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A new Star Trek series is in development at Paramount+, focusing on Starfleet Academy and showing how a cadet becomes a full member of Starfleet.
Paramount+ is developing a new Star Trek series focusing on Starfleet Academy. In the universe of Star Trek, Starfleet Academy was founded in 2161, the same year the Federation of Planets was formed, and is the training ground for Starfleet cadets. While a popular fixture in the Star Trek universe, similar to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter franchise or Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngers in X-Men, there has yet to be a series or film to focus on the Starfleet institution.
The Star Trek franchise has become a big player on Paramount+. The flagship series, Star Trek: Discovery, was recently renewed for season 5 and is the streamer’s most-watched series. The franchise has branched out into animation with the kid-centric Star Trek: Prodigy and the more adult humor-orientated Star Trek: Lower Decks. Star Trek: Picard season 2 is set to return in March and a new spin-off series, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, is set to premiere on May 5, 2022, and will be set ten years before the events of the original Star Trek series.
According to Deadline, another Star Trek series is in development at Paramount+ titled Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, which is also the name of a 1997 computer game, however, there is currently no known relation between the two projects. The series will be set among the college of cadets mentored for leadership roles in the United Federation of Planets space force, and Absentia co-creator, Gaia Violo, is currently working on a take for the project. The project will be pitched to Paramount+ soon with the hope that work on the series will begin next year.
The concept of a Starfleet-centric series has long been a concept in Star Trek‘s development history. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier screenwriter, David Loughery, pitched a film titled The Academy Years that would be a prequel to the original series, but the concept was rejected by Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. The 2009 film, Star Trek, did show Kirk, Bones, and Uhura’s time at Starfleet briefly, but the cadets are quickly called into action. Most recently, Star Trek: Discovery season 4, episode 4, « All Is Possible, » featured Tilly (Mary Wiseman) training a group of Starfleet cadets on a mission, and the episode ends with her going off to teach at Starfleet, possibly setting up the Starfleet Academy series.
The series is now one of two Star Trek series in development, the other being Section 31, which was announced in 2018 and was recently reported to still be in development. With Paramount+ currently airing five Star Trek series, it is likely a new series won’t air until one of the current series is wrapped. Star Trek: Picard is already confirmed that season 3 will be its last, so either Section 31 or Starfleet Academy will take its place on the Paramount+ schedule. With another possible Star Trek series in the works, that means fans of the franchise will have more to look forward to while also being a new jumping-on point for a potential new viewer.
Source: Deadline
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