The director of Disney Pixar's Elio explains the cameo by the legendary Captain of Star Trek: Voyager. Elio begins with the eponymous young protagonist visiting a museum exhibit about the Voyager-1 space probe, which is accompanied by a familiar narrator. Star Trek: Voyager fans immediately recognized the narrator as Kate Mulgrew, who played Captain Kathryn Janeway.
Elio's directors, Domee Shi, Madeline Sharafian, and Adrian Molina spoke to Johan Albrechtsen of Moovy TV about Kate Mulgrew's surprise cameo. Shi explained how the idea of casting Kate Mulgrew, and how the highly professional Star Trek legend would "give herself notes" and continue until she was satisfied with her performance. Read Domee's quote and watch the video below:
Yeah, Kate's amazing! And it's so interesting, like, "Star Trek: Voyager" has a special place in my heart because it was one of theTV shows me and my mom would watch growing up. I feel like that's kind of how my mom picked up on English, too. Watching Kate, kind of like... yeah, just in her calm and commanding voice lead her crew.
And there was a scene in the prologue with a narrator who's kind of introducing Elio to Voyager – this real satellite... this message in a bottle that Earth sent out into space in the 70's. And we thought: Wouldn't it be such a great nod to sci-fi fans, to Star Trek fans, if we got Kate Mulgrew to do the voice? And she said yes!
And it was amazing. I tried not to fangirl too much. And she was a total professional too. I felt like she didn't really need us there. She came in. She'd do a take and then she'd be like: 'Again!' She would give herself notes. And we'd be like: 'Oh, but the first take sounds so great.' And she's like: 'No, no, no. I'm gonna try this again.'
Yeah, she's just incredible. An incredible professional and just so amazing and adds to much gravitas to our opening scene.
Why Kate Mulgrew Was The Perfect In Elio
Who Knows More About "Intrepid" Spacecraft Than Captain Janeway?
Kate Mulgrew was an ideal voice to make a special voice-over cameo in Elio's opening scene. Mulgrew delivering exposition about the Voyager-1 space probe was inspired, as fans will always equate Kate with her seven years as Captain Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager. As Johan Albrechtsen pointed out, Mulgrew's narrator calling the Voyager-1 an "Intrepid explorer" was also a very clever shout-out.
Elio also stars Zoe Saldana, who played Lieutenant Nyota Uhura in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movie trilogy.
Captain Janeway's USS Voyager was an Intrepid-class starship that survived seven years in the unexplored Delta Quadrant before returning home to Earth. Janeway's mission is a spiritual predecessor to Elio's story of an Earth boy who joins an intergalactic Communiverse, which isn't too different from Star Trek's United Federation of Planets.
Our Take On Kate Mulgrew's Cameo In Elio
Will Kate Play Admiral Janeway Again?
Kate Mulgrew is no stranger to acting in feature films, and she cameoed as Admiral Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Nemesis. 20 years after Star Trek: Voyager ended, Mulgrew reprised Admiral Janeway and a holographic version of Janeway for two seasons of Star Trek: Prodigy, guiding a new generation of future Starfleet heroes.
Kate's role in Elio is a wonderful Easter egg for Star Trek: Voyager fans that nods to how much Star Trek has influenced science fiction, and real science, as well. It's not hard to imagine Elio fitting into Starfleet Academy with Janeway's guidance. While Kate Mulgrew's future in Star Trek is unclear after Star Trek: Prodigy, Elio proves her impact on generations of sci-fi fans is indelible.
