JULY 27, 2022 - This year’s Star Trek Universe panel at San Diego Comic-Con reaffirmed earlier suspicions that more new and innovative Star Trek is - for lack of a better pun - “coming down the Pike”. Star Trek executive producer Alex Kurtzman has confirmed that there are, in fact, two new series currently in development for Paramount+.

The announcement came during the three-part panel featuring Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Lower Decks, and Star Trek: Picard. Executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Rod Roddenberry were on hand for each sub-panel. A deaf fan commented on how inspired they were by the blind character of Bruce Horak’s Chief Engineer Hemmer. When asked about the possibility of a deaf character on Star Trek, Kurtzman replied, “It’s a terrific idea and it’s definitely something that we’ll take into the next two Star Trek shows that we are currently developing.”

This tracks well with the longtime plans for a series based on the enigmatic Section 31, proposed to be led by Star Trek: Discovery actor Michelle Yeoh. There also is a supposed “Starfleet Academy” series in development. With those ideas in mind, it seems reasonable to conclude they will be the next installments of the franchise. Neither Kurtzman nor Roddenberry elected to comment further on the topic. Even so, it still seems likely there won’t be a new series until at least one current series comes to an end.

During the Star Trek: Picard portion of the panel, Kurtzman was asked about seeing strong female leads in upcoming Trek. His response? “Anything’s possible,” Kurtzman said, adding, “And I’ll say–without revealing too much–you can certainly expect to see more Star Trek shows with female leads.”

It looks like we have plenty of Star Trek to look forward to in the next couple of years!