After what has felt like a long time since its mid-season break in the first season, Star Trek: Prodigy makes its spectacular return with new announcements and a brand new trailer debuted this weekend at the 2022 New York Comic-Con.
“It’s Been A Long Time…”
Josh Horowitz moderated and hosted the Prodigy panel, joined by Rod Roddenberry (son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and CEO of Roddenberry Entertainment), Star Trek Executive Producer Alex Kurtzman, Kate Mulgrew (Holo-Janeway/Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway), Brett Gray as Dal, Showrunners Kevin and Dan Hageman, Producer and Executive Producer Ben Hibon, and joining the cast for this second part of the first season, Jameela Jamil! The last time we saw the crew of the Protostar before the mid-season break, they were already in the process of learning about what it means to become part of Starfleet with an interest in joining the Federation and donning some new uniforms.
Kate Mulgrew Expresses the Importance of Trek across Generations
Trek fans, especially those who either religiously follow the fandom or have identified with specific characters, will find the role of Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway inspiring. Mulgrew continued to bring a lot of hype and energy to the panel because of the innovation that Star Trek: Prodigy brings to its audiences. At the beginning of the panel, Horowitz asked the panel, “How has it felt to see how the fans have received this show?” After a very short delay, Mulgrew was the first to respond with great enthusiasm:
“IT FEELS ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIC…and I thought it couldn’t get much better than Voyager (referring to her leading role as Captain Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager) and being the first female Captain was pretty great. But we’re targeting the demographic that we have somehow missed all of these years that is most appreciative of the ideology of Star Trek and that’s children! And it will begin a cross-generational conversation the likes of which we’ve seen before in Star Trek.“
Following her statement, Kevin and Dan Hageman announced the debut of a new teaser Star Trek: Prodigy trailer for the second half of the new season, which can be seen below:
Surprise Star Trek: Prodigy Trailer Reveals!
Despite the trailer being considered a “teaser,” it showed enough to get us excited and prepared for what’s to come. First, it seems that the young crew of the U.S.S. Protostar are facing some bold new challenges as they appear to be on the run from…Vice Admiral Janeway! Yes, that’s right! Kate Mulgrew not only appears as holo-Janeway, reprising her role from Voyager, but also this time, she’s been promoted to Vice Admiral. In addition, Vice Admiral Janeway looks to be in command of the U.S.S. Dauntless, a ship that made its first appearance in the Star Trek: Voyager episode, “Hope and Fear.” It also appears that the crew may venture on their own as Dal states in the trailer, “As long as we have the Protostar, we can still help others.”
The trailer gave us some other amazing shots and action sequences, including an encounter with one of Star Trek’s longtime adversaries, the Borg. It will be interesting to see how the crew of the Protostar deals with one of the most feared enemies in the Trek Universe. There also appears to be some deeper digging into the background of Dal. Up until now, the question of where Dal has come from is yet unknown, and it looks as if this second half of the season will explore more into his background story. In addition to Jameela Jamil joining the cast, Ronnie Cox will make his return in animated form as Admiral Edward Jellico. Cox’s return to Trek will make for some very interesting character dynamics on screen as his previous live action iteration presented some challenges to Janeway when it comes to rules, orders, and regulations while pulling rank as Admiral.
As previously announced, William Campbell will also return as the mischievous Thadius Okana, this time sporting a pirate-looking eye patch. One thing to note from the trailer is the absence of Chakotay, who previously played as Commander Chakotay from Star Trek: Voyager. Overall, the trailer looks action-packed, beautiful, and a lot of fun. If there is anything much like what was seen in the first half of the season, then fans can expect the same light-hearted direction of the animated series while bringing some emotional depths to its storytelling and characters.
But wait, there’s more…Janeway! (Maybe)
During the Question and Answer portion of the Prodigy panel, a fan asked, “When are we getting to see Captain, err [fan correcting himself] Admiral Janeway live, back in person, on the screen?” which was met with huge applause after the question was asked. After a brief moment of silence on the panel awaiting for someone to respond, Mulgrew jokingly stated, “We’re waiting!” Alex Kurtzman as Executive Producer for the current Trek iterations then stated:
“Here’s what I’m going to say…Things have been talked about. That’s all I’m going to say…but nothing would make me happier than to bring Janeway back.”
Although this may not seem like a TRUE confirmation of Mulgrew coming back in some live action form of Janeway, Kurtzman’s response does not rule out the possibility of seeing Kate return as Janeway in some form. After all, this series, as well as previous iterations of Trek, have “legacy,” as in their characters come back in live action as part of story development and even bring back some of the nostalgia of seeing these characters reprise their roles.
The second half of Star Trek: Prodigy will be available to watch and stream on Paramount+ on October 27, 2022.
STAR TREK: PRODIGY is from CBS’ Eye Animation Productions, CBS Studios’ new animation arm; Nickelodeon Animation, led by President of Animation Ramsey Naito; Secret Hideout; and Roddenberry Entertainment. Alex Kurtzman, Heather Kadin, Aaron Baiers, Katie Krentz, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth serve as executive producers, alongside co-showrunners Kevin and Dan Hageman. Ben Hibon directs, co-executive produces and serves as the creative lead of the all-new animated series. Aaron Waltke and Patrick Krebs also serve as co-executive producers.
The STAR TREK: PRODIGY voice cast includes Kate Mulgrew (Hologram Kathryn Janeway), Brett Gray (Dal), Ella Purnell (Gwyn), Rylee Alazraqui (Rok-Tahk), Angus Imrie (Zero), Jason Mantzoukas (Jankom Pog), Dee Bradley Baker (Murf), John Noble (The Diviner) and Jimmi Simpson (Drednok).
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