The Enterprise crew is about to get an adorable mechanical companion! IDW Publishing has revealed plans for an exciting new limited comic series, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Seeds of Destruction, scheduled to launch in August 2025. This five-issue adventure will feature beloved characters from the hit Paramount+ series embarking on a perilous mission to an ice-covered planet harboring terrifying secrets beneath its frozen surface. Among the most intriguing revelations about this upcoming series is the introduction of D6, described as “a new adorable robot sidekick” who will join First Officer Una Chin-Riley, Science Officer Spock, Security Officer La’An Noonien-Singh, and Nurse Christine Chapel on their dangerous expedition. The addition of this mechanical character could bring a fresh dynamic to the Strange New Worlds universe.

The series comes from writer Robbie Thompson, who currently works on the television show’s fourth season, and artist Travis Mercer. Thompson expressed his enthusiasm for the project, stating, “As a lifelong fan of Star Trek (TOS forever!), I was absolutely thrilled to get the call from editor extraordinaire Heather Antos to pitch on a Strange New Worlds miniseries. Working on the fourth season of the Paramount+ series has been a dream come true and I’m so excited to play in this sandbox further.”

What makes this announcement particularly interesting is the comic’s promise to deliver “cosmic horrors” and make Strange New Worlds “a lot stranger.” Artist Travis Mercer hinted at the series’ tone by saying, “After reading what Robbie has in store for the Enterprise crew, there was no way I was going to pass up this opportunity! The entire team is bringing you a story that’s about to make Strange New Worlds a lot stranger! Strap in folks!”

[RELATED – Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Gets a Big Update (but Where Is Season 3?)]

The Seeds of Destruction series is part of a larger rollout of Star Trek comics from IDW. It will be accompanied by two other five-issue limited series: Star Trek: Red Shirts, focusing on the notoriously ill-fated crew members in red uniforms from The Original Series era (launching July 2025), and Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming, which picks up immediately after the TV series finale as part of Voyager’s 30th anniversary celebration (arriving September 2025).

The addition of D6 follows a long Star Trek tradition of incorporating memorable artificial companions. From Data in The Next Generation to The Doctor in Voyager, these characters often provide both comic relief and insightful commentary on humanity. This new robot sidekick could potentially serve a similar purpose while helping the crew navigate whatever dangers await them beneath the ice.

IDW group editor Heather Antos summarized the ambitious slate of upcoming Star Trek comics: “From celebrating nostalgia with the fan-favorite crew of Voyager, to going boldly to the fearsome depths of a Lovecraftian planet in Strange New Worlds, to taking a decades-long question of ‘if the color of a uniform makes a man’ and spinning it on its head… we’re showing that IDW is not yet done producing the very best STAR TREK comics possible.”

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Star Trek fans have been hit with a barrage of new Blu-ray releases lately, and the trend continues with this 10-movie, 12-disc Blu-ray / Digital Copy collection. It includes all 6 Original Series and 4 Next Generation films as well as the 2022 Director’s Edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture and legacy bonus material. The Star Trek 10-Movie Collection will ship out on May 6th, 2025, so head to Amazon here or Walmart here to pre-order. Additional information can be found below.

The Original Series Films:

• Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) – this set includes the 2022 Directors Edition
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

The Next Generation Films:

• Star Trek Generations (1994)
• Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
• Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
• Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

David Fein on the 2022 Star Trek: The Motion Picture Director’s Edition Restoration

As many fans know the original Star Trek: The Motion Picture movie was famously incomplete in its theatrical form. Apparently distribution arrangements beyond his control left director Robert Wise with the decision to cut his post-production short, leaving many parts of the movie aesthetically unfinished. Then in 2001, Paramount worked with Wise to create a complete Director’s Edition release. Due to Blu-ray treatments at the time, it was never converted, and again the Director’s Edition was lost. David Fein, a friend of Wise and a producer who originally worked on the Director’s Edition release in 2001, knew that Wise’s original complete vision needed to be preserved. 

Fein told Comicbook all about the experience back in 2022. Fein said, “Robert Wise, before his passing, had me come over to his house and he sat down at this little nice coffee nook that he has had a long talk and he said, “I may not be here forever.” And I said, “I wish you are.” But, you know, “I need you to promise me that, no matter what, you will always work to make sure that The Director’s Edition lives on and that we eventually get our negative because my legacy can’t be back to the theatrical again. It has to be the film the way that it needed to be, not the theatrical.”

Fein’s updated Director’s Edition was released in 2022 and is now a part of this Blu-ray collection.

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Star Trek‘s Red Shirts are finally living up to their destiny as Starfleet’s version of the Suicide Squad. The Red Shirts are the nameless individuals who sadly are used as canon fodder in Star Trek stories, always the sacrificial lambs served to the slaughter while our main characters dodge imminent death. In many ways, the Red Shirts are like DC’s Suicide Squad, who are always one moment away from death via dying in the line of duty, or by an explosive detonating in their skull. It’s now the Red Shirt’s time to shine with the announcement of a new Star Trek comic series featuring them.

Star Trek: Red Shirts is a five-issue limited series by Eisner-nominated writer Christopher Cantwell and artist Megan Levens. IDW Publishing calls Star Trek: Red Shirts a “heartrending Star Trek story that is unlike anything fans have seen before.” Featuring a brand-new team of characters, the Red Shirts are commonly known as Starfleet’s fearless and doomed crew members. Now, these intrepid and ill-fated red-uniformed individuals finally get their own story, and no one is safe… Who will survive their deadly mission?

[RELATED: Zoe Saldana Addresses Long Star Trek 4 Wait: “We Need to do This Quickly”]

“Star Trek: Red Shirts is in honor of the nameless vaporized, incinerated, and otherwise blown apart, where they’re the main characters of a Star Trek-style suicide mission unlike any other,” said Christopher Cantwell. “We will get to know these ensigns and lieutenants intimately before they are likewise crushed, disrupter’d, and sucked into space. Who will survive? Will any? And what is the true nature of their planetside mission to hunt down mysterious spies? This is a major melody Original Series-era story in the key of Death, one I’ve wanted to tell for years, equal parts fun and harrowing, subversive and celebratory of the boldest tunic color one can wear in Starfleet—security red.”

Megan Levens added, “Star Trek: Red Shirts is a dream project for me, offering the opportunity to draw an entirely new cast of Starfleet officers… and then to kill them off in delightfully horrific ways! From crusty veterans to fresh-faced (not for long!) ensigns, these new heroes are charging headfirst into strange new worlds, and finding that sometimes they’re just full of strange new ways to die.”

Covers by Chris Shehan, J.J. Lendl, and Declan Shalvey show two members of the Red Shirts in pretty awkward states. First up is the Chris Shehan cover of a deceased Red Shirt skeleton floating in space. The J.J. Lendl cover features a Federation Recruitment poster of a Red Shirt trying to encourage people to enlist in Starfleet. The Red Shirt has a broken arm, black eye, and bandage on their forehead. The Declan Shalvey cover has a Red Shirt whose skin is burned off, leaving the underpart exposed ala Batman villain Two-Face.

IDW is adding to its Star Trek line with Star Trek: Red Shirts, Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming by co-writers Tilly and Susan Bridges and artist Angel Hernandez, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Seeds of Destruction by writer Robbie Thompson and artist Travis Mercer. All three titles come as we approach the release of Star Trek: Omega, an oversized one-shot that is the denouement of IDW’s Star Trek comic series and Star Trek: Defiant storylines.

“As the age-old saying goes, ‘When two comic series end, three more begin!’ joked Group Editor Heather Antos. “From celebrating nostalgia with the fan-favorite crew of Voyager, to going boldly to the fearsome depths of a Lovecraftian planet in Strange New Worlds, to taking a decades-long question of ‘if the color of a uniform makes a man’ and spinning it on its head… we’re showing that IDW is not yet done producing the very best Star Trek comics possible. Get ready for take-off, folks, ’cause where we’re going, you’re definitely gonna wanna pre-order for your pull lists!”

What do you think about the announcement of Star Trek: Red Shirts? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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Star Trek fans are finally going to get a fitting ending to the beloved series Star Trek: Voyager. It’s been over 30 years since Star Trek: Voyager made its way onto airways, introducing fans to Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), Chakotay (Robert Beltran), Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), and the rest of the Voyager crew. As IDW Publishing continues to expand its Eisner-nominated Star Trek line, Star Trek: Voyager will be one of three new limited series debuting later this year. Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming will tune readers into what happened when the lights went out on Star Trek: Voyager as the iconic ship approached Earth.

Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming is a five-issue limited series debuting in September from co-writers Tilly and Susan Bridges, and artist Angel Hernandez. The final shot of the Star Trek: Voyager TV series featured the iconic ship approaching Earth before the screen goes dark… But what if just moments after that, there was one last emergency for the determined Captain Janeway and her brave crew?

[RELATED: Zoe Saldana Addresses Long Star Trek 4 Wait: “We Need to do This Quickly”]

“We’re so incredibly excited to be writing Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming!” Tilly and Susan Bridges said in a statement. “As lifelong fans, we’re delighted to be part of Voyager‘s thirtieth anniversary celebration. We can’t wait to give Janeway and crew one last adventure… will everything go smoothly? Well, this is Voyager… who’s to say (we are, but we’re not gonna spoil it, where’s the fun in that?). We all spent seven years getting to know and love this crew, and it’s an absolute honor to be part of the team that brings them home.”

“I’ve been working on Star Trek projects for many years and I’ve had the opportunity of participating in incredible stories and being part of exciting adventures,” said Angel Hernandez. “I’m sure this is going to be one of those special moments that will be part of the wonderful history of Voyager, and it is an honor for me to be part of it.”

Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming joins the newly-announced Star Trek: Redshirts by writer Christopher Cantwell and artist Megan Levens, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Seeds of Destruction by writer Robbie Thompson and artist Travis Mercer. All three titles come as we approach the release of Star Trek: Omega, an oversized one-shot that is the denouement of IDW’s Star Trek comic series and Star Trek: Defiant storylines.

“As the age-old saying goes, ‘When two comic series end, three more begin!’ joked Group Editor Heather Antos. “From celebrating nostalgia with the fan-favorite crew of Voyager, to going boldly to the fearsome depths of a Lovecraftian planet in Strange New Worlds, to taking a decades-long question of ‘if the color of a uniform makes a man’ and spinning it on its head… we’re showing that IDW is not yet done producing the very best Star Trek comics possible. Get ready for take-off, folks, ’cause where we’re going, you’re definitely gonna wanna pre-order for your pull lists!”

What do you think about the announcement of Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is not just an easy entry point for new and casual fans, according to legendary franchise director Jonathan Frakes. He spoke about the upcoming series this weekend at the Indiana Comic Convention, and he assured fans that there is plenty in this series for “hardcore” Trekkies to look forward to. Frakes also revealed that the series has finished filming, but it’s still not clear when it will premiere — or even whether it will be this year or next. As different as this series is, Frakes says it will build out the world we know in ways that are exciting to long-time fans and newcomers alike.

“[Robert] Picardo’s in it, Tig Notaro’s in it,” Frakes said according to Collider, as the live audience cheered. “Right? I love Tig. But it has the most massive set of any Star Trek ever. There’s also a spaceship on the show, which I think, I hope that’s not a f—ing secret. I have been known — I’ve had a bad experience with oversharing, and I hope that wasn’t an overshare, but it’s fabulous. The sets are great. The scripts are—they’re funny, which is always helpful on Star Trek… It’s [aimed at] much more hardcore Star Trek fans.”

Frakes directed several episodes of Starfleet Academy, which was created by Gaia Violo and overseen by showrunneres Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau. The show is set in the 32nd century — far ahead of most Star Trek stories we’ve seen on screen, and contemporary with the furthest into the future we’ve gone so far on Star Trek: Discovery. The show is also unique because it is set on Earth, following the first new generation of Starfleet cadets to be trained in over a century. We’ll watch them study to become officers.

[RELATED: These Are the 10 Best Sci-Fi TV Shows of All Time According to Rotten Tomatoes]

The show starts with the United Federation of Planets trying to recover from a cataclysmic event that was already depicted in Discovery. The Federation needs to bolster Starfleet with new talent, but Picardo and Notaro will be familiar faces. Notaro played engineer Jett Reno on Discovery, while Picardo has The Doctor since Star Trek: Voyager. Holly Hunter joins the franchise as the contemporary chancellor of the Starfleet Academy, while Paul Giamatti plays a mysterious new villain.

Starfleet Academy wrapped filming just last month, but there’s no word yet on when it will premiere. A second season is already in development. You can stream most Star Trek titles now on Paramount+.

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Star Trek: Omega will bring the current of Star Trek comics to its end this May. ComicBook can exclusively reveal details regarding the 40-page Star Trek: Omega one-shot, which concludes more than two years of shared storytelling between IDW Publishing’s Star Trek and Star Trek: Defiant series. Written by the same writers who have helmed those two series – Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing and Christopher Cantwell, respectively – with art by the same artists who have graced them throughout the run, Star Trek: Omega promises to spotlight these characters in the aftermath of the Star Trek: Lore War event. Some will be placed where fans expect as the events of the film Star Trek: Nemesis loom on the horizon, while others will be given surprising new directions.

“How does one put into words the feelings of ending an incredible, nearly three-year run of comics? It’s impossible to say,” says Group Editor Heather Antos. “Two critically-acclaimed ongoing series, two franchise-shattering events, multiple tie-in series and one-shots…what Jackson, Collin, Chris, Angel, Ramon, Marcus, Mike, Megan, Rachael, Davide, Tess, Oleg, Joe, Erik, Travis, Liana, Lee, Marissa, Clayton, and all of the other INCREDIBLE artists involved on covers have accomplished is nothing short of comic book alchemy. Omega is the culmination of some of the most passionate Star Trek fans and comics creators alive, and they have given everything they’ve got in what I hope will go down as one of the most emotional and heartfelt stories not only in Star Trek history, but comic book history to boot.”

Here’s the official synopsis for Star Trek: Omega #1: “Two and a half years of comics spanning 60 years of Star Trek history, a fair few awards, and more than a few universe detonations, and it’s all been coming to this…

Star Trek: Omega is the denouement of the critically acclaimed Star Trek and Star Trek: Defiant storylines, and the first glimpse at all that comes next. The crews of the Theseus, Defiant, and Enterprise set to work restoring the universe to what it should be after the evil android Lore’s intervention. Each hero finds their peace in preordained or unexpected ways, with individual scenes depicted by one of Star Trek’s or Defiant’s mainline artists! This finale pays tribute to all those involved in the series Screen Rant calls ‘the gold standard for ambitious comic book storytelling.’”

[RELATED – Star Trek: Lore War Begins an Epic Fight for Star Trek’s Soul (Exclusive Review)]

While Star Trek: Omega closes the door on one era of Star Trek comics, IDW renewed its licensing agreement with Paramount for Star Trek comics, meaning it isn’t done with the final frontier yet. The publisher promises news about the future of Star Trek comics in the coming week.

Star Trek: Omega goes on sale on May 12^th.

• STAR TREK: OMEGA
• Writers Christopher Cantwell, Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing
• Featuring art from acclaimed creators over the past two years
• On sale date: 6/18
• Pre-order deadline: 5/12
• 40 page one-shot! Only $5.99
• Cover credits:
• Cover A Malachi Ward
• Cover B Ramon Rosanas
• Cover RI 1-10 Angel Unzueta

The post Star Trek: Omega To Mark the End of an Era for the Franchise (Exclusive) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 is now in production, even though Season 3 still has no premiere date. The official Star Trek social media accounts broke the news on Monday, along with a photo of the main cast on set. The update alarmed many commenters who thought they must have missed some news about the third season. Now they’re eager for more details, noting just how long it’s been since we got an update. Paramount+ has said that Season 3 will debut sometime in 2025, but nothing more. In the meantime, production getting ahead is ultimately a good thing for the show and its future release schedule.

