The Starfleet Academy Series Will Feature The Single Largest Star Trek TV Series Set Ever
It may be going on eight years since a "Star Trek" movie has graced the big screen, but the franchise is arguably more fruitful than it has ever been. Several shows are currently on air, including the much-beloved "Strange New Worlds" as well as "Discovery," which is entering its final season, and plenty more "Trek" is on the way. One of the shows fans have to look forward to in the future is "Starfleet Academy," which will offer a glimpse into the world of the famed school for those who want to boldly go where no man has gone before. And it sounds very much like Paramount is sparing no expense with this particular series.
In a recent cover story for Variety about the future of the franchise, it was revealed that "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" will have the largest single set ever created for a "Star Trek" TV show. Production is due to begin this summer on the show, which was first announced about a year ago. Interestingly enough, it is also described as a YA live-action series, which is another first for the franchise.
Alex Kurtzman, who oversees all of "Trek" TV for Paramount, serves as a co-showrunner and executive producer on the new show alongside Noga Landau. The piece also explains that Kurtzman and production designer Matthew Davies have cooked up quite the central set for the series that will make use of "every inch" of Pinewood Toronto's 45,900 square foot soundstage, which is the largest one in Canada. So yeah, it's big. The academy's atrium is described like this:
"A sprawling, two-story structure that will include a mess hall, amphitheater, trees, catwalks, multiple classrooms and a striking view of the Golden Gate Bridge in a single, contiguous space."
Star Trek is going big on the small screen
The idea of a "Starfleet Academy" project has been a long time coming, dating back to a "Star Trek" movie that never came to pass more than 30 years ago. It's an admittedly rich area to explore, given how central the Academy is to this universe. The piece also revealed that the show is set in the 32nd century, which puts it very far out in the overall timeline. As a result, Kurtzman and the team have had to "to invent much of its design language." Kurtzman couldn't say much by way of specifics, but while looking over design options with Davies, he did say this about the ships in the upcoming show:
"For me, this design is almost too Klingon. I want to see the outline and instinctively, on a blink, recognize it as a Federation ship."
The series will introduce viewers to a young group of cadets who come together to pursue a common dream of hope and optimism. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they will discover what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they navigate blossoming friendships, explosive rivalries, first loves, and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself.
Elsewhere, there is a new "Star Trek" movie in the works that will be an origin story for the entire franchise. There's also the made-for-streaming movie "Section 31" that will star Michelle Yeoh, which has been described in the article as "'Mission: Impossible' in space." In short, fans have a lot to look forward to in the coming years.
"Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" does not currently have a release date.