Yesterday Paramount+ revealed plans for their Star Trek Universe panel this weekend at San Diego Comic-Con, which will now include an early showing of the Strange New Worlds crossover episode with Lower Decks, but that is just one of a number of official and unofficial highlights for Star Trek fans. Here now are more details on a few other things Trekkies should look out for.
Official Star Trek animation celebration
In addition to the big Saturday Hall H panel, CBS Studios is also running presenting the Official 50th Star Trek Animated Celebration panel on Friday, July 21, 10 – 11AM PT, 25ABC in room 25ABC. Here is the new official description:
Get a first look at Star Trek: The Animated Celebration – a campaign celebrating 50 years of STAR TREK: THE ANIMATED SERIES with John Van Citters (VP, Star Trek Brand Development); explore the latest in publishing with an IDW representative and talk gaming with Scopely’s Brian Lelas (Lead Narrative Designer, Star Trek Fleet Command) and Rebekah Plants (Community Manager, Star Trek Fleet Command). You won’t want to miss this panel, complete with limited edition pin giveaways and special guest Casper Kelly (Star Trek: Short Treks, Too Many Cooks)!
Star Trek at Paramount+ Lodge
As we reported yesterday, Paramount+ will have a Strange New Worlds interactive experience booth (#3529) on the exhibit floor. This is just one component of a larger series of promotions for the streamer at Comic-Con which includes “The Lodge: A Paramount+ Experience,” located at the transformed Happy Does Bar in the Gaslamp District (340 Fifth Ave). Not only does The Lodge include a Star Trek component but attendees can also take away a limited-edition Star Trek pin. Here is the official description:
Explore Bikini Bottom from SpongeBob SquarePants, step into the world of STAR TREK for custom caricature art and a limited edition Star Trek pin, sip on a cocktail at the 1923 speakeasy, fuel up at the TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS energon station, and get fresh temporary ink based on your favorite series at the INK MASTER airbrush tattoo station. Additional series experiences include YELLOWJACKETS, SPECIAL OPS: LIONESS, PET SEMATARY: BLOODLINES, GOOD BURGER 2 and a Paramount+ Pub.
The Lodge operates daily during Comic-Con and admission is free, but is on a reservation system. There will be a stand-by line daily if there are no reservations available. No SDCC badge is required.
Paramount Passport Scavenger Hunt
The Strange New Worlds booth and The Lodge are just two locations of a city-wide Paramount scavenger hunt called Paramount Passport which offers a special prize if you visit them all. Here are the details:
Fans of Paramount will have the opportunity to take part in a city-wide digital scavenger hunt via www.ParamountPassport.com. Either enter the website on your phone or scan a QR code at any of the activation sites. Once registered, guests can scan an item at all of the following locations after interacting with the space, and earn a passport stamp. Once a guest visits all seven locations they can head to the Paramount Passport Redemption area located at The Lodge, A Paramount+ Experience for a limited edition prize. Participating locations:
○ The Lodge, A Paramount+ Experience (Happy Does Bar, 340 Fifth Ave, San Diego, CA 92101)
○ Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (58 11th Ave San Diego, CA 92101)
○ Yellowjackets Hard Rock Hotel (207 Fifth Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101)
○ Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (San Diego Convention Center, Booth #3529)
○ TMNT: Mutant Mayhem (San Diego Convention Center, Booth #4113)
○ Digman! (San Diego Convention Center, Booth #4029)
○ Ghosts (San Diego Convention Center, Booth #229)
The official Star Trek social media accounts will also be making announcements for “exciting giveaways” all weekend long.
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More Trek-related panels
In addition to the two official Star Trek panels, there are quite a few panels related to Star Trek including official licensees, and unofficial panels related to Star Trek. Here are some of the highlights (NOTE: Some panels have been canceled).
THURSDAY
How to Boldly Go into the Star Trek Universe – 1:00pm – 2:00pm Grand 12 & 13, Marriott Marquis
With Discovery, Lower Decks, Strange New Worlds, and Picard, Star Trek is going strong after 57 years. However, with so much Trek and such little time, it’s overwhelming to know what is essential viewing. With over a dozen movies, several series, and now all the streaming content, where does someone new to Star Trek start? Moderator Tony B Kim (Hero Within, Crazy 4 Comic Con) leads this fun and helpful discussion with Star Trek pros Giraffe (Strange New Podcast), Myrriah Gossett (Star Trek Discovery Podcast), and Clyde Haynes (Star Trek Discovery Podcast).
