Star Trek showed up and showed out at San Diego Comic Con 2026! We’ve got a rundown of the finer points of all the Star Trek celebrations, news, updates, and more from SDCC.
With news from Strange New Worlds, Starfleet Academy, Scouts, and an upcoming film, SDCC 2026 is keeping Trek fans well fed. Set phasers to fun and join me as we hit the highlights from Star Trek at SDCC 2026.
Reflections on Star Trek at 60
The big panel at Hall H this year focused on Star Trek at 60 years old. With the 60th anniversary coming up on September 8, 2026, it’s only appropriate to bring back as many Trek actors from as many series as possible. The franchise was well represented across the generations.
Starting with the actor with the most Star Trek credits of anyone, our beloved Michael Dorn aka Worf, was first introduced. We’ve also got Robert Picardo of Voyager, Prodigy, and Starfleet Academy fame, Christina Chong from Strange New Worlds, Michelle Hurd of Star Trek: Picard, Dominic Keating of Enterprise, Jerry O’Connell from Lower Decks, and Karim Diané of Starfleet Academy. Additionally, Cirroc Lofton of Deep Space Nine, and kindest man in the world, Doug Jones of Star Trek: Discovery were there, along with Roddenberry Entertainment CEO and son of Star Trek creator, Gene Roddenberry, Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry.
The guest of honor was George Takei, aka Mr. Sulu on Star Trek: The Original Series. The panel was moderated by film critic Scott Mantz. You can watch the complete panel on YouTube.
Cultural Impact
The panel looked at different series and their impact, with each panelist offering their perspective. However, the most significant, in my opinion, came from Michelle Hurd. Hurd told a story of her childhood. She grew up on reruns of Star Trek: The Original Series because her father understood the significance of diversity. He knew how important it was for Hurd and her two sisters, as “little brown girls,” to see Uhura on the bridge of the Enterprise. Now she’s come full circle, sitting next to George Takei on a Star Trek panel at SDCC.
Hurd spoke through tears and frankly, I got a bit choked up myself. Takei described the fandom and his fellow panelists as the “children” and “grandchildren” of the franchise, with each generation bringing new meaning to one of the core tenets of Star Trek, IDIC, meaning, “Infinite diversity in infinite combinations.” May we remember that wisdom as we boldly go into Star Trek’s future.
New Cadet in Starfleet Academy!
During the 60th anniversary Star Trek discussion panel, Karim Diané, our beloved Klingon Jay-Denn Kraag, announced the arrival of the new kid in school coming to Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 2. British actor, Ruaridh Aldington, will play Keats, an alien that our cadets meet on an away mission. Aldington is known for his roles in the acclaimed short film Ill Fares the Land and the mini series, Andes Plane Crash. No other details have been given, but my hope is that he is a species we’ve never met before.
Based on his appearance in the only photo we currently have of him, it’s difficult to determine where he might be from. The pointed ears suggest Romulus or maybe Vulcan, but it’s difficult to tell for sure, so take my personal speculation with a grain of salt. Let’s boldly go into new alien worlds with our remaining season of Starfleet Academy! We don’t have an official date for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’s premiere yet, but the final season is currently expected to air in 2027.
Star Trek: Scouts Season 2!
For those of you with littles that you want to introduce to Star Trek, you’ll be pleased to know that Star Trek Scouts is getting a second season. For those of you not familiar, Star Trek Scouts is a 4-minute episode short series co-created by Paramount and Nick, Jr. The Scouts, JR, Roo, and Sprocket tackle kid-sized missions, like learning how to defeat a gigantic bar of Space Soap.
If you’ve not caught up on season one, check out the full run, free to watch on YouTube on the Blaze and the Monster Machines channel. Upping the shorts from a 20-episode first season, season two will get 30 episodes. They’re short, silly, and a lot of Star Trek fun for the littles in your life.
Season two of Star Trek: Scouts will premiere on Star Trek Day, September 8, 2026, on YouTube.
Strange New Worlds Reveals
After the 60th anniversary discussion, Mantz welcomed the cast of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds to the stage. The audience was treated to a preview of season four of Strange New Worlds, which premiered on July 23, 2026.
Panelists present were Melissa Navia, Paul Wesley, Celia Rose Gooding, Rebecca Romijn, Ethan Peck, Christina Chong, Anson Mount, and co-showrunners and executive producers, Alex Kurtzman, Henry Alonso Myers, and Akiva Goldsman. However, everyone on the panel got upstaged by Runa, Chong’s adorable assistance dog.
Runa took her little turn on the proverbial catwalk, or panelist table rather, getting pets from everyone she passed. Runa, who has her own appearance in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 1 episode 8 in “The Elysian Kingdom.” The scene-stealing cavapoo will reportedly join us again later in season 4. according to comments from Anson Mount during the panel.
Love, Curiosity, Logic
There are many things to mention about this panel, but I think the best parts for me came from Anson Mount and Akiva Goldsman. Mount is one of the best leading men on television because while he very much fits the bill for a stereotypical man’s man in terms of appearance, he leads the show with a generous spirit. Captain Pike is a wonderful example of positive masculinity, and I believe Mount is too.
