Star Trek Universe at SDCC: Everything we learned – including Picard's Next Generation reunion

The Star Trek Universe panel at SDCC brought us all the latest news about Picard, Lower Decks, and more. It's Picard's final season and the show is pulling out all the stops to appeal to Next Generation fans. LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, and Michael Dorn return as Geordi, Beverly, and Worf respectively, while the rest of the crew are seen in a new teaser trailer for the third season. 

If that wasn't exciting enough, we're returning to the original Enterprise too, which Patrick Stewart talked about during the panel. For more, scroll down for our recap on all things Star Trek Universe from San Diego Comic-Con.

Picard’s final season is like a Next Generation movie

How big is Picard season 3? Executive producer Alex Kurtzman describes it as "the final Next Generation movie." The new season sees the crew scattered across the universe, while we also have confirmation that Brent Spiner is going to play an "old new character." It also takes inspiration from Wrath of Khan and will have a "singular" female villain.

Picard teaser trailer was shown

The Next Generation crew have assembled again. A new Picard teaser trailer shows the team getting back together again, with Old Worf being a standout in a quick vignette featuring characters such as Riker, Beverly and Geordi. "As long as you and your crew remain steadfast, you are never without hope," Picard says, to end the teaser.

The old Enterprise returns

When asked if Picard will return to the captain’s chair, Stewart replied, "There’s more than one Enterprise and that makes it a little complicated." He did add one key moment that will make Trekkies’ hearts sing, however: "We do return to the original Enterprise. I completely forgot we had carpet on the floor!"

More spin-offs are on the way

Kurtzman was quizzed on if we can expect some more female-led Star Trek shows to arrive soon. The EP teases "without giving too much away, you can expect more Star Trek shows with female leads." And we already have a volunteer to take over the helm as The Next Generation star Gates McFadden jokes she’s interested, adding: "I do know how to drive a ship."

Lower Decks trailer teases the return of Deep Space Nine

A trailer for the animated series Lower Decks was also shown during the SDCC panel. The crew of the USS Cerritos are on a quest for justice and their madcap adventures across the cosmos eventually sees them coming into contact with Deep Space Nine. We don’t see much but they’re… admiring the pylons? Which is nice.

But that’s not all! The Strange New Worlds cast interrupted the Lower Decks portion of the panel to announce that there would be a crossover between the two shows in Strange New Worlds’ second season – that's right, the Lower Decks crew are getting the live-action treatment.

Strange New Worlds season 2 teases

The final cast to take to the stage from the Star Trek universe were the Strange New Worlds crew. The panel featured all the season 1 stars, as well as Paul Wesley who will be taking on the iconic role of James T Kirk in season 2. Teasing what lies ahead, we learnt a bit about what to expect when the Paramount Plus series returns. "We took some big swings in season one, but we’re going for the fences in season two," says Anson Mount. 

Ethan Peck also teased what’s next for Spock, saying: "We’ll see Spock really wrestle with his human side more." While Wesley hinted at what we can expect from a younger Kirk. He told the audience: "I’m looking forward to viewers seeing a different side of Kirk. There’s more levity, it’s an exciting season."

Is a Deep Space Nine series in the works?

Kurtzman was tight-lipped on the possibility of a Deep Space Nine stand-alone series, as he admitted they wouldn't return to old characters without good reason. But not all hope is lost, as he says: "Conversations definitely have been had. Sisko is a critical character. We would all want to make sure it was coming from that place of being able to tell a new story while honouring the old."

Star Trek: Picard season 3 and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 will both arrive on Paramount Plus in 2023. You can keep up to date on Comic-Con with our complete SDCC 2022 schedule.