“Production on Season four of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is officially underway!” read Monday’s post, along with a sparkle emoji. The accompanying photo showed cast members Ethan Peck, Celia Rose Gooding, and Anson Mount in costume on the set. Mount even held a clapper with the show’s logo front and center.

Strange New Worlds debuted in the spring of 2022 and followed up quickly with a second season in the summer of 2023. Season 3 was ordered just before Season 2 began to air, however the 2023 Hollywood labor strikes delayed filming. Filming began in December of that year and wrapped in May of 2024. Paramount officially ordered Season 4 in April.

[RELATED: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Cast Rhys Darby in Legacy Role (But Who?)]

The latest update on Season 3 came during New York Comic Con in the fall, when Paramount released a preview clip that later made its way online. It showed the crew of the USS Enterprise making a narrow escape from their enemy Gorn, resolving a cliffhanger from Season 2. However, the writers and producers have said that Season 3 will continue to pivot between genres and styles from episode to episode, including one murder mystery this time around.

Strange New Worlds is a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, set during Christopher Pike’s (Mount) captaincy of the Enterprise. Peck plays Spock and Gooding plays Nyota Uhura, both of whom stay on the crew in the original series under Captain Kirk. The show has shares several other characters with the original series, including nurse Christin Chapel (Jess Bush) and engineer Montgomery Scott (Martin Quinn). It also gives screentime to the character Number One — Pike’s first officer who has mainly appeared in novels and non-canonical material up until now. She is played by Rebecca Romijn.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is streaming now on Paramount+. Season 3 is expected to premiere sometime this year, but it has no release date yet. Season 4 is in production now.

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Lost star Naveen Andrews has been cast in the title role of legendary Star Trek villain Khan in an upcoming scripted audio series. Production has wrapped on the voice recordings for Star Trek: Khan, which will explore what happened when Captain Kirk left Khan and his followers stranded on the desolate world of Ceti Alpha V, setting up their clash in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Joining Andrews in Star Trek: Khan is Wrenn Schmidt (For All Mankind) as Marla McGivers. The audio series will continue the expansion of the Star Trek Universe, which includes the upcoming Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and Star Trek: Section 31 on Paramount+.

“History remembers Khan Noonien Singh as a villain, the product of a failed attempt to perfect humanity through genetic engineering whose quest to avenge himself on Admiral James T. Kirk led to unimaginable tragedy and loss,” a description of Star Trek: Khan reads. “But the truth has been buried for too long beneath the sands of Ceti Alpha V. How did Khan go from a beneficent tyrant and superhuman visionary with a new world at his fingertips to the monster we think we know so well? Recently unearthed, the rest of Khan’s story will finally be told in Star Trek: Khan.”

[RELATED: Star Trek: Lore War Begins an Epic Fight for Star Trek’s Soul (Exclusive Review)]

Naveen Andrews will explore Khan’s complex psyche and the depths of his anger, ambition, and pain. Wrenn Schmidt is set to play Lt. Marla McGivers, a former Starfleet historian who followed Khan into exile on Ceti Alpha V. Additional cast will be announced at a later date.

The Star Trek family recently suffered a heartbreaking loss with the death of longtime producer and writer Roberto Orci, who died at the age of 51 this week following a battle with kidney disease. “He was a visionary storyteller with a boundless heart and a beautiful soul,” Orci’s brother, J.R. Orci said in a statement. “But beyond his creative talents, he was a compassionate friend who would put his life on hold to help a stranger and find room in his home for the most overlooked pup at the shelter.”

Star Trek: Khan is based on a story by Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan writer and director, Nicholas Meyer. Kirsten Beyer and David Mack serve as writers on the audio series. Star Trek: Khan is produced by CBS’ Eye Podcast Productions Inc. CBS Studio’s podcasting arm; Secret Hideout; and Roddenberry Entertainment. Executive producers include Alex Kurtzman, Aaron Baiers, Kirsten Beyer, Molly Barton, Fred Greenhalgh, Trevor Roth and Rod Roddenberry. Supervising producer is Robyn Johnson and the audio series was directed by Fred Greenhalgh. Realm serves as the production studio for the series.

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Despite receiving some of the harshest reviews in the franchise’s history, Paramount+’s Star Trek: Section 31 has emerged as a significant streaming success. The Michelle Yeoh-led film debuted at #8 on Nielsen’s streaming charts for the week ending January 26, garnering an impressive 170 million viewing minutes despite being available for only three days during the measured period. This unexpected performance places the film among the top 10 most-watched streaming movies that week, surpassing several competitors with better critical reception and positioning it as one of only two original streaming films to make the list alongside Netflix’s top-ranked Back in Action. The achievement represents a curious disconnect between critical opinion and viewer interest. It suggests that franchise loyalty and Yeoh’s star power may outweigh the overwhelmingly negative professional assessments that have plagued the project since its January 24 release.

Section 31’s critical reception has been historically poor for the Star Trek franchise. With a dismal 17% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an average score of 4.30/10 based on 46 reviews, Section 31 currently holds the dubious distinction of being the lowest-rated Star Trek property in the franchise’s nearly 60-year history. Critics have overwhelmingly panned the film for its narrative structure, tone, and perceived deviation from Star Trek‘s established values, with the film’s official Rotten Tomatoes consensus reading, “Beam it out of here, Scotty,” jokingly referencing the franchise’s famous catchphrase.

[RELATED:  Zoe Saldana Addresses Long Star Trek 4 Wait: “We Need to do This Quickly”]

Many critics have also pointed to issues with Section 31‘s connection to the rest of the Star Trek franchise and its tonal shift toward action and comedy. Section 31 has faced criticism not only for its execution but also for its concept, which some believe contradicts creator Gene Roddenberry’s optimistic vision of the future. The film portrays a covert intelligence agency operating within the seemingly utopian United Federation of Planets, dealing with the kinds of morally ambiguous situations and espionage tactics that traditional Star Trek narratives typically avoid or explicitly condemn. While Paramount+ hasn’t released official viewership data beyond the Nielsen reporting, the numbers suggest that existing Star Trek fans and followers of Yeoh’s career were motivated to give the film a chance regardless of reviews.

What Is Star Trek: Section 31 About?

Set in the franchise’s “lost era” between the events of the original Star Trek films and The Next Generation series, Star Trek: Section 31 follows Michelle Yeoh’s Philippa Georgiou, the former Terran Emperor from the Mirror Universe who previously appeared in Star Trek: Discovery. After being transported to a different point in the Star Trek timeline, Georgiou becomes the owner of the Baraam, a nightclub outside Federation space, where she’s recruited by Agent Alok (Omari Hardwick) to join Section 31, a secretive black ops division of Starfleet.

The film focuses on Georgiou’s mission to stop a deadly weapon called the “Godsend” from falling into the wrong hands. She leads a diverse team of specialized operatives on this high-stakes adventure. Her crew includes a shapeshifting Chameloid named Quasi (Sam Richardson), an agent with a mechanical exoskeleton named Zeph (Robert Kazinsky), and future USS Enterprise-C captain Rachel Garrett (Kacey Rohl). The central conflict involves San (James Hiroyuki Liao), a former lover and rival from the Mirror Universe seeking revenge against Georgiou, who enslaved him when she ascended to the Terran throne.

Star Trek: Section 31‘s performance may also influence Paramount’s future plans for the franchise. With the conclusion of Discovery and the ongoing development of other projects like Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, the streaming success of Section 31 could encourage further experimentation with the television film format.

Did you watch Star Trek: Section 31? If so, do you agree with the critical consensus? Let us know in the comments!

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Roberto Orci, a prolific producer and writer of the Star Trek and live-action Transformers franchises, has died at 51 following a battle with kidney disease. It was reported Tuesday that the Mexican-American filmmaker died at his home in Los Angeles Feb. 25. A longtime collaborator of J.J. Abrams and Alex Kurtzman, his co-creators on the 2008 sci-fi series Fringe, Orci co-wrote Paramount-based blockbusters including Mission: Impossible III (2006), Michael Bay’s Transformers (2007), Abrams’ Star Trek reboot (2009), and sequels Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Star Trek Beyond (2016).

“He was a visionary storyteller with a boundless heart and a beautiful soul,” Orci’s brother, J.R. Orci said in a statement. “But beyond his creative talents, he was a compassionate friend who would put his life on hold to help a stranger and find room in his home for the most overlooked pup at the shelter.”

Orci’s credits date back to 1997 as a writer and co-executive producer on the Sam Raimi-produced Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and its spinoff, Xena: Warrior Princess, going on to serve as a writer and executive producer on Abrams’ Alias. His first feature film was Bay’s 2005 sci-fi thriller The Island, which he co-wrote with Caspian Tredwell-Owen and Kurtzman, his screenwriting partner on the Abrams-directed Mission: Impossible III, the first two Transformers movies, and the three Star Trek films between 2009 and 2016 set in the rebooted Kelvin Timeline.

After co-writing 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 with Kurtzman and Jeff Pinkner, Orci was recruited to pen a third movie that was dated for 2016 but never materialized. He also received an executive producer credit on the sequel to 2012’s Spider-Man reboot and — along with Kurtzman, Pinkner, Daredevil creator Drew Goddard, director Marc Webb, and Spider-Man universe producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach — was tapped to join Sony’s brain trust overseeing Amazing Spider-Man 3 and 4 and spinoffs like Venom and Sinister Six before those plans were scrapped.

In 2020, it was reported that Orci was scripting a mystery project for Sony’s new Spider-Man Universe, which it launched with 2018’s Venom. Orci’s most recent film credit was the 2017 reboot of The Mummy starring Tom Cruise, which Kurtzman directed.

Orci and Kurtzman also developed the Hawaii Five-0 reboot with Peter M. Lenkov for CBS, which aired 240 episodes between 2010 and 2020. The duo executive produced a pilot episode adapting Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodríguez’s IDW comic book series Locke & Key with their fellow Transformers producer Steven Spielberg for Fringe network Fox, but Fox passed on picking it up to series.

As an executive producer, Orci co-developed the Hasbro animated series Transformers: Prime, as well as the short-lived, Gabriel Luna-led Matador, and executive produced the CBS series Scorpion and Limitless through K/O Paper Products, the production company Kurtzman and Orci co-founded in 2004.

In 2010, Orci, who was born and raised in Mexico City, wrote on the Star Trek fansite TrekMovie that he most identified with Spock in 2009’s Star Trek reboot because of his heritage as a Vulcan/human hybrid.

“I used [my personal life as inspiration] on [Star Trek] to track the life of Spock, who was born to parents from different cultures, as I was, and who was raised on a different planet, much as I was raised in a different country, faced racism, like I did, and had to learn the language and customs of his adoptive culture (Earth, the Federation), as I had to learn English and the ways of the USA,” Orci wrote at the time. “Inspiration also derived from my mother’s family, who were exiled from Cuba when Castro took over. Her home, in a sense, destroyed by a single figure. And my grandfather on Dad’s side was Diplomat, like Spock’s father.”

He continued, “My dad expected a much more serious career for me at first. When I dropped out of college (Vulcan Science Academy) to pursue a writing career (movie Starfleet), he did not think it was logical.”

The post Roberto Orci, Transformers, Star Trek, and Amazing Spider-Man 2 Writer, Dies at 51 appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Star Trek: Lower Decks fan-favorite Shaxs is back in action as part of Star Trek: Lore War. In April, IDW Publishing will reunite Ryan North and Derek Charm, the creative team behind the Eisner-nominated comic Star Trek: Day of Blood—Shaxs’ Best Day, for Star Trek: Lore War–Shaxs’ Worst Day. Mimicking the format of Shaxs’ Best Day, Shaxs’ Worst Day will zoom on Shaxs’ actions and adventures during a major Star Trek comics event, all depicted in the cartoon style of Star Trek: Lower Decks. However, like everyone else in Star Trek: Lore War, Shaxs finds himself in a universe recreated by Lore. Worse yet, Lore has cast Shax in the role of the thing he hates most: a fascist.

Now he’s woken up to who he is and is not happy. Here’s the official synopsis from IDW Publishing:

“From the team who brought you the Ringo- and Eisner-nominated Shaxs’ Best Day comes a rip-roaring ride full of clever ship high jinks, nonstop badassery, and bombastic punches…because at the end of the day, let’s face it. It’s not Shaxs’ worst day. It’s fascism’s.

Shaxs had his best day, but now that the universe has been rewritten by the mad android Lore, he’s about to have his worst. Starfleet has been distorted into a machinery of oppression antithetical to everything it once stood for, and Shaxs has been made into the one thing he despises most in the universe: a fascist.

Now free of Lore’s hold over his mind, it’s up to Shaxs to revert everyone in Starfleet back to their old selves and save the cosmos.”

Star Trek: Lore War – Shaxs’ Worst Day releases on May 28th, and the final day to pre-order is April 21st. The issue will have three covers: one by Charm, one by Robby Cook, and a retailer incentive cover by Rahzzah.

IDW Publishing has been carrying the torch for Star Trek: Lower Decks even after the show’s finale. Having previously put out a Star Trek: Lower Decks miniseries, IDW is now publishing an ongoing Star Trek: Lower Decks comic written by North. North also teamed with Chris Fenoglio on Star Trek: Lower Decks – Warp Your Own Way, an interactive graphic novel where readers control the story.

Star Trek: Lore War is the new crossover event featuring the casts and creative teams of Star Trek and Star Trek: Defiant. The event begins in Star Trek: Lore Wars #1 on April 2nd.

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For the past several years, IDW Publishing has provided readers with some of the best storytelling set in the Star Trek universe, with both the flagship Star Trek series and the slightly darker Star Trek: Defiant featuring all-star casts of characters from across the franchise’s nearly 60-year history, as well as new characters, in the kinds of stories that would be difficult to achieve with the restrictions of live-action film and television. Those years of stories are coming to a head in the crossover event Star Trek: Lore War, which brings storylines from both series to their simultaneous climax as the Star Trek universe is remade in the image of one of its most memorable recurring villains.

Star Trek: Lore War #1 – a collaboration between Star Trek writers Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly, Star Trek: Defiant writer Christopher Cantwell, artist Davide Tinto, colorist Lee Loughridge, and letterer Clayton Cowles – introduces readers to Star Trek universe remade in the image of Lore, evil twin brother of the USS Enterprise’s beloved android Data. Rather than playing the role of a distant deity, Lore is a present and active god in this universe, with statues and temples made in his image. Even Starfleet is born of a mission to serve him. Yet pockets of resistance still exist, both those attempting to stymie Starfleet’s expansion and those hoping to attack and dethrone Lore directly. However, the greatest threat to Lore’s control may be the two individuals who still remember the Star Trek universe as it once was.

On its face, visiting an alternate universe where a longtime villain has achieved their goal of domination won’t be all that novel to longtime comic book readers. The X-Men are notorious for this type of thing with the Age of Apocalypse epic from the 1990s being the best-known example (though the more recent Sins of Sinister event is much closer to what Star Trek: Lore War seems to be going for, a universe intentionally shaped by a nefarious being, and that X-Men story even coincidentally borrowed some Star Trek tropes and motifs to imagine its Sinister future, making it and Lore War potentially into serendipitous companion pieces). However, while stories like Age of Apocalypse and even Days of Future Past often become quickly iconic for their distinctive aesthetics (glam rock horror for AoA, gitty industrial post-apocalypse for DoFP), it’s quickly apparent that there’s a headier subtext in the mix with Lore War.

