Every year SDCC brings a load of news and announcements from all around the world of film and television and this year, while Robert Downey Junior unmasked as Doctor Doom and Mark Hamil joins the cast of Spongebob Squarepants, the Star Trek Universe had a few reveals of their own.
From an event of panels and announcements, we’ve picked out top five from the Star Trek Universe…
Day Of The Doctor
Introduced in Star Trek Voyager’s pilot episode, The Doctor was a temporary solution that became a permanent feature. Designed for short-term use, he was a hologram programmed to assist in a medical emergency. Of course, Voyagers medical emergency was that their entire medical staff had died, so he became a little more long term than planned.
Becoming a fan favourite for being a grumpy non entity struggling with becoming self aware, The Doctor returned as a mentor to the misfit crew of Star Trek Prodigy and seems to be back at the Academy for, well, Starfleet Academy! Having joked in the past that he’d often remind writers of his characters immortality, Robert Picardo’s live action return was a pleasant surprise!
Despite Academy being set around seven centuries after Voyager, a copy of the Doctor was reactivated in the 31st century in Voyagers Living Witness and planned to return to seek out Starfleet, though the Universe Panel at SDCC has said this won’t be the copy, but the original still hanging around to help revive the Academy in the 32nd Century.
Beyond Discovery
As a follow up to Star Trek Discovery, and using ‘The Burn’ as a background point, some less surprising but still welcome returns were also announced from Captain Burnham’s world. Having already transitioned to becoming an Academy instructor in Discovery, Mary Wiseman will bring Lieutenant Sylvia Tilly to the Academy alongside Oded Fehr her boss Admiral Vance.
Comedian and fan favourite Tig Notaro was also announced to be bringing the smuggler turned engineer Jet Reno to the series, likely spreading her wisdom and sarcasm to the minds of the next, next generation!
Section 31 First Look
As Academy’s production begins, Section 31 is the next new event for Star Trek as Michelle Yeoh leads a new cast in a spin off ‘spy fi’ action film. We didn’t learn too much from the trailer other than the general style and that it features Michelle Yeoh so reactions have been mixed. But the cast gave their insight focusong on this being a more adventurous creative take exploring a side of the Star Trek Universe we haven’t seen before.
Filled with action, the first trailer is available to watch now though we’ll likely have a lot more information to come for the self contained story and how it fits in to the wider Star Trek Universe.
Strange New Worlds
Section 31 wasn’t the only 2025 release on show as the Strange New Worlds cast and production gave some insight into their third season alongside a clip of the crew getting Vulcan’ed up alongside Spock for one of the upcoming missions.
It was also announced that Martin Quinn’s version of Scotty will become a regular fixture on the Enterprise and Irish actor Cillian O’Sullivan is also beaming on board in a recurring role as Dr Roger Korby. Though producer Akiva Goldsman promised a lot more than casting callbacks as the third season will dabble in exploring more genres including a murder mystery…
All The Worlds A Stage…
The biggest and most surprising piece of news comes in the form of a new show and new format for Star Trek as a new sitcom-style series by Justin Simien and Lower Decks’ Tawney Newsome was announced. In part because we weren’t expecting new series’ while Paramounts for sale, and in part because ‘workplace’ and ‘comedy’ aren’t things we’d usually see associated wit the franchise.
Lower Decks has already taken Star Trek into the half hour comedy format for animation, and even hammered home it’s wider connection to Star Trek thanks to crossovers and cameos, though this time round the comedy is launching as a live action series with THR suggesting it’s closer to The Office format than a regular workplace comedy, but that could still be speculative
There’s not much to say about the show, which was only teased following the Lower Decks Panel – and later confirmed by producers – though the plot was revealed to be an odd couple pairing working on a resort planet who realise they’re part of some strange 25th century reality show.
Needless to say the announcement is a little odd. Especially with the success of Picard and fan interest for more adventures in the 25th century making us yearn for something a little more grounded and serious. And preferably with a reformed Borg in the chair. But praise was heaped on Newsome for her work in the writers room for Academy and Simien’s Dear White People has also gained a lot of praise.
