Saturday’s Star Trek Universe panel and New York Comic Con made a lot of news for upcoming seasons of Star Trek: Discovery, Prodigy, and Picard. But there were also some hints about what might come next beyond the current five Star Trek series, including Star Trek: Voyager star Kate Mulgrew returning to live-action as Janeway.
Kurtzman would “love” to make live-action Janeway happen
Kate Mulgrew has returned in the animated series Star Trek: Prodigy, including playing Admiral Janeway, who will feature prominently in the upcoming second half of season one which debuts on October 27. But during the Prodigy portion of the NYCC Star Trek panel a fan asked “When are we going to see Admiral Janeway back live?” Everyone turned to the executive producer in charge of Star Trek for Paramount Alex Kurtzman, who paused saying “okay, um,” with Mulgrew quipping “We’re waiting” and the audience erupting in laughter. Kurtzman finally gathered himself and said this:
Here’s what I’m going to say. Things have been talked about. That’s all I’m going to say. But nothing would make me happier than to bring Janeway back. I think it would be an incredible, incredible thing to do. There might be an idea in play. Who knows? But I would love it to happen.
Mulgrew added “But we’d like to bring her back while she’s still ambulatory,” with Kurtzman agreeing, replying:
Yes, for sure. We’re not thinking ten years down the line. I’d like to bring her back sooner rather than later. Yes.
Later in the panel when a fan asked Kurtzman if Paramount+ will launch new Star Trek shows to meet a goal of a new episode every week, the executive producer discussed how they approach each show pitch:
I think the goal is less to be in the volume business and more to be in the quality business. And so I think the answer is that we will put on as much Star Trek as we feel is maintaining the franchise in a way where it doesn’t feel like there’s a whole corporate hand that’s moving it into position for an outcome goal. Part of what I love is – in a funny way – we are still kind of a mom-and-pop shop. They’re letting us do it in a way that I think is very true to the spirit of Star Trek. And what I get nervous about is when franchises have a lot of corporate hands on them saying like 15 people are going to decide what these shows are going to be. I don’t think quality comes from that. And so to me when I hear a great Star Trek idea – and my partners Rod [Roddenberry] and everybody who I work with hear it and go, “That feels like a great Star Trek show.” And you know it right away. You know why? Because you don’t have to intellectualize it. You don’t have to convince yourself. You hear and you go, “That’s it.” So as many shows as fit into that category, but not necessarily just to have them on the air. And I think hopefully that keeps it fresh for all of you.
At San Diego Comic-Con in July Kurtzman confirmed that there were two Star Trek shows in active development, indicating both had female leads.
Mulgrew wants to be inspired
Kate Mulgrew has been dropping hints lately about how she would like to return to play Janeway in live-action. In her TrekMovie interview on Star Trek Day last month she said she had faith Kurtzman is the man to make it happen:
I think I’d be interested in doing it if it were beautifully done. And if there’s anybody who knows how to do something beautifully, it’s probably Alex Kurtzman. It’s been brought up more and more of late. I don’t know why. So I answered positively because I loved her. I loved her and I’d love to revisit her. But it’s in the hands of the gods.
And during an NYCC interview with EW on Saturday, Mulgrew weighed in again explaining what it would take to bring her back to live-action as Janeway:
I’d entertain it, but it would have to be really excellent, beautifully written, executed. Yeah, it would have to be inspired.
During the same EW interview, Mulgrew was asked if there were a Prodigy crossover with a live-action show which would she want. She wasn’t sure about the idea, but then asked “Which one is Anson Mount in?” and when told she replied, “Strange New Worlds, then.”
Kate Mulgrew’s Admiral Janeway Prodigy episode 110
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It will happen, for sure. It’s headed fully in that direction. Now, if only they can come up with some inspired writing, as per Kate’s request. That’s what this era of Star Trek writers has struggled with, but if the right team of writers were assembled, then we would have the show that Kate and all of us deserve. Cheers! ☕️☕️
It wouldn’t surprise me at all if she appeared toward the end of the third season of Picard.
I’ve been having that feeling too. And with the amount of hints we’re getting about the last season, that feeling is growing stronger..
They could make her a Fleet Admiral someone way the chain of command who makes very important decisions given her experience.
Well, she knows how to kiss ass.
:(
It’s a bad idea. Janeway’s chapter 2 is great on Prodigy. We don’t need to bring her back for live action. But, it’s the age of nostalgia so I’m sure she’ll be in the next PIC trailer.
Chapter 2 can continue on Prodigy indefinitely. Let the fans who miss her get a live action Chapter 3. Please!
Agreed. She’s already got her series and it’s prodigy.
We’ve talked about it. Just like the studio has talked about Trek 14. Just because they’re talking about something, doesn’t mean it will happen.