[Related: Star Trek Comics License Renewed by IDW Publishing]

Lore isn’t truly interested in ruling Star Trek’s universe as a typical villain might. He’s remade the universe to function as he believes it should, or at least better exemplify how he thinks it always has. As god-king of this universe, he is the material that worlds are made from, with some of the most stunning images in the issue being the temples and statues built to him, conveying both his boundless ego and the depth of the faith this universe’s true believers have in him. Yet, while his gestures and actions are grand, his motivations are petty: prove his brother Data wrong.

Lore insists that conflict drives the universe and monologues to his brother on the uses of inspirational but ultimately controlled and feeble narratives about heroes and rebellions, a diatribe reflecting our real-world relationships with escapist fiction during challenging times. In action, Lore props both sides of nearly every conflict up, aiding those loyal to him and the insurgents they fight against as necessary to keep the two factions at odds. Ultimately, Lore’s ideals challenge the moral fiber of the Star Trek universe, testing the utopianism instilled in it by Gene Roddenberry, and asking if narratives fueled by more traditional conflicts are needed for it to survive.

Of course, it isn’t all heady philosophizing. Star Trek: Lore War #1 surveys this new, alternate Star Trek universe, showing readers where the Theseus and Defiant crews wound up in Lore’s new world. Here we find what fans expect from stories in this mold: characters cast in strange new roles and contexts, unusual alliances, and familiar concepts reimagined with an often sinister twist. Lore War #1 delivers all these elements with the potential and promise of more.

Star Trek: Lore War #1 arrives at a time when the Star Trek franchise is going through an identity crisis and while the creators of the comic book event couldn’t have known these conversations would be taking place at the time of its debut the story feels no less timely for it. The Star Trek of the franchise’s golden era, where intensely competent people apply their crafts to problems to uphold a future that is as close to perfect as a 20th-century-human could imagine, is replaced by a world built on conflict for the sake of conflict, where real change is impossible and better futures are beyond imagining. Star Trek: Lore War #1 kicks off a fight for Star Trek’s very soul, as told in a story with a scope like Star Trek fans have never seen before.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Published by IDW Publishing

On April 2, 2025

Written by Christopher Cantwell, Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly

Art by Davide Tinto

Colors by Lee Loughridge

Letters by Clayton Cowles

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For decades, Star Trek fans have debated which captain of the Federation’s Starfleet reigns supreme when it comes to helming their own starship. Patrick Stewart’s Picard, Avery Brooks’ Sisko, Kate Mulgrew’s Janeway, and most recently, Anson Mount’s Pike all vie for the top spot to this day. The one that started it all is still considered to be the best by many as William Shatner’s James Tiberius Kirk was the first Captain to helm the Enterprise and is still going strong decades later. In a recent social media post, the Starfleet captain reveals that he knows far more about the Sailor Moon franchise than many might have expected.

Star Trek first premiering in 1966, introducing science fiction fans to the crew of the US Enterprise. While Shatner’s Captain Kirk ran the ship, the likes of Leonard Nimoy’s Spock, DeForest Kelley’s Bones, Nichelle Nichols’ Uhura, and George Takei’s Sulu helped the vessel to explore brand new galaxies and encounter alien races never before seen. The initial series only ran for three seasons but would go on to receive several movies and lead to countless spin-offs that are still being created by Paramount to this day. Shatner might not be in the driver’s seat for recent Trek projects but he returned to the role last year in a touching reunion with the deceased Leonard Nimoy.

[RELATED: 10 Strongest Sailor Scouts in Sailor Moon, Ranked]

Sailor Shatner

In a hilarious new viral social media post, William Shatner confirms that he knows quite a bit about Sailor Moon lore following a discussion about the universe’s moons. While there are normally rumors surrounding who is at the wheel for many of these actors’ social media accounts, it’s hilarious to think that Captain Kirk has secretly been a giant anime fan this entire time. Specifically, Shatner had this to say in correcting someone on who Luna the cat really is,

“No…wrong…Luna and Artemis got together and they had Diana who was Chibi Moon’s cat.”

Sailor Moon Returns…Sort Of

While no new Sailor Moon anime projects have been confirmed, the Sailor Scouts have recently returned thanks to a live-action project. Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Super Live is a brand new live-stage play hitting North America in March of this year. Some of the locales that the nation-wide tour will hit include Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, Oregon, Missouri, Ohio, Kentucky, Conneticut, and New York to name a few. Here’s an official description of the upcoming performance,

“Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Super Live, the groundbreaking 2.5D musical, is bringing the iconic “Sailor Moon” world to life across North America like never before. This stunning stage adaptation—based on the legendary manga and anime—transports audiences into a dazzling world of friendship and justice with its electrifying performances, unforgettable choreography and show-stopping music.”

Want to stay in the loop when it comes to the past, present, and future of the Sailor Scouts? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest on Sailor Moon and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.

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Paramount+’s popular animated show Star Trek: Lower Decks came to a close last month, so it’s only natural that they would waste no time in providing a physical copy of this lovely show to fans. All five seasons of Star Trek: Lower Decks are now available in a Steelbook full-series Blu-ray set that you can find here on Amazon for $58.99. If you’re just missing the final season, you can pre-order that now too for $25.99 on Amazon. While there isn’t any additional information about a release date or special features just yet, you can reserve a copy now, and when the inevitable pre-order deal kicks in you’ll automatically get the discount.

Back in April of last year, Paramount+ had confirmed that Star Trek: Lower Deck would be finished after its fifth season. Fans immediately launched into action, hoping that by“ slamming socials with praise and love for the show, a new streamer would pick it up – a strategy that had been successful with another one of Paramount+’s shows: Star Trek: Prodigy. Show creator and showrunner Mike McMahan sat down with Awards Radar to talk about the end of Star Trek: Lower Decks, and how he had hoped to continue making the show indefinitely.

“For me, it’s like, I’m greedy,” McMahan says. “I would have kept making this show forever, but getting five seasons is such a miracle. It’s insane that this show even existed. Every season I felt like it was a miracle. There are grand stories I’m telling for the characters in Lower Decks. So season five feels like an amazing sendoff. It feels like the end of a chapter, but not the end of a series. I had enough time to know that it had to be special.”

For McMahan, the show might have actually come to an end. But for fans, the adventures continue….just in a different medium. Back in 2022, Star Trek: Lower Decks had its comic book debut with a three-issue print by IDW Publishing, from writer Ryan North and artist Chris Fenoglio, which apparently did well enough for IDW to want to keep the love going. Now, the U.S.S. Cerritos crew are back with a new on-going series where the adventures won’t stop. The new series is written again by Ryan North with art by Derek Charm. While the show might be over, it’s great to know that our loveable crew will still be out there, saving the universe.

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While there’s been little in the way of updates on the long-awaited Star Trek 4, Zoe Saldaña – who played Lieutenant Nyota Uhura in all three films of the rebooted franchise – has some great ideas regarding what direction the sequel should take. During a recent interview with Deadline, the actress said, “It’s been a minute since I reconnected with Star Trek and all the characters’ journeys, but Uhura and Spock were always sort of drawn to each other, it just makes sense to see what is the next step in their relationship and their work relationship as well.” Hopefully, if and when the sequel is made, fans can get some closure on the relationship between the two crew members of the USS Enterprise.

Saldaña elaborated on her anticipation for Star Trek 4, saying “I wish we were able to do it sooner rather than later. I feel like a lot of us have a full head of gray hair, so we need to do this quickly, if this is the same cast that’s going to reprise it again.” While the actress has a good point, a crew that’s a bit long in the tooth could still make for an engaging story, especially if it means seeing how Uhura and Spock must learn how to balance their jobs and their love for one another as they get older.

[RELATED: Star Trek’s Zachary Quinto Still Hoping for a Spock Return Despite Sequel Setbacks]

While Uhura and Spock as an item differs from their counterparts in the original Star Trek continuity, it’s been generally well-received by fans. Their relationship developed organically in the modern series, and their contrasting personalities made for a fascinating dynamic. Spock’s commitment to Vulcan values like logic and reason has made him emotionally unavailable, causing tension in their relationship. However, Uhura’s humanity serves as a welcome counterpoint to Spock’s extreme stoicism, always managing to get him out of his shell.

What’s Next for Star Trek 4?

It’s been more than eight years since the release of the last film, Star Trek Beyond, and since then fans have only gotten the occasional update on the fourth installment in the series. While it seems like Paramount is still interested in making it, progress has been slow. Chris Pine, who played Captain James T. Kirk in the rebooted franchise, doesn’t seem too optimistic about whether we’ll get another sequel, telling Esquire “After the last one came out and didn’t do the $1 billion that everyone wanted it to do, and then Anton—Yelchin, who played Chekov—passed away, I don’t know. It just seemed… feels like it’s cursed.”

While progress has been slow on Star Trek 4, one of the more recent updates is that Paramount still intends to make it and treat it as the final installment of this generation of films. Writer Steve Yockey – who’s written for such TV series as Dead Boy Detectives, Doom Patrol, The Flight Attendant, and Supernatural – is said to be working on a script for the last film in the Star Trek quadrilogy.

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WWE star Becky Lynch is set to embark on an Earth-bound adventure in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.

Earlier this afternoon, the former multi-time WWE Women’s Champion announced the news on her social media pages. “You know, when you’ve already been champion of the world there’s really only one place to go next and that’s to the stars,” Lynch said in a video. “I am so excited to share with all of you that I am joining Star Trek: Starfleet Academy as part of the bridge crew! Lads, this has been the most incredible experience acting alongside just a spectacular cast and crew. I cannot wait for all of you to check it on when it comes out on Paramount+ and hey, live long and prosper.”

Starfleet Academy is unique because it’s the first Star Trek project that won’t focus on deep space exploration. Instead, it takes place in 32nd-century San Francisco, following the first class of cadets to attend the academy in nearly 100 years. That brief description leaves a lot to the imagination, however, we know that Paul Giamatti will play an unnamed villainous character in the series.

The new series which will take a more YA approach picks up after the events of Star Trek: Discovery which set the timeline further ahead than ever before. It’s clear they believe in this project as a setting stone for the future. Before a premiere date for the first season was announced it had already been renewed for a season 2.

[RELATED: Star Trek Finally Gave Fans the Couple They Begged For (but in an Unusual Way)]

Alongside Lynch (whose real name is Rebecca Quin) and Giamatti, Starfleet Academy also stars Wolf Pack‘s Bella Shepard, Holly Hunter as The Chancellor, Oded Fehr as Admiral Charles Vance, Tig Notaro as Jett Reno, Mary Wiseman as Sylvia Tilly, Robert Picardo as The Doctor, George Hawkins, Gina Yashere, Karim Diane, Zoe Steiner, Kerrice Brooks, Sandro Rosta and Tatiana Maslany, in a guest star role.

Lynch has been away from the wrestling ring for the better part of 2024. When her contract “expired,” she opted to take some time off and work on other projects, including joining the Star Trek universe. She’s got fairly limited acting experience, starring in 2021’s Rumble and a post-credit scene in Marvel’s Eternals, though her role was scrapped.

Stay tuned to ComicBook for updates.

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A three-decade-old fan wish has finally come true in Star Trek: Lower Decks‘ latest episode, though not quite in the way devotees might have imagined. The animated series’ penultimate episode, “Fissure Quest,” has made canonical what fans have speculated about since 1993: the romance between Deep Space Nine‘s Doctor Julian Bashir and Mister Elim Garak. The twist? It happens in an alternate dimension, where they appear as a married couple alongside other franchise favorites like T’Pol from Enterprise and Harry Kim from Voyager.

Trek showrunner Mike McMahan acknowledged the long-running fan theory, telling Variety they “have enjoyed the romantic chemistry that Andrew and Sid brought to Garak and Bashir on DS9, and for the 30 years since. If there’s anything the multiverse is good for, it’s spending time with these two newlyweds as they explore the universe and their relationship together.” He playfully added, “Remember, never go to bed angry, and never break the prime directive — unless you really, really gotta.”

The relationship’s origins trace back to 1993 when Andrew Robinson guest starred in Deep Space Nine’s “Past Prologue.” The chemistry between Robinson’s “simple tailor” Garak and Alexander Siddig’s earnest doctor was immediate, transforming Robinson’s one-off appearance into a recurring role.

Both actors actively fueled fan interest over the years. They frequently discussed the characters’ potential romance at conventions until producers reportedly asked them to stop, per a 1998 Metro article. In The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years, Siddig revealed, “At the beginning, you’re not even sure of his sexuality. Then they throw the Cardassian Garak in the mix at a very early stage, and it’s not subtle. There’s a kind of quivering sexuality going on there.”

Robinson was equally forthright about his portrayal, stating, “Bashir is really good-looking, so as a character choice I thought, ‘What the hell? Why not go for it?’ There is a close-up of Garak where it looks like he could eat him alive.” In the Deep Space Nine documentary What We Left Behind, Robinson confirmed that “Garak definitely wanted an intimate relationship with Bashir.”

The pairing never materialized in the 1990s series, reflecting television’s limited LGBTQ+ representation at the time. Deep Space Nine showrunner Ira Steven Behr admitted in What We Left Behind that he wished he had “pushed harder to make Garak openly queer.” Writer Ronald D. Moore later expressed regret in a 2008 AfterElton interview, saying he felt “guilty” that he and other writers “failed” at including queer characters.

While modern Star Trek series have embraced LGBTQ+ relationships, notably with Discovery’s Stamets and Culber front and center, this particular fan-favorite pairing remained unofficial until now. The actors even performed fan-written works over Zoom in 2020, demonstrating their continued support for the relationship.

Though the Lower Decks version technically features alternate universe versions of the characters (with Bashir as an Emergency Medical Hologram), it represents a significant acknowledgment of a pioneering ship that never got its due in its original run.

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Star Trek: Section 31 looks like a heart-pounding spy thriller in the trailer released this weekend. Paramount+ dropped a two-minute preview for the movie on Saturday, reintroducing Michelle Yeoh as Philippa Georgiou, the emperor turned club owner who is now joining up with Starfleet’s most secretive division. The movie premieres on Friday, January 24 on Paramount+.

Section 31 may be going straight to streaming, but it still has some big advantages by being a movie rather than the series. The new trailer showcases some incredible set design and special effects – both practical and digital. It starts with an outside view of the space station that houses Georgiou’s nightclub, Baraam, which is outside of Federation space. Inside, it’s pretty clear that Georgiou is happy ruling over this tiny corner of the universe, but her retirement is interrupted by a visit from Section 31 agent Alok (Omari Hardwick).

“I’m giving you a chance to get back in on the action on a galactic scale,” Alok says. Georgiou replies: “What a cute idea!”

[RELATED: Star Trek: Section 31 Confirmed to Feature Major Next Generation Character]

The trailer definitely gives an idea of the stakes here, even if the plot is a little mysterious. It looks like much of the action takes place on planetary surfaces or within space stations, rather than the usual command deck setting for Star Trek. Of course, the “black ops” set-up means that there will be much more direct violence than this utopian franchise usually sees as well.

This movie is about the secretive, autonomous intelligence agency within the United Federation of Planets known as Section 31, which works parallel to Starfleet. For that reason alone, this movie is already controversial for some fans. Many feel that the idea of an organization like this does not belong in this setting, which creator Gene Roddenberry intended to be a glimpse of a future without war or systemic violence.

At the same time, the movie is a vehicle for Yeoh’s character Georgiou, who became a major fan-favorite after her introduction in Star Trek: Discovery. Georgiou comes from the Mirror Universe – an alternate dimension where humanity was more violent and ruthless. She was the Emperor of the Terran Empire before she was pulled into this reality with no way back. She was a major player in the first three seasons of the show, and fans have been dying to see her back in action like this.

