Is the way forward for “Star Trek” all of the sudden in flux? For the longest time, “Discovery” was the pioneer when it comes to shepherding this franchise into its subsequent section on Paramount+ streaming, however the sequence lastly got here to an finish final yr. Ditto for “Decrease Decks,” the animated present that helped broaden the horizons of the property into one other medium completely (though, after all, “The Animated Collection” was the one to first break that floor) earlier than its personal cancellation in 2024. Now, after the deliberate fifth and closing season of “Unusual New Worlds” within the years forward, this void will depart your complete IP in a state of uncertainty shifting ahead. However may that be the place “Starfleet Academy” is available in?
The upcoming “Star Trek” sequence is not on account of arrive till 2026, however we have now acquired our first official take a look at it because of a brand new trailer launched throughout the 2025 San Diego Comedian Con … and it positive appears to be all concerning the concept of tips on how to keep on the Starfleet torch. Set concurrently with the ultimate season(s) of “Discovery,” within the distant way forward for the thirty second Century, “Starfleet Academy” focuses on humanity’s makes an attempt to rebuild the flagship group and prepare the following technology of space-faring officers. However that is not the one side that caught our eye.
We are able to anticipate loads of connections to “Discovery,” largely within the type of returning characters Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) and Jett Reno (Tig Notaro), however the footage additionally contains a number of overt references to different “Trek” exhibits of yore. The looks of a way more rugged-looking Robert Picardo because the holographic Physician from “Voyager” is a pleasant contact, however it seems that the brand new sequence may even attain even additional into the previous and pay homage to among the best and most beloved characters of all: Avery Brooks’ Benjamin Sisko. Like “Deep House 9” itself, this seems like a giant swing and daring option to showcase in a trailer … and, given the ambiguous ending surrounding the previous Captain and Emissary, we’re hoping this quantities to greater than only a easy tease.
Starfleet Academy is not the primary time Sisko’s destiny has been addressed in Star Trek earlier than
Few people in “Star Trek” have solid an extended shadow than Benjamin Sisko, the reluctant chief who went on to play an enormous position in profitable the Dominion Conflict and in the end turned a quasi-religious determine to the native inhabitants of Bajor as their Emissary of the Prophets. The finale of “Deep House 9” ended with the beloved captain seemingly dying in a blaze of glory … although, in truth, he was ushered away to the otherworldly “Celestial Temple” as a reward for fulfilling his non secular goal. Ever since, what truly occurred to Sisko has remained a subject of nice curiosity — each amongst followers and, because it seems, in-universe among the many characters of the “Star Trek” franchise as nicely.
The “Starfleet Academy” trailer contains one tantalizing shot the place younger cadet Sam (Kerrice Brooks) gazes in reverence at what appears to be like like a museum installment devoted to the great Captain. “Did he die within the hearth caves of Bajor?” and “Did he stay on within the Celestial Temple?” are two potential questions requested rhetorically on the plaque, providing up no straightforward solutions to what’s been hanging over the pinnacle of the property since “Deep House 9” ended again in 1999. May the sequence be establishing an precise decision to Sisko’s destiny? May this be a sneaky strategy to make a backdoor sequel to the present, a lot in the identical approach the sensible “Star Trek” documentary “What We Depart Behind” urged?
That is extraordinarily uncertain, however this marks the primary time the franchise has tried to deal with this free plot thread … canonically, not less than. A handful of non-canon novels sought to supply a solution to this, most prominently the e-book “Unity” that got here as a part of a “Deep House 9” relaunch sequence to mark the present’s tenth anniversary. The latest comedian e-book sequence “Godshock” additionally revolves across the return of Sisko and even has him teaming up with an assortment of “Trek” characters like Beverly Crusher, Tom Paris, Knowledge, and extra. For now, we’ll have to attend and see what (if something) “Starfleet Academy” does to discover this subject when it arrives on Paramount+ someday in early 2026.
