Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Showrunner Teases More Crossovers
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 will feature an episode crossing over with Star Trek: Lower Decks, but the Star Trek crossovers may not end there. Showrunner and series co-creator Akiva Goldman teased in a recent interview with SFX that more crossovers between Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and other Star Trek shows are a possibility. "I am as promiscuous as it comes when we discuss the crossing over into other series timelines. I delight in that," Goldman said. However, he's not looking to mix shows for the sake of mixing shows. I think our rule is always it can't just be fanservice – which is not to say that we don't love servicing fans, but there also has to be a real storytelling get," he says. "Of which I think there are many."
As for the crossover with Star Trek: Lower Decks, Goldsman said, "We had a really good time doing that and got to work with our extended family from the other show, both on camera and off. And of course Jonathan Frakes directed it. So in many ways it's a Star Trek melting pot, that episode. And there are more, but far be it for me to spoil…"
Jonathan Frakes directed the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: Lower Decks crossover
If you count behind-the-scenes, the crossover elements of the episode expand across practically the entire franchise since Jonathan Frakes directed it. Frakes -- who plays William Riker in the Star Trek universe and has directed 30 episodes of Star Trek across its various series, as well as two major motion pictures -- previously discussed helming Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' hybrid episode.
"Oh god, it's so good," Frakes tells said. "I have Jack Quaid and Tawny Newsome, who are both amazing. It was such a treat for me because it is a flat-out comedy. Full on. And they're fearless over there, they take some really big swings on Strange New Worlds. They're animated at the beginning and at the end. It's a clever and simple product. It's not really Roger Rabbit because what happens is these guys come over and they're humans and you accept them as soon as they're on the Enterprise. God, the two of them have got great energy, and it freed up the acting company on Strange New Worlds to play more broadly. Anson's a wonderful comedian, very dry, but so's Rebecca. It encouraged Ethan and everyone, there were just a lot of positives that came out of them having the guts to do a full-on comedy, let alone a crossover with an animated show."
When will Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 premiere?
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 premieres on Paramount+ on June 15th. The Lower Decks crossover offers the opportunity for comedy, but star Anson Mount, who plays Capt. Christopher Pike previously hinted that it won't be all fun and games for the Enterprise crew, building on the moral grayness of the show's first season finale, "A Quality of Mercy."
"Well, you'll have to see where we take that," Mount said while helping to promote Paramount+'s launch in European markets. "Because some of those themes go on in the second season and really asking those exact questions that you were just asking. Is it possible that intelligence can be so completely ripped apart from any sense of communication or idealism? That, is there such a thing as a monster? Is that really possible? So yeah, we go down that exact road."
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' first season is streaming now on Paramount+. Star Trek: Lower Decks' first three seasons are streaming on Paramount+, and its fourth season is expected to debut this summer.