Section 31 premieres on Friday, January 24 on Paramount+. Star Trek: Discovery is streaming there now, along with most of the movies and series in the franchise so far.

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Michael Dorn is looking to retire his Star Trek character Worf – and to retire from acting altogether. The 71-year-old has appeared in Star Trek more than any other single actor, and he has performed his fair share of finales and farewells. In a new interview with Star Trek Explorer, he said that he thinks he’s done now, but he added: “The one thing I tell everybody is that you never say never in Star Trek. You just never say never.”

When asked directly if he would play Worf again, Dorn said: “Again, I would never say never, I would never say, ‘Oh, this is it’ at all. But, many things have to happen for Worf to come back. It takes twenty things falling into place, and ,in this business, you just don’t have that sort of a system anymore, where there’s that one creative guy who goes, ‘You know what? We need this. Make it happen,’ or ‘Oh, that’s not a bad idea. Let me hear it.’ It’s a different world, and I don’t know what it means anymore.”

“And I actually am slowly but surely retiring,” Dorn added, though he said that he is still open to offers. He said that instead, “I’m not on the treadmill anymore, noting that things like remote auditions are “not worth the pain and anguish.” He hopes to stay open to work that may come his way as well as work he can write and develop himself.

Worf’s Happy Ending

Dorn dutifully avoided spoilers in his answers there, but the “complications” he referenced in playing Worf again also have to do with in-universe considerations for Star Trek. Dorn first played Worf in Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987, followed immediately by a four-seasons stint on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He also appeared in four Star Trek feature films before most recently reprising his role in Star Trek: Picard Season 3.

Picard seems to give Worf and his crewmates a happy ending. The series finale shows them playing poker together – much like their original ending back in 1994. Dorn told Explorer: “When we did the first one on The Next Generation, that card game, you knew that we were saying goodbye to these guys in this genre. We went straight from shooting The Next Generation finale to shooting the first movie. We got that. I never thought that this was going to be a goodbye. I didn’t think so, but the thing was, they just let the camera roll. We were out of character a lot and being ourselves. The one thing I tell everybody is that you never say never in Star Trek. You just never say never. It’s one of those things where it’s going to be around at some point.”

[RELATED: Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Let Michael Dorn Cut Loose as Worf (Exclusive)]

While there are no plans for Worf in Star Trek‘s future that we know of, fans will be pleased to hear that Dorn is open-minded about any projects that may come his way. In the meantime, all of his previous appearances in the franchise are streaming now on Paramount+.

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Star Trek’s Prime Timeline (established by Star Trek: The Original Series in 1966) and Kelvin Timeline (established by 2009’s Star Trek movie) had their biggest crossover yet, and one timeline didn’t survive the experience. SPOILERS for Star Trek #26 by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Angel Hernández, Lee Loughridge, and Clayton Cowles follow. Star Trek #26’s story is part two of the “When the Walls Fell” storyline. In the previous story arc, Lore — Data’s twisted twin brother — managed to destroy reality as Star Trek’s character knew it and is now remaking it to his liking. The crew of the USS Theseus, captained by Benjamin Sisko, is barely ahead of Lore’s wave of reality changes and already managed to escape fluidic space in its attempts to return home.

The Theseus‘ latest stop is the Kelvin Timeline, where the Star Trek reboot movies — Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Star Trek Beyond — happened. There, the Theseus encounters the Kelvin Timeline’s USS Enterprise-A, a meeting that does not end well for the Kelvin Timeline.

Two Star Trek Timelines Meet, but Only One Survives

It turns out that the Enterprise and the Theseus meeting isn’t a chance encounter. Those who have seen 2009’s Star Trek will remember that Spock of the Prime Timeline’s trip back through time is what created the alternate reality of the Kelvin Timeline. Prime Spock met the James T. Kirk of the Kelvin Timeline and helped put him back on track to becoming the Enterprise’s captain. Prime Timeline Spock later died in Kelvin Timeline’s reality but not before leaving a message for Kirk describing Theseus’ journey following Lore’s attack on reality.

As such, the Enterprise didn’t happen upon the Theseus. It was waiting for the ship from the other reality, as Spock had intended. It’s an interesting meeting seeing as Sisko once met a young Captain Kirk in a separate time-travel adventure (the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “Trials and Tribble-ations”). It’s even more interesting for Montogery Scott since the Prime Scotty meets his younger, Kelvin Timeline self, the latter eventually realizing he achieved his greatest moment with indirect help from the Prime version.

[RELATED: Star Trek’s Next Movie Could Get a TV Spinoff (but Not All Fans Will Be Happy)]

A victory in the Kelvin Timeline against Lore will be crucial to a broader victory that saves the multiverse. However, the two Starfleet crews only manage a partial victory. The Theseus crew returns home, but Lore’s reality wave destroys the Kelvin Timeline.

But this is all preamble to the next big Star Trek crossover event, “Lore War.” That event will see the Star Trek cast forced to live in a world created in Lore’s image as they fight to return reality to its rightful form.

Star Trek’s Prime and Kelvin Timeline Crossovers

This is not the first time Star Trek’s Prime and Kelvin Timelines have crossed paths. The existence of the Kelvin Timeline is predicated on Spock crossing over and causing the new reality to splinter off from the previous timeline. However, the Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek Kelvin Timeline crews met in comics in the two-part story “Connections,” which concluded IDW Publishing’s first ongoing Star Trek comic book series in 2016, the franchise’s 50th anniversary.

In television, Star Trek: Discovery revealed that a Beetlgeesuan Starfleet officer named Yor from the Kelvin Timeline had traveled into the Prime Timeline’s future, which confirmed that mortal beings cannot survive crossing both time and realities for long. Yor featured in OTOY’s latest Star Trek short, “Unification,” which saw Captain Kirk of the Prime Timeline crossing over into the Kelvin Timeline to be with Spock on his deathbed. 

Star Trek #26 is on sale now.

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We still have about two months to go before Star Trek: Section 31 premieres on Paramount+, but the cast and crew are already planning for the future. Several cast members accompanied director Olatunde Osunsanmi to New York Comic Con to discuss the new movie, and naturally the question of a sequel came up. Osunsanmi said: “The more you love it, the possibilities are endless.”

The Section 31 panel included stars Omari Hardwick, Kacey Rohl and Robert Kazinsky, with Michelle Yeoh chiming in via video chat from Prague. Osunsanmi was the one to take questions from the audience, and someone asked if this movie could spawn a brand new Star Trek series. When he said “the possibilities are endless,” the live audience let out a thunderous cheer, according to a report by Popverse. Yeoh also had a positive answer. When asked if she’d be available for a follow-up series, she said: “I’ll always be available for Section 31.”

“We’re excited to show you. We hope you guys all love it,” Osunsanmi concluded.

While the live audience was excited, fans online are a little more divided on Section 31. The movie is about a secret division of Starfleet whose mission is to protect the United Federation of Planets – rather than the exploratory missions we usually see in this series. Yeoh stars as Emperor Philippa Georgiou, reprising that role from Star Trek: Discovery. Georgiou comes from the Mirror Universe where she was the leader of the Terran Empire. After jumping to another point on the timeline in the Prime Universe, she opened a nightclub outside of Federation space before joining Starfleet.

The show’s focus will reportedly be on Georgiou grappling with the sins of her past in the context of her new line of work. Yeoh has been pushing for a spinoff like this since her first appearance on Discovery, but it has taken years to get to this point.

Why Some Fans Dislike the Idea of Section 31

One issue fans have with this show is its consistency with other material. The organization Section 31 was first introduced in Deep Space Nine, and from the start many fans felt it was out of place in the generally utopian galactic civilization that Star Trek portrays. The organization is an intelligence agency outside of the usual chain of command. Starting in Discovery, it is depicted as even more secretive, to the point where many characters don’t even know it exists. Writer Alex Kurtzman – a producer on the Section 31 movie – said that it would explore the agency’s evolution into an “underground organization.”

Fans will be able to see for themselves when Star Trek: Section 31 premieres on Paramount+ on January 24, 2025. Most Star Trek movies and series are available to stream there now.

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Star Trek is one of the most beloved franchises in sci-fi history. The original series of the show only lasted three seasons, from 1966 to 1969, but those three seasons of television changed the way audiences looked at sci-fi. A huge factor in the success of Star Trek were stars William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy as Captain James T. Kirk and Commander Spock. The interplay between the two characters charmed fans and, while the men’s real-life relationship wasn’t always the best, they still made history together. This reality makes all the more poignant a new short made for the 30th anniversary of Star Trek: Generations, one that reunites Kirk and Spock in a touching farewell: 765874 – Unification.

The short, made with the cooperation of the Nimoy estate, begins with Gary Mitchell, who longtime Star Trek fans will recognize from the first season episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” appearing, made possible by CG. Mitchell was granted godlike powers, which partly explains how any of this is possible. From there, Kirk appears, with some of the better de-aging tech, walking through a garden full of people he recognized including Saavik, played by Robin Curtis, which leads him to a confrontation with the TOS Kirk and the movie-era Kirk before the two friends are reunited with Spock on his death bed. Together, they watch the sun come up one last time.

The video was made by OTOY for an interactive app for Apple Vision Pro named after the short. This app is full of interactive sets, props, and worlds from the 1994 film and even includes a 20-minute retrospective from Shatner, where he speaks about playing Kirk 30 years ago and what he hopes for the future of the venerable Captain. Kirk has always meant a lot to Shatner and fans, so this short and retrospective is icing on the cake for them.

Seeing Kirk and Spock back together after so long is something very special. While it’s sad that the two could never have played the characters one last time together, and their relationship got even worse in the years before Nimoy died, this short shows that Shatner is willing to pay homage to the man who helped make his career as Captain Kirk possible. Shatner and Nimoy’s widow Susan Bay Nimoy acted as executive producers of the short and Shatner worked with the OTOY team to make the multiple generations of Kirk come to life.

765874 – Unification is a treat for Star Trek fans and a reminder of a relationship that made nearly sixty years of brilliant stories possible.

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Star Trek has been in a period of grand expansion the last few years, following every other major franchise universe into the streaming wars. Paramount+ has offered fans in live-action Star Trek series like Discovery, animated series like Lower Decks and Prodigy, and some high-profile spinoff series like Picard and Strange New Worlds. It’s an understatement to say that many of those projects have been divisive – but one series that arguably would’ve been a sure bet is also one that never came to fruition.

Star Trek: Voyager and Picard star Jeri Ryan attended Spacecon in San Antonio, Texas, recently, where she revealed to a crowd attending panel that there has been discussions of a Star Trek spinoff show centered around her character Seven of Nine – and even a formal pitch that she had been presented with:

“There has been talk. And there was an idea that was actually pitched to me after Picard ended, which was not the Legacy show that I know the fans are asking for, that I want to do,” Ryan explained. “But it just wasn’t me… It didn’t feel like the right kind of thing… But there has been talk. And if there is one thing I have learned with this franchise it is: never say never. You never know.”

Seven of Nine’s Star Trek History Explained

Jeri Ryan’s Seven of Nine was formerly “Annika Hansen,” a colonist whose family took a ship to explore unknown regions of space, where the encountered the Borg and were assimilated into its collective. In the Voyager Season 4’s two-part episode “Scorpion” the Borg version of Annika (designate: “Seven of Nine”) came aboard the USS Voyager as an envoy for the Borg, but ended up being captured and having her connection to the collective severed.

Seven of Nine served aboard Voyager for years; in the time period of Star Trek: Picard (over 20 years after the events of Voyager), Seven of Nine becomes a Fenris Ranger, taking on peacekeeping mission in the volatile region of the Romulan Neutral Zone. She joined Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) on a new set of adventures, which culminated with Seven of Nine becoming the new captain of the USS Enterprise-G, with her girlfriend Raffi Musiker as first officer, and Picard’s son Jack Crusher II as her ensign and advisor.

What’s Next For Seven of Nine?

Star Trek fans were by-and-large happy with Picard Season 3, which brought back the legacy characters of TNG and mixed them into the new era of Picard characters (Seven of Nine, Raffi, etc.), while introducing the the offspring of TNG characters, like Jack Crusher and Geordi La Gorge’s daughters Sidney and Alandra. There’s been a sustained hope that Star Trek: Picard‘s ending would springboard into a new series, Star Trek: Legacy, which would pick up the adventures of the Enterprise-G.

After being handed the captain’s chair, it’s understandable that Jeri Ryan would be more interested in leading Star Trek: Legacy than doing a Seven of Nine spinoff. And a lot of fans agree with her.

The Star Trek Universe can be streamed on Paramount+.

Via: Trek Movie

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Star Trek: Lower Decks is in the midst of its fifth and final season on Paramount+. However, anyone familiar with Star Trek’s multimedia history knows that a show’s season finale isn’t necessarily the final adventure for its crew. Star Trek: Lower Decks already made its debut in comics with a three-issue miniseries published by IDW Publishing in 2022 from writer Ryan North and artist Chris Fenoglio. Those issues were received well enough for IDW Publishing to greenlight a new ongoing series that will keep the U.S.S. Cerritos flying for the foreseeable future. North returns to write with Derek Charm taking over art duties (Fenoglio was presumably busy working with North on the excellent Star Trek: Lower Decks — Warp Your Own Way interactive graphic novel), and the debut issue suggests that the comics will be a worthy successor to the beloved show that spawned it.

Star Trek: Lower Decks #1 finds the Cerritos‘ Lower Deckers, especially Beckett Mariner, struggling with a series of mind-numbingly safe and efficient (boring) missions. Right as Mariner is reaching her breaking point and ready to turn to the holodeck for distraction, a real adventure materializes along with a mysterious, mostly forgotten Starship from Starfleet’s earliest days. She and her usual group of friends and colleagues — Brad Boimler, D’Vana Tendi, Samanthan Rutherford, and T’Lyn — volunteer to take part in the away mission to investigate and discover a mystery dating back to Kirk and Spock’s days on the Enterprise.

The issue hits all the comedic beats fans expect from a Lower Decks story. The rapid-fire use of opening establishing shots with episode titles overlain to emphasize the monotony that has recently overtaken hits exactly the balance of reverence for and subversion of Star Trek tropes that have come to define the show. North has shown a love of science in his other comics work, particularly his current run on Fantastic Four, and that same passion is on display as he crafts pseudo-scientific challenges and solutions for Tendi and Rutherford to gush about. Elsewhere, the issue pokes fun at certain uninterrogated assumptions of the Star Trek universe, such as humans overusing metaphors that wouldn’t make any sense to anyone without an Earth-based frame of reference, to equally hilarious effect, as well as the monumental discoveries that tended to be forgotten, due to early Trek’s episodic storytelling structure.

[RELATED: Star Trek: Lower Decks #1 Preview Reveals the Cerritos Crew’s Next Mission]

North punctuates nearly every page with asides from a faceless voice written in the gutter at the bottom. These comments exist outside the narrative but comment on whatever has transpired on that page’s panels. They’re funny but can interrupt the book’s flow and may diffuse a reader’s immersion in the story. It’s like watching an episode of television with a friend who can’t help interrupting with their amusing observations and commentary. In this case though, while I found the notes worth reading while progressing through the story, the reader may ignore them without worrying about coming off as rude and revisit them later to see what they missed.

Like Fenoglio before him, Charm does an excellent job of matching the style of Star Trek: Lower Decks. Complimenting mimicry may sound like faint praise at best. However, it’s a credit to Charm’s storytelling skills that while yes, the characters are on-model, the visual beats all allow the jokes to land with the right timing, and the framing and character expression perfectly telegraph whether the dialog should be received as setup, punchline, or just plain absurd. It all goes a long way toward inviting the reader to lose themselves in the misadventure.

