Craig Barritt/Getty Images George Takei signs autographs at New York Comic Con
Thursday, October 7th was the first day of New York Comic Con (NYCC), one of the biggest events of the year for geeks all over the country. This year’s convention is packed with “Star Trek” events. The highlights of the weekend are sure to be the “Star Trek: Discovery” and “Star Trek: Prodigy” panels, happening on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
However, “Star Trek” fans have plenty to enjoy all weekend long. Thursday evening, Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner took to the Main Stage at the Javits Center to share stories about his life and work. George Takei speaks on Friday, and other smaller Trek panels are scheduled throughout the weekend.
“Prodigy,” the newest show in the “Star Trek” franchise, has the largest presence at the convention throughout the weekend. In addition to the panel and premiere screening on Sunday, the show has a booth that will be part of the convention all weekend long.
Heavy is at the convention covering all the panels and “Star Trek” fun. Check back throughout the weekend for all the updates.
Here’s what’s going on so far:
Thursday: The U.S.S. Protostar Lands on the Convention Floor
The “Prodigy” booth was finally unveiled on Thursday afternoon. The booth, which is a replica of the U.S.S. Protostar bridge, is fully interactive with several ways to participate in the “Prodigy” adventure.
At the #StarTrekProdigy booth, you can play a game, design a custom t-shirt, and take your photo in the captain’s chair. #NYCC
Fans can take a turn sitting in the Captain’s Chair and ask a friend to snap a photo. There’s also a touchscreen video game that takes fans on an adventure with the crew. Fans can even make a custom “Prodigy” T-shirt right at the booth.
I hate how chonktacular I look but I’m on the bridge of the Protostar at #NYCC #NYCC21 #NYCC2021 #StarTrekProdigy #StarTrekOnline #startrek
The U.S.S. Protostar has beamed down to New York Comic Con 🤩 #StarTrekNYCC #StarTrekProdigy #StarTrek
Fans can take a picture “with” the crew of the Protostar either on the bridge or in front of a photo-ready backdrop.
Fair warning for fans: if you do sit in the Captain’s Chair, Captain Janeway herself might have a word or two to say about it.
@brothershageman Excuse me, you are all in my chair.
Mulgrew will be at NYCC later this weekend, so it’s possible the Captain herself might sit in the chair.
Thursday: William Shatner Spotlight
Just watched William Shatner talk about whatever crossed his mind for forty minutes. He did not talk about Star Trek. It was…something! #nycc
He did talk about a lot of other things though. Shatner spent most of his time talking about his new album, “Bill,” his new show “I Don’t Understand” and how scared he is about going to space.
Though the Trek icon didn’t spend any time actually talking about “Star Trek,” he did spend a fair amount of time talking about space. He diverged on tangents about the speed of light, what lightyears actually means, and how excited he is to stare into the expanse of space from his seat on one of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origins spaceships.
Friday: George Takei Spotlight
Conversation time with the fab @GeorgeTakei!
#NYCC2021 #livelongandprosper #nycc
Unlike his TOS costar, Takei spent quite a bit of time talking about “Star