With some weird and wonderful announcements at SDCC, the Star Trek Universe seems to have a full schedule and a franchise that seems to be prospering against the unknown future of Paramount…
About the author
A Fistful of Next Generations
When Paramount was up for sale, everything was on pause., Now things are a little different with new owners, a shake up and a new future ahead. Since the merger everyone with a keyboard has had their idea of what could come next in the Star Trek Universe to tempt Skydance into the next part of the legacy. So we figured.... why not look at a list of ideas too? The Archers Someone's getting their PR out there along with their pitch as the Archer idea seems to have been picked up everywhere with fans who once decried Enterprise clamouring for more Archer! Though Archer's story ended on Enterprise with the formal formation of the Federation, the history of the shows that came after confirmed the 'beta canon' of his next adventures as President of the Federation. With Enterprise ending […]
[Retro Review] The Thaw: Voyager Season 2, Episode 23
On another distraction from flying in a straight line back to Earth, Voyager finds a world thats been wiped out by natural disaster. But there are survivors; a small group cryogenically frozen in a controlled system designed to wake them up when the coast was clear. Nineteen years later, they're trapped, asleep within the machine... Four years past their scheduled release date, there's been no breakdown, no malfunction. Yet five of the inhabitants are dead, the rest all very much alive and locked into a computer stimulation keeping them in a dream-world state. Bringing them on board the ship, Janeway is told that they can't just switch the machine off as it'll cause irreversible brain damage. But just like dialling into the Matrix, Voyager can plug into the redundant status chambers and hack their way in to talk to the […]
All You Need Is Love; New Life and New Civilisations. Strange New Worlds S3E9 Review
Following from Through the Lens of Time, Dr Korby is following the trail of the Vezda all the way to Skygowan; a world that worships the evil aliens found buried in a hidden temple. But the Vezda Scotty captured in the transporter buffer after possessing Ensign Gamble survived, escaped and is now fully reconstructed leading the planet and about to unleash hell throughout the galaxy. And of course, it's up to the Enterprise to find out how, why and chase down the demon to save the day. Writers:Dana Horgan & Davy Perez Director:Marja Vrvilo There's something quite nice about the idea of this episode. Strange New Worlds has leaned on retelling the 23rd century era for a lot of it's main hooks, whether that be revisiting the Gorn, Vulcan romance or going to the length of an alternate history […]
[Retro Review] Death Wish: Voyager Season 2, Episode 12
Discovering a comet that looks a little bit funky on the sensors, Voyager quickly learn that it's not just any rock floating through space, but a prison. Accidentally releasing a shunned Q (not that one, another one!), they learn that the Continuum had exiled and imprisoned him for casting aside immortality, seeing it as a punishment, and trying to end his existence. With Q (still not that one) now released by Voyager, Q (yes, that one!) pops by to put Q (the other one) back in his box, causing a unique call for asylum that puts Janeway in the centre of a Q Conflict (Qonflict?). John de Lancie's Q had been a regular on the Next Generation. Whether just being annoying because he was bored or giving Picard unnecessarily complex lessons in self awareness, he became a bit of a […]
Girls Gorn Wild; Terrarium. Strange New Worlds S3E9 Review
There's weird stuff going on in an uncharted region of space, and the Enterprise needs a closer look. To figure out why gravity waves are being especially weird, the crew strip down a shuttle to make it light as possible, and keep the crew levels down to one pilot: Erica Ortegas. But all their caution isn't enough as a wormhole appears out of nowhere and sucks the the shuttle into a dangerous, far sway hellscape from which there is no escape. Writers: Alan B McElroyDirector: Andrew Coutts Erica Ortegas is one of the most under utilised characters in Strange New Worlds. Giving the sarcasm and being the annoying one who argues – a point they hammered home is a family trait earlier this season – she's often laid out as a star pilot and war hero, but the most focuses […]
Highly Illogical; Four And A Half Vulcans. Strange New Worlds S3E8 Review
When a local planet is in trouble, it's Enterprise to the rescue. Or usually would be, but it's a pre-warp civilisation and the no contact rule applies. But there's a loophole. The planet Tezarr runs on an energy system gifted by Vulcan explorers way before the Federation existed and now it's breaking down. Starfleet can't help, but Vulcan's barged their way onto the planet before those rules were made. They just need a few Vulcans to help... Writers: Dana Horgon & Henry Alonzo Myers Director: Jordan Canning One of the earliest released details for Season 3 was 'The Vulcan Episode' that would introduce the crew to Vulcan Logic the hard way. The set up for all of this is a little shaky. The pre-warp Tezzar planet has high levels of tech outside warp drive and with no Vulcans on […]
Related