Despite many being apprehensive of Star Trek: Lower Decks given how far it seemed to venture from what Star Trek had always been until then, fans have come to embrace the show and will lament its ending after five seasons. Those fans should take heart in the existence of Star Trek: Lower Decks #1, which promises future adventures that successfully translate the charm, heart, and humor of Lower Decks into a new medium. 

Published By: IDW Publishing

On: Wednesday, November 13th, 2024

Written By: Ryan North

Art By: Derek Charm

Letters By: Clayton Cowles

Cover by Derek Charm

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is not wasting time. The first teaser for the sci-fi series resolved the cliffhanger from Season 2, assuring us that the Enterprise’s crew survived their encounter with the Gorn. Commenters are more excited than ever to see how it all plays out when the series returns to Paramount+ in 2025.

The preview for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 premiered at New York Comic Con, and once again it was not a trailer but a complete scene. We rejoin Captain Pike (Anson Mount) leading the crew of the USS Enterprise in a high-impact confrontation with the Gorn, weighing their options. In classic Star Trek fashion, Pike trusts his crew to present him with their best options while his decisiveness keeps them moving. You can see the clip below, but it more or less gives away how the Enterprise escapes the Gorn.

For those that need a refresher, at the end of Strange New Worlds Season 2 the Enterprise was attacked by a force of Gorn who were in the midst of invading a Federation colony world. The USS Cayuga was already damaged in the battle, including its captain Mariel Batel (Melanie Scrofano), Pike’s love interest.

For some fans, the cliffhanger felt a bit out of place in a show that seemed proud to be episodic. Strange New Worlds works hard to evoke the franchise’s history, and that seems to be the plan for Season 3 as well. Last year, co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman told Variety that the “genre-hopping” would continue, with 10 unique new stories all underway before the Hollywood labor strikes began.

Strange New Worlds takes place in the decade before Star Trek: The Original Series. It features many of the same characters inlcuding Spock (Ethan Peck), Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) and Scotty (Martin Quinn). It also includes Christina Chong as head of security La’an Noonien-Singh, Melissa Navia as helmsman Erica Ortegas, Babs Olusanmokun as chief medical officer Joseph M’Benga, Bruce Horak as chief engineer Hemmer and Rebecca Romijn as first officer Number One.

Strange New Worlds Season 3 is slated for release sometime in 2025, but no exact date has been set. The series has already been renewed for a fourth season as well. Previous episodes are now streaming on Paramount+, along with most other Star Trek shows and movies.

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Jeri Taylor, a writer, producer, and co-creator of Star Trek: Voyager, has passed away at the age of 86. Star Trek designer and consultant Michael Okuda shared the news of Taylor’s passing on social media, stating Taylor passed away on Thursday, October 24th and then sharing a touching tribute. You can find his full statement below, and our thoughts are with Taylor’s family and friends.

On Instagram Okuda wrote, “The world of Star Trek lost one of its giants yesterday with the passing of writer-producer Jeri Taylor. Jeri became a supervising producer on Star Trek: TNG’s fourth season, eventually becoming co-executive producer. Along with Rick Berman and Michael Piller, she co-created Star Trek: Voyager, on which she served as executive producer. Jeri brought humanity and compassion to her work and to Star Trek. Her scripts include “The Drumhead” (TNG), which remains one of Star Trek’s most powerful hours.

Working for Jeri Taylor was always a delight. She always welcomed ideas and suggestions, even from designers in the art department. She was thoughtful and warm, and she always made us feel like we were an important part of her team. Jeri Taylor passed away yesterday (Thursday, Oct 24) at the age of 88. She will be missed.”

Taylor helped bring Star Trek: Voyager to the screen alongside Michael Piller and Rick Berman, and she also ran the writers’ room for four years (via TrekCore). She was already a part of the Star Trek family after working on The Next Generation, and she would take over as showrunner in the series’ final season, but it is Voyager that she is most synonymous with.

Taylor would hand the writers’ room to Brannon Braga when she departed the show, and Braga also took to social media to share a tribute to Taylor. On Facebook Braga wrote, “Jeri Taylor died. She was a great writer and showrunner and, to me, a cherished mentor. Jeri was generous with her wisdom and her time, she nurtured an entire staff of young writers which is a testament to her patience. I would not have a career without Jeri’s intricate guidance. She taught us all so much. Her memory will live on in many ways, but perhaps most of all in the character of Captain Janeway, who reflected the best dimensions of Jeri herself. Jeri Taylor, we were lucky to know you.”

Over the course of her time as part of the Star Trek franchise, Taylor wrote or co-wrote over 30 episodes of Star Trek, encompassing The Next Generation, Voyager, and Deep Space Nine. She also wrote two novels set in the Voyager universe, and overall she was the executive producer for 93 episodes of Voyager. Outside of Star Trek, Taylor also worked on a number of popular shows, including Quincy M.E., Magnum P.I., In the Heat of the Night, and Jake and the Fatman.

Our thoughts are with Taylor’s family and friends at this incredibly difficult time.

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Sebastian Stan may be a household name in no small part due to his role as Bucky Barnes in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but he almost was connected to a very different captain — Captain James T. Kirk. During a recent appearance on Happy Sad Confused, the Marvel star revealed that was “very close” to playing the iconic Star Trek role — and even did a William Shatner photoshoot to help his case by proving how much he looked like the character. The role ultimately went to Chris Pine.

“There were a couple of things I didn’t get that I really desperately wanted,” Stan said. “But Captain Kirk for J.J. Abrams, that was one of the first I got very close to. I remember I was really, really close, and I remember I had a screen test with [Abrams] at Paramount and my manager had me do a separate photo shoot where I would try and replicate all these William Shatner pictures just to send to him, see how much I looked like him, but I didn’t get it.”

Stan also revealed that he screen tested for the role of Hal Jordan in 2011’s Green Lantern, though upon seeing who else was there testing for the role — including Ryan Reynolds, who ultimately landed it — Stan said he knew it wouldn’t be one he’d book. Stan didn’t have to wait long to land the role that would make him a household name, however. He was cast as Bucky Barnes in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger and has played Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier across numerous Marvel Cinematic Universe films and projects since, including Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and will reprise the role again for Thunderbolts* which is set to open in theaters on May 2, 2025.

Sebastian Stan Reveals the DC Villain He’d Like To Play

Even though Stan is coming back to Marvel for Thunderbolts*, it sounds like he’s not entirely opposed to going up for a DC role again in the future — he knows which villain he’d like to take on. Earlier this month, Stan said he’s “always had a soft spot” for The Riddler.

“I don’t know if Batman’s for me, but never say never,” Stan said. “I don’t know. There’s so many characters — I told you, I always had a soft spot for that Riddler, but that one’s been done.”

Sebastian Stan Returns as Bucky Barnes in Thunderbolts*

While the idea of Stan playing Captain Kirk and being part of the Star Trek franchise makes for an interesting idea — and we’d definitely love to see what the reality where that version of the franchise exists looks like — it’s hard to imagine anyone else as Bucky Barnes. It’s a character that he’s made his own over the years and it’s one that fans are eager to see again when Thunderbolts* arrives — roughly four years after we last saw him in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. And it isn’t just fans who have missed Stan in the MCU. Stan himself said he was glad to be back at work on Thunderbolts* when filming resumed earlier this year.

“I’m excited. I’m going to go back basically in a month or so. I’ve missed it. It’s a great cast,” Stan said at the time. “The batting average is so high that it’s difficult to always land everything right away. It’s always been a great experience. With this one in particular, I think there’s a lot of good things.”

Thunderbolts* is set to open in theaters on May 2, 2025.

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Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has been renewed for a second season, even before the first season premiered. The upcoming series is one of many Star Trek projects at Paramount+, joining the likes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Lower Decks, and Star Trek: Section 31. Star Trek held a panel at New York Comic Con over the weekend, where a host of announcements were made. One of those announcements was for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Season 2, as well as the addition of She-Hulk star Tatiana Maslany as a recurring special guest star during its first season.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is currently in production in Toronto. Executive producer and co-showrunner Alex Kurtzman made a surprise appearance during the Star Trek Universe panel at NYCC when a livestream from the Toronto set was shown to the audience. Kurtzman announced Starfleet Academy being greenlit for a second season alongside cast members including Sandro Rosta, Kerrice Brooks, Bella Shepard, George Hawkins, Karim Diané, and Zoë Steiner.

The series will follow a new class of Starfleet cadets who all have the dream of becoming a part of the decorated Starfleet officers. They will navigate blossoming friendships, explosive rivalries, first loves, and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself, so it sounds like there will be plenty of action and drama for longtime fans and newcomers alike.

Before portraying Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk, Emmy winner Tatiana Maslany was known for her breakout performance in Orphan Black. “I’ve had the incredible privilege of being able to direct her, and I can tell you that she is such a genius… she is just incredible,” Alex Kurtzman said about Maslany. “She has been just an amazing addition to the cast.”

It can always be a tricky proposition to introduce fans to a whole new group of characters within an established franchise, but it shouldn’t be something that keeps viewers away from Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. It boasts an impressive cast list including the recently-added Kerrice Brooks (My Old Ass), Bella Shepard (Wolf Pack), and George Hawkins (Tell Me Everything), who all play cadets at Starfleet Academy. They join previously announced cast members, Holly Hunter, playing a Starfleet captain and current chancellor of Starfleet Academy, and Paul Giamatti, playing Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Season 1’s villain.

Are you excited for Tatiana Maslany in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy? Let us know your thoughts on social media @ComicBook!

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has cast actor Rhys Darby as another legacy character from the Star Trek Universe – but who is it? The creators of Strange New Worlds got Star Trek fans wondering during the franchise’s panel at New York Comic-Con, where it was announced that Darby will have a guest-starring role in Season 3. Darby is best known for his role as Stede Bonnet in the pirate comedy Our Flag Means Death, as well as playing Nigel in the Jumanji reboot films. He also has a long list of voice-acting roles in some popular gaming and animated series (The Venture Bros., We Bare Bears, The Simpsons, Bob’s Burgers, SpongeBob, etc).

One early theory is that Darby (50) could guest star as George Samuel Kirk Sr., the father of James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) and “Sam” Kirk (Dan Jeannotte). The Kirk brothers have already appeared in Strange New Worlds, with Sam appearing first in Season 1, before James (future captain of the USS Enterprise) appeared at the end of the first season, becoming a regular cast member in Season 2.

The only onscreen appearance of George Kirk Sr. was in J.J. Abrams’s Star Trek (2009), which used the character as the catalyst for a major timeline change, creating Star Trek’s “Kelvin Timeline” in which Abrams’ films take place. The “Prime Timeline” of the Star Trek franchise has yet to explore George Kirk’s character. We know that his total devotion to Starfleet and its mission took him away from his wife and sons quite often – leading to James, in particular, having conflicted feelings about his father choosing exploration and aiding strangers over his own family. Darby has demonstrated that he can nail the kind of comedy-drama line that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds revels in; an episode of Kirk family drama would also be the kind of Star Trek canon expansion that the series has excelled at.

As always, however, fans should hold on to any casting theories loosely, as there are literally a dozen characters from classic Star Trek: TOS episodes and lore that Strange New Worlds could be refitting for the modern era.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds stars Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn, Ethan Peck, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Melissa Navia, Babs Olusanmokun and Martin Quinn, along with special guest stars Paul Wesley and Carol Kane. The series is produced by CBS Studios, Secret Hideout, and Roddenberry Entertainment. Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman, Jenny Lumet, Henry Alonso Myers, Aaron Baiers, Dana Horgan, Davy Perez, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth serve as executive producers.

You can stream Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on Paramount+.

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Michelle Yeoh’s Star Trek: Section 31 finally has a release date, and it’s just around the corner. Paramount+ continues to expand the Star Trek franchise, and fans are excited to see more of Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh’s Emperor Philippa Georgiou. New York Comic Con announced Star Trek: Section 31 will premiere January 24, 2024, and a new poster featuring Yeoh was also revealed to go along with the news. Star Trek hosted a panel at New York Comic Con that also featured a new look at the animated Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3, and an update on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.

Star Trek: Section 31 has the distinction of being Paramount+’s first original Star Trek movie. Joining Yeoh in the star-studded cast are Omari Hardwick as “Alok”, Kacey Rohl as Rachel Garrett, Sam Richardson as Quasi, Sven Ruygrok as Fuzz, Robert Kazinsky as Zeph, Humberly Gonzalez as Melle, and James Hiroyuki Liao (Barry). Miku Martineau (Kate) is playing a young Georgiou, and Joe Pingue (The Expanse), and Augusto Bitter (EZRA) also help round out the cast.

The cast of Section 31 took time to speak about their love of Star Trek at the NYCC panel.

“Star Trek informed not just the kind of things I like, but it informed me as a human being,” Robert Kazinsky said during the Star Trek panel. “I took my moral center from the next generation – from everything they did on there. So to be of it – I never thought I would get the jewel in the crown, which is Star Trek.”

While a lot of the cast are playing new characters, Kacey Rohl gets to reprise an established character in the young Rachel Garrett. Tricia O’Neil played Garrett in Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s “Yesterday’s Enterprise” episode.

“Obviously Rachel Garrett has got some big boots to fill and Tricia O’Neil did such incredible work,” Rohl said. “Let’s have a clap for Tricia! I watched that episode a bunch and tried to translate that through my stuff, to try and bring Rachel Garrett into this moment. It’s exciting to be in something on more the spicer side.”

It’s a season of change for Star Trek projects on Paramount+. Star Trek: Discovery debuted its fifth and final season earlier this year. Star Trek: Lower Decks debuts its final season in October. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 debuts in 2025 and the show is already renewed with Season 4 on the horizon. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy hasn’t debuted and it’s already also been renewed for Season 2.

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Star Trek movies featuring the characters from the classic series, as well as the ones featuring characters from Star Trek: The Next Generation, have a new streaming home for the second time since they first left Paramount+. In recent days, the movies relocated to MGM+, the streaming service formerly known as Epix. Of the ten films, all but two — Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek: First Contact — are available on Prime Video. Prime, of course, shares an owner (Amazon) with MGM, so (as noted in a story at TrekMovie), it’s difficult to imagine why those two seem to be outliers.

Update (Oct. 18th at noon ET) — Good news, everyone! Paramount+ users can once again watch every Star Trek movie. They are still on MGM+ and Prime as well, but apparently they aren’t streaming exclusively there.

Original story continues below.

The ten movies involved in the move include all six classic movies made between Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979 and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country in 1991. The four The Next Generation movies — Star Trek: Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek: Nemesis — continued the original timeline from 1994 until 2002.

At present, the JJ Abrams-led “Kelvin Timeline” reboot, which launched in 2009, is not part of the deal.

The Star Trek franchise was once viewed as one of the crown jewels of CBS All Access/Paramount+, particularly since the streamer was the home of all new Trek, including Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Prodigy, and other TV series. Right around the time Paramount+ cancelled Prodigy in 2023, they also started toying with the idea of giving up their exclusive hold on Star Trek. A new season of Prodigy is coming to Netflix soon, and in early 2024, the ten “classic” movies moved to Max, splitting the series between two different streamers. They returned to Paramount+ in June, but that obviously didn’t last long.

So far, the Kelvin Timeline movies have remained at Paramount+, meaning that no other streamer has successfully hosted all 13 Star Trek movies. Excepting Prodigy, Paramount has also maintained control of the Star Trek TV shows, which have mostly been critical and commercial successes.

