Season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds hasn’t been released, but actor Paul Wesley, who plays Captain James T. Kirk on the series, is already talking about filming Season 4. Per Screen Rant, Wesley said he’s “off to shoot Season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds in February.”
Wesley and his Vampire Diaries co-star Ian Somerhalder, own a bourbon brewing company. Wesley said some of his work for the company will be handed over to Somerhalder when he is off shooting Season 4. “So, I’ve accounted for that time, and I’m committed to that, and Ian’s gonna take over some of my duties and I have other team members,” Wesley said.
Wesley’s Kirk is a recurring character in the first two seasons of Strange New Worlds and will continue to be in Season 3. The series follows an earlier period before Kirk captains the starship Enterprise. Anson Mount stars in the series as Captain Christopher Pike. Filming on Season 3 of the series wrapped earlier this year and is expected to air on Paramount+ sometime in 2025.
More of Kirk and Spock’s Friendship to Come?
The third season may bring with it more hints of the friendship between Kirk and Spock (Ethan Peck). Wesley told Screen Rant there is going to be “some amazing stuff in Season 3.” He added, “It’s a slow burn. You don’t want to explore everything out of the gate. It’s nice to have the characters slowly get to know one another because that friendship is so important to this series.”
It’s nice to have the characters slowly get to know one another because that friendship is so important to this series.
Wesley said it is nice that the show is sprinkling in “hints of what’s to come. Hints of how connected they will be, even though they could not be more opposite. Kirk and Spock are very yin and yang in a good way. We explore that,” Wesley said.
A clip from Season 3 was shown at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con that showed a scene in which Pike and his crew are posing as Vulcans for a mission. The crew had been injected with a revised Kerkhovian serum and are transformed into Vulcans, lack of emotion and all, which ends up annoying Spock.
A returning behind-the-scenes presence will be director Jonathan Frakes. He is probably best known as Commander Will Riker from Star Trek: The Next Generation, and later Captain Riker in Star Trek: Picard. Frakes is a seasoned director having directed multiple episodes of several Star Trek series, Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Insurrection.
Earlier this year Frakes said one episode in particular that he directed for the upcoming season is“the best episode of television I’ve ever done.” Frakes added the episode has a “Hollywood Murder Mystery” theme. Frakes directed the “Those Old Scientists” episode of Strange New Worlds in Season 2, a crossover between the live-action show and the animated Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Strange New Worlds is not the only Star Trek series fans have to look forward to on Paramount+ in the near future. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is forthcoming, and will star Holly Hunter, Paul Giamatti, Tig Notaro, Oded Fehr and Mary Wiseman. Star Trek: Voyager’s Robert Picardo will be reprising his role as The Doctor.
A teaser trailer for Star Trek: Section 31, a movie starring Michelle Yeoh as Philippa Georgieou, dropped last month. The fifth and final season of Star Trek: Lower Decks, which stars Jack Quaid and Tawny Newsome, will premiere Oct. 24.