Revisiting the Past and Rebuilding The Future: Across the Universe this August
As Strange New Worlds races through it's third season, Star Trek looks ahead to new frontiers with it's home studio under new management and new games on the horizon. Meanwhile a little drop of Trek history gets a huge expansion. New Owners, New Changes The biggest news for the month came not just across the Star Trek Universe, but the media industry as after a long tussle with some odd political turns, Paramount is finally under new ownership. Merging with the media giant Skydance, the new Paramount means many things. For tus, it basically just means we might have some movement on Trek news going forward after a massive pause in business operations while all the legalities were ironed out. A new Paramount means a new executive line up under the command of Skydance boss David Ellison who is not […]
Relay Recap: July 2024
All Features Universe Categories Fleet Alert Comms GORN GIRL recap; july 2025 Picking up on the Season 2 cliff-hanger, Strange New Worlds returned to our screens this month to find Captain Pike and his crew on the edge of war with the Gorn as Season 3 was finally released!Exploring new worlds and new problems, the Enterprise crew are back in action on Paramount Plus and we're keeping ourselves up to date with weekly episode discussion threads on our FB Continuing Mission Group & Weekly episode reviews from Admin ! Explore... Episode Reviews Spoilers Group ACROSS THE UNIVERSE As we look back on Pike's adventures on the Enterprise in the prequel series, Paramount also gave us a look at whats to come next as Entertainment Weekly and SDCC's Star Trek Universe panel gave us a sneak peek at the reopening of […]
A Look Inside the new Starfleet Academy
Right now it's all Strange New Worlds on Paramount Plus and a bit of a wait until Starfleet Academy opens it's doors for their debut season early next year, but it's SDCC weekend so the team behind the Discovery spin off is ready with a sneak peek courtesy of their panel in the legendary Hall H and collaboration with Entertainment Weekly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkBU8lvXm7M Set to continue the adventures started by the Discovery crew in the 32nd century, Starfleet Academy is based on a group of cadets training under the first class since the reopening of the Earth-based facility following Earth's return to the Federation after seceding during 'The Burn'. Inviting the best and brightest from across the galaxy, the young crew learn from a team of highly skilled and experienced instructors to learn what it takes to carry the weight of […]
The Final Frontier for Strange New Worlds & A Legend Revived! Across the Universe June 2025!
As we wait impatiently for the launch of Strange New Worlds third season, and the resolution to the dramatic cliff-hanger that saw the Enterprise crew separated in a battle against the Gorn, Paramount has given the bittersweet news that the series end is in sight by announcing earlier this month that it's fifth season would be it's last. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwqPH7UhKYI In a joint statement, the executive producers – Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers – focused on the adventures to come whilst being thankful for the journey so far. “ “We’re deeply grateful to Paramount+ for the chance to complete our five-season mission, just as we envisioned it, alongside our extraordinary cast and crew. And to the passionate fans who’ve boldly joined us on this journey.” Some time and a couple of Hollywood strikes ago, SNW's third and fourth […]
Across The Universe: Strange New World Premiere!
As we look over the months news and updates for the Star Trek Universe, there's only one topic that's on everyone's minds as the Star Trek Universe gets itself rteady for a return to the Enterprise and it's adventures to Strange New Worlds... Between writers strikes and production closures, the wait for Strange New Worlds' third season has felt as long as the five year mission itself. But the Enterprise is soon returning and we have a small idea of when Captain Pike and the crew will be back on Paramount Plus! The Tribeca Film Festival, running from June 4-15th, has announced that Strange New Worlds will become part of the line up with the premiere of season 3 being held at the festival in New York. Alongside a panel featuring Anson Mount, Celia Rose Gooding and more including producer […]
Across The Universe: Khan’t Get Enough New Trek News in February 2025
Another month, another round up of Star Trek news as two very different productions wrap up with their cast to prepare for launch, and we get more new toys to play with! KHAN'T GET ENOUGH With little said about the project since it's announcement tin 2022, the Khan audio drama has made some noise as they announced production had wrapped! Originally pitched as a miniseries by Wrath of Khan director Nicholas Meyer during the early days of Discovery's Trek revival, the Ceti Alpha Five script was shelved as part of Meyer's quiiet departure and revived not too long ago. Keeping things relatively quiet since casting calls were announced a year later, it seems we'll see (or hear!) the story finally come to all major streaming platforms later this year. Joined by writers Kirsten Beyer and David Mack, Meyers story focuses […]