Star Trek: More Bold Than Ever Before [IDW] – 2:00pm – 1:00pm Room 28DE
Never before has Star Trek been bigger (or bloodier)! IDW Group Editor Heather Antos and writers Chris Cantwell, Collin Kelly, and Jackson Lanzing give an inside look into Star Trek: Day of Blood, the first ever Star Trek comics crossover event. Plus: Marc Guggenheim, Sam Maggs, Malachi Ward, Chirs Sequiera, and Liana Kangas share all the exciting things happening across IDW’s line of Star Trek comics.
Inglorious Treksperts Live: Free Enterprise at 25 – 4:00pm – 5:00pm Room 5AB
The hosts of the Star Trek podcast Inglorious Treksperts present a 25th anniversary tribute to the ultimate love letter to Star Trek, the beloved cult classic Free Enterprise, released in theaters in 1999 and starring William Shatner and Eric McCormack. Panelists will be sharing never-before-seen clips and footage from the film that proved Captain Kirk was cooler than Han Solo. Featuring Inglorious Treksperts hosts Mark A. Altman (author, Star Trek: The Fifty-Year Mission; writer/producer, Free Enterprise), Daren Dochterman (associate producer, Star Trek: The Motion Picture—Director’s Edition), Ashley E. Miller (writer, Thor, X-Men: First Class), and Robert Meyer Burnett (director/writer, Free Enterprise, The Burnettwork), along with a special panelist or two.
It’s Alive, Jim! Evolutionary Biology in Star Trek – 8:00pm – 9:00pm Room 28DE
Did you ever wonder if giant space jellyfish could ever realistically be a thing? Could our parasites evolve to take over Starfleet Command? Or computers be reprogrammed by sentient yeast? Would aliens really just look like us with pointy ears or ridge noses? Since the beginning of Star Trek, exploring strange new worlds has been synonymous with meeting fascinating new species—friendly or less friendly . . . Star Trek shows us life as we know it and as we’ve never seen it before, and examining the science behind both can teach us a lot about where we come from, where we’re going, and what we might meet—out there. Dr. Ashley Poust (paleontologist at the San Diego Natural History Museum), Dr. Danielle de Carle (researcher and lecturer at the University of Toronto), and Dr. Amanda Jack (biochemist and biophysicist at SyntheX) take a deep dive into the reality, the fiction, and the possibilities of this Trek-tastic biology these last 56 years. Moderated by Giraffe of the Star Trek podcast Strange New Pod.
FRIDAY
Official 50th Star Trek Animated Celebration [CBS Studios] – 10:00am – 11:00am Room 25ABC
See above
SATURDAY
Star Trek Universe [Paramount+] 1:30pm – 2:45pm Hall H
William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill – 4:30pm – 6:00pm Hall H
Celebrate the icon himself, William Shatner, for an entertaining discussion about two of his most recent adventures: Legion M’s new documentary, You Can Call Me Bill, and the famed sci-fi captain’s real-life journey into space! Bill respectfully withdrew from attending the panel in solidarity with his striking brethren, but you can still beam into Hall H to witness some fascinating clips from the documentary, and a lively chat between doc director Alexandre O. Philippe (The People vs. George Lucas, Lynch/Oz); Hall H usher-turned-Space for Humanity Citizen Astronaut-01 Katya Echazarreta (the first Mexican-born woman in space); Michael Edmonds (president, Club for the Future), SVP of Blue Origin, the company paving the path to space so our children can build the future; Rachel Lyons, executive director for Space for Humanity, the nonprofit organization behind the world’s first Citizen Astronaut Program; and Legion M executives Jeff Annison and David Baxter. Among the topics will be how everyone will be able to see You Can Call Me Bill in the very near future, and a special, new joint venture between Legion M and Space for Humanity! Publicist Gary Miereanu moderates.
