Strange New Worlds Will Officially Show Everyone What Captain Kirk's Star Trek Spinoff Will Look Like

Image credit: Paramount+ Published Jul 27, 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. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 will show everyone, including Paramount+, what its proposed Captain James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) spinoff, Star Trek: Year One, will look like. Strange New Worlds was one half of Paramount+'s San Diego Comic-Con Star Trek 60th anniversary Hall H panel, where a new sizzle reel for season 4 was revealed. Arguably the best of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4's trailers, some of the footage from the Comic-Con teaser appears to be from Strange New Worlds season 4's finale, "Tomorrow's Enterprise," where Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) somehow becomes or switches places with her future self, Lieutenant Uhura, from Star Trek: The Original Series. The final shock in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4's Comic-Con teaser, however, is the last bit of footage, where Lieutenant Uhura and Scotty (Martin Quinn) bring a shuttlecraft flight plan to the Captain of the Enterprise, who turns and reveals himself as James T. Kirk. "Thank you, Mr. Scott," Captain Kirk replies as he accepts the PADD with a smile. Strange New Worlds Season 4 Will Show Paramount What Captain Kirk’s Star Trek: Year One Spinoff Will Look Like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Comic-Con teaser made a promise that the series will fulfill: Captain Kirk and the USS Enterprise from Star Trek: The Original Series (more accurately, Strange New Worlds' version of them) will appear in season 4. This glimpse into the future Strange New Worlds is building towards is effectively a proof of concept of the proposed spinoff, Star Trek: Year One, to fans and to Paramount+. During press for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, executive producers and co-showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers began speaking publicly about their hopes for Star Trek: Year One to pick up where Strange New Worlds leaves off. Their idea is to tell new stories about James T. Kirk's first year as Captain of the Enterprise. Theoretically, Paul Wesley would lead Star Trek: Year One as Captain Kirk, with Ethan Peck's Mr. Spock, Martin Quinn's Scotty, Celia Rose Gooding's Uhura, and Jess Bush's Nurse Christine Chapel aboard. They would be joined by Kai Murakami as Hikaru Sulu and Thomas Jane as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, both of whom will debut in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' series finale. However, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 will essentially preview Star Trek: Year One in "Tomorrow's Enterprise," which makes the title even more fitting. It's even possible that "Tomorrow's Enterprise" could show Bones and Sulu early, and that their announcement for the season 5 finale was a decoy to protect the potential surprise of seeing them in season 4. Can Strange New Worlds Season 4 Make Star Trek: Year One Happen? Image credit: Paramount+ Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers confirmed to ScreenRant that there are no plans at Paramount+ to make Star Trek: Year One, but they "stand at the ready" if they get a call with a green light. However, Goldsman and Myers were thinking ahead and are, perhaps, stacking the odds in Star Trek: Year One's favor by showing what it would look like in Strange New Worlds season 4. Stardate 47988.1 · Crew Assessment The Final FrontierTrivia Challenge 🚀ShipsEnterprise! ⭐CrewMake it so ☠EnemiesResistance is… ⚡TechWarp speed! 📖LoreLive long… ENGAGE → 01 The USS Enterprise is the most iconic starship in science fiction. What is the registry number of Captain Kirk’s original Enterprise from The Original Series? ANCC-1701-D BNX-01 CNCC-1701 DNCC-74656 ✓ Correct! NCC-1701 is the registry of Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise. The “-D” suffix belongs to Picard’s Galaxy-class ship, NX-01 is Archer’s Enterprise, and NCC-74656 is Voyager. ✗ Red alert! The answer is NCC-1701. Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise carried this now-legendary registry. NCC-1701-D is Picard’s Enterprise from TNG, NX-01 is Captain Archer’s, and NCC-74656 belongs to Voyager. NEXT → 02 Kirk’s most trusted officer is a half-human, half-Vulcan science officer famous for his logic and iconic salute. Who is this legendary character? AData BSpock CTuvok DSarek ✓ Correct! Mr. Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy, is the half-Vulcan science officer whose “Live long and prosper” salute became a cultural icon. His struggle between logic and emotion defines the heart of the Original Series. ✗ Red alert! The answer is Spock. Data is an android from TNG, Tuvok is Voyager’s Vulcan tactical officer, and Sarek is Spock’s Vulcan father. Only Spock is the half-human, half-Vulcan first officer of Kirk’s Enterprise. NEXT → 03 Starfleet’s most important regulation forbids interference with the natural development of alien civilizations. What is this guiding principle called? AThe Temporal Accord BGeneral Order One CThe Omega Directive DThe Prime Directive ✓ Correct! The Prime Directive (also known as General Order 1) is Starfleet’s most sacred law. It prohibits interfering with less-developed civilizations — though Kirk, Picard, and Janeway have all famously bent or broken it when lives were at stake. ✗ Red alert! The answer is the Prime Directive. While “General Order One” is technically another name for it, the Prime Directive is the universally known term. The Omega Directive and Temporal Accord are separate, more specialized Starfleet protocols. NEXT → 04 “Resistance is futile.” This chilling declaration belongs to a cybernetic collective that assimilates entire