Things have kicked off at Comic-Con 2020 today, with the weekend of virtual panels and events started with CBS All Access' Star Trek Universe. The hour-long video panel managed to cram in tons of familiar faces. We heard from the cast and crew of Star Trek: Discovery, Picard, Lower Decks, and even a nonchalant announcement of a new kids series coming to Nickelodeon, Star Trek: Prodigy!
While there was no news of any forthcoming release dates or trailer drops, we did get some new Lower Decks footage and exciting interpretations from the cast on what to expect from the future of the Star Trek Universe. With so much to discuss, we here at 12DOVE have compiled a round-up of some of the best news and quotes from the panel. If you want to watch the whole thing for yourself, you can do so right here! Without further ado, here is everything we learned from SDCC 2020's virtual Star Trek Universe panel.
Star Trek: Discovery @ SDCC
The commanders at Star Fleet are truly making fans wait with this one. Though we still don't have that precious season 3 release date, we know that the team have been hard at work on new episodes of Star Trek: Discovery during lockdown, and Alex Kurtzman assured fans last year that “The intention is to have something Star Trek on the air all the time, but not necessarily on top of each other."
However, the cast got to discuss character journey's and we heard some promising interpretations of where we can expect to find the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery in season 3 (when it finally arrives).
“In season 3 I think she’s really pissed off. She’s like ‘Michael Burnham, don’t get in my way,'" Michelle Yeoh said of Georgiou. "She is the one that always finds a way into adapting, she is a survivor with many skills, and a formidable ally or enemy. Power is something that she inherently has, she doesn’t even seek it she just has it. Scary, huh? Watch out.”
Wilson Cruz also told viewers "I love the new Culber, he's more three-dimensional." Speaking on how Staments and Culber have reunited as a couple by the end of last season, Cruz said: “Because of the way season 2 ends – the fact that Culber has made a choice, he’s taken a risk and without knowing what’s going to happen he chooses to stay on the Discovery – because of this choice, he can stay in Paul’s life. I think in that moment he realizes that everything he’s ever wanted and everything he needs is right here between these two people.”
Keen for more? Here's everything we know about Star Trek: Discovery Season 3.
Star Trek: Picard @ SDCC
Star Trek: Picard is another galactic series keeping us on tenterhooks when it comes to when we might expect new episodes, though the cast enjoyed a heartwarming reunion during the SDCC panel.
"I made the right decision [in returning to the role]." Sir Patrick Stewart said. "It was entirely due to the people that I met in the first couple of meetings... I sat for more than two hours listening to them talk about their plans: how they wanted to not just revive The Next Generation but to illustrate the years that had past and the world that had changed. That's what excited me. The daily excitement was working with you guys and discovering the extraordinary range of talents. There is such diversity in our ensemble that probably for the first five episodes I was just away with the deep, profound satisfaction of working with you all."
Brent Spiner, who plays Data, commented on how his character found closure with Picard, "This was a different kind of closure. It's kind of a wonderful gift. We had some of the best writers in the world write these two closures [in Nemesis and Picard]." Here's hoping they're writing away some new adventures that we'll get to see very soon...
Star Trek: Lower Decks @ SDCC
Star Trek's new animated adventure, Lower Decks, will shine a light on some characters you don’t get to see fighting baddies and commanding the bridge. And if you're wondering where this fits into the live-action timeline, creator Mike McMahan said Lower Decks “takes place in 2380 right after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis, but way before the events of Star Trek: Picard.”
If you're keen to meet the new officers of the U.S.S. Cerritos, we've got you covered. Tawny Newsome plays Ensign Rutherford who "doesn't always play by the rules," while Jack Quaid is Ensign Boimler, "the ultimate Star Fleet nerd" who is "as by the book as possible."
Noël Wells Ensign Tendi is "excited by everything" and Euegene Cordero's Rutherford (a cyborg) is "the guy you want on your trivia team talking about every single ship that's ever been in the galaxy or beyond." Around the 55 minute mark, you'll also see that Cordero began telling us about his favourite Rutherford moment ...until he was bleeped out due to letting some slip some spoilers. Oops.
We also got a fun first look at some Star Trek: Lower Decks footage, which sees Boimler pretending to record his very own Captains Log. Check it out above.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds @ SDCC
Captain Christopher Pike, Spock, and first officer Number One stayed behind in the 23rd century in Star Trek: Discovery after warping far into the future, now they're getting their own show. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will be set on the U.S.S. Enterprise a whole decade before James T Kirk took control of the bridge, though we don't know too much else.
Producer Alex Kurtzman has confirmed that writing has already begun. "The room has started. There are 10 stories broken, which is very exciting. And they're just sort of at the beginning," Kurtzman said. "But it was one of those shows that everyone came in with such enthusiasm and so much love."
Anson Mount also shared a glimpse into Captain Pike's mindset moving into the new series: "The biggest thing was seeing my future. When you see how it's all going to end – that it's not so pretty – what do you do with that? I think there's a reason we only see our past because we're a very neurotic species and we wouldn't know how to comport ourselves. So the question becomes, how do you move forward? I think he's going to wrestle with how he can best utilize the rest of his life for the good of the world, the universe."
We'll be sure to keep you up to date with all the best bits from this year's San Diego Comic-Con, so keep checking back to see what you missed!