Mount refused to take credit as number one on the call sheet. He views the show as a true ensemble, going as far as to say that the real lead character is the Enterprise itself. He also commends Romijn for her leadership on set during the panel, describing the great vibes and positivity she brings whenever she walks on set. A good leader knows that his greatest strength comes from his crew, and I commend him for that.
Goldsman commented that Strange New Worlds has an important Star Trek value baked into the cake of its cast. The secret sauce of Strange New Worlds is that it is a cast of great listeners. Goldsman called this an “underrated” skill among actors. Their willingness to listen to each other shines through. It creates a synchronicity that comes across not only in their camaraderie off-screen, but on camera too.
Closing the panel, Ethan Peck described the final day of shooting for Strange New Worlds as “beautiful, hopeful, and triumphant.” He also said that he was so proud to be at SDCC with his fellow cast members and those in attendance, advocating for love, curiosity, and logic. This is truly a cast that understands and appreciates those values, as they are essential to the world of Star Trek, and to the real world as well.
New Strange New Worlds Clip!
During the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds panel, fans were treated to a new montage of clips from season 4. If you’d like to see what everyone else saw, watch the video on YouTube and let’s discuss.
Here are a few things I spotted in the video that piqued my interest.
First, is that we have Rhys Darby back as Trelane? I did not anticipate that we would see him again in this series after his appearance in season 3 episode 2 “Wedding Bell Blues.” We’ve got Orions and then we have what I’m guessing might be a split reality for Uhura. We got some really interesting cinematography for that shot. Someone is going to have to explain how we have a Space Dragon breathing fire at the Enterprise WHILE IN THE VACUUM OF SPACE?! I have so many physics-defying questions.
What’s up with Dr. M’Benga wearing oxygen? Andorians! La’an is fighting…herself…while wearing a fancy dress? Also, she’s performing a mindmeld with Spock while they’re both wearing spacesuits. Not sure what to make of that. There’s a quick shot of Una in black in white. Uhura is wearing a very tall headdress and has glowing eyes?! Honestly, it’s giving me scary vibes like from the season 3 finale.
And finally, Kirk is addressed as CAPTAIN by Scotty and a very TOS-looking Uhura? It is a lot to take in and it looks like we’re pulling out all the stops in the penultimate season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Set your hailing frequencies here to Fangirlish for all our coverage of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4, including weekly episode reviews, interviews, and more!
New Star Trek Film?!
Finally, during the SDCC Directors on Directing panel, Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley dropped a bit of news on the crowd. They are writing a new Star Trek film with plans to direct. I know, I know. Star Trek fans have been teased with the prospects of a new Star Trek film for years.
Literally the last decade has been littered with unfulfilled promises of a new Star Trek film, with rumors of Quentin Tarantino to direct, another Kelvin-verse film, to Matt Shakman of WandaVision directing and Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet to write. As of two years ago, another J. J. Abrams-produced prequel film was promised with Toby Haynes of Andor directing and Seth Grahame-Smith writing. But with all of these prospects, we’ve yet to see another Star Trek film hit the big screen. To be frank, fan skepticism has never been higher.
However, it’s going to be fairly difficult to backpedal from an announcement of this kind at SDCC. Goldstein and Daley said the film will feature characters we’ve not seen previously in Star Trek movies and it will be set “a little further in the future.” The directing duo described the film as an opportunity to give a different spin on Star Trek that will hopefully appease long-time fans and invite new ones in. Their description of the timeline and characters is interesting, but also a bit nebulous.
Who? What? When?
Goldstein’s description of “a little further in the future,” doesn’t specify whose future. Could it be 23rd century Trek’s future with new characters not seen in TNG-era Trek? Or are we going even further into the future with 32nd century Trek, putting characters from Discovery or Starfleet Academy on the big screen who have never been featured in a Star Trek film before? Could that be the meaning of “never been seen before,” not seen on the big screen but shown on television? It’s a brief, but weighty bit of news to drop.
As for Goldstein and Daley, I’m a big fan of their work. I’ve watched Daley do his thing since Freaks and Geeks’ original run in 1999. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is fantastic, criminally underrated, and honestly, just a really good time. The film demonstrates a love for the source and some chaos that feels true to a real D&D game.
Their screenplay for Spider-Man: Homecoming brought Tom Holland, the undeniably best iteration of Spider-Man, back to the MCU. I feel confident in their ability to write a solid Star Trek film. However, with all the chaos going on behind the scenes with Schrodinger’s merger with Paramount and Warner Brothers, I have no idea when we may see this film. Here’s hoping it’s soon. We’ve had at least one Star Trek film every decade since Star Trek: The Motion Picture’s release in 1979. Let’s keep that trend going in the 2020s.
Final Thoughts
There’s a ton of news to mull over coming out of SDCC 2026. There seems to be something for everyone coming up. From Star Trek for the littles to Starfleet Academy for the young adult audience, and Strange New Worlds, that appeals to both old school and modern Trek fans alike, there’s a Star Trek out there for you. Let’s keep this Star Trek ship flying into the future, with as Ethan Peck said, love, curiosity, and logic.
Almost the entire library of Star Trek shows and films can be found on Paramount+. Star Trek: Prodigy is available on DVD/Blu-Ray/digital from your preferred video retailer. Star Trek: Scouts is available on YouTube.