This is a different situation though. Unlike another movie, we know for a fact they are developing other shows that isn’t just a PR stunt or to just keep investors interested. And as the article stated two of the shows that are being developed star women characters. We also know Picard will have to be replaced soon as it’s ending next year. And people seem to really want another show in the 25th century. In fact out of all the possible time periods, it seems like the 25th century is where most fans want to see the next show because it probably feels like the most ‘present day’ show for them.
And if enough people ask for a Janeway show like they did a Pike one, then I think it has a good chance of being considered, especially if Prodigy is doing really well. I’m convinced it’s at least more popular now because Janeway is on it.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Janeway shows up in Picard season 3. They are clearly planning a 25th century show to spin-off of Picard based on comments from Terry Matalas. It would not be surprising to see her as a star or recurring character there.
I don’t think you can compare this to the movie announcement stops and starts. Besides, they haven’t even announced it yet.
Apples and oranges.
I would definitely love for it to happen. I think most fans would. That said, it doesn’t have to be her own show, since technically she already has one now with Prodigy. But I would like to just see her in live action again in a recurring role on another show at least.
And I’m feeling more convinced she may be in Picard. Could be wrong but hope I’m not! Either way, it’s more of a when and not an if when we will see a live action Janeway again considering they are bringing back 35 year old holograms and dead androids to be on these shows lol. It’s more of a question of will it be her own show or not.
I think it’s more like about half of fans, not most. Just my opinion based on the many fans I know and the conventions I attend.
I’m only going by the internet and there is a big push for her own show. Even at the convention where she first talked about it last month there was a lot of fanfare over it. Janeway is extremely popular so it would be nice if it happened. But it doesn’t have to be her own show either, just see her recurring here and there. I just want to see her in live action again personally.
Go on YouTube to all the Trek channels like Trek Central, Trek Culture, etc. They are making a lot of videos pushing for this and everyone commenting wants to see it happen too.
The last time I can remember Trekkies pushing this hard for a character to have their own show was Pike. So it’s definitely building.
I want a full on Janeway show. But one better than Picard of course. Much better!
Oh yeah I watched ALL of them lol. I’m subscribed to all those channels and you’re right, there is a big push for a Janeway show since Mulgrew said last month there are discussions.
And frankly, people would cheer over a Janeway show several times over a Section 31 show starring Space Hitler (which some fans literally loath as a character…and I’m not a big fan either). Now if you want to talk about a character the fanbase is truly divided on, that’s a real example! And probably why the Section 31 show is nowhere close to happening as another Star Trek movie. I don’t see a push for that show at all by the fandom and it’s been ‘in development’ for over 3 years now.
A Janeway show would obviously be a big crowd pleaser and make a lot of fans happy. I do agree having her on two shows simultaneously might be an issue in terms of canon if Prodigy runs for a few more years, but it’s Star Trek, they can figure it out. ;)
MU Georgiou is one of the worst characters Star Trek has created. And I’m including Neelix, Burnham and Raffi. 🙄🤬
Can not stand the walking mass murderer and Kurtzman in all his hackness wants her to star in a show??
I predicted over two years ago now this show was probably never happening anyway because many fans hate her and thinks she sucks. He’s a hack but Kurtzman does pay attention when fans are whining and complaining a lot. 😂
But if they actually get around to making it I’ll give it a chance of course. I love Section 31 the way it was on DS9 and Enterprise when they were actually a secret. But Discovery has to be Discovery and destroy canon per usual.
Hopefully we’ll never hear about it again like Adolf or her war crimes. 🤮
Lol.
My views of the character isn’t very different from yours (although I really like Neelix and I think Burnham is OK), although I didn’t mind her being on Discovery. But I think making someone like this the star of a Star Trek show, ANY Star Trek show, is just a mistake. And I think they are aware that fandom is really split on her and why there is still no show today.
At the time it was announced, this was the first spin off show and they wanted to keep a big star presence like Yeoh.. But so much has happened since then and they have many shows on today and ideas for probably more suitable shows being worked on, no one is really fighting to get it on air anymore.
But of course if one does happen and it’s still a possibility, I will certainly watch it and give it a chance too. I only brought it up because if you can get enough fans to watch a character like that on their own show, then a Janeway show is a no-brainer even if everyone is not a fan of hers. That’s why Janeway is on Prodigy now. Can you imagine if MU Gerogiou was the one in Janeway’s place on Prodigy? That show wouldn’t even make it to air lol. It would literally be too controversial to even put someone like that on as a lead of a kids show.
Bro did you take a survey at this convention or something? 😂😂😂
You walked around and picked random people out in a room and asked who wanted to see a Janeway show and 50 said yes, but 50 said no? That’s dedication man. Weird but dedicated.
I’ll be the tie breaker then. I want a show! Look at that, it’s now the majority of people you talked too!
I guess the show can now proceed! WHOOO HOO!! 😆
Well I see nobody has noticed yet that the Enterprise F seen in the Picard trailer is the same as the Enterprise F seen in Star Trek Online.
