A Massive Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Detail Means Season 3 Surely Needs More Than 10 Episodes

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 released a slew of beautiful character posters and, taken together, they reveal a massive detail about the highly-anticipated new season, which will consist of 10 episodes. Strange New Worlds season 2 bowed out in mid-2023, but the combined WGA and SAG-AFTRA writers' strike delayed season 3's filming by seven months. Strange New Worlds season 3 wrapped production in May 2024, but Paramount+ has not set a 2025 release date for the new season.

At the end of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, the USS Enterprise was caught in a cliffhanger no-win scenario. Several Enterprise crew members were kidnapped by the Gorn, Captain Marie Batel (Melanie Scrofano) was infected with Gorn eggs, and Starfleet ordered Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) to retreat from the cannibalistic aliens. After nearly two years of waiting, audiences still don't know what happens next in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, but something encouraging is made clear by Paramount+'s new character poster drop.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3's Cast Is Massive

The Starship Enterprise Is Big Enough To Hold This Cast

Paramount+ released 12 stunning character posters for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, which makes it clear that the prequel series' cast is massive. Along with series regulars like Anson Mount's Captain Pike, Jess Bush's Nurse Christine Chapel, and Babs Olusanmokun's Dr. Joseph M'Benga, Strange New Worlds season 3's cast posters even include recurring faces like Melanie Scrofano's Captain Marie Batel (who looks poised to survive her Gorn infection) and Paul Wesley's Lieutenant James T. Kirk. Check out every poster below:

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 already announced that Martin Quinn's Lt. Montgomery "Scotty" Scott is a series regular. Scotty joins Commander Pelia, played by Carol Kane, in the USS Enterprise's Engineering section. Also worth noting is Celia Rose Gooding's new hairstyle as Ensign Nyota Uhura, while Jess Bush's locks as Nurse Chapel are also longer. Finally, Anson Mount's poster seems to hint at the scars Captain Pike will have when his dark future comes to pass in Star Trek: The Original Series.

Strange New Worlds Season 3's Cast Is Actually Even Bigger

Even More Characters Appear In Strange New Worlds Season 3

While Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3's dozen poster drop is abundant, someone important is still missing: Dan Jeannotte's Lieutenant Sam Kirk inexplicably didn't receive a character poster. Although Sam is a recurring Strange New Worlds character, he is still significant, especially since Sam is the older brother of Lt. James T. Kirk. Sam also has numerous relationships on the Starship Enterprise, from a friendship with Captain Pike to the enmity of Lieutenant Spock (Ethan Peck).

Lt. Sam Kirk was one of the USS Enterprise crew kidnapped by the Gorn at the end of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2. However, Sam is safe from dying despite his lack of a Strange New Worlds season 3 poster. Star Trek: The Original Series' canon dictates that Sam won't die until 2267 in the TOS season 1 episode, "Operation - Annihilate!" Still, Lt. Sam Kirk deserved his own Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 character poster, and it's odd that he didn't get one.

Further, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 announced Cillian O'Sullivan joining the cast as Dr. Roger Korby, the future fiancé of Nurse Chapel. Our Flag Means Death's Rhys Darby will also be in Strange New Worlds season 3 in an unspecified role. However, both are likely guest stars, hence their lack of character posters. There are sure to be even more yet-to-be-revealed new faces guesting on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Seasons Needs More Than 10 Episodes

Here's Why It Won't Happen

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will be challenged to spotlight its growing cast in only 10 season 3 episodes. Strange New Worlds is episodic with ongoing character arcs, and many episodes are designed to spotlight one or two individual characters. As Strange New Worlds' cast continues to expand and become fan favorites, it's natural to worry some may get lost in the shuffle unless the prequel series gets more than 10 episodes a season.

Unfortunately, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' co-showrunners and executive producers Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers have confirmed that Strange New Worlds is locked into 10 episodes per season. In an interview with ScreenRant during San Diego Comic-Con 2024, Goldsman explained why Strange New Worlds seasons will only have 10 episodes:

Akiva Goldsman: No. I mean, not so far, and we’ve tried, in fairness. We, too, have that sense, and most practically represented by the number of cards that are episode cards. At the beginning of each season, we sort of go… It’s sort of like a Friends anthology. Let’s do ‘One Where,’ let’s do ‘The One Where…’ And we always have more cards than 10 by the end. Some of the other shows… Disco was 13… So we sort of batted our eyes and said, ‘Give us more’, and they said, ‘No, you can have less,’ and we’re like, ‘Okay! Ten’s good!'

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is one of the most popular Star Trek on Paramount+ series, and with season 4 on the way, it's quite possible that the prequel will not kill off any more characters after Lt. Hemmer (Bruce Horak) in Strange New Worlds season 1. Strange New Worlds may simply have to juggle its huge cast of characters throughout season 3 (and 4's) allotted 10 episodes, with perhaps some not appearing at times due to time constraints. But it's also a boon to know that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' beloved cast will be intact in season 3, hopefully throughout its entire 10 episodes.