The Star Trek Universe makes a splash at Comic-Con with Brave New Worlds footage, cast additions, and more!
While the feature-film side of Star Trek struggles to engage its warp drive, the television side has been doing great, with various live-action and animated shows to expand the franchise. The Star Trek Universe took to Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con to tease what’s coming for the long-running franchise.
During the panel, Paramount+ unveiled a first-look clip and photos for the third season of the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds series. There to make Hall H attendants lose their collective minds were Star Trek alums Rebecca Romijn and Ethan Peck, executive producers Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman, and Henry Alonso Myers. Paramount seized the opportunity to announce Cillian O’Sullivan’s appointment as a recurring guest star in the upcoming season, playing the legacy role of Dr. Roger Korby, first introduced in Star Trek: The Original Series and played by Michael Strong. Dr. Korby is an accomplished archaeologist and scientist known for advancing the arena of medical archaeology.
In addition to adding Dr. Korby, Scotty, the chief engineer of the starship USS Enterprise, will be a series regular for Season 3. Strange New Worlds is set around a decade before the original series and follows Captain Christopher Pike, the Captain of the USS Enterprise, before James T. Kirk’s service.
Paramount screened a clip from the upcoming season of Strange New Worlds (shown above), featuring Pike and three other crew members temporarily transforming into Vulcans by taking a serum. The transformed Vulcans mock Spock for being only half-Vulcan, but Spock has the last laugh when the formula doesn’t wear off. The clip features Number 2 in the captain’s chair, with Pike leading various away missions. Paramount also teased a Hollywood murder mystery-themed episode.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, which has already been renewed for a fourth season. The series has quickly become a fan favourite and hasn’t been afraid to take some big swings, including a musical episode and a crossover with Star Trek: Lower Decks. Speaking of Lower Decks, the animated series got some love at Comic-Con as well, although the series will sadly be coming to an end with the upcoming fifth season.
Paramount also shared the premiere date and teaser trailer for the fifth and final season of the animated series Star Trek: Below Decks. The season premieres on Paramount+ with two episodes on Thursday, October 24. New episodes of the 10-episode series will be broadcast every Thursday on Paramount+ leading up to the finale on Thursday, December 19.
One of the most exciting projects is the first Star Trek movie developed exclusively for Paramount+. Star Trek: Section 31 will feature the return of Michelle Yeoh as Philippa Georgiou, former Empress of the Mirror Universe. Joining up with a secret division of Starfleet, Georgiou is tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets while also facing the sins of her past. The rest of the case includes Omari Hardwick (Power), Kacey Rohl (Hannibal), Sam Richardson (Ted Lasso), Sven Ruygrok (One Piece), Robert Kazinsky (Pacific Rim), Humberly Gonzalez (Ginny & Georgia), and James Hiroyuki Liao (Barry). The film was written by Craig Sweeny and directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi, and if it’s a success, Yeoh has expressed a willingness to return for more.
Now that Star Trek: Discovery has ended after five seasons, there’s room for a new live-action series to take place. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will take place in Discovery‘s 32nd-century era and follow a new class of Starfleet cadets as they come of age in one of the most legendary places in the galaxy. The series stars Kerrice Brooks (My Old Ass), Bella Shepard (Wolf Pack), George Hawkins (Tell Me Everything), Karim Diané (One Of Us Is Lying), and Zoë Steiner (Significant Others). The cast also includes some heavy hitters, with Holly Hunter (The Incredibles) set to play the captain and chancellor of Starfleet Academy and Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers) as the main villain.
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