civilizations into its hive mind. What is this fearsome species called? AThe Borg BThe Dominion CThe Romulans DSpecies 8472 ✓ Correct! The Borg are Star Trek’s most terrifying villains — a hive-mind collective that forcibly assimilates species and technology. Captain Picard was famously assimilated and transformed into Locutus in the landmark TNG episode “The Best of Both Worlds.” ✗ Red alert! The answer is the Borg. The Dominion is the Gamma Quadrant empire from DS9, the Romulans are a rival empire, and Species 8472 is actually one of the few species that the Borg themselves fear. Only the Borg declare “Resistance is futile.” NEXT → 05 Captain Jean-Luc Picard commands the Enterprise-D in The Next Generation and later received his own series, Star Trek: Picard. Which acclaimed actor portrays him? AWilliam Shatner BAvery Brooks CPatrick Stewart DScott Bakula ✓ Correct! Sir Patrick Stewart brought gravitas, Shakespeare, and Earl Grey tea to the captain’s chair for seven seasons of TNG, four films, and three seasons of Star Trek: Picard. His “Make it so” is one of TV’s most iconic catchphrases. ✗ Red alert! The answer is Patrick Stewart. William Shatner plays Captain Kirk, Avery Brooks is Captain Sisko on Deep Space Nine, and Scott Bakula captains the NX-01 Enterprise. Only Sir Patrick Stewart portrays the legendary Jean-Luc Picard. NEXT → 06 Starfleet vessels travel faster than light by bending space around them using a matter-antimatter reaction. What is this propulsion system called? ATranswarp Drive BWarp Drive CSlipstream Drive DSpore Drive ✓ Correct! Warp Drive is the standard faster-than-light propulsion in Star Trek, powered by dilithium-regulated matter-antimatter reactions. Zefram Cochrane invented it in 2063, which led to humanity’s first contact with the Vulcans. ✗ Red alert! The answer is Warp Drive. Transwarp is an advanced Borg technology, Slipstream is an experimental quantum drive, and the Spore Drive uses mycelial network navigation (from Discovery). Standard Starfleet vessels use Warp Drive. NEXT → 07 At Starfleet Academy, cadets face a notorious no-win scenario designed to test their character under impossible circumstances. James Kirk is the only cadet who ever beat it — by cheating. What is this test called? AThe Prometheus Trial BThe Omega Simulation CThe Corbomite Maneuver DThe Kobayashi Maru ✓ Correct! The Kobayashi Maru is an unwinnable rescue simulation that tests how cadets handle certain death. Kirk reprogrammed it so he could win — earning a commendation for original thinking. It was memorably featured in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. ✗ Red alert! The answer is the Kobayashi Maru. The Corbomite Maneuver is a TOS episode, not an Academy test. The Kobayashi Maru is the famous no-win scenario that Kirk defeated by reprogramming the simulation — because he doesn’t believe in the no-win scenario. NEXT → 08 In the widely regarded greatest Star Trek film, a genetically enhanced superhuman from Earth’s past seeks revenge against Captain Kirk. “KHAAAAN!” Who is this iconic villain? AKhan Noonien Singh BGeneral Chang CQ DGul Dukat ✓ Correct! Khan Noonien Singh, played by Ricardo Montalbán, is Star Trek’s greatest villain. First appearing in the TOS episode “Space Seed,” he returned in The Wrath of Khan (1982) for a devastating revenge plot that cost Spock his life. ✗ Red alert! The answer is Khan Noonien Singh. General Chang is a Klingon from Star Trek VI, Q is TNG’s omnipotent trickster, and Gul Dukat is DS9’s Cardassian antagonist. Only Khan inspired Kirk’s legendary scream across the cosmos. REVEAL MY SCORE → Mission Complete Your Starfleet Record / 8 Are you an Admiral — or still a cadet on deck-scrubbing duty? ↻ RE-ENGAGE With every Star Trek series at Paramount+ canceled and no new shows in development, it seems that the streamer intends for Star Trek to take a hiatus. And yet, plans could change, as Goldsman and Myers are hoping. Audience clamor for Star Trek: Year One, if "Tomorrow's Enterprise" is rapturously received, may well be difficult for Paramount+ to ignore. After all, the outpouring of love for Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike in Star Trek: Discovery season 2 is what led to the creation of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. However, three years of dedicated letter writing and campaigning has not budged Paramount+ into making Star Trek: Legacy, Star Trek: Picard season 3's proposed spinoff. Making the prospect of Star Trek: Year One more difficult is that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' USS Enterprise sets in Toronto have been torn down, with pieces auctioned off. Goldsman and Myers likely hoped to slide into shooting Star Trek: Year One on the same sets, redressed for the new Captain, and with mostly the same cast and crew in front of and behind the camera. Star Trek: Year One is also up against many fans' opinion that the Captain Kirk show already happened 60 years ago when it was called, simply, Star Trek, and starred William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy (and they are right). There is certainly merit in the audience's desire for Star Trek to stop making prequels in already well-trodden eras, and instead, introduce a new ship, a new crew, and tell all-new stories. Still, Star Trek is in the optimism business. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is undeniably popular, impeccably cast with actors who gel wonderfully together, and it's a shame that they are only getting five seasons and 46 total episodes. The audience will decide how much they want Star Trek: Year One when they see Captain Kirk in action in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4, and so will Paramount+. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4's new episodes premiere every Thursday 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