Throughout the weekend, Paramount unleashed its slate of Star Trek projects at San Diego Comic-Con 2025—from a teen drama set at Starfleet Academy to a questionable Kirk prequel. But are these bold new directions signs of fresh creativity, or warning signals from a franchise starting to lose its way?
Shows featured included Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, and a new audio drama called Star Trek: Khan, which aims to explore the character’s origin story and fill in the gaps between Space Seed and The Wrath of Khan. Below are the teaser trailers, along with my first impressions, initial thoughts, and possible explanations. So buckle up—it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – First Teaser Trailer
First to drop was Paramount’s teaser for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, slated to premiere next year. Set in the 32nd century, the show follows a fresh batch of cadets training to join Starfleet. Holly Hunter takes on the role of Chancellor Nahla Ake, while Paul Giamatti plays the season’s mysterious villain, Nus Braka. Returning favorites like Robert Picardo’s EMH and Tig Notaro’s Jett Reno are also on board. The series promises a mix of new stories with plenty of nods to classic Trek lore—though whether it hits the right balance remains to be seen.
My First Thoughts
Danger, Will Robinson! Oops, wrong franchise—but the sentiment fits. I’ve watched this trailer twice now, and it doesn’t get any better on the second viewing. It only confirms my worst fears: moody 90210 teenagers in space. There are loads of shots of these cadets looking existentially angsty, which suggests more teen drama and personal crises than exploration and boldly going.
The biggest red flag? Holly Hunter’s Chancellor Nahla Ake taking the captain’s chair for a training mission. Her posture is all wrong—she doesn’t look like she’s in command at all. If anything, she looks like a frightened mouse riding the bus home through a rough part of town, trying to hide. Totally the wrong vibe. It makes me wonder if the character’s meant to have some kind of PTSD storyline. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Also jarring: Paul Giamatti’s Nus Braka whistling the original series’ theme tune. What is this, Star Trek or Deadpool? Self-awareness might be trendy, but it just doesn’t fit the language of Star Trek.
Strange New Worlds – Puppet-Themed Episode
We also got a sneak peek of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4, including a glimpse of a unique puppet-themed episode. This features puppets created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. In the teaser, Anson Mount’s Captain Pike appears in Muppet form, continuing the show’s tradition of creative genre experimentation. The episode is part of the penultimate season, which has already finished filming.
My Thoughts
When I first saw this, I thought, “What? Is this what happens after a mind meld while on copious amounts of hallucinogenic drugs?” Then I thought, why not? But how will they explain it? Season two’s musical episode was handled well enough—though it’s still one of those love-it-or-hate-it moments. But now, suddenly, live-action Star Trek characters turn into puppets? How? Did they collide with the Avenue Q Asteroid Belt? Or get whacked with some of Kermit the Frog’s spawn? Maybe even have a run-in with Miss Piggy?
I’m not sure how they’ll explain it, but I’m kind of anxious to find out. As for the idea itself—why not? It’s probably way more interesting than Starfleet Academy.
Star Trek: Khan – New Audio Drama
Somewhat of a surprise item at the convention was the promotion of a new podcast drama titled Star Trek: Khan, set to launch on September 8, 2025. The series will explore the origin story of Khan Noonien Singh, focusing on his time stranded on Ceti Alpha V. George Takei returns as Sulu, and Tim Russ reprises his role as Tuvok. Khan will be voiced by the fantastic Naveen Andrews, with the story based on a concept developed by Nicholas Meyer.
My Thoughts
I like the idea of exploring Khan and what happened on Ceti Alpha V, even though it’s already been touched on in the novels by Greg Cox. That said, continuity has shifted a bit since then—particularly after Strange New Worlds season two’s “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow,” which moved the Eugenics War from the 1990s to the 2020s. It’ll be interesting to see how (or if) this gets addressed. Telling the story in audio form is probably the smartest move, since a visual version would require a younger Sulu and Tuvok—meaning either expensive CGI or full recasts. Also, casting Naveen Andrews as Khan is a great choice. He’s no Ricardo Montalbán, but honestly, no one ever will be. Montalbán defined the role—but Andrews has the intensity to bring something compelling in his own right.
