SDCC 2025: ‘Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’ Makes A Special Hall H Debut

The stars and creators of the upcoming Star Trek: Starfleet Academy received a warm welcome as they took to the Hall H stage at Comic-Con International: San Diego on Saturday. Long in the works, SDCC proved to be its first public outing and the chance for its cast, which includes Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti, to get to know the outpouring of love Trekkies are famous for expressing.

Set in the Star Trek: Discovery‘s 32nd century, Hunter stars as Nahla Ake, the first chancellor of the academy in 120 years. Eager to prove Starfleet’s core principles are still valuable to the galaxy, she has collected a rather interesting mix of cadets that will also serve aboard the U.S.S. Athena — a Starfleet vessel that is both at the school’s disposal and, as co-creator Alex Kurtzman explained, a “teaching hospital” where the cadets will get on-the-job training as the Athena also explores the galaxy.

“It was really interesting to get the offer to be the captain and then also to combine that with being the chancellor,” Hunter explained. “The captain is there to command and analyze. And the chancellor is there to guide and collaborate. It was just a wonderful combination. Each relationship I have with the character is so particular and so private. The scale of the show is combined with this intimacy.”

The cadets Ake bonds with include Karim Diané as a Klingon named Jay-Den Kraag, Bella Shepard as Genesis Lythe — she hails from a species new to Star Trek — George Hawkins as Darem Reymi, Kerrice Brooks as holographic cadet Sam, and Sandro Rosta as Caleb Mir.

“It’s a time of rebuilding,” co-creator Noga Landau explained.  “The world has to be fixed and it lies on their shoulders.”

Kurtzman emphasized how the post-Burn galaxy mirrors our own current landscape. “We look at the generation inheriting this division [in our world] and we wanted a show that returns to Gene Roddenberry‘s sense of hope. This is the first class after 120 years of Starfleet being closed. It’s also exciting to have these teachers who are as interesting and entertaining as the cadets.”

Following a screening of the trailer, which teased some or those teachers (we’re pretty sure we glimpsed a Jem’Hadar in the faculty), Kurtzman confirmed Giamatti’s character is half-Klingon and half-Tellarite — another first for Trek.

But the human element remains first and for Rosta’s Caleb, a human disillusioned by Starfleet, learning the core values may be more important than any specific training he takes. “He’s grown up without institutional help, He’s been on the run his entire life,” Rosta explained. “What’s special about playing him is coming in as an outsider … He’s also on a journey of his own to find his mother. The only way he can by becoming a cadet. That’s where the journey begins.”

Hawkins’ Darem, meanwhile is defined by competition and pressure. “He comes from status and a lot of expectation. The academy is an instrument for him to exercise that pressure and expectation,” the actor said. “So when he meets cadets, he wants to run them over and be the best.”

Brooks, who jumped up and down during while the trailer ran, was overwhelmed by emotions and almost didn’t explain her character. The Trekkies in the audience, meanwhile, welcomed her to the family … leading to further emotions. But when moderator Robert Picardo reiterated his question, she offered some glimpses of Sam: “My character is such a breath of fresh air for me to play,” she said. In the Academy timeframe, holograms are fully-acknowledged sentient beings. Sam, a hololife of the Caskian variety, is essentially a newborn. “She’s programmed to feel a certain age, but she only started up weeks ago,” Brooks explained. “She brings no baggage. She brings such a levity to so many things. No environment has shaped her, she’s being shaped before your eyes.”

For Day Una, becoming a Klingon meant getting very familiar with the prosthetics. But he had some coaching in that regard by Star Trek royalty who know a thing or two about long days in the make-up chair. “I also got the chance to talk to [Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Michael Dorn right before I went into costume for the first time! It was iconic. He gave me a lot of great advice and a lot of confidence. I also got to talk to [Star Trek: Discovery star] Doug Jones. I had so much support and it made the process seamless.” He also thanked the make-up effects team for streamlining the process and getting what was initially a four-and-a-half hour appliance session down to two hours by the time the season wrapped.

Shepard offered only the name of Genesis’s species: the Darsha. But playing an alien meant she also became familiar with the make-up chair. Ultimately, though, it was an honor to take on a role in a Star Trek series. “Growing up, my grandfather was my prominent father figure and he’d either watch old westerns or Star Trek,” she explained. She also teased Genesis has a “specific relationship” with her father and that it made her character very relatable.

Kurtzman, who directed the first two episodes, summed up his cast: “To a person, [they’re] unbelievable. Sitting in the editing room and having so many options, it was excellent. We have all these incredible veterans and some people – two weeks before shooting, we pulled Sandro out of drama school. It’s the wide spectrum of acting experience.”

The series launches in 2026.

Outside of the Starfleet Academy preview, the presentation also offered a new episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds in which La’aN Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) takes part in a 1960s murder mystery. It was, naturally, a fun episode that allowed the cast a chance to play other characters — a hallmark of what will be a five-season long program. While discussing the eventual end of the series, executive producer Akiva Goldsman said, “We reached back to Pike’s [Anson Mount] Enterprise and it will bring us right to Kirk’s [Paul Wesley] first day on the job. We plan to get you there. And if you like us enough, write Skydance and Paramount and say we want a “Star Trek: Year One.”

Kurtzman also offered one other tease: the long awaited Star Trek: Khan podcast will debut on Septetmber 9th. Inspired by Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan director Nicholas Meyer‘s desire to delve further into the character, Naveen Andrews takes over the role of the genetically engineered Khan Noonien-Singh. Wren Schmidt, meanwhile, takes on the role of former Enterprise crewman — and Khan’s wife — Marla McGiver, while Tim Russ and George Takei reprise their roles as Tuvok and U.S.S. Excelsior captain Hikaru Sulu. The story sees a member of the Excelsior crew learning more about what happened on Ceti Alpha V before and after Ceti Alpha VI exploded, leading Khan down a path of vengeance as featured in The Wrath of Khan.

All of which means even as many of the recent Trek shows have ended, there is still plenty of warp speed for the overall Trek universe.