One thing that Star Trek: Discovery has unequivocally done well is surprise people with where the series is going at the end of each season. After the first season, we got the tease of the original Enterprise crew showing up in the second season, and in an even bigger move, the third season is launching into a far-flung future that we’ve never seen before in Trek. The new Star Trek: Discovery season 3 trailer for CBS All Access is showing it off, along with a lot of… hope?
Season 3 will find Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) separated from her crew at the beginning, where she meets Book (David Ajala), but the trailer shows that seems to be short-lived. The crew discovers a future that has fallen apart, with the Federation no longer around and something called the Burn having caused major chaos in the universe. It looks like the Discovery’s crew, clad in a lot more leather this season, will be the ones to help rebuild it.
One of the biggest complaints about the first two seasons of Star Trek: Discovery is how dour it often felt, eschewing the original Trek‘s concept of a hopeful future for turmoil and conflict. However, this season is reportedly marking a major tonal shift, and the trailer seems to be hinting at it. Instead of the infighting and treachery of the previous two seasons, this one seems to be built around the idea of the Federation as a symbol of hope and unification. Who knows if that will continue throughout the season, but the fact that they’ve been sent so far into the Trek universe’s future basically gives the showrunners a blank slate to do what they want both in terms of tone and continuity.
Also, they appear to not have barbers in the future’s future as Burnham’s hair gets long.
Star Trek: Discovery season 3 will premiere on Oct. 15 on CBS All Access, setting up a bit of a Star Trek/Star Wars bonanza in the month of October.
