As Star Trek: Discovery season 4’s release date gets closer, a New York Comic-Con panel discussion and new trailer footage have introduced fans to some classic alien species in a bold new way. Leading on from the series’ season 3, where the show brought back fan-favorite alien species, season 4 will bring in a character who has Cardassian, Bajoran, and Human heritage, as well a striking species redesign. Star Trek: Discovery season 4 is scheduled for release on November 18.
Alongside a new Federation President of mixed alien-species heritage, played by Chelah Horsdal, the trailer footage for the fourth season shows that the Ferengi have received their first major design update. With their small stature, orange skin, and massive lobes, the Ferengi have been an instantly recognizable species in Star Trek since their introduction in the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. From then onwards, the species would regularly appear on screen as the villain of the week until Star Trek: Deep Space Nine added more depth to the species with a handful of complex and well-developed characters, chiefly Quark, Rom, and Nog. Other species to receive a redesign for Star Trek: Discovery have included the Klingons, one of Star Trek’s most iconic alien species, whose daring new design was revealed in the series’ earlier seasons.
Now, at the NYCC panel event, executive producer Michelle Paradise has shed some light on the reasoning behind the reintroduction and redesign of classic species. Paradise was open about her thought process, saying that the Star Trek: Discovery team was keen to see classic species make their return, but in ways that were “a little bit different” from what Star Trek fans might expect. Read Paradise’s full comments, via Trek Movie, below:
“We’re always looking for ways, now that we’re so far ahead, of who are the species we can see? What are we familiar with? How can we mix those things up a little bit? We did that actually quite a lot in in season three. The species that you’re familiar with, we put them in a different place. The Andorians are a little bit different than we expect, or the Orions, or whatever. And we’re continuing that into season four as we continue to expand the world and look at new places.”
Star Trek: Discovery hasn’t shied away from playing with expectations and changing the status quo, having previously given audiences radical new ship designs and other alterations. Some Star Trek alien species, including the Ferengi, have been on and off of screens for almost 40 years without receiving a significant aesthetic update. Therefore, the species’ redesign for the upcoming season should come as no surprise, especially considering Paradise’s comments and reasoning.
Paradise’s comments also raise questions about the future of other classic species, suggesting that changes to species might be more than just aesthetic. Many Star Trek species have historically been portrayed with a single character trait front and center: Klingons as brave, Romulans as cunning, Ferengi as greedy, and by suggesting that species won’t be as fans expect, Paradise could be signaling that this is about to change. Star Trek fans will be excited to consider how new characters might break out of their species’ stereotypical molds, as Nog did in Deep Space 9, in Star Trek’s near future. From the trailer and panel discussion, it’s clear that as Star Trek: Discovery and other new series push forward, Star Trek fans should expect to continue to see familiar species returning in unfamiliar ways.
Star Trek: Discovery season 4 will premiere on Paramount+ on November 18, 2021.
Source: Trek Movie
