In recent years,Star Trekhas been focusing more on stories involving Starfleet Academy, setting up the franchise’s newest upcoming show —Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.The idea of Starfleet Academy has been around sinceStar Trek: The Original Series.AfterStar Trek V: The Final Frontier,producer Harve Bennett planned a movie about a young James T. Kirk and Spock at Starfleet Academyreferred to asStar Trek: The Academy YearsorStar Trek: The First Adventurebefore it was scrapped in favor of makingStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

InStar Trek: The Next Generation,Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) attended Starfleet Academyand the USS Enterprise-D visited him after a flight accident resulted in a student’s death.Star Trek: Deep Space NineandStar Trek: Voyagerboth regularly mentioned the Academy, as Starfleet officers referenced their time there. Considering how important Starfleet Academy has become withinTreklore,it is odd thatStar Trekhas not already made a television series or film dedicated to it.However, Star Trek on Paramount+ series have been gradually laying the foundation forStar Trek: Starfleet Academy.

star trek admiral picard captain worf soji asha

Star Trek’s Admiral Picard & Janeway Set Up Starfleet Academy Years Before Paramount Plus’ New Show

Recent Star Trek Shows Have Highlighted The Importance Of Starfleet Academy

After the events ofStar Trek: Picardseason 1,Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) returned to Starfleet and was appointed as Chancellor of Starfleet Academy. At the beginning ofStar Trek: Picardseason 2, Jean-Luc delivered a welcoming address to the newest class of cadets in 2401. In his speech, which foreshadows Jean-Luc’sPicardseason 2 journey, Picard points out that Elnor (Evan Evagora) is the first full-blooded Romulan to attend the Academy. Holly Hunter portrays the Chancellor of Starfleet Academy in theupcomingStarfleet Academyseries, but this role could have changed significantly between the 25th century and the 32nd.

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InStar Trek: Prodigy,Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) took the teenage crew of the USS Protostar under her wing, helping them gain admittance into Starfleet Academy. Despite their unconventional introduction,Janeway saw the potential in the Protostar kidsand convinced a Starfleet tribunal to drop any pending criminal charges against them afterProdigyseason 1. Dal R’El (Brett Gray) and his friends then served as Janeway’s warrant officers-in-training aboard the USS Voyager-A. Janeway and Captain Chakotay (Robert Beltran) later granted the Protostar kids field commissions and assigned them to the USS Prodigy.

A composite image of Holly Hunter against a yellow backdrop in front of an exterior shot of Starfleet Academy from Star Trek: TNG

Star Trek: Discovery Directly Set Up Starfleet Academy As A Spinoff

The Crew Of Discovery Helped The 32nd-Century Starfleet Academy Reopen

The USS Discovery arrived in the 32nd century at the start ofStar Trek: Discoveryseason 3, sending the series further into the future than anyStar Trekhad gone before where Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and her crew found a decimated Federation and an almost non-existent Starfleet. ThroughoutDiscovery’sthird season, Burnham and Discovery’s crew helped the Federation rebuild and reconnect with Starfleet.Thanks largely to the actions of Discovery’s crew, Starfleet Academy reopened in 3190,after being closed for 125 years following the Burn.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy - Cast, Story & Everything We Know

Exploring another corner of the Star Trek universe, the upcoming series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is a brand-new take on the classic franchise.

InStar Trek: Discoveryseason 4, Lt. Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) led a group of Starfleet cadets in a team-building exercise, after which she became an instructor at Starfleet Academy. AlthoughDiscoverydid not follow Tilly’s Academy teaching journey, Mary Wiseman has already been tapped to reprise her role inStar Trek: Starfleet Academy. With Starfleet still recovering from the Burn,Starfleet Academywill follow a new class of cadets as they navigate becoming adultsand face a new enemy that threatens the Federation. TheDiscoveryseries finale provided adirect set-up forStarfleet Academy, jumping ever further into the future to show that the Academy continues to thrive.

Starfleet Academy logo and the USS Discvoery from Star Trek: Discovery

Why Starfleet Academy Is So Important To Star Trek’s Future

Starfleet Academy Is The Only Current Show Set In Star Trek’s Future

Star Trek: Discoveryoriginally began as a prequel toStar Trek: The Original Seriesand made some complicated connections to establishedTrekcanon.Discovery’sjump to the 32nd centurygave the series a chance to tell new stories in an entirely new setting, introduce new characters, and make its own canon.Star Trek: Starfleet Academywill follow inDiscovery’sfootsteps, building onStar Trek’sentire historywhile forging into uncharted territory. As most ofStar Trek’sother current projects are set during the franchise’s past,Starfleet Academy’s​​​​​​far-future setting makes it unique and exciting.

New Starfleet TV Show Is The Discovery Replacement Star Trek Desperately Needs

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy can use Star Trek: Discovery’s setting to be the counterbalance to the past that Star Trek desperately needs.

With its Starfleet Academy setting,Star Trek’snewest show feels long overdue, and its 32nd-century setting will allow it to look back on the entireTrekfranchise.Most ofStar Trek’smost famous characters went to Starfleet Academy,but fewTrekprojects have explored life at the Academy, setting up theDiscoveryspin-off to be something truly special. Although this iteration of the Academy just reopened,Star Trek: Starfleet Academywill hopefully find ways to honor the long history ofStar Trek’smost well-known educational institution.

Mary Wiseman as Sylvia Tilly in Star Trek Discovery season 5 and Robert Picardo as The Doctor in Star Trek Voyager

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