The main Star Trek Universe panel at San Diego Comic-Con was billed as both a celebration of the franchise's 60th anniversary and a showcase for current and upcoming projects. But those hoping for a wave of major announcements were probably a bit disappointed. Outside of a few casting updates and a trailer for Strange New Worlds, the panel offered few headline-making reveals.
The first portion of the panel was all about celebrating 60 years of Star Trek, with franchise veterans like George Takei (Hikaru Sulu), Michael Dorn (Worf), Robert Picardo (The Doctor), Doug Jones (Saru), Jerry O'Connel (Commander Jack Ransom), Michelle Hurd (Raffi Musiker), Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisco),a nd Dominic Keating (Lt. Malcom Reed) gathering together. But before the panelists came out, the audience was shown a montage celebrating 60 legendary years of Star Trek, including iconic clips and quotes from the franchise.
The second half of the panel was dedicated to announcements and, well, that's where things kind of fell apart.
The biggest announcement was the addition of a new cast member for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, the wildly unpopular teen-drama series that followed a new class of cadets. While Starfleet Academy has already been canceled, there is one more season on the way, and part of the panel focused on the reveal of Ruaridh Aldington joining Season 2 as a series regular. He'll play Keats, a mysterious young alien with a mysterious backstory that the cadets meet on an away mission and bring back to Starfleet. Paramount's official description of the character reads:
Keats [is] a young alien our cadets encounter on an away mission who possesses a mysterious backstory. When the cadets make the risky decision to bring him back to Starfleet Academy, they realize he’s a wanted man, and his life is in danger.
The release date for Season 2 was not announced.
The audience was also treated to some sneak peek footage of upcoming episodes for Strange New Worlds Season 4, which premiered on Paramount+ last week. Strange New Worlds is also ending, but only after its truncated fifth season, which has already been filmed. We didn't get any footage of Season 5 nor did we get a release date, or even a window for that matter.
The last major announcement was Season 2 of Star Trek: Scouts, but unless you're a preschooler, I doubt this did much for anyone.
For fans hoping San Diego Comic-Con would offer a glimpse at Star Trek's future, the panel was a bit of a letdown. Paramount seemed more interested in celebrating the franchise's past than charting a course for what's next.
That may be because Star Trek is in an unusual period of transition. While there are still new episodes of existing series on the way, Paramount has yet to announce a new live-action television series for the first time in nearly a decade. Alex Kurtzman's future with the franchise remains uncertain, and although a new Star Trek feature film is reportedly in development, it's likely still too early for the studio to share any meaningful details.