Along with being completely unexpected, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' crossover with Star Trek: Lower Decks is a genius idea. Star Trek executive producer Alex Kurtzman hinted at a crossover weeks ago during The Ready Room with Wil Wheaton, but few Trekkers expected that Lower Decks would be involved in the crossover. Lower Decks is, of course, the first animated Star Trek comedy series that's about to enter its third season on Paramount+, and its esteem among Trekkers has only grown. Meanwhile, Strange New Worlds recently completed streaming its incredibly well-received season 1, with season 2 already wrapped production for a 2023 release.
The Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks crossover is perhaps the biggest surprise announced during the Star Trek Universe Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2022. After Lower Decks' panel wrapped and Strange New Worlds' cast took the stage, Tawny Newsome (Ensign Beckett Mariner) and Jack Quaid (Ensign Brad Boimler) returned to crash the panel, causing a hilarious disruption. Kurtzman then said the magic word "crossover" and Anson Mount, who plays Captain Christopher Pike, formally announced Strange New Worlds is crossing over with Lower Decks. Excitingly, the crossover entails the Lower Decks cast appearing in live-action in Strange New Worlds season 2; Tawny Newsome also quipped on her Instagram that the crossover would not Who Framed Roger Rabbit?-it. Newsome and Quaid will portray Mariner and Boimler (and will possibly be joined by the others in the Lower Decks cast) in the flesh and they will board Captain Pike's USS Enterprise. At Comic-Con, Mount also indicated that a "hunky animated" Captain Pike may appear, so the crossover will be a mix of live-action and animation.
Star Trek: Lower Decks crossing over with Strange New Worlds is so ingenious precisely because no one expected it. But a crossover also makes a surprising amount of oddball sense: Lower Decks is an anything-goes, ribald tour-de-force but each episode is steeped in love and reverence for Star Trek. By integrating with Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks allows Captain Pike's series to further showcase its ability to deliver any type of genre in its episodic format (a format Lower Decks shares, incidentally). Strange New Worlds has already proven adept at comedy and hijinks in "Spock Amok," and the fantasy-inspired "The Elysian Kingdom" won raves for how the Strange New Worlds cast threw themselves into playing their fairy tale characters with aplomb. As a gimmick, a Star Trek animated series crossing over into live-action has never been done before, so it has sheer novelty on its side. But it's also smart marketing that can inspire Strange New Worlds viewers who are wary of Lower Decks to sample the animated comedy if they enjoy the crossover.
Jack Quaid Can Be Strange New Worlds' Biggest Guest Star Yet
Further, the Lower Decks and Strange New Worlds crossover means that Jack Quaid will appear in a Star Trek show in live-action and that's a big boost for the franchise. Quaid is hilarious voicing Boimler but the versatile actor is also the star of the hit series The Boys and he appeared in Scream (2022). Jack can further boast that he's part of the ensemble cast of Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer. Quaid's star has risen and his career has taken off. Jack is a popular and respected actor, and there's an excellent chance his fans from his other projects will check out Strange New Worlds to see him, boosting the profile of Star Trek overall.
In addition, Tawny Newsome is a comedic powerhouse who was just on Netflix's Space Force with Steve Carell, Eugene Cordero (Ensign Sam Rutherford) was just in Loki, and Jerry O'Connell playing Commander Jack Ransom on Lower Decks means O'Connell's First Officer could appear on-screen with his real-life wife, Rebecca Romijn, who is Number One on Strange New Worlds! There are so many brilliant angles and so much potential to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds crossing over with Star Trek: Lower Decks. It's one of the most engaging ideas the franchise has seen in a while.
Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 3 premieres August 25 on Paramount+.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 premieres in 2023 on Paramount+.