Of course, as much as any other franchise, Star Trek is fairly insulated from the whims of the streaming market. One of the biggest fandoms in entertainment, many Trek fans likely own the movies, either on digital marketplaces like Apple and Fandango at Home or on physical media. Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation received new box sets not long before Picard launched on Paramount+, and there have been two new box sets featuring that character since — one collecting the Picard streaming show and another titled Picard: The Movie and TV Collection, which packaged some key TNG episodes along with the four TNG-era movies.

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The east coast’s biggest pop culture event is less than one week away. New York Comic Con returns to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on Thursday, October 17th and stretches until Sunday, October 20th, running the six-figure capacity venue for its 18th year. First launching in 2006, NYCC has been annual to the autumn entertainment scene for nearly two straight decades.

“I was a fan,” ReedPop Event Manager Chris D’Lando told ComicBook. “Long before I worked here, I was at Marvel Comics in their publicity department out of New York. This will actually be, my God, my 17th New York Comic Con. I’ve been to every one since 2007, which is everyone except the first.”

D’Lando is one of the men behind the machine, as he captains the ReedPop team that is responsible for piecing together the four-day extravaganza. He has been with ReedPop for seven and a half years, wearing hats in the content department before locking into his general event management position in recent years.

“The industry has changed so dramatically in those last couple of years, incrementally, year over year. If you look back at the show in 2017 versus now, you’ll see a lot of very different things,” D’Lando explained how NYCC has evolved during his time with ReedPop. “As far as industries go, we’ve seen the rise and explosion of anime over the last couple of years. Our team has really honed in on that. We spend a lot of time looking at our post-show data after the shows are over. That’s kind of the Bible by which we dictate strategy for the next year.

“Over the last couple of years, our fans have asked a lot for more interactive programming, community programming, and late night programming. Those are sort of changes that that we have implemented over the last few years.”

That post-show data has been especially unique in recent memory. NYCC 2020 was pivoted to an online event due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2021 event remained a gradual return to in-person normalcy. 2022 saw echoes of that familiarity before last year’s event, which took place in the heart of the SAG-AFTRA strike, led to the typical film and television presence being significantly reduced.

“Thankfully, we had a good amount of time to prepare and we were still able to go forward with most of our panels intact. Out of solidarity with with striking actors and writers, they were not allowed to talk about struck work, nor did we ask them to. Those conversations ended up being more personal,” D’Lando reflected on NYCC 2023. “We’re really excited that the those two sides came to an agreement, and that not only could work resume, but we’re really excited that studios are back at the show and promoting new properties. It’s it’s a big piece of what our fans are asking for at the show. They want to see big premieres. They want announcements. To be able to bring stuff like The Penguin or Shrinking from Apple TV or Outlander in its final season back to NYCC this year is really, really exciting.”

D’Lando also highlighted franchises like The Lord of the Rings, The Walking Dead, Goosebumps, Phineas and Ferb, and House of the Dragon as having major presences at NYCC 2024.

Outside of the blockbuster panels scheduled, D’Lando stressed that the “comic” of New York Comic Con is still the event’s “lifeblood.”

“Our show is a is a pop culture show, but it’s New York Comic Con first and foremost. Comics are the lifeblood of our show. That pop culture explosion, I think, in many ways, is traced back to comics as as a medium.

“Our team that puts together Artist Alley is, in my opinion, the best in the world,” D’Lando continued, spotlighting the comic-centric area of NYCC. “Our Artist Alley is second to none this year. It’s over 500 tables some of the biggest names in the industry. It’s incredible to walk down and just see the level of talent. It’s a real melting pot of some of the most creative people you’ll ever meet.”

The pop culture presence and Artists Alley only scratch the surface of what NYCC has in store for 2024. D’Lando teased that the ReedPop team has supersized this year’s event in an effort to make the Javits Center itself the total attraction throughout attendees’ stays.

“New York City has built up a lot of a lot of stuff around the Javits Center to do, restaurants and bars, but it’s still not a really a hub area. By offering more things to do inside the building, it adds more value to the ticket,” D’Lando noted. “It makes them feel like they got their money’s worth coming for a day because, yeah, the show floor may have closed seven, but they got to go to panels until 11 o’clock. They got to go to the gaming area until 11 o’clock. Artist Alley was open a little bit later.”

As for which day’s ticket will yield the most value, D’Lando pointed to NYCC’s kickoff.

“We always say Thursday is is the best day. Thursday is really stacked,” D’Lando said, adding that Thursday NYCC tickets are still available. “Elizabeth Olsen is there on Thursday and Friday. Our guest lineup for Thursday is looking stacked. Thursday is a great day to shop on the show floor before things are sold out. Thursday is a great day to get on commission lists for people on Artists Alley. I always recommend Thursday for people, especially folks who are not super convention savvy. It’s usually the easiest day to attend.”

New York Comic-Con kicks off on Thursday, October 17th and stretches until Sunday, October 20th. Stay tuned to ComicBook for live coverage all weekend!

The post New York Comic Con: 2024’s Event Will Be “Second to None” (Preview) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Paramount+ has released a new trailer for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, the final season of the animated comedy series. The trailer features plenty of familiar faces from the U.S.S. Cerritos crew, and reveals the return of Star Trek: Voyager‘s Harry Kim — or is that Harry Kims? Harrys Kim? — to the Star Trek universe. In the trailer’s final scene, the former member of the U.S.S. Voyager‘s crew is aghast to see that myriad versions of himself are all still ensigns, referencing a running in-joke among Star Trek fans over Kim’s lack of promotion throughout Voyager‘s seven-year journey home through the Delta Quadrant.

The trailer is framed by Captain Freeman reflecting on how competent and well-adjusted her crew has been recently. This is, of course, followed by a series fo scenes depicting the crew getting into all sorts of misadventures and interpersonal conflicts, as is their way. You can see it all for yourself in the Star Trek: Lower Decks trailer embedded above.

What to Expect from Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5

The Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 trailer seems to show several storylines and plot points hinted at during ComicBook’s conversation with the Lower Decks crew, including showrunner Mike McMahan and members of the show’s voice cast, during San Diego Comic-Con. Those plots include an episode dealing with the complicated romance between Beckett Mariner and her Andorian crewmate, Jennifer Sh’reyan, as well as another storyline digging deeper into Orion culture.

“I really love the Jennifer episode… I love the stuff Tendi gets to do this season,” Tawny Newsome, who voices Mariner, said at the time. “It really warms my heart the way this show… this 22-minute nonsense show… is the one that has advanced Orion canon so much. As a rabid fan, no other show has given as much to the Orion culture, so it’s wild that we’ve expanded that.”

Meanwhile, Kim’s appearance in the trailer follows through on McMahan’s promise about significant cameos in Lower Decks‘ final season. “There’s also some classic legacy cameos this season that are pretty bonkers,” he said. “They’re sort of sprinkled throughout, but since we had a head’s up that this would be our last, we started going to the wish list and everyone wanted to be on. It was pretty wild. I was sure we weren’t going to get everyone, but you’ll see some familiar faces this season.”

Star Trek: Lower Decks follows the support crew serving on one of Starfleet’s least important ships, the U.S.S. Cerritos. The Star Trek: Lower Decks voice cast includes Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid, Noël Wells, and Eugene Cordero as the junior officers and Dawnn Lewis, Jerry O’Connell, Fred Tatasciore, and Gillian Vigman as the Cerritos bridge crew.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 premieres on Paramount+ on October 24th with two new episodes. For those who may want to catch up with the series, Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 4 is currently streaming for free on YouTube. The Cerritos crew will embark on new adventures in the Star Trek: Lower Decks comic book series launching in November.

The post Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 Trailer Reveals a Voyager Favorite’s Return appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Paramount Home Media recently released the Star Trek: The Picard Legacy Collection, a limited edition, individually numbered (only 11,750 copies worldwide), 54-disc Blu-ray collection that includes every series and film featuring Jean-Luc Picard with over 35 hours of special features tossed in for good measure. If that wasn’t enough Picard for you, the set will also include an exclusive edition of The Wisdom of Picard with new artwork and quotes, a one-of-a-kind deck of playing cards, a magnet sheet with Captain Picard’s badges, and four custom Chateau Picard drink coasters. They also recently released the complete Picard series on Blu-ray, and both of these options are currently heavily discounted as part of Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days event. 

At the time of writing, the Star Trek: Picard – The Complete Series Blu-ray is available here on Amazon for $44.99, which is 36% off. If you want to go all out, the ultimate Picard Blu-ray box set is currently on sale here on Amazon for $139.49 which is 43% off the list price. As a bonus, you can even grab the Star Trek: TOS The Complete Series Steelbook Blu-ray for 44% off.  After you decide which set is right for you, make sure to check out our interviews with Star Trek: Picard production designer Dave Blass and makeup artist James MacKinnon regarding their work on Star Trek as it relates to the Legacy Blu-ray box set. Buy Star Trek: Picard – The Complete Series Blu-ray on Amazon

Star Trek: The Picard Legacy Collection Features:

• 35 hours of bonus features
• Premium Packaging Containing 54 Blu-ray Discs and Exclusive Collectables 
• All Series and Films Featuring Captain Jean-Luc Picard
  • Star Trek: The Next Generation – Seasons 1-7
  • Star Trek: Picard – Seasons 1-3
  • Star Trek: Generations
  • Star Trek: First Contact
  • Star Trek: Nemesis
  • Star Trek: Insurrection 
• Exclusive Collectables:
  • Magnetic Captain Picard Badges
  • 4 Custom Chateau Picard Drink Coasters 
  • Custom Deck of Playing Cards
  • Exclusive Version of The Wisdom of Picard, The Wisdom of Picard: The Legacy Collection Edition
    • Featuring New Cover Art
    • Including quotes from the latest seasons of Star Trek: Picard

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Star Trek: Lower Decks debuts its fifth and final season later this month, but the U.S.S. Cerritos will continue to embark on new adventures thanks to a new Star Trek: Lower Decks ongoing comic book series from IDW Publishing. Helmed by Eisner Award-winning writer Ryan North, who penned the previous Star Trek: Lower Decks comic book miniseries and the upcoming Star Trek: Lower Decks interactive graphic novel, the Star Trek: Lower Decks ongoing series launches in November. ComicBook.com has an exclusive first look at the debut issues of the new Star Trek: Lower Decks comic book series, which you can find below.

“Lower Decks is my favorite Star Trek, and I have seen every single Star Trek there is to see, except for one episode I will never reveal,” North said in a press release when IDW announced the new series. “This raises the obvious question: will something in this comic contradict something that I missed in that one episode I never saw? Thankfully the answer is no, because the entire Lower Decks team – both at IDW and Paramount – has been so amazing – supportive, clever, brilliant. We’re making a big funny heartfelt book with huge sci-fi ideas, important character developments, tons of that Trek flavor, and a bunch of jokes, too. If you love Lower Decks you’ll love this comic!”

Star Trek: Lower Decks #1 goes on sale on November 13th. The final day to pre-order from your local comic book store is this Monday, October 7th. Check out the solicitation info and preview pages below.

Star Trek: Lower Decks #1 

• Writer Ryan North
• Artist Derek Charm
• On sale 11/13/24
• Pre-order deadline 10/7/24

 Hot off their Eisner nomination for Lower Decks tie-in Shax’s Best Day, stellar duo Ryan North and Derek Charm are kicking off a brand-new ongoing series that’s a big fun adventure on a big fun ship…

…wherein Dr. T’Ana saves the crew from a virulent, purple-boiled disease that is sure to— Wait, no, everyone’s cured pretty quickly, actually.

Okay…wherein Deep Space 2’s distress call is mysteriously cut off and the crew has to— Wait, nope, they just needed some help resetting their comms systems.

ALL RIGHT, WHEREIN Mariner gets so totally frustrated with the lack of thrills aboard the Cerritos that she drags her friends into a holodeck adventure that would definitely kill them in reality! Should totally provide them all with a sense of purpose and well-being, right? Right.

Or at least it would have. If the U.S.S. Bonaventure hadn’t shown back up from the Delta Triangle to provide them with a real challenge. It’s time to explore a ghost ship, baby!

Star Trek: Lower Decks #1 Cover A

Star Trek: Lower Decks #1 Cover B

Star Trek: Lower Decks #1 Retailer Incentive Cover

Star Trek: Lower Decks #1 Credits Page

Star Trek Lower Decks #1 Preview Page 1

Star Trek Lower Decks #1 Preview Page 2

Star Trek Lower Decks #1 Preview Page 3

Star Trek Lower Decks #1 Preview Page 4

Star Trek Lower Decks #1 Preview Page 5

The post Star Trek: Lower Decks #1 Preview Reveals the Cerritos Crew’s Next Mission appeared first on ComicBook.com.

It has been almost a decade since Zachary Quinto played Mister Spock in Star Trek Beyond, the latest feature film based on the beloved franchise, but the actor has not given up on the idea of returning to the role. While Quinto has stayed busy enough over the years that he hasn’t been out there lobbying for more Star Trek all the time, he says he loves the franchise, and trusts that there will always be more opportunities to come back to it if somebody gets the right idea.

Speaking about his new NBC medical drama Brilliant Minds, Quinto took a little time out to look back at his Star Trek role and forward to what might be next. 

“The great thing is Star Trek is a limitless universe,” Quinto told Variety. “Look at all the television shows, look at all the stories, look at all the characters and timelines. Anything is possible. That’s the joy of the franchise. That’s why it’s lasted for 55, 60 years. I’m open to it. I would love it. I would absolutely love it.”

He’s already passed up the opportunity to return to one of his big early roles — Heroes — years removed from the original series. Of course, the Heroes Reborn sequel didn’t seem to work very well on its own, and Quinto seems confident that’s less likely to happen with Star Trek.  

“There’s no cutoff,” Quinto said. “The original cast did movies for decades, well into their 50s, 60s. The stories might be different. We might not be running as fast on the other planets, but I think anything’s possible, and I think there’s nothing more fulfilling as an artist then to come back to something after time has passed, and cultivate a relationship with it from a completely different perspective, and a completely new point of view.”

Here’s the official synopsis for Brilliant Minds, Quinto’s series which has a new episode coming on Monday:

Dr. Oliver Wolf is an eccentric but incredibly gifted neurologist who suffers from a rare condition that gives him a unique perspective on care, fueling his mission to change the way the world sees his patients. After his unusual methods result in his dismissal, he takes his unconventional approach to a new hospital: Bronx General, where he leads a team of bright young interns in tackling some of the world’s most puzzling psychological cases. With their help, he must also challenge his own personal and social limitations by navigating all the expectations, politics and complicated relationships that come with the job.

The post Star Trek’s Zachary Quinto Still Hoping for a Spock Return Despite Sequel Setbacks appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The ComicBook Nation crew review Transformers One, and it’s Peak Geek TV time again with Agatha All Along, The Penguin and Zack Snyder’s anime Twilight of the Gods all premiering this week!

PLUS: The Clue movie reboot may have a director; the Transformers & G.I. Joe movie gets an update; Zack Snyder’s 300 TV series is happening – and Netflix’s One Piece Season 2 drops some major casting surprises!

Transformers One Review

Here’s what ComicBook Nation’s Anime Initiative host Evan Valentine had to say about his 4-star review of Transformers One: 

I would be remiss by not calling this the best Transformers film since the 1980s animated film. If this is the future of the Transformers franchise, then Autobot and Decepticons fans have a bright future to look forward to indeed.

The Penguin Review

ComicBook’s Jenna Anderson had the following to say in her 4.5 out of 5 star review of The Penguin: 

Across its eight episodes, The Penguin redefines what verisimilitude can mean in the world of comic book adaptations. The grittiness, violence, and double-crossing that fans would expect from the title are abundantly present, but balanced with a truly heartfelt take on loss, rebirth, and personal agency. The series is not only one of the better crime dramas in recent memory, it is one of the best examples of how to branch out decades of beloved lore.The Penguin is simply a show about people trying to thrive in a world much bigger and weirder than they can even comprehend – a subject that would be universal nonetheless, but transforms into something special with its engrossing performances.

