Kate Mulgrew explains how her Captain Janeway meets the alien kids of Star Trek: Prodigy. Ever since Star Trek: Discovery began in 2017, CBS All Access and now Paramount+ has been hard at work churning out new television shows set in the long-running sci-fi franchise. While there have been more live-action options so far with Discovery and Star Trek: Picard, the property is once more delving into animation in multiple ways. First, there was Lower Decks, and now Prodigy is expected to follow later this year. The series was first announced in 2019, with Ben Hibon joining as showrunner last year.
Star Trek: Prodigy will be the first series aimed at younger viewers. Acting as a dual collaboration between Paramount+ and Nickelodeon, Prodigy will follow a group of alien kids who, while on the run, stumble upon an abandoned Starfleet ship. Now armed with the ideal mode of transport, they’re free to embark on new adventures across the galaxy. Making things even more interesting is the presence of Mulgrew’s Kathryn Janeway, the fan favorite captain from Star Trek: Voyager.
Mulgrew’s return in Star Trek: Prodigy has become a particular point of interest among fans, and the actress recently shed some light on what’s to come. In a video discussing her series Mr. Mercedes (via TrekMovie), Mulgrew explains how Janeway comes into contact with the kids. This iteration of Janeway isn’t quite the character fans remember, but is instead a hologram on the Starfleet ship. Mulgrew said:
But in Prodigy—this new animated series—five kids are incarcerated on an obscure planet in an uncharted part of the galaxy. And they escaped from their imprisonment and race across the planet to find a defunct starship buried in the sand of the of the planet’s surface. They go in and of course the prison guards are coming after them. And they can’t get it up and the shields won’t run or the thing won’t do… And suddenly somebody hits a button and [hologram startup sound] “Hello, kids. I see you’re a little bit stuck here. Can I help you out?” And it’s Captain Janeway in a holographic form.
So I think it’s really, really, going to capture the imagination of little kids. And if they can sit with their mothers who watched me in live-action, and their fathers who loved the other guys, then we’ve got a family affair and that that will bring it full circle.
Star Trek: Prodigy will largely focus on the new cast of younger characters, but it will be thrilling to have Janeway present as a kind of guide. As Mulgrew said, it’s a smart way to connect the previous generation of Star Trek fans with the new one. Janeway first comes to the Prodigy kids in a moment of need, but it seems likely that she will continue to be a steadying presence for the characters. Considering they all start off incarcerated, they might need a positive role model. Who’s better for that job than a Starfleet captain?
Both Janeway and the main cast’s designs for Star Trek: Prodigy have already been revealed. At this point, though, fans might be looking for something like a trailer. The series has yet to nab a premiere date, but if it’s expected to arrive this year, the first bit of footage could debut within the coming months. That could further reveal Janeway’s role on Star Trek: Prodigy; it’ll be quite interesting to see how her holographic form compares to her previous franchise appearances. One thing is certain, though: She’s ready to lend a helping hand.
Star Trek: Prodigy premieres in 2021.