Star Trek: The Art of Neville Page – 5:30pm – 6:30pm Room 10
Concept artist Neville Page discusses his incredible career with Forbidden Planet TV’s Andrew Sumner. As a visionary creature designer, Neville has applied his considerable expertise to the creation and development of the aliens of the Star Trek universe. From the movies Star Trek (2009) through to Star Trek Beyond (2016), as well as the shows Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard, Page’s incredibly detailed and intricate work has yielded some of the franchise’s most memorable characters! Star Trek: The Art of Neville Page from Titan Books is a stunning retrospective celebrating all of Neville’s fantastic Star Trek creations – and debut copies will be available at the show!
Boldly Go: The Psychology of Star Trek: Picard – 7:00pm – 8:00pm Grand 12 & 13, Marriott Marquis
Dr. Drea Letamendi (psychologist at UCLA, host of The Arkham Sessions Podcast) and Brian Ward (host of The Arkham Sessions Podcast) take a deep dive into the psychology of Star Trek: Picard’s final season with showrunner Terry Matalas, co-executive producer Christopher Monfette, and co-producer Matt Okumura. This lively conversation will celebrate what makes Trek both illuminating and entertaining and will cover powerfully emotive themes such as resilient leadership, family conflict, and finding purpose in the face of failures, risks, and dangers only imagined in the final frontier.
SUNDAY
Star Trek: Picard—Unofficial!: Backstage and Between the Cracks – 1:00pm – 2:00pm Room 24ABC
Larry “Dr. Trek” Nemecek (Portal 47, The Trek Files) moderates a show-n-tell and tall-tales panel presentation by two of the hands-on art directors who brought you the magnificent sets of ST: Picard’s Season 3, Liz Kloczkowski and Kit Stølen. From the alien worlds to the storied Enterprise-D bridge recreation, they’re bringing lots of backstage images and answers to your questions!
Merch!
The official site has provided this list of Star Trek licensees with booths on the exhibit floor, many of which are showing off new Star Trek products, including some SDCC exclusives.
- Entertainment Earth | Booth # 2343
- Factory Entertainment | Booth #2743
- Hasbro | Booth #3213
- Her Universe | Booth #1314
- IDW Publishing | Booth #2729
- Insight Edition | Booth #2129
- Hero Within | Booth #1943
- Kotobukiya | Booth #3535
- Simon & Schuster | Booth #1128
- Titan Publishing | Booth #5537
Star Trek already looms over Comic-Con
For the second year in a row, Paramount+ has put up a big Star Trek promotion “wrap” on the Marriot Marquis Hotel, adjacent to the San Diego Convention Center. This year the Star Trek wrap highlights Picard, Lower Decks, Strange New Worlds, Discovery, and the announced Section 31 movie starring Michelle Yeoh.
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More SDCC 2023 coverage to come
TrekMovie is headed to SDCC 2023 and we will be covering the major events and product reveals so stay tuned to TrekMovie.com over the next couple of weeks for our full coverage.
Keep up with the Star Trek Universe on TV here at TrekMovie.com
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Will we get official word on if STFC will have an ENT arc after VOY wraps up. I hope so. I want Shran.
I guess there’s some optimism that S31 will see the light of day…..some day.
It’s nice that they have so much going on considering the strikes going on.
I wonder if the Animation panel would have featured some creatives/cast from Lower Decks and/or Prodigy if it weren’t for the strikes (and Prodigy’s cancelation).
I’m not watching anything made after 1965 until the strike is over.
Why 1965?
Hoping we get some info on the Section 31 film.
Gotta boycott conventions until the strike is over.
Animation Celebration? I feel like they are missing something….
“ With Discovery, Lower Decks, Strange New Worlds, and Picard, Star Trek is going strong after 57 years.”
Omitting Prodigy while still citing the (concluded) Picard, huh? Damn.
Yeah, they almost seem to have something against it for some reason.
How is the SAG strike going to affect the convention? I’ve read in other places that actors cannot attend the panels during the strike. Is that correct because if it is, it fundamentally changes everything.
The strike also means that actors are not allowed to promote work they have shot already. So for example, they cannot talk about the upcoming season of Discovery or Lower Decks during the Star Trek Universe panel.
What seems to be less clear is whether actors can make personal appearances at a convention and talk about previous work that has long since aired, e.g. someone like Armin Shimerman talking about DS9 at a convention. They are allowed to appear at conventions and, for example, pose for pictures with fans, but it may be that they simply cannot answer any work-related questions.