IGN Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Interview & Final Thoughts
Finishing off our coverage is a video interview from IGN with the cast of Strange New Worlds—which, in my opinion, remains the best Star Trek series to come out of the Kurtzman era, even if certain elements raise eyebrows among fans who prefer their continuity untampered. The cast comes across as enthusiastic and clearly proud of the show, and while they share their excitement for what’s coming, the interview (as expected) doesn’t offer any major spoilers or reveals.
Star Trek: Year One – Potential Sequel Series
The creators of Strange New Worlds also revealed their dream project: a sequel series titled Star Trek: Year One, focusing on Paul Wesley’s version of Captain Kirk during his first year in command of the Enterprise. While the project hasn’t been officially greenlit, the showrunners have encouraged fans to show their support and let Paramount know they want to see it happen.
My Thoughts on Star Trek: Year One Idea
We actually suggested this idea a few weeks ago in an article by Richard Strike, so it’s hardly surprising to see it resurface now. In fact, it’s not all that surprising at all. When you look at the first two seasons of Strange New Worlds, there have already been plenty of scenes with Paul Wesley’s Kirk interacting with his future crew in a way that feels like it’s been telegraphing this spin-off from the start.
As for whether I think it’s a good idea? I don’t. Paul Wesley is a solid actor and he’s done an okay job with the role—but he lacks the charisma needed to carry a series as James T. Kirk. Kirk is a commanding presence, full of instinct, charm, and unpredictable energy—traits that are tough to replicate. Wesley’s portrayal just doesn’t have that spark.
Secondly, much of Kirk’s early days aboard the Enterprise have already been explored in depth through various novels and comics. Sure, those stories aren’t considered canon, but they’ve taken root in the collective memory of older and middle-aged fans—the very fans who kept the franchise alive throughout the 70s, 80s, and 90s. I count myself among them.
More importantly, I believe the best way forward for Star Trek is to stop looking back and instead move the timeline ahead—ideally building on the strong momentum of Picard season three. Whether that’s through a continuation with Seven of Nine on the Enterprise-G, or a new series entirely, that’s the direction most of the fanbase would actually get behind. We’ve had more than our fill of prequels.
And let’s not forget—Secret Hideout’s long-term future with Star Trek is still uncertain. With Skydance now in the picture following the Paramount merger, it remains to be seen whether any of these proposed projects will make it to screen. For now, the future is as uncertain as ever.
Final Thoughts On What We Saw
It’s a mixed bag. While I’m not a fan of the Starfleet Academy series—and even less so after seeing the teaser—I do continue to appreciate and enjoy Strange New Worlds. Yes, it has its issues with continuity, but it remains a fun show with a likable cast and solid characters.
As someone who enjoyed the Greg Cox novels about Khan—and as a fan of the character in general—I’m genuinely looking forward to Star Trek: Khan. It’ll be great to hear what they do with the story, and I’m especially excited to hear George Takei and Tim Russ return as Sulu and Tuvok.
As for the puppet episode of Strange New Worlds? Bring it on. If they’re going to go weird, go all in—and I’d love to see a surprise cameo from Animal, who was always my favourite Muppet.
And finally, Star Trek: Year One? Enough said. Just scroll up—I’ve already laid out my thoughts, and I suspect a large percentage of the fanbase would echo them.
“He’s no Ricardo Montalbán, but honestly, no one ever will be. Montalbán defined the role—but Andrews has the intensity to bring something compelling in his own right.” Amen.
Apologies for changing the subject Raissa but I read that Simon Pegg tried to get Nick Frost cast as Harry Mudd in the Kelvin universe. I’d prefer that to Nick Frost being in what he’s currently in.
You may prefer that. But I wouldn’t cos Nick Frost would not be right for it. Firstly, your up against it because Roger C. Carmel who originated the role of Mudd was so loved by the fanbase. Indeed Mudd was the only villian to appear more than once in the original series, and again in the animated series. All because of how Carmel defined the character. Rainn Wilson played Mudd in Star Trek: Discovery and appeared a couple of times on that show, and while he did a pretty good job of it. He wasn’t quite as charismatic as Carmel’s original portrayal. Mudd is another of those characters like Khan, and Kirk who was cast perfectly the first time out of the gate. Meaning that any portrayal by other actors will never be as strong as the original take. But Nick Frost would be completely wrong for it. And I like Nick Frost as an actor and have seen him in loads of stuff. I think a younger Mark Addy might have done a good take on Harry Mudd.