During the virtual Star Trek Universe Comic-Con@Home panel, Star Trek: Prodigy director Ben Hibon explained how the animated children's series fits into the Star Trek canon.
"It's not designed just for kids, it's just designed for lovers of animation, for lovers of sci-fi," Hibon said. "The ambition of the show is that, you know, kids should watch it with their parents and vise versa. And so we wanted to really make sure it has that kind of visual impact, and also because Prodigy is canon. We wanted this series and this story to just fit within that incredibly rich universe that comes, you know, before and after."
"I think we knew very early on that people were going to look at our show and be like, 'Oh this is the little brother or little sister to the Star Trek universe, and we wanted to be that little brother or little sister that smacks the bigger sibling and says, 'Don't underestimate us,'" said executive producer and showrunner Dan Hageman.
During the panel, co-showrunners Dan and Kevin Hagemen dropped the first teaser trailer for the animated children's series, introducing fans to Prodigy's "motley crew of young aliens," according to the official synopsis. While the show's description says it is "aimed at younger audiences," it was not specifically designed for children, but with Star Trek fans of every age in mind. In fact, Prodigy already confirmed the return of Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway, the protagonist of the 1995-2001 live-action series Star Trek: Voyager.
Star Trek: Prodigy is set to premiere on the Paramount+ streaming service this fall, later premiering on Nickelodeon. Prodigy will add to Star Trek's animated lineup, which currently consists of Star Trek: Lower Decks, an animated comedy series. The trailer for Lower Decks Season 2 premiered during the Star Trek Universe panel as well, which arrives on Paramount+ on Aug. 12, with a third season already in the works.
Source: YouTube