Star Trek: Strange New Worlds blew fans away this year with one of the best first seasons of a Trek show since maybe the original series. So fans have been eagerly awaiting season two news—especially since it’s already wrapped filming. Although Paramount+ gave no debut date for the second season during its Star Trek Day stream on Thursday, we did get our first new casting announcement. We also got our very first clip from season two.
Legendary actress and comedian Carol Kane is joining the crew as a new engineer. Her character’s name is Pelia. Kane is known for her decades-long acting career, which includes roles from a metric ton of TV series—and, of course, The Princess Bride. So, is Pelia replacing the dearly departed Lt. Hemmer as Chief Engineer? It sure seems likely. We have our first look at Kane in her Starfleet uniform above.
Pelia seems to be an all-new character, and not based on anyone from previous Star Trek lore. The first season finale of Strange New Worlds hinted that we might see Scotty take on the role of Chief Engineer soon, as we heard his voice in a scene set in the future. But perhaps the producers are taking their time in introducing Montgomery Scott to the series. And maybe all the Chief Engineers on Strange New Worlds will only last one season, until we inevitably get to our dear Mr. Scott. That’s just our speculation though.
In addition, for Star Trek Day, Paramount+ revealed the first scene for an upcoming episode of the series, which you can view above. This one focuses on Lt. Erica Ortegas, who seems eager to go on an away mission on the planet Rigel VII. (Usually, she’s confined to piloting the Enterprise). That world is a name very familiar to Star Trek fans. It’s the planet Captain Pike led a dangerous away mission to in the original pilot episode, “The Cage.” Various other Star Trek series since have name-dropped Rigel VII as well. But if we see the planet in this episode, it will be the first time since 1966. We’re sure it’ll be worth the long wait.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season two debuts in 2023.