It was noted in yesterday’s trailer article and discussed extensively in the comments. Will be covered more in upcoming trailer analysis.
I didn’t see it mentioned in there but fair enough. I also don’t frequent the comments section anymore due to toxicity and gatekeeping so I would not have seen any discussion. That aside I was mostly talking about other “news sources” that have a… difficult relationship with accurate Trek and/or genre reporting that have mentioned the Ent F but have no clue its relationship with Star Trek Online. Heck one “report” I read seemed to think Lore is a new character.
Granted its not nearly as bad as the likes of Midnight’s Edge that continuously just makes up whatever BS they want with the only criterion seeming to be “all new Trek is trash”. Still, you’d think so called journalists would do the bare minimum of their homework.
It’s been noted in the actual Picard season 3 thread. What does that have to do with an article about Janeway??
I think her return may be as part of a spinoff from Picard, involving 7of9
Well that would certainly fit nicely. Throw in the Doctor for good measure and you’ve got one hell of a reunion.
Do they still know how to explore? Or are they only wanna do action?
To be fair TNG didn’t really do much exploring either.
The biggest irony about Star Trek out of all the shows that did the most when it came to actual exploring was Voyager and Enterprise. So far no other show has gotten close to how much exploration those shows did.
Janeway easily charted more new worlds or species than the previous captains combined since nearly every episode was practically something new no other Starfleet ship ever came across.
Janeway and Kirk for sure. Kirk really did explore strand new worlds in TOS and of course Janeway was in an uncharted part of the galaxy so of course she had to explore new worlds and such. But The Enterprise D? They did more of visiting Federation worlds that were already explored and such than anything else. Maybe once or twice a season did they go somewhere new.
Actually I will disagree about Kirk. He saw a lot of new planets for the audience, but the reality is very little of TOS actually discovered new worlds and species first. There were a lot of planets they went to but other starships had already ran across them a century earlier, etc.
I did a grand rewatch of the entire franchise last year, watched every film and episode. I was curious about TOS specifically and wanted to see just how many stange new worlds and civilizations they actually visited for the first time.
Out of the 79 episodes, Kirk’s Enterprise visited a new planet in, are you ready for this, 13 episodes! Those are episodes that a Starfleet ship encountered a planet on its own. When you add how many new aliens they met for the first time in space, then that number jumps to 16-18. They actually visited more Federation colonies than new planets. I’m sure some will want to dispute that number and there could be certain exceptions where it can get a little higher but overall it’s pretty low lol.
Out of all the Captains, Janeway has seen the most action for sure, but she didn’t have a choice either. ;D
I’m not a big TOS fan but that’s pretty funny. 😂
Same for TNG. That crew went to a lot of places but probably didn’t go to new planets that often either.
It’s my girl Janeway who was truly going to strange new worlds on a regular basis
I kind of regret I didn’t do that same tally for TNG, VOY, DS9 and ENT. I only did it for TOS because it was a lot less episodes to keep track of and it’s always been this weird myth that TOS met a new alien practically every week or something and that was never really true. So I wanted to put it to rest for myself to see just how often they truly went to non-Federation planets. And the reality is they went to quite a few, but they weren’t the first in Starfleet to do it either and that’s the rub.
As I pointed out, the Enterprise only went to 13 new planets in its three seasons. Everywhere else was either Federation colonies or planets that was already on Starfleets radar, some for a century which probably meant a lot of those planets made first contact during Archer’s era of space travel and the early days of the Federation.
But it’s no doubt if we had to tally which ship made the most first contacts, it is Voyager by a light year. Enterprise may be second or it could be TNG just with the number of episodes it has.
I´m hesitant about this. As much as I liked on her Voyager and now Prodigy, I don´t want a show with her as one of the main characters. Recurring guest would be enough. There are other characters I´d much rather see return since we´ve already gotten more of her in Prodigy.
It would be crazy if we now had 3 Janeway shows lol. But I think it was Prodigy that has really pushed the idea for a live action version because as cool it is to see the character (or characters) again, I think many misses seeing Mulgrew in the actual uniform and interacting with other people. She is great in Prodigy obviously but for some fans, it’s simply not enough.
But I agree with you and been saying it myself, she may not need to lead a show again but to be part of one where she shows up at times would probably be enough for most fans.
I think it would be weird seeing Janeway in the Alpha quadrant but ya if it’s a cool idea i’m open to it.
She’s great in Prodigy. So no need to go to that well another time,
WE WANT A LIVE JANEWAY SHOW KURTZMAN! AS JANEWAY SAYS DO IT!!! 👍👍👍
This is a no brainer! Janeway is the Captain that got a lot of us younger fans into Star Trek today. Give Mulgrew whatever money she wants and keep her happy on Prodigy too. I want to see my Captain as much as possible. 😎
Admiral Janeway will promote Seven of Nine to Captain at the end of Picard and get her own show and ship USS Voyager A