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Star Trek's Kate Mulgrew Explains Why She's Returning as Captain Janeway
Star Trek: Voyager's Kate Mulgrew explains why she's revisiting the character of Captain Janeway for the upcoming animated series Star Trek: Prodigy. Mulgrew headlined Voyager for seven years as Janeway, captain of the titular Federation starship stranded 75 years away from home. Janeway was the first female lead in Star Trek's history, paving the way for modern characters like Star Trek: Discovery's Michael Burnham and Star Trek: Lower Decks' Beckett Mariner. Along with Janeway, Voyager had a handful of memorable characters like the holographic Doctor (Robert Picardo) and Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), the former Borg drone who also recently returned in Star Trek: Picard.
Star Trek: Prodigy is a new series intended to bring a younger audience into the world of the final frontier. It features a ragtag group of alien teenagers who steal a derelict Starfleet ship. Originally intended to air on Nickelodeon, the show will now debut first on Paramount+, keeping all the past and present Star Trek shows under one streaming roof.
To the shock and delight of fans, it was announced that Mulgrew would reprise her role as Janeway for the series. In an interview with CBR, Mulgrew explained why she was excited to return to her signature role.
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"She's always present in my life. Not a day goes by where I don't have some reminder or request about Janeway or something to do with the future of Janeway. And when [executive producer] Alex Kurtzman approached me -- when I was doing Mr. Mercedes, that's when he called me -- I was curious about it; slightly bewildered about it being an animated series, I didn't quite understand it. It was explained to me in detail and I thought to myself 'Wow, this will be terrific to bring this to young people who may be watching this with their mothers who watched me as Captain Janeway in live-action and it will bring the entire family into the orbit of Star Trek and this is something that I very much want to do.'"
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Mulgrew also noted she's a fan of voice acting in general, which she's done to great effect on projects like Batman: The Animated Series, Gargoyles, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Mulgrew last played the part of Janeway in the 2002 film Star Trek: Nemesis, where she cameoed as a newly promoted admiral giving Captain Picard his orders.
With the debut of Star Trek: Picard, many fans have wondered if we'd get a glimpse of Janeway or any other Voyager crew members, since Seven of Nine is already on hand. It's interesting that when next we see her, it will be in animation, and seemingly not in the era of Star Trek: Picard. There's still a lot we don't know about Star Trek: Prodigy, including the exact era in which is takes place, and how a bunch of kids somehow commandeer a Federation starship. We also don't know much about the tone, if it will be a more earnest affair like the current live action series, or more irreverent like the adult-aimed animated Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Regardless of the unknown circumstances and details, it's genuinely exciting to be returning to a foundational Star Trek character like Kathryn Janeway, a character who always seemed like she had more story to tell. Star Trek: Prodigy will hopefully give her that chance.
