Star Trek: Discovery gives a look at subtle but symbolic changes to Season 2 opening credits

The new opening credits for Star Trek: Discovery boldly go where no Star Trek credit sequence has gone before — not even the show's first season.

With Star Trek prequel's second season premiering Thursday, Jan. 17, the show's official Twitter account posted an early look at their new opening credits earlier today. Though it's overall mostly the same, there are a few key differences, and the network teases that fans will need to catch the premiere in order to "find out what they mean."

The most noticeable change is the absence of the Klingon blades that circle the image of the starship Discovery. While they were the main adversaries in Season 1, the warring Klingon tribes were brought together under an uneasy alliance, which will be reflected in their appearance in Season 2 as well. The images have been replaced with a trio of Starfleet logos in their place, possibly hinting at a stronger Starfleet Federation.

Additionally, where the credits used to show a schematic of one of Starfleet's space helmets is now a schematic of the captain's chair. This is likely a nod to the arrival of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), who's left command of the pre-Kirk Enterprise to helm the Discovery. 

Another major difference is that the image of the Starfleet communicator has been replaced with a human silhouette that grows angel wings, veering deeper into the sequence's religious subtext. Finally, the hand giving the Vulcan salute no longer vanishes like Thanos snapped his fingers, cutting to an oversized Starfleet logo instead. And we all know Spock (Ethan Peck) will be around all season, both broken and bearded.

Of course, we'll have to wait and see what all this means for sure when Star Trek: Discovery kicks off its second season this Thursday exclusively on CBS All Access.