The latest episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, titled "Level-Five Transporter Accident," features the Enterprise crew transformed into puppets. This development marks a significant departure for the Star Trek franchise, which will celebrate its 60th anniversary next month.
Historically, Star Trek has relied on makeup and prosthetics for alien characters, in contrast to the Star Wars franchise, which has frequently used puppetry. Henry Alonso Myers, the showrunner for Strange New Worlds, stated that the team spent considerable time ensuring the episode felt authentic to Star Trek.
The transformation of the crew into puppets was achieved with contributions from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. Ethan Peck's character, Spock, remains in his original form while interacting with the puppet versions of his shipmates.