Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 finally brought back the classic cliffhanger season finale fans remember from past Trek shows, but at a particularly troublesome time to do so. The ongoing WGA strike and SAG-AFTRA strike have resulted in many productions being put on hold, and they won't resume until a deal is negotiated. Season 3 is already confirmed, but now we know how quickly production could get rolling thanks to a creative for the upcoming season.
Producing director Chris Fisher, who is part of the team working on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3, recently appeared on TrekMovie.com's All Access Star Trek podcast. Fisher, who was slated to direct the Season 3 premiere at the time, remarked that prior to the shutdown, they were just "one day away" from really getting the season rolling:
I had storyboarded pretty much the entire first episode. That’s how close we were to starting shooting. We were one day away from flying the actors in. That's where we were like, “Do we fly the actors in?” That’s when it went above my pay scale.
Ultimately the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds cast did not report in, and many of them have popped up on the picket line to help support themselves and fellow writers and actors in their cause. There's no actual timetable on when to expect the conclusion of either strike, so all that can be done ultimately is to wait for a resolution.
While the end of these strikes is unpredictable, those behind the scenes at Star Trek: Strange New Worlds are working to ensure they'll be ready to hit the ground running once they conclude. According to Chris Fisher, there are timetables in place for what and how to get things done in a matter of weeks once people can return to work:
Myself and the producers up in Toronto, we kind of say, okay, let's say, at the end of this month, what would happen? What would we need to do to then get going? And then once the strike passes that, then we set it for the next month. We’re not that many weeks away from being able to start, absent all the other conflicts which may have arisen by now. Who knows what everyone is doing?
After Chris Fisher answered, it was brought up that another high-profile upcoming Trek project is also waiting to go into production, Section 31. With Michelle Yeoh in high demand in Hollywood following her Oscar win, there was speculation that there could be some interference in SNW's production, as Section 31 may take priority for scheduling purposes. Chris Fisher didn't see that as a major factor on either project and figured they could definitely "share" while running their productions at the same time.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 is highly anticipated thanks in part to a startling cliffhanger and confrontation with the Gorn. There are people stuck on the Gorn ship I'm really worried about, and Montgomery Scott is now on board the Enterprise. There's so much I want to see happen as soon as possible, which has me deeply invested in finding out just how soon the next season can get rolling.
Stream Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Seasons 1 and 2 with a Paramount+ subscription. There are plenty of old Trek episodes on the platform to help fans wait out the conclusion of the strikes, so hop on that if you're feeling anxious and upset we don't have Season 3 right now.
