Star Trek: Starfleet Academy begins production and Paul Giamatti is pumped

Paramount took to social media to announce that production has begun on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and no one looks more thrilled than Paul Giamatti. The Academy Award-nominated actor is a big Star Trek fan and is set to play the main villain of the series. You can catch him in the image below throwing up the double Vulcan salute with his fellow cast members outside the Star Trek Stage at Pinewood Studios in Toronto.

Taking place in the 32nd-century era of Star Trek: Discovery, Starfleet Academy will follow a new class of Starfleet cadets as they come of age in one of the most legendary places in the galaxy. The series stars Kerrice Brooks (My Old Ass), Bella Shepard (Wolf Pack), George Hawkins (Tell Me Everything), Karim Diané (One Of Us Is Lying), Zoë Steiner (Significant Others), and Sandro Rosta (Snitches Get Stitches). The cast also includes Holly Hunter (The Incredibles) as the captain and chancellor of Starfleet Academy. There will also be a few familiar faces. Tig Notaro, Oded Fehr, and Mary Wiseman will be reprising their Discovery roles of Jett Reno, Admiral Vance, and Slyvia Tilly, respectively. Additionally, Robert Picardo will be playing the Doctor, reprising the role in live-action for the first time since Star Trek: Voyager.

I’m very excited to see what Paul Giamatti will bring to Starfleet Academy, particularly as he’s such a big fan of the franchise. During the Star Trek Universe panel at San Diego Comic-Con, franchise producer Alex Kurtzman spoke about how wonderful it felt to have “one of the greatest actors in the world” want to come join them. They gave Giamatti a few options for possible roles as they didn’t think he’d have much time in his schedule, but the actor wanted the full experience. “We thought it was going to be one episode because his schedule is so busy, and he was like, ‘No, I want to play the villain,’” Kurtzman said. “And we’re like, ‘That’s the whole season,” and he said, “Great, let’s do it.’“

We’ve got plenty of Star Trek to look forward to in addition to Starfleet Academy, including a third season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (with a fourth season already ordered), the fifth and final season of Star Trek: Lower Decks, the Section 31 movie starring Michelle Yeoh, and a live-action comedy series in development from Justin Simien and Tawny Newsome.