Work is well underway for the Star Trek: Discovery spin-off Star Trek: Strange New Worlds with 10 stories already planned, confirms executive producer Alex Kurtzman. CBS All Access revived the Star Trek franchise on television with Discovery back in 2016 and quickly found great success in its new stories. Discovery took place years before The Original Series and introduced fans to new characters like Sonequa Martin-Green's Michael Burnham. Season 2 of Discovery wrapped up well over a year ago in April 2019 and introduced iconic Star Trek characters like Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), Number One (Rebecca Romijn), and Spock (Ethan Peck).

These introductions were so well-received by fans that CBS All Access decided to create a spin-off centered on the three characters. Strange New Worlds was officially announced back in May, along with the confirmation that it will focus on the adventures of the USS Enterprise years before the arrival of one James T. Kirk. Mount, Romijn, and Peck will all be back for this new series, which is said to take a more traditional, episodic approach to its storytelling.

Related: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Can Solve Pike's Mirror Universe Mystery

During the Star Trek Universe Comic-Con@Home panel, Kurtzman gave an update on Strange New Worlds' progress. While things are still in the early stages, Kurtzman revealed the writers' room has already been formed, and they've broken the initial 10 stories. Kurtzman shared:

The room has started. There are 10 stories broken, which is very exciting, and they're just sort of at the beginning, but it was one of those shows that I think everybody came in with such enthusiasm, and so much love.

Star Trek Strange New Worlds cast poses

Kurtzman also joked that he wanted to tell fans about Strange New Worlds at the last Comic-Con, proving that this series has been in the works for some time now. Fans were certainly hopeful that Pike would receive his own spin-off, so the news was welcome. As for this update, it sounds like Strange New Worlds is on track to commence production sometime next year. The writers will need to finish the scripts for the first season, and when taking potential coronavirus-related issues into account, it makes sense that filming would start in 2021. Depending on when that happens, CBS All Access could release Strange New Worlds as early as 2022.

This further supports what Star Trek fans already know: They'll have a lot of new content coming in the next few years. Aside from the third season of Discovery, which has been carrying on post-production remotely, there's also the second season of Star Trek: Picard to look forward to. That's not even taking into account the animated shows that are in the works, as well as the other Discovery spin-off Section 31. However, even with all of this going on, it appears as though Strange New Worlds is a major priority for CBS All Access. With the first stories already set in place, the Enterprise is almost ready for action (again).

More: How Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Will Differ From Discovery & Picard

Source: Star Trek Universe Comic-Con@Home panel