'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds': Captain Pike Fends Off the Gorn in Season 1 Deleted Scene (Exclusive)

The Enterprise is forlorn, because of the Gorn. 

The first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds dug into the U.S.S. 1701 origins, including a very close encounter with one of the franchise’s most infamous foes. 

ET exclusively debuts a first look at the deleted scenes from the season 1 Blu-ray set, which hits shelves March 21. In this sneak peek of an expanded sequence that was left on the cutting room floor, the crew’s newly developed bond is put to the test. Captain Pike (Anson Mount) and Mr. Spock (Ethan Peck) examine their limited survival options while up against Starfleet’s perennial foe, the Gorn, in episode 9, "All Those Who Wander." 

The never-before-seen moment sees La'an (Christina Chong) reminding Pike, "I warned you." The "I told you so" moment follows the revelation that her brother was killed by a Gorn, leaving La’an with severe PTSD and setting her up to be the ship’s resident critic of the reptilian species. By this point, the crew is also down a newly promoted ensign, leading Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) to echo La’an’s feelings and tells Pike that the Gorn "are monsters."

Star Trek: Discovery first introduced Mount’s take on the legendary Starfleet captain, establishing that he was shown his tragic fate on Boreth. Of course, he eventually gets a happy ending in the original series era ("The Menagerie.") And just a few episodes later in the show’s first season, Captain Kirk (William Shatner) faces off against the Gorn ("Arena") mano a mano, years after his brother, Lieutenant Sam Kirk (Dan Jeannotte), would first encounter them on SNW.

The series has become one of the most highly regarded additions within the second TV renaissance of Gene Roddenberry’s universe. And in the wake of learning that DIS is ending after its upcoming fifth season, Trekkies have even more reason to seek out Pike and co. 

Looking ahead to its second season, there’s a milestone on the horizon for Star Trek, by way of SNW’s crossover with Lower Decks. The Next Generation’s Jonathan Frakes directed the unprecedented overlap, which sees two of the animated show's voice actors, Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid, playing live-action versions of their characters, Ensigns Mariner and Beckett.

SNW’s sophomore season also adds TV sitcom legend Carol Kane to the cast. "She is hilarious," Chong told ET in September at the Star Trek Day celebration. "She doesn't crack a smile, even if I'm laughing in her face, because she's just so funny. She's hilarious. It’s just the best experience ever."

Celia Rose Gooding, who stepped into the iconic role of Nyota Uhura -- made famous by the late Nichelle Nichols on TOS -- said fans can expect more interactions within the show’s ensemble. They teased to ET, "We'll get to see a lot of co-mingling of our Enterprise crew in a way that we haven't seen before."

Season 1 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds arrives on Blu-ray, DVD and limited edition Blu-ray Steelbook on March 21. The second season premieres in 2023 on Paramount+. 

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