I Think Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Is Giving Fans A Horror Episode After New Season 4 Update

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 still doesn’t have a premiere date set on the 2025 TV schedule, but fans with a Paramount+ subscription can take comfort knowing there will be more to follow this next batch of episodes. Strange New Worlds Season 4 was greenlit in April 2024, and filming finally commenced earlier this month. Needless to say it’ll be a long time until we see what Season 4 has to offer, but new information has come to light that has now has me wondering if one of those things will be a horror episode.

This thought came to mind after seeing director Axelle Carolyn share on Instagram that she’s in Toronto, Canada to helm a “very special episode” of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. She thanked show creators Akira Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers for “trusting” her with Season 4’s fourth episode, so clearly something interesting is being cooked up. Carolyn also mentioned that she’s been a fan of this franchise ever since a friend of her introduced her to First Contact, one of the higher-ranking Star Trek movies, “some 25 years ago.”

So why do I think Carolyn coming aboard Strange New Worlds Season 4? Well, just look at her body of work. Among the TV shows she’s directed episodes for include The Haunting of Bly Manor, Creepshow, American Horror Story, The Midnight Club, Mayfair Witches and Them. With a resume like that, it’s hard to imagine that Carolun’s Strange New Worlds episode won’t have at least some frightening elements.

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To be sure, this wouldn’t be the first time that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has played around with the horror genre, with previous examples including Season 1’s “All Those Who Wander” (which ended with the death of Hemmer) and Season 2’s “Lost in Translation” (where Uhura saw visions of a zombie-like Hemmer). However, while I’m by no means a horror fan, I wouldn’t mind Strange New Worlds going full-on scary for an episode, albeit without getting too deep into R-rated territory. Axelle Carolyn certainly has the qualifications to make this happen.

But again, we have a long ways to go before learning what the fourth episode of Strange New Worlds Season 4 will be about. Carolyn is the second director who’s been announced for that season, following Jonathan Frakes, who’s also working on Starfleet Academy. Cast-wise, Anson Mount, Ethan Peck Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Melissa Navia, Babe Olusanmokun and Rebecca Romijn will remain attached as series regulars, and Paul Wesley will continue recurring as James T. Kirk.

As for what’s coming in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3, Martin Quinn will reprise Montgomery Scott as a main cast member, Carol Kane and Melanie Scrofano will respectively return as Pelia and Marie Batel, and some of the new faces set to appear include Cillian O'Sullivan as Roger Korby and Rhys Darby in an undisclosed role. We’ll keep passing along more notable news items on this prequel to The Original Series as part of our continuing coverage of upcoming Star Trek shows.