Strange New Worlds Finale Sets Up Star Trek: Year One

The Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 finale is titled "Tomorrow's Enterprise," and it plants the seeds for a Kirk-led spinoff that may never happen. Directed by Chris Fisher and written by Henry Alonso Myers and Robbie Thompson, the episode was originally planned as the series finale.

Set in 2262, the finale jumps to an alternate future where James T. Kirk takes command of the Enterprise after Christopher Pike is promoted to Admiral. In canon, Kirk becomes Captain of the Enterprise in 2265.

That future points directly at Star Trek: Year One, a proposed Paul Wesley-led spinoff about Captain Kirk's Enterprise. Akiva Goldsman has said the window to greenlight the project has passed.

The episode also brought Star Trek: The Animated Series characters M'Ress, Sord, and Aleek-Om into live-action canon, with Thomas Jane cast as Dr. Leonard McCoy and Kai Murakami as Hikaru Sulu. As reported by screenrant.com, Strange New Worlds' Toronto sets were torn down in April.

Paramount+ has greenlit a fifth and final season of Strange New Worlds with 6 episodes, bringing the series to 46 episodes over five seasons. Meanwhile, Paramount Skydance — formed after Skydance Media purchased Paramount Global — plans a new theatrical Star Trek movie followed by new streaming series.