Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 gets a Comic-Con preview, features puppets and mysteries

Created by Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet, and Akiva Goldsman, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 is expected to premiere on Paramount+ in 2026. The season recently made waves at the San Diego Comic Con on July 26, 2025, with the announcement of an ambitious creative experiment.

Season 4 will continue the adventures of Captain Christopher Pike and the crew of the USS Enterprise before Captain Kirk's command. The fourth season will follow the same format as the previous seasons, with ten episodes released weekly.

However, specific plot details are unavailable as the season was only just announced at San Diego Comic Con, but the series will likely maintain its episodic storytelling format. It was also announced at Comic Con that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 will be the penultimate season of the series.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 puppet episode

The Star Trek: Strange New Worlds creative team stunned fans at San Diego Comic-Con 2025 with an announcement video that teased season 4 of the series. However, to make things even better, the video featured a puppet episode created in collaboration with Jim Henson's Creature Shop.

Fans were shown a teaser trailer of Captain Christopher Pike in puppet form commanding the USS Enterprise. He sits in the captain's chair and even breaks the fourth wall by talking about Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4. The episode will be directed by Jordan Canning, who has directed the episodes Spock Amok, Charades, and Wedding Bell Blues in the series in the past.

Executive producer Akiva Goldsman explained the concept during the Comic-Con panel and alluded to the fact that there might have been an accident that led to the puppet episode.

“There might have been an unexpected and terrible transporter accident, which might have had some unexpected felt-like effects," said Goldsman, as reported by Variety.

What else did the Star Trek panel announce at San Diego Comic Con?

The Star Trek panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2025 delivered several major announcements, revealing Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4. The two notable reveals were the first looks at the Star Trek: Khan audio series and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.

Star Trek: Khan audio series

The panel unveiled the first teaser trailer for Star Trek: Khan audio series with a release date set for September 8, 2025. The series is set to feature Naveen Andrews voicing Khan Noonien Singh in a story that will explore the untold events of Ceti Alpha V. It chronicles Khan, who turned from a superhuman visionary into a vengeful villain in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Executive producer Alex Kurtzman also revealed that the audio series will feature two beloved Star Trek actors returning, with George Takei reprising his role as Captain Sulu and Tim Russ returning as Tuvok.

The series will run on Mondays and is based on the story by Nicholas Meyer, with Kirsten Beyer and David Mack serving as writers.

Also read: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 cast and character guide: Who’s returning, who’s new, and who’s playing what

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

Beyond the audio series, the panel also premiered the first teaser trailer for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, which confirmed the series will make its debut in early 2026. That will be a part of the franchise’s 60th anniversary celebrations, and the teaser introduced the U.S.S. Athena and gave fans a first look at the Academy's main campus in San Francisco.

The series will star Award winner Holly Hunter as Nahla Ake, the Chancellor of Starfleet Academy and Captain of the U.S.S. Athena. Beyond Hunter, the series will follow a group of cadets featuring Sam (Kerrice Brooks), Caleb Mir (played by Sandro Rosta), Jay-Den Kraag (Karim Diané), Darem Reymi (George Hawkins), and Genesis Lythe (Bella Shepard).

Not only that, several Star Trek veterans, including Tig Notaro, Oded Fehr, and Robert Picardo.

Also read: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 recap: All to know before season 3 arrives

Will Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 be the final season?

No, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 won’t be the final season, but it will be the series' penultimate season. That’s because Paramount+ has officially announced that the series has been renewed for a fifth and final season. The announcement for the same was made in June 2025, just before San Diego Comic-Con, where the producers and creators gave fans a sneak peek into Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4.

Interested viewers can watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on Paramount+.

About the author

Siddhant Anush Lazar is an Entertainment writer at Sportskeeda with four years of experience on the platform. With a BBA in Media and Communication, he has also contributed to content across several other digital media platforms, including SportsCafe, Soccer-Souls, and The Twelfth Man.

Siddhant finds great fulfilment in learning something new every day within the entertainment industry to ensure his work remains relevant. He is committed to writing engaging, well-researched articles that keep readers informed and entertained. Among his proudest professional moments was seeing his first article at the top of Google's search results.

Siddhant is inspired by JRR Tolkien, Eiichiro Oda, and Douglas Adams for their ability to craft immersive worlds and their dedication to storytelling. Beyond writing, he enjoys watching sports, television, and movies, as well as reading a catalog of books.

If granted a time machine, Siddhant would travel to 1985 to witness Queen at Live Aid or watch Arsenal finish the season unbeaten in 2004.

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Edited by Riya Peter