Just when fans thought Star Trek couldn’t get weirder, Paramount dropped a Strange New Worlds Season 4 teaser at Comic-Con, and it featured Captain Pike as a puppet. Yes, really.
The short preview (watch below) reveals that Strange New Worlds is going full puppet-verse, complete with designs from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.
But reactions online haven’t been kind. Following the already brutal fan response to the Starfleet Academy trailer, the puppet teaser has fans wondering if Trek is going off the rails.
Pike Is Hanging By a Thread—Literally
The puppet episode is part of the upcoming fourth season and was revealed during the Star Trek Hall H panel. According to Paramount, the puppet story is directed by Jordan Canning (Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock) and will showcase the U.S.S. Enterprise crew reimagined as puppets (seriously).
The episode, part of the franchise’s genre-bending approach, follows on the heels of Season 3’s “A Space Adventure Hour”, a holodeck-themed murder mystery that will be made available to stream free across multiple platforms from July 31 through August 6.
More Season 3 and 4 Details
Strange New Worlds Season 3 premiered earlier this month and continues weekly through September 11. The show picks up after the Gorn conflict in Season 2, with Captain Pike (Anson Mount), Spock (Ethan Peck), and the rest of the crew facing new threats, genre-twists, and character drama.
The surprise puppet episode isn’t the only wild swing for the show. Season 3 also includes comedy, romance, mystery—and now, literal felt and foam.
Fan Response: This Isn’t the Trek I Grew Up With
While Strange New Worlds was once praised for being a return to classic Trek, the recent push into musical episodes, animation, and now puppets has drawn criticism. Many fans online are comparing the new creative direction to Lower Decks or The Muppets, saying it’s a far cry from the thoughtful sci-fi the franchise was known for.
With Starfleet Academy already getting ratioed on YouTube, this new puppet tease may be further evidence of growing fan fatigue with the current Trek team led by Alex Kurtzman.
Rumors offer following the Skydance take over that Kurtzman will be out and that Star Trek will be rebooted. Well, it can’t come fast enough.
Watch the official teaser:
