There Will Be More Star Trek Shows With Female Leads, According To Executive Producer Alex Kurtzman
The San Diego Comic-Con train is making no stops, so hold on tight! The big panel happening right now is all about "Star Trek." /Film is on the ground as we speak to get all the news and information you need to keep your geeky brain enthralled.
"Star Trek" has given us so many amazing female characters over the years, from Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols played the role first, seen below, with Zoe Saldaña and Celia Rose Gooding following) to Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and many more. The franchise has been groundbreaking in casting, and it looks like we're going to continue to see more "Star Trek" series with women in the lead roles. They're also behind the camera.
Alex Kurtzman, executive producer for "Star Trek: Picard," as well as McFadden and Lea Thompson — who directed two episodes of "Star Trek: Picard" and cameoed in the episode "Fly Me to the Moon" as Dr. Diane Werner — weighed in on just that.
During the panel, an audience member mentioned that the show did a great job of creating "more robust female characters" and asked if there might be opportunities for a spinoff featuring either Jeri Ryan or Gates McFadden as a Captain.
Breaking boundaries
Though Kurtzman didn't address a Ryan or McFadden spinoff directly, he did have something to tease us with. He said:
"First of all, I'll say that anything's possible, and I'll say that — without revealing too much — you can certainly expect to see more 'Star Trek' shows with female leads."
As the audience applauded, Thompson jumped in saying that she had fun directing, and Kurtzman confirmed that she'll be back. Thompson said of the women in the cast:
" ... they're amazing women characters. It was something that, you know, I haven't seen and I got to do this great car chase with the ladies. They were so funny, and amazing, and just their kind of banter back and forth — it used to be, when we started, there was one girl and eight guys. And just to have such an amazing — and the Borg Queen."
McFadden jumped in and said:
"It is great to have other strong females. It was great to have Jeri [Ryan] and Raffi [Michelle Hurd] and have a chance to work with them ... I didn't have that much, but when it happened, it was really great."
Furthermore, Kurtzman confirmed there are two more "Star Trek" shows in development, so maybe one of those new projects will have a female lead.
"Star Trek: Picard" season 3, which will be the final season, will premiere on Paramount+ in early 2023.