant La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) aboard a ghost ship, the USS Griffin. The USS Enterprise NCC-1701 in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is the same Constitution-class starship that Captain Kirk (William Shatner) will command in Star Trek: The Original Series. The Starship Enterprise was launched in 2245 under Captain Robert April (Adrian Holmes), and Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) has commanded Enterprise since 2250. During that time, Enterprise has undergone refits. It's safe to predict that the USS Enterprise will be refitted again for Captain Kirk. Pike's Enterprise only has a complement of 203 crew members. Kirk's Enterprise will carry 430 Starfleet Officers. The interior of the starship will have to be redesigned to hold double the crew. Indeed, Kirk's Captain's quarters in Star Trek: The Original Series are a fraction the size of Pike's, lacking Chris' luxurious kitchen and fireplace. Star Trek Theory: Captain Kirk Has The USS Enterprise's Main Viewer Redesigned After Strange New Worlds Perhaps seeing Lieutenant Sam Kirk (Dan Jeannotte) blown through the USS Enterprise's main viewer to a gruesome death in outer space will motivate Captain Kirk to have the bridge redesigned so that the main viewer is just a screen and not a window in Star Trek: The Original Series. James witnessing Sam's death could be the impetus for this Enterprise change. In Star Trek: The Original Series, and every Star Trek movie and show until 2009, the main viewers of Starfleet ship's bridges are screens and not windows. Starship bridges, most often found at the top of saucer sections, are fortified for defensive reasons, and this was the standard until J.J. Abrams' Star Trek (2009) changed the Starship Enterprise's viewscreen into a window. Granted, the Sam Kirk that Jim saw die in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4, episode 2 wasn't really his brother. It was a manifestation that the malignant entity controlling the USS Griffin pulled from James' mind. Yet the trauma Jim experienced seeing Sam would feel very real, and not easily forgotten. The same with the emotional scars of La'an stabbing Kirk while predicting his son's death. Anson Mount has said that the justification for Pike having a kitchen in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was that every Captain gets "one special ask." When the USS Enterprise is refitted for Kirk's command, perhaps the new Captain's "ask" is to get rid of the window on the bridge and make the main viewer simply a screen, so that none of his crew can ever be blown through it to their grisly death. USS Enterprise’s Viewscreen Window Was Because Of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek 2009 Reboot The USS Enterprise bridge's main viewer/window in the alternate Kelvin Timeline was the invention of Star Trek (2009) screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. Reported by TrekMovie, Orci and Kurtzman explained that the Enterprise's viewscreen "was based on the odd fact that, although the bridge didn't usually have a window, it was nonetheless situated, much like a naval ship, at a high look-out vantage point (which, by the way, seems unnecessarily vulnerable to attack). Rather than move the bridge, we added a window to justify its location." Starship bridges having window/viewscreens then retroactively became a standard feature in Star Trek on Paramount+'s TV series, starting with Star Trek: Discovery. This isn't surprising after Alex Kurtzman became the executive producer overseeing all of Star Trek on Paramount+. The USS Enterprise bridge was retconned with a viewscreen/window when it appeared in Star Trek: Discovery. However, with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' ending planned to sync with Star Trek: The Original Series, perhaps the Starship Enterprise will be restored to the way it looks in classic Star Trek, inside and out. This would include eliminating the window on the bridge. Captain Kirk watching Sam's death by deep space defenestration would give Jim a logical reason to demand this change. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4's new episodes premiere Thursdays 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