WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Discovery's Season 3 finale, "That Hope Is You, Part 2", now streaming on CBS All Access.
Season 4 of Star Trek: Discovery will feature new challenges for its crew, as well as a new type of villain, according to showrunner Alex Kurtzman.
"There have been many kinds of villains over the course of Star Trek," Kurtzman told Deadline during an online interview. "What happens when the villain is not actually any kind of living, breathing entity, but something else? How do you solve that problem?"
Kurtzman also discussed how Michael Burnham ascending to the captaincy of the U.S.S. Discovery will test her during the course of Season 4. "Burnham has spent a lot of time thinking she had to be one thing or the other and ended the season being rewarded with the captain’s chair for being two different things... Burnham is going to have to keep figuring that out. She’s going to have to keep learning what that means. Her relationship with Book will be tested in many ways, for reasons that I won’t tell you." He also discussed the cultural clashes that the reborn Federation will encounter. "The Federation is coming back together but it’s not fully back together."
During the two-part Season 3 finale, Burnham was granted the captain's chair of the Discovery while former captain Saru returned to his home planet of Kaminar. Season 4 is currently filming, with Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise returning as showrunners.
Streaming on CBS All Access, Star Trek: Discovery stars Sonequa Martin-Green as Commander Michael Burnham, Doug Jones as Commander Saru, Anthony Rapp as Lt. Commander Paul Stamets, Mary Wiseman as Ensign Sylvia Tilly, Wilson Cruz as Dr. Hugh Culber, David Ajala as Cleveland "Book" Booker, Blu del Barrio as Adira, Ian Alexander as Gray, Tig Notaro as Chief Engineer Reno and Michelle Yeoh as Philippa Georgiou. Seasons 1-3 are currently available to stream on CBS All Access.
Source: Deadline (via TrekMovie.com)