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There are several additional ways you can subscribe and/or listen to ComicBook Nation, which are listed below. BE SURE TO SUBSCRIBE as we drop all sorts of BONUS MATERIAL on YouTube and/or audio platforms, in addition to our main shows!

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After every show we’ll keep the discussion on Twitter:

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Have thoughts to share? Want us to cover something on the show? Let us know in the comments!

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The Star Trek universe is in for a big change in 2025 in Star Trek: Lore War. As teased in this week’s milestone Star Trek #500, Lore, Commander Data’s twisted brother, has used the power of a Bajoran Orb to remake reality, replacing the old Star Trek universe with one more to his liking. Now that Lore has taken on the role of a god, what comes next? Star Trek fans will find out in Lore War, the culmination of two years of storytelling in IDW’s Star Trek comics line, which began with the prelude story in Star Trek #400 and has continued through Star Trek, Star Trek: Defiant, and more.

Star Trek: Lore War #1 kicks off Star Trek’s second-ever comic book crossover event (the first being IDW’s previous Day of Blood event), from Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, Christopher Cantwell, and Davide Tinto. The story continues in the pages of Star Trek, Star Trek: Defiant, and more one-shot specials to come.

“This is it. The moment we’ve been building to since the Theseus left spacedock and the Defiant was stolen,” Lanzing says in a press release. “The ultimate Star Trek comics crossover event – as the heroes and villains of the galaxy must band together to defend its very existence.”

“Since the line’s inception, our grander story in both titles has dealt with Star Trek’s concept of godlike beings and the rejection of those godlike beings — order and entropy as it exists throughout the four quadrants of the galaxy,” added Cantwell. “Who pulls the strings and who dares to cut them? Lore War is quite literally the apotheosis of that shared theme, two years in the making.”

“The gods are dead, and only one mad android holds the reins of our universe. With absolute power comes absolute corruption… but does it come with absolute control?” stated Kelly. “Featuring the incredible art of Davide Tinto – a newcomer to the Trek world – we’re not settling for anything less than the most impressive and world-ending Star Trek event that comics can contain.” 

Group Editor Heather Antos adds, “It’s all been building to this moment. No, literally. From the original prelude in Star Trek #400 two years ago the road map has always led to Lore War. When Collin, Jackson, and Christopher first embarked on this mission we asked the question ‘Can a man be both man and a god?’ Well now Lore is answering.”

Star Trek: Lore War #1 releases on March 26th. Star Trek #500 is on sale now.

The post Star Trek Declares Lore War appeared first on ComicBook.com.

With Star Trek Day 2024 just around the corner on September 8th, Paramount Home Entertainment has revealed that the fully restored  Star Trek: The Motion Picture will get a limited edition 4K Blu-ray Steelbook edition to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the film. This follows a Director’s Edition and a limited-edition Collector’s Set entitled “The Complete Adventure” that launched in 2022. 

The Star Trek: The Motion Picture 4K Blu-ray Steelbook edition will come packaged with the original theatrical cut in 4K Blu-ray, a bonus remastered Blu-ray, and exclusive booklet with behind the scenes images and info from the film. It’s available to pre-order here on Amazon now with a release date set for November 19th. Details about previously released 4K editions of the film can be found below. 

Star Trek: The Motion Picture—The Director’s Edition 4K Ultra HD – See on Amazon: The newly restored, definitive version of the first big-screen adventure is presented in 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, as well as Dolby Atmos.  Also includes access to a Digital copy of the film and the following new and legacy bonus content:

Ultra HD Disc bonus features:

• Audio Commentary with David C. Fein, Mike Matessino, and Daren R. Dochterman—NEW!
• Audio Commentary by Robert Wise, Douglas Trumbull, John Dykstra, Jerry Goldsmith, and Stephen Collins
• Text Commentary by Michael and Denise Okuda

Blu-ray Disc bonus features:

• The Human Adventure—An all-new 8-part documentary detailing how the Director’s Edition came to life—NEW!
• Preparing the Future – How the remastering began
• A Wise Choice – The storied history of Robert Wise
• Refitting the Enterprise – How the Enterprise design shaped future federation starships
• Sounding Off – Exploring new dimensions of sound in Dolby Atmos
• V’ger – The conception and restoration of an iconic alien antagonist
• Return to Tomorrow – Reaching an already high bar with new CGI effects
• A Grand Theme – Behind the iconic, influential music score that shaped the franchise’s future
• The Grand Vision – The legacy and evolving reputation of this classic movie
• Deleted Scenes—NEW!
• Effects Tests—NEW!
• Costume Tests—NEW!
• Computer Display Graphics—NEW!
• Additional legacy bonus content

Star Trek: The Motion Picture—The Director’s Edition—The Complete Adventure 4K Ultra HD – See on Amazon: This Limited-Edition Collector’s Set includes all of the above, plus an additional 4K Ultra HD disc containing:

• The Theatrical Cut
• The first-ever widescreen presentation of the Special Longer Version of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, originally created for broadcast television in 1983 

The set is presented in deluxe packaging along with exclusive collectibles, including reproductions of original promotional material, a booklet with behind-the-scenes images, stickers, and more.

Star Trek: The Original Motion Picture Collection – See on Amazon: This comprehensive 15-disc collection includes the first six big-screen adventures featuring the original series crew in 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Vision and HDR-10. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture—The Director’s Edition also includes Dolby Atmos).  Both Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country are making their 4K Ultra HD debuts.  The set also includes access to Digital copies of each of the six films, as well as hours of new and legacy bonus content.  Below is a breakdown of disc contents:

• Star Trek: The Motion Picture – The Director’s Edition – Ultra HD & Blu-ray
• Additional Blu-ray with bonus content
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Theatrical Cut) – Ultra HD & Blu-ray
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan – Ultra HD & Blu-ray
• Includes Director’s Cut
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock – Ultra HD & Blu-ray
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home – Ultra HD & Blu-ray
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier – Ultra HD & Blu-ray
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country – Ultra HD & Blu-ray
• Includes Director’s Cut 

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Star Trek Day is approaching, commemorating the first day that Star Trek TOS premiered on TV screens (September 8, 1966). This year, the franchise has partnered with Code.org (which teaches computing to grade-school students), DoSomething.org (promoting youth social activism), and Outright International (an LGBTIQ inclusion and global equality initiative), to launch the campaign “Take the Chair, Make an Impact.” It will be a “global campaign encouraging fans to embrace the optimistic vision of a brighter future and to give back to the inclusive community of fans that Star Trek has fostered over the years.”

The main theme of this year’s digital experience event is having fans take a seat in the captain’s chair of the U.S.S. Enterprise, and ask themselves a profound question: “What would I do if I were setting the course to the future?” All fans will be able to engage in that topic digitally, over on StarTrek.com. During September, 25% of all Star Trek product sales in the US will be donated to the three nonprofits above. 

Star Trek Day 2024 will also offer various pop-up activations that fans can experience, where they will be able to literally “Take the Chair,” snap photos, “obtain a personalize admission and receive a limited edition enamel pin.” 

• Taste of Chicago, Chicago, Ill., which will feature the U.S.S. Enterprise captain’s chair, will run Sept. 6-8 from 11am – 7pm
• ALEXA Mall, Berlin, Germany, featuring a modern architectural interpretation of the captain’s chair crafted from sustainable materials, will run on Sept. 8 from 1pm – 6pm
• Richmond Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, featuring a modern architectural interpretation of the captain’s chair crafted from sustainable materials, will run on Sept. 8 from 11am – 7pm

Finally, Paramount is will be offering a free sampling of Star Trek content. Viewers will get select episodes of Star Trek TV series offered to them for free, as well as a handful of shorts from the Star Trek: Short Treks series. The content will be offered through the Paramount+ free content page (for US viewers), as well as partnership platforms like Amazon, Roku, and Apple, the Paramount+ YouTube page, and Pluto TV. 

Full list of Free Star Trek Day 2024 Episodes

• Star Trek: The Original Series, “The Cage”
• Star Trek: The Next Generation, “Encounter at Farpoint, Part I & II”
• Star Trek: Voyager, “Caretaker, Part I & II”
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, “The Emissary, Part I & II”
• Star Trek: Enterprise, “Broken Bow Part I & II”
• Star Trek: The Animated Series, “Beyond the Farthest Star”
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, “Strange New Worlds”
• Star Trek: Lower Decks, “Second Contact”
• Star Trek: Discovery, “The Vulcan Hello”
• Star Trek: Picard, “Remembrance”
• Star Trek: Short Treks – “The Girl Who Made the Stars,” “The Trouble with Edward,” “Ask Not,” “Runaway,” and “Ephraim and Dot”

via: StarTrek.com

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James Darren, the former teen idol who played Vic Fontaine in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine has died. He was 88 years old. The actor and musician, whose breakout role was as Moondoggie, the singing, surfing leading man in the Gidget movies, became a fairly household name when his song “Goodbye Cruel World” hit #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1961. The actor played the lounge singer across seven episodes of Deep Space Nine‘s final two seasons, and became a fan-favorite recurring character.

Born James William Ercolani on June 8, 1936, in Philadelphia, Darren would take on his stage name in 1955 when he moved to Hollywood, reportedly naming himself after the Kaiser-Darrin sports car. He signed a deal with Columbia, and played minor roles in several movies between 1956 and 1959, as well as appearing on TV’s The Donna Reed Show. It would only be a few years before he broke through in 1959’s Gidget. He would do two sequels — Gidget Goes Hawaiian and Gidget Goes to Rome — before moving on from the role.

In those early days, Darren palled around with the Rat Pack, and remained close to some of those legendary performers for years, even being named godfather to Frank Sinatra’s granddaughter.

Darren worked in feature films almost exclusively in the 1960s, but embraced TV starting in the 1970s, leading The Time Tunnel and the sci-fi pilot The Man From the 25th Century. All throughout, he continued to tour as part of his music career, making sure he kept busy year round.

In the 1970s, Darren would appear as a guest star in shows like S.W.A.T., Charlie’s Angels, The Love Boat, and Fantasy Island before taking on a series regular role on T.J. Hooker, in which he would star alongside Star Trek legend William Shatner., Besides Deep Space Nine, his ’90s acting included roles on Silk Stalkings, Diagnosis: Murder, and Melrose Place.

Even when he embraced acting, Darren would regularly incorporate song and dance into his roles, from Gidget all the way up through his lounge-singing days in space. 

After Deep Space Nine, Darren largely retired from acting, appearing only in a pair of feature films — 2001’s Random Acts and 2017’s Lucky. In 1999, he released an album of the songs he had performed on Deep Space Nine, and did only two more records during the last 20 years of his life.

According to TheWrap, Darren’s son Jim Moret has told the media that his father had a scheduled heart surgery last week, but that the procedure was considered too high risk because Darren was so weak at the time. He was sent home, but returned to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center sometime after. Darren passed away there, surrounded by family.

While his time on Deep Space Nine was short, relative to his illustrious and decades-long career, Darren had nothing but positive things to say about it in interviews.

“I loved… everybody,” he told StarTrek.com in 2021. “There wasn’t a single person who I didn’t have a good relationship with, whether it was on the set, on screen, or off. They were all incredibly considerate and kind, to say the least.”

Darren is survived by his wife, actress and former Miss Denmark Evy Norlund, and their two sons. Our condolences go out to Mr. Darren’s family, friends, collaborators and fans during this difficult time.

The post Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s James Darren Dies at 88 appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has officially started production, as marked by new photos shared from the set of this latest Star Trek Universe TV series. The Photos show the principal cast of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy outside “The Star Trek Stage” studio where Paramount shoots its Star Trek content; the second Photo reveals the cast and crew (like Star Trek Universe head Alex Kurtzman) gathered around for what looks like a table read. 

A caption on the photos reads: “School is in session, cadets! Today marks the official start of production as the #StarTrek Stage welcomes #StarfleetAcademy.”

As you can see in the comments on the post, there is some muted hype for Starfleet Academy, right now. A lot of Star Trek fans were hoping that hype for Star Trek: Picard’s third and final season would segue into a “Star Trek: Legacy” spinoff – which was admittedly teased by the ending of the Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Finale. The son of Jean-Luc Picard and Beverly Crusher and daughters of Geordi La Forge all came together and stepped up to help their parents (and the rest of the Enterprise-D crew) defeat the Borg and save Starfleet. That epic origin story looked like it would segue into a series following the next generation after Star Trek: TNG; instead, we’re getting the successor series to Star Trek: Discovery, which took things into the 32nd Century, and a time when the Federation’s presence was greatly diminished, after the cataclysmic event known as “The Burn” caused every active warp core to denoate. The Discovery crew helped solve the mystery of The Burn, and restore the values and mission of Starfleet – leading to a new generation of cadets being recruited for the interstellar organization. 

Synopsis: “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy introduces viewers to a young group of cadets who come together to pursue a common dream of hope and optimism. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they discover what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they navigate blossoming friendships, explosive rivalries, first loves and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself.”

The new series features Star Trek newcomers like Holly Hunter, playing a Starfleet captain serving as the current chancellor of Starfleet Academy, and Paul Giamatti as the season’s main villain. Kerrice Brooks, Bella Shepard, George Hawkins, Karim Diané, and Zoë Steiner star as Starfleet Academy students, while Gina Yashere (Bob Hearts Abishola) will have a recurring role as an academy instructor. 

There will also be a number of legacy characters from previous Star Trek projects returning for Starfleet Academy – including actors Tig Notaro (Jett Reno), Oded Fehr (Fleet Admiral Charles Vance), and Mary Wiseman (Sylvia Tilly) of Star Trek: Discovery and Robert Picardo (The Doctor/Lewis Zimmerman) of Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Prodigy

Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau are the showrunners of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, as well as serving as executive producers. Other executive producers working on the series include Gaia Violo, Aaron Baiers, Olatunde Osunsanmi, Jenny Lumet, Rod Roddenberry, Trevor Roth, Frank Siracusa, and John Weber. Violo wrote Star Trek: Starfleet Academy‘s premiere episode.

Star Trek: Starfleet Acadeemy does not yet have a premiere date. It will stream on Paramount+.

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At one point, it was widely reported Quentin Tarantino was going to helm a film in the Star Trek franchise, surprising longtime fans of the auteur. After all, the director has long said he’s going to retire from filmmaking once he makes 10 movies, a sum he’ll reach with the release of his next picture. Because of that, Tarantino says, his Star Trek movie is never going to happen.

“It’s never going to happen. There’s been so much misinformation about what it was going to be—nothing but misinformation. I live in a special zone and part of my zone is because I’m not on Instagram and Facebook, I’m not creating this constant dialogue with the world with what’s going on with my life,” Tarantino explained on the latest episode of Bill Maher’s podcast. “Consequently, if you’re Joe Schlomoka and you’re some transient reporter of some kind, if you hear Quentin is going to make a Star Trek movie or a make a movie called The Movie Critic, or any f–king thing, it’s a little bit like that guy who wrote the Howard Hughes biography that ended up being a hoax. The thing is, they can say anything. My point being though, they write it in a show biz magazine and then that gets picked up in 140 pieces because I’m not shutting that down because I’m not connected.”

Interestingly enough, screenwriter Mark L. Smith has said he penned a script based on a story idea by Tarantino, suggesting he was, at least at one point, attached to a Star Trek project.

