Comic-Con 2022: ‘Star Trek’ TV Panel and New Trailers

‘Star Trek: Picard’, ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ and ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ bring their space travels to Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con 2022.

Going into Paramount+’s big ‘Star Trek’ panel, we already knew something about ‘Star Trek: Picard’s third season. Two, actually.

It’ll feature a reunion with several of star Patrick Stewart’s old ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ cast/dear friends and that it’s the final season for ‘Picard’.

Filming for that third season kicked off almost immediately after the second wrapped, but despite that, there wasn’t a lot of footage on display aside from the general sizzle reel that kicked off the panel.

Fans were, however, treated to a teaser showcasing how the other ‘Next Generation’ veterans – Gates McFadden, Michael Dorn, LeVar Burton, Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis (the latter two, of course, popped up in Season 1) plus ‘Picard’ regulars Jeri Ryan and Michelle Hurd.

Patrick Stewart as Picard of the Paramount+ original series 'Star Trek: Picard.

Stewart appeared worryingly confused by some of the questions – to kick off, he didn’t realize he was being asked one and he couldn’t recall how Season 3 starts. Producer Alex Kurtzman was quick to intercede, commenting that it was Stewart who enforced the mandate that ‘Picard’ not be a cameo-heavy ‘Next Generation’ retread and that it had to “earn” the cast’s return.

With the various characters scattered across the galaxy, the initial chunk of the new season will play like a heist film as Jean-Luc rounds them up. Stewart was clear that they didn’t want to rehash old dynamics, but instead play the drama of the characters as they are now.

This season will feature a female villain that Kurtzman likened to Khan from classic ‘Trek’ movie sequel ‘Star Trek II’ in terms of head games and admitted that the storyline gave him “goosebumps’.

Oh, and while this was a strictly TV panel, Stewart did admit that he would be interested in returning to play the character in more ‘Trek’ movies, but there are no specific plans for that just yet.

It was the turn of the ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ team next, as executive producer Mike McMahan was joined by voice cast members Jack Quaid, Noelle Wells, Tawny Newsome and Dawnn Lewis.

As expected, it was a much more raucous affair, the actors getting into their “Trek beef” but revealing how close they’ve become as collaborators and how frustrating it was not to record together during the pandemic.

Dawnn Lewis put things on a more emotional track, sharing how she’d met and been mentored by ‘Trek’ icon Nichelle Nichols in her younger days.

A new trailer for Season 3 screened (you can watch it above), featuring plenty for eagle-eyed fans to obsess over. And, as the final sequence suggests, one whole episode will be set at Deep Space Nine. Justice for ‘DS9’!

Phil Lamarr as Admiral Freeman, Dawnn Lewis as Captain Carol Freeman and Lycia Naff as Captain Gomez of the Paramount+ series 'Star Trek: Lower Decks.

(L to R) Phil Lamarr as Admiral Freeman, Dawnn Lewis as Captain Carol Freeman and Lycia Naff as Captain Gomez of the Paramount+ series 'Star Trek: Lower Decks. Photo: Paramount+ ©2021 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Season 2’s cliffhanger – which saw Captain Carol Freeman (Lewis) arrested after being accused of setting off a bomb on an alien planet – will be resolved relatively quickly, according to the gang.

“It’s rough, but we start season three full tilt looking for her,” Newsome says. “Trying to fix it, trying to set it right. I love the scrappiness, I love episode one of season three because our Lower Deckers are just like, ‘We gotta save the captain!’ This feels like an epic adventure. It feels like a movie!”

With ‘Lower Decks’ time on stage complete, it was the turn of ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ the latest addition to the TV ‘Trek’ family.

(L TO R) Ethan Peck as Spock, Anson Mount as Pike, and Dan Jeannotte as Samuel Kirk of the Paramount+ original series 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.' Photo: Marni Grossman/Paramount+.

The spin-off ‘Discovery’ starring Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike commanding the USS Enterprise in the days before Kirk has been a success for Paramount+ so far.

Mount was at the con alongside Ethan Peck, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Paul Wesley, and producers Henry Alonso Myers, Alex Kurtzman, and Rod Roddenberry.

But before things could get going properly, ‘Lower Decks’ voice duo Jack Quaid and Tawny Newsome stormed the panel to reveal that ‘Strange New Worlds’ and ‘Lower Decks’ will have a crossover!

In this special crossover episode, featuring both live-action and animation, fans can expect to see Ensign Beckett Mariner, voiced by Newsome, and Ensign Brad Boimler, (Quaid), joining the Enterprise in season two of ‘Strange New Worlds’. The episode will be directed by ‘Trek’ veteran Jonathan Frakes. How it’ll work is anyone’s guess at this point, but it sounds like it could be ‘Roger Rabbit’ meets ‘Star Trek’…

Paul Wesley in 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.' Courtesy of Marni Grossman/Paramount+

And it sounds like ‘Strange New Worlds’ will be pushing to do more high concept episodes in Season 2 than just that crossover. It’s not a show that has been afraid of playing with form and story, so that makes sense.

We can also expect to see more of the nasty reptilian aliens the Gorn, who were the unofficial Big Bad of Season 1.

Wesley – who was celebrating his birthday and was sung a rousing ‘Happy Birthday’ by the crowd talked up the James T. Kirk we met in the finale. “We only saw Kirk for a handful of scenes in that episode. I’m excited for people to see this younger version of Kirk,” he said. “There’s more levity, and it’s exciting to see that. He’s growing into the character we know, not an alternate reality captain like we saw in season 1.”

But don’t worry if you’re a fan of Anson Mount’s luxurious hair – neither he nor it are going anywhere just yet as the show has a few years to go before catching up to Kirk’s era in command.

Finally, Kurtzman was asked whether ‘Deep Space Nine’ would get the revitalization treatment following the ‘Next Generation’ (in ‘Picard’) and Classic ‘Trek’ eras (in ‘Strange New Worlds’). He told the crowd not yet, since the producers didn’t want to just pull on threads of the past for novelty’s sake.

‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ is due to return to Paramount+ on August 25th, with ‘Star Trek Picard’s final season and ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Season 2 due next year.