Star Trek: Prodigy creators Kevin and Dan Hageman recently discussed the possibility of a future live-action Star Trek crossover. Prodigy is the second animated Star Trek series following the franchise's rebranding by Alex Kurtzman, and the third since Star Trek's inception in 1965, though the show is the first to be aimed directly at young children and to be completely computer animated. The series premiered on Paramount+ in October 2021 and began airing season 1 part 1's 10 episodes on Nickelodeon two months later.
Set in the year 2383, five years after the events of Star Trek: Voyager, Prodigy follows a group of young aliens after they escape enslavement and discover an abandoned Federation starship, the USS Protostar. With 17-year-old Dal R'El (Brett Gray) established as the leader of the crew, the group must learn to work together under the guidance of hologram Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) to escape their slavers and make it to the Alpha Quadrant.
Long after it was revealed that Star Trek's other current animated series, Lower Decks, is receiving a live-action crossover with the immensely popular Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Kevin and Dan Hageman sat down with Collider and discussed whether Star Trek: Prodigy would receive the same treatment. When asked if there were any plans, the pair said there were not, but added that "it would be fun." Series director Ben Hibon called the task a "challenge." Kevin stated that the possible crossover would be "amazing" and shared his thoughts on the live-action characters' looks, adding, "just paint Brett purple. And Ella [Purnell], just paint her white, with some hair prosthetics."
Star Trek Already Has An Animated Show Getting A Live-Action Treatment
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The Hagemans' comments will likely come as a disappointment for fans of Star Trek: Prodigy who wished to see its young characters in some sort of live-action media. Kevin's idea of using Gray and Purnell to play their animated counterparts already shows how much the two actors resemble their characters, similar to Jack Quaid and Tawny Newsome, who will portray Brad Boimler and Beckett Mariner respectively when their Star Trek: Lower Decks characters appear on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2. Although there are currently no plans for a Star Trek: Prodigy live-action crossover or adaptation, there is a lot of room within the science-fiction franchise's lore to allow one to occur.
The release of Star Trek: Picard has shown that there is an audience for a legacy sequel to an older Star Trek series. With Mulgrew and Robert Beltran (Chakotay) already lending their voices to Star Trek: Prodigy, the actors can potentially reprise their roles for a future Star Trek: Voyager legacy sequel. As season 1 part 1 of Prodigy concluded with the real Janeway aboard the USS Dauntless tracking the Protostar, her story will inevitably intertwine with Dal's and his crew. This will allow for either a live-action sequel or a prequel following Chakotay's whereabouts following Star Trek: Voyager, which will inevitably collide with the events of Star Trek: Prodigy. With the series set to return to Paramount+ for season 1 part 2 on October 27, fans may have to much longer for a live-action adaptation.
Source: Collider