“Quentin and I went back and forth; he was gonna do some stuff on it, and then he started worrying about the number, his kind of unofficial number of films,” Smith told Collider last year. “I remember we were talking, and he goes, ‘If I can just wrap my head around the idea that Star Trek could be my last movie, the last thing I ever do. Is this how I want to end it?’ And I think that was the bump he could never get across, so the script is still sitting there on his desk.”

Smith continued, “I know he said a lot of nice things about it. I would love for it to happen. It’s just one of those things that I can’t ever see happening. But it would be the greatest ‘Star Trek’ film, not for my writing, but just for what Tarantino was gonna do with it. It was just a balls-out kind of thing.”

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The cast of Star Trek: Lower Decks are giving their take on what their favorite moments and cameos are before the series wraps up. The Paramount+ original animated series is a spinoff of the popular Star Trek franchise and focuses on the crew of the lesser known Cerritos in the 24th century. After four seasons on the streaming service, Star Trek: Lower Decks is ending its run with Season 5, though there is some time before fans have to say their goodbyes. The show’s cast and showrunner recently shared the episodes they’re looking forward to the most, and looked back at which episodes were their favorites.

ComicBook spoke to Star Trek: Lower Decks‘ creator/showrunner Mike McMahan and actors Jerry O’Connell, Tawny Newsome, and Noël Wells at San Diego Comic-Con, where we asked them to look back at the animated comedy and share the things that they will remember. When asked what episode they’re looking forward to the audience seeing, Jerry O’Connell replied, “Probably the finale. I found it to be very emotional.” When asked what his character Jack Ransom is doing, he teased, “You’ll have to see,” with Newsome and McMahan also chiming in with positive Jack Ransom feedback.

“I really love the Jennifer episode… I love the stuff [D’Vana] Tendi gets to do this season,” Newsome said. “It really warms my heart the way this show… this 22-minute nonsense show… is the one that has advanced Orion canon so much. As a rabid fan, no other show has given as much to the Orion culture, so it’s wild that we’ve expanded that.”

Wells added, “I think the premiere sets up the season so well. From there, it’s really going to take off.”

Star Trek: Lower Decks showrunner teases final season cameos

Showrunner Mike McMahan revealed that the final season of Star Trek: Lower Decks will include some special cameos that even he wasn’t sure they’d be able to pull off.

“There’s also some classic legacy cameos this season that are pretty bonkers,” he said. “They’re sort of sprinkled throughout, but since we had a head’s up that this would be our last, we started going to the wish list and everyone wanted to be on. It was pretty wild. I was sure we weren’t going to get everyone, but you’ll see some familiar faces this season.”

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The opening of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood is right around the corner, but this won’t be the only nighttime event fans can look forward to on the horizon, as the park has announced today that it will be kicking off Universal Fan Fest Nights in spring 2025, allowing guests to celebrate their favorite Universal properties in all-new ways. The limited-time, after-hours experience will allow fans to immerse themselves in the worlds of Star Trek, Back to the Future, and Dungeons & Dragons, all of which will match the impressive production quality of what Universal unveils every year at Halloween Horror Nights. You can head to the Universal Fan Fest Nights official website to sign up to be able to purchase tickets.

“For decades, Universal Studios Hollywood has been a leader in creating and executing innovative special events that are consistent with our brand,” Scott Strobl, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Universal Studios Hollywood, shared in a statement. “From our esteemed Halloween Horror Nights event to this all-new Universal Fan Fest Nights experience, we are thrilled about how this breakthrough program will continue to elevate the guest experience in an all-new way.”

The brands being showcased are described as follows:

• Star Trek: This experience is inspired by the Star Trek universe, one of television’s most enduring franchises, which is known for its groundbreaking storytelling that addresses social, political, and cultural issues as well as entertaining millions of fans. Star Trek’s optimistic view of the future and reflection on what it means to be human has inspired generations of dreamers and doers.
• Back to the Future: This exciting experience is inspired by the blockbuster 1985 Back to the Future movie. The groundbreaking adventure sparked one of the most successful trilogies in film history, won an Academy award, and launched a franchise that would go on to generate almost $1 billion globally.
• Dungeons & Dragons: 2024 has been a banner year for Dungeons & Dragons(D&D). On the heels of the acclaimed film, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and the smash hit video game Baldur’s Gate 3, D&D is celebrating 50 years of the WORLD’S GREATEST ROLEPLAYING GAME. More than 64 million D&D fans love rolling dice, slaying monsters, and envisioning themselves as the amazing heroes they all are inside.
  

Per press release, “In spring 2025, Universal Studios Hollywood will introduce guests to Universal Fan Fest Nights, an all-new interactive and immersive separately ticketed event that brings the most compelling worlds of Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Gaming, and Anime to life from the creators of its highly acclaimed Halloween Horror Nights event.”

“Featuring a slate of all-new, thrilling, and unique fan-favorite experiences, the inaugural Universal Fan Fest Nights 2025 at Universal Studios Hollywood will debut these exciting properties with more to be announced soon. 

“Universal Fan Fest Nights will be a limited-time, after-hours experience, exclusive to Universal Studios Hollywood that will showcase a dynamic line-up of captivating, immersive in-world experiences along with engaging celebratory activations throughout the theme park, from live entertainment to cosplay, inviting guests to embrace their favorite characters and share their enthusiasm with like-minded fans.

“Additionally, fans can look forward to an enticing menu of themed foods and new merchandise, including collectibles, apparel, drinkware, accessories, and more, to show off their fandom during Universal Fan Fest Nights and beyond.”

You can head to the Universal Fan Fest Nights official website to sign up to be able to purchase tickets.

Will you be checking out the event? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!       

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In the landscape of science fiction television, no shows have had an impact quite like Doctor Who and Star Trek. The two franchises have joined forces in the realm of comic books, even crossing over together in their respective mobile games early next month. Still, fans have advocated for some sort of live-action crossover between the two — and apparently, it isn’t completely out of the cards. During their joint panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2024, Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies and Star Trek executive producer Alex Kurtzman revealed what might be standing in the way of a proper crossover episode.

“We would love to bring you a crossover episode and the way we can make that happen is the fans,” Davies explained. “The fans continue to make crossover art, and stories and continue to ask and push to bring these two universes together. Because we must get together. It must happen.”

“We share values,” Kurtzman added. “We share perspectives of the world. We want to tell stories that are illuminating about the human race. Each iteration of The Doctor and each iteration of Trek has endeavoured to do that for every generation that it serves. It’s that beautiful connection.”

When Will Doctor Who Return With New Episodes?

Season 2 (under the Disney+ branding) of Doctor Who has already wrapped production, although an exact release date has yet to be set. Both Gatwa and Gibson are confirmed to return for Season 2, as well as Varada Sethu as a mysterious second companion.

“It feels so much fun now,” Gatwa previously said of acclimating to the role. “I’ve relaxed and [the Doctor] seems to have sunk down a little bit deeper, from my chest into my gut.”

The first season of Doctor Who is available to stream exclusively on Disney+. If you haven’t signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

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Star Trek: Lower Decks is heading into its fifth and final season in October, but the misadventures of the U.S.S. Cerritos crew will continue in comic book form. During last week’s San Diego Comic-Con, IDW Publishing announced it will launch an ongoing Star Trek: Lower Decks comic book series from multiple Eisner Award-winning writer Ryan North. The news comes as IDW Publishing freshly renews its claim to the Star Trek comics license. The Star Trek: Lower Decks ongoing series will launch in November, following the release of the Star Trek: Lower Decks – Warp Your Own Way interactive graphic novel (also written by North) in October.

“Lower Decks is my favorite Star Trek, and I have seen every single Star Trek there is to see, except for one episode I will never reveal,” North said in a press release. “This raises the obvious question: will something in this comic contradict something that I missed in that one episode I never saw? Thankfully the answer is no, because the entire Lower Decks team – both at IDW and Paramount – has been so amazing – supportive, clever, brilliant. We’re making a big funny heartfelt book with huge sci-fi ideas, important character developments, tons of that Trek flavor, and a bunch of jokes, too. If you love Lower Decks you’ll love this comic!”

Star Trek: Lower Decks Returns as a Comic

Star Trek: Lower Decks will have episodic storytelling and each story will come from a different artist. Derek Charm will draw the debut issue, reuniting the team behind the Eisner-nominated .

“I get to team up with some of my favorite artists for this book, starting with Derek Charm, who we last teamed up with on the Eisner-winning Unbeatable Squirrel Girl and on the Eisner-nominated Shaxs’ Best Day. He is: the best.”

IDW Group Editor Heather Antos adds, “Just when you thought we couldn’t go lower… we’re BACK with the first ever ONGOING Lower Decks series. Just like the fans out there, we too want more Lower Decks and this time we’re giving it to you tenfold!”

Antos continues, “Ryan North is showing us just how deep of a Trek nerd he is with these stories, and paired with the comedic geniuses of Derek Charm, Jack Lawrence and more on art duties for a rotating cast of ‘episodic’ issues, this series is a mission so fun that even the Lower Deckers themselves won’t want to miss it!”

Star Trek: Lower Decks #1 goes on sale on November 13th. Star Trek: Lower Decks – Warp Your Own Way goes on sale on October 22nd. Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 debuts October 24th on Paramount+.

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Star Trek will embark on new adventures with IDW Publishing. During last week’s San Diego Comic-Con, IDW Publishing announced that it had extended its partnership with Paramount Global to continue publishing Star Trek comic books. IDW Publishing has been publishing Star Trek comics since 2007 and will celebrate 500 Star Trek issues across various ongoing and limited series with the appropriately titled Star Trek #500 in September. Over 17 years, IDW Publishing has published comics based on Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Lower Decks, and the rebooted Star Trek film series (stories featuring the cast of Star Trek: Enterprise have appeared in anthology issues, making Star Trek: Prodigy the only Star Trek series that IDW hasn’t featured in its comics).

“Star Trek is not just an iconic franchise, but a universe that celebrates diversity and creativity,” Davidi Jonas, CEO of IDW Media Holdings, said in a press release. “The Star Trek community is one that we’re proud to serve and be part of. The team at Paramount share our love of storytelling, universe expansion, and delighting fans. We are humbled and excited to renew our commitment, and plan on years of going boldly forward with our partners and fans.”

IDW Publishing Will Continue to Publish Star Trek Comics

IDW Publisher Mark Doyle added, “I have always loved Star Trek for its positive vision of the future. It’s been such a joy to watch and support the editorial and creative teams as they tell bold new stories in this universe that have really resonated with audiences old and new. From Eisner nominations to glowing fan praise, the Star Trek community has really embraced the stories we’re telling and I cannot wait for them to see where we go next!”

According to IDW, Star Trek #500 is a “massive milestone issue” that will include a prelude to the next major crossover event to the refreshed line of interconnected Star Trek comics the publisher launched in 2022, which has gone on to win the Star Trek franchise its first Eisner Awards attention (Star Trek #400 preceded that launch and had a similar story setting up Star Trek’s first comic book crossover event, ). Star Trek #500 also includes a short story co-written by Patton Oswalt and more.

IDW Publishing will release the interactive graphic novel Star Trek: Lower Decks – Warp Your Own Way in October. The Star Trek and Star Trek: Defiant ongoing series will continue for the foreseeable future, with the spinoff miniseries having recently concluded.

Star Trek #500 goes on sale September 4th. Star Trek: Lower Decks – Warp Your Own Way hits stores on October 22nd.

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Star Trek is getting its first live-action comedy series, which is in development over at Paramount+. The series was a surprise reveal during San Diego Comic-Con 2024’s Star Trek Universe panel in Hall H. During the Star Trek: Lower Decks portion of the panel, series star Tawny Newsome and panel moderator Justin Simien (Dear White People) broke off to announce that they are the creative team behind this new Star Trek comedy series: 

A post from the official Star Trek Twitter account revealed the first details of this new Star Trek live-action comedy: 

A new @StarTrek series is in development from co-creators Justin Simien and @TrondyNewman! In this live action comedy, Federation Outsiders serving a gleaming resort planet find out their day-to-day exploits are being broadcast to the entire quadrant.

There is one important takeaway from that synopsis: this Star Trek live-action comedy is in no way stepping on the toes of The Orville. Seth MacFarlane’s Star Trek parody series earned a dedicated fandom during its run (2017-2022) and is going to be the biggest thing some people point to as the reason for NOT needing this new show.

However, both Star Trek diehards and casual fans alike were critical of Lower Decks when it was first announced – but as series star Jerry O’Connell pointed out that initial “frosty” reception melted into a burning fandom after fans got to engage with the show. Star Trek Universe head Alex Kurtzman has already sung big praises about Newsome’s work writing this new series, and the premise does sound like an intriguing “Star Trek Truman Show” idea that could work just like Lower Decks – i.e., pulling from Star Trek canon while also commenting on it from a humorous-but-loving satirical point of view. 

What is Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 about?

According to Paramount+’s official synopsis: 

In season five of Star Trek: Lower Decks, the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos is tasked with closing ‘space potholes’ – subspace rifts which are causing chaos in the Alpha Quadrant. Pothole duty would be easy for Jr. Officers Mariner, Boimler, Tendi and Rutherford…if they didn’t also have to deal with an Orion war, furious Klingons, diplomatic catastrophes, murder mysteries and scariest of all: their own career aspirations. This upcoming season on Paramount+ is a celebration of this underdog crew who are dangerously close to being promoted out of the lower decks and into strange new Starfleet roles.

Star Trek: Lower Decks follows the support crew serving on one of Starfleet’s least important ships, the U.S.S. Cerritos. The Star Trek: Lower Decks voice cast includes Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid, Noël Wells, and Eugene Cordero as the junior officers and Dawnn Lewis, Jerry O’Connell, Fred Tatasciore, and Gillian Vigman as the Cerritos bridge crew.

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The ComicBook Nation crew gives a spoiler-free review of Deadpool & Wolverine, and then dips into all of the breaking news from San Diego Comic-Con so far! We also review Kite Man: Hell Yeah! And then talk Transformers, Joker 2, Absolute Power, and comics, along with a preview of this year’s Gen Con!

PLUS: Two Bonus Episodes – one LIVE from Comic-Con! ComicBook Nation host Kofi Outlaw teams with Phase Zero hosts Brandon Davis and Jenna Anderson, and ComicBook.com’s Chris Killian to break down the biggest reveals, wild happenings, and crazy behind-the-scenes stories from Thursday and Friday at San Diego Comic-Con! 

A second BONUS episode reunites ComicBook Nation hosts Kofi Outlaw, Janell Wheeler and Matt Aguilar summon their energy reserves to recap SDCC after the convention is done. Tune in for it all! 

Deadpool & Wolverine Review 

Phase Zero host Jenna Anderson said this in her 4.5. out of 5-star Deadpool & Wolverine Review: 

Amid the never-ending conversation around superhero fatigue, too many spoilers, and not enough effective storytelling, it feels rare to be truly surprised by a new superhero adaptation. Deadpool & Wolverine is such a pleasant surprise – both in its jaw-dropping elements and in the sentimental reason for those elements even existing – that it almost feels like a miracle. The movie’s handful of flaws are outweighed by its pure blockbuster storytelling and the gleeful rapport of its two protagonists. Through its no-holds-barred execution and the wildly entertaining performances of its ensemble cast, Deadpool & Wolverine serves as the most unlikely reminder of why we care about superhero movies in the first place.

Comic-Con Recap

ComicBook Nation is here to wrap up all the biggest news from Friday at San Diego Comic-Con! The Boys season 5 news and a Soldier Boy spin off! A new Lord of the Rings Rings of Power Season 2 Trailer! Huge anime updates for One Piece and much, much more!

 ComicBook Nation is bringing you ALL the big news, huge reveals, and major returns cough* Robert Downey Jr * cough from San Diego Comic-Con 2024!

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