Stardate 98794.22: Production for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has officially begun.
Paramount Plus on Friday announced that the next bold adventure in the Star Trek franchise is ready to roll cameras. The good word arrived thanks to a video featuring series lead Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn. and Ethan Peck, as well as newly-announced series regulars Babs Olusanmokun, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Jess Bush, and Melissa Navia.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds takes place during the years when Captain Christopher Pike (Mount) commanded the helm of the U.S.S. Enterprise before Captain Kirk. The premiere episode of the new series is written by Akiva Goldsman from a story he penned with Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet. Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers act as co-showrunners, with Goldsman directing the premiere episode. Kurtzman also serves as the overseer of the Star Trek franchise thanks to his overall deal with CBS Studios.
“In a career, there is never enough work that is pure joy,” Goldsman said. “I feel that my friend Alex Kurtzman along with David Stapf at CBS Studios and Julie McNamara at Paramount+ have given me just that by letting me haunt the stock rooms of my favorite candy store and I am grateful. With a hell of a cast and undying love for the original series, we boldly go.”
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is one of several Star Trek series announced for Paramount Plus. It joins a lineup that includes Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, and the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks. If that's not enough, fans can also look forward to the franchise's other animated series Star Trek: Prodigy, which is also being developed for Paramount Plus. My stars! It sounds to me like Star Wars has some competition.
“I’m incredibly grateful to be working alongside Akiva and our brilliant, multi-faceted cast to help bring the adventures of the Starship Enterprise to new life,” said executive producer Alonso Myers. “For someone who’s been dreaming of spaceships and alien worlds since I was little, this show is a dream come true.”
Have we finally arrived at a point in our evolution when Star Wars fans and Star Trek fans can co-exist in harmony? With so many exciting shows planned for both franchises, drawing a line in the stars feels like a needless gesture. If you ask me, there's enough galaxy-faring goodness in the works for both camps, and I'd like to think that we can look forward to all series and spinoffs that await us.