Summary
- Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will feature a mix of new and legacy characters from Discovery and Voyager, but could there be more?
- The advanced holographic technology in the 32nd century opens the door for legacy characters to appear as hologram tutors like Prodigy’s Hologram Janeway.
- For now, the primary focus of the show will be on the young cadets, but there is potential for nostalgic cameos in later seasons.
Now that Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has revealed its regular cast of returning characters, it’s interesting to ponder if other Star Trek legacy actors could cameo in the upcoming series. Due to start filming later in 2024, Starfleet Academy will tell the story of the legendary institution’s first intake of students in over a century. Starfleet Academy‘s cast combines Hollywood stars like Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti with up-and-coming actors and stars from both Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Voyager.
While the involvement of Star Trek: Discovery characters like Lieutenant Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) was a foregone conclusion, the addition of Robert Picardo as Star Trek: Voyager‘s holographic Doctor was a big surprise. As a Hologram, the USS Voyager’s EMH can surely live forever – as long as he’s backed up – so it’s maybe not wholly surprising that he’s still aiding Starfleet after 800 years. However, the fact that the 32nd century’s Starfleet Academy has Voyager‘s Doctor on-staff surely opens the door for not just other Discovery characters to cameo in the upcoming series, but older Star Trek legacy characters, too.
Will We See More Non-Discovery Legacy Characters In Star Trek: Starfleet Academy?
It seems highly likely that Sonequa Martin-Green or Doug Jones could make guest appearances as Captain Burnham and Admiral Saru in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, but what about characters from other shows? Star Trek: Discovery‘s spinoff series will be set 800 years after the late 24th/early 25th century timeline in which shows like Star Trek: Prodigy and Star Trek: Lower Decks take place. This makes it highly unlikely that former Starfleet Academy staff like Chief O’Brien (Colm Meaney) or Nova Squadron designer Lieutenant Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) could appear in the new show in flesh and blood form.
Although not appearing on-screen, Tawny Newsome, who voices Lieutenant Beckett Mariner in Star Trek: Lower Decks is one of the writers on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy .
It’s also likely that Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will want to establish its young cast and new characters before resorting to nostalgic cameos. The primary focus of Starfleet Academy will, rightly, be on its young cast, meaning that showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau will be keen not to overshadow them with nostalgic throwbacks. However, if Starfleet Academy performs well when it streams on Paramount+ in either 2025 or 2026, thoughts may turn to who else could join Robert Picardo’s Doctor as a 24th century Starfleet representative. Especially as Star Trek: Prodigy and Star Trek: Discovery have set up how legacy characters can return.
| Starfleet Academy’s Returning Star Trek Characters | Played By |
|---|---|
| Admiral Charles Vance | Oded Fehr |
| Commander Jett Reno | Tig Notaro |
| The Doctor | Robert Picardo |
| Lieutenant Sylvia Tilly | Mary Wiseman |
How Star Trek Legacy Characters Like Voyager’s Doctor Could Appear In Starfleet Academy
Holographic technology is very advanced in the 32nd century.
If Star Trek: Voyager‘s Doctor can live forever, then the same is surely true for Hologram Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) from Star Trek: Prodigy. Therefore, Picardo’s casting in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy could set up a live-action appearance by Kate Mulgrew in later seasons. On top of that, hologram technology in the 32nd century appears to be incredibly advanced, as Star Trek: Discovery season 5 saw Doctor Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) testing a holographic replica of his abuela that was almost indistinguishable from the real thing, potentially setting up legacy characters as holographic tutors.
…while Star Trek: Enterprise ‘s controversial finale isn’t a great example of anything, it does introduce the idea that characters can interact with holographic recreations of historic Starfleet missions.
Star Trek: Picard also allowed Data (Brent Spiner) and Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) to transfer their consciousness into synthetic bodies. As long as the brain is still in functioning condition, it’s surely theoretically possible for people to live forever in the Star Trek universe using Soong’s Golems. Finally, while Star Trek: Enterprise‘s controversial finale isn’t a great example of anything, it does introduce the idea that characters can interact with holographic recreations of historic Starfleet missions. Despite the 800 year problem, it appears that there are endless possibilities for blending the old with the new in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, setting up a truly unique show.
