The creators of the Star Trek: Prodigy series recently explained why they always felt that the series would work best as a CG-animated project for Nickelodeon and Paramount+.
"...I think we, you know, at Nickelodeon and everyone up here, we love all forms of animation, but I think for Prodigy, we really felt like CG was the most immersive approach," Ramsey Naito, EVP of Animation Production at Nickelodeon, said during a New York City Comic Con panel attended by CBR.
Naito added that the decision to make Prodigy an animated series was pretty much solidified when the exec and Paramount Pictures/Nickelodeon President Brian Robbins heard the final pitch for the show, noting, "But then, Ben [Hibon] came on board, and he really had a vision for the CG and a vision that had soul, right? That really captivated you and drew you in."
Hibon, who serves as creative lead for the series, agreed that the format made sense because the entire team had "so much love for the IP, for sci-fi, for animation and characterization."
"And I think we felt that, you know, CG -- we wanted the show to have great scope, and this feeling of adventure to be immense and fantastical, but at the same time, the characters and their stories is very intimate," Hibon continued. "And so, we wanted just the freedom to be able to shoot these characters as we would in the most cinematic way possible to be as engaging with all of us, as we go on this adventure with them."
It was previously reported that the new Star Trek: Prodigy series will mark the return of Capt. Kathryn Janeway, who was originally portrayed in the live-action Star Trek: Voyager series by Kate Mulgrew. Mulgrew will also voice the character in Prodigy, who appears in the new series as a hologram. The first official footage of the U.S.S. Protostar's Capt. Janeway hologram also debuted during the Comic Con panel.
An official synopsis for the one-hour premiere of Star Trek: Prodigy, "Lost & Found," is below:
A group of lawless teens, exiled on a mining colony outside Federation space, discover a derelict Starfleet ship. Dal must gather an unlikely crew for their newfound ship if they are going to escape Tars Lamora, but the Diviner and his daughter Gwyn have other plans.
Created by Kevin and Dan Hageman with a younger audience in mind, Star Trek: Prodigy debuts Oct. 28 on Paramount+.
Source: New York Comic Con