The life of aStar Trekfan has long been a life of taking happiness where one can find it. For years, there was little beyond a new series each decade with ascattering of filmsfor seasoning. But forStar Trekfans in 2020, it seems their collective cup runneth over thanks to a multitude of series now running concurrent with several more on the way. The franchise is enjoying a renaissance of fresh interest and its bright future was recently summarized during a virtual panel from Comic Con at Home.
The intro to the panel featured a discussion with executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Heather Kadin who, among others, oversee most of whatStar Trekdoes these days. Quick mentions were made of upcoming seriesStar Trek: Strange New WorldsandStar Trek: Prodigy.Strange New Worldshadpreviously been revealedas a spinoff ofStar Trek: Discoveryfocusing on Captain Christopher Pike and his crew, known by long-time fans as the original crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, even before Captain James T. Kirk. No substantial new info on the show was given, but Kurtzman confirmed that writing for the series is currently going full steam.
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Star Trek: Prodigyhad been introduced as a work in progress last year, sans title. But now, executive producer Heather Kadin was able to officially announce the series, title and all. Discussion of the series ended there, but from the show’s original announcement, it’s known that it will be primarilytargeted at younger audiencesand will debut on Nickelodeon in 2021.
At this point, the panel kicked off at full throttle with a live table reading from theStar Trek: Discoverycast of a section from the show’s season 2 finale. After this lengthy yet still gripping sequence, the panel itself began proper with a cast Q&A featuring pre-submitted questions. Little of note occurred during the rest of theDiscoverysection, at least in terms of new information, but it was still a treat for fans.
After this, focus shifted to discussing the new kids on the block in theStar Trekuniverse. The upcoming comedy-focused animated showStar Trek: Lower Decksmade an appearance via series creator Mike McMahan. McMahan introduced a preview clip from the show which was an extended look at the “captain’s log” segment shown in the recently revealed debut trailer for the series. The clip itself revealed that the mission of the show’s ship, the Cerritos, is “second contact,” essentially a less flashy follow-up to the often depicted “first contact” with more paperwork. For those interested in continuity,Lower Decksis confirmed to be set in 2380, shortly after the events of the filmStar Trek: Nemesis.
Star Trek: Lower Decksis set to release on CBS All Access on August 6th.
This concluded the “new information” portions of the panel. A substantial discussion featuring the cast ofStar Trek: Picardfollowed, and it was likely the highlight for many viewers. But in terms of upcoming shows, thevirtual panelstill had plenty for fans to chew on. There’s always more that could be revealed, but hopefully most Trekkies in the audience got what they came for.
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