If a follow-up to Star Trek: Voyager starring Kate Mulgrew as Admiral Kathryn Janeway is in the works, I hope Star Trek: Janeway avoids the big mistake that Star Trek: Picard made. According to TrekCulture, Kate Mulgrew said she is "pursuing talks" regarding Janeway's return to the Star Trek franchise during the Evening With Kate Mulgrew panel on Star Trek Cruise VIII. The floating convention celebrated Star Trek: Voyager's 30th anniversary with an impressive, nearly-complete Star Trek: Voyager cast reunion
Star Trek's precedent for returning captains is Patrick Stewart's reprising Admiral Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: Picard, set 20 years after Star Trek: Nemesis. Stewart believed Admiral Picard had different stories to tell in a new Star Trek show, so Picard was never intended to be a Star Trek: The Next Generation reunion. Star Trek: Picard lived up to this promise for two seasons, but still had TNG cameos like Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner), Captain William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) in Picard season 1; and Q (John de Lancie) and Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) in Picard season 2.
Why Kate Mulgrew's Star Trek: Janeway Must Avoid Picard's Big Mistake, If It Happens
Star Trek: Janeway Needs To Model Itself On Voyager's Best Aspects
Kate Mulgrew's potential Star Trek: Janeway show must avoid making Star Trek: Picard's big mistake: forgetting that what made Star Trek: The Next Generation special was the crew of the USS Enterprise-D. Picard season 3's Star Trek: The Next Generation cast reunion finally gave Admiral Picard the follow-up that he deserved. Bringing back the TNG cast let Picard season 3 focus on tighter, character-driven stories instead of repeating earlier problems with pacing and underdeveloped characters. Star Trek: Janeway could identify what made Star Trek: Voyager successful, and apply it to a 25th century Star Trek story.
Star Trek: Voyager's appeal was its premise, but Star Trek: Janeway wouldn't have to get lost in the Delta Quadrant again to recreate Voyager's successful formula. Seven years in the Delta Quadrant would have almost certainly changed the USS Voyager's crew; they experienced things that no other Starfleet crew had. Star Trek: Janeway could address the Voyager crew's experiences adjusting to Alpha Quadrant life. Applying a modern television lens to Star Trek: Voyager's aftermath has the potential to be a stunning psychological study of PTSD, trauma bonds, and survival. Most importantly, it would feature Star Trek: Voyager's cast reunited, facing challenges together.
What Kate Mulgrew Says About Star Trek: Janeway & How It Mirrors Jeri Ryan's Seven Of Nine Comeback in Picard
Both Mulgrew And Ryan Want Good Stories For Star Trek Fans
Kate Mulgrew doesn't want Admiral Janeway's live-action Star Trek return to be "a vanity project", mirroring what Jeri Ryan expressed about Seven of Nine's comeback in Star Trek: Picard. Both Star Trek: Voyager alumni are interested in reprising their Voyager roles in service of the "right story" for their characters. Both Ryan and Mulgrew know that fans have high expectations for Seven and Janeway. Ryan turned down a different Star Trek spin-off that wasn't the hotly-demanded Star Trek: Legacy. Mulgrew, likewise, wants to do a story that gives fans "hope", like she did in Star Trek: Prodigy.
Jeri Ryan turned down an appearance in Star Trek: Nemesis because it didn't make sense for Seven of Nine to be present at Riker and Troi's wedding.
Star Trek: Prodigy was a storytelling triumph for Star Trek that utilized legacy characters like Janeway expertly, with Mulgrew in dual roles in the USS Protostar crew's supporting cast. Currently, Star Trek: Prodigy is neither canceled nor renewed for a third season on Netflix, which puts Admiral Janeway's Star Trek future in limbo.
But Mulgrew currently pursuing a Janeway-focused project wouldn't necessarily depend on Prodigy to continue. Even if Star Trek: Janeway is a streaming movie or code for joining Star Trek: Voyager co-star Jeri Ryan in Star Trek: Legacy, Mulgrew's return as Janeway will have to avoid Star Trek: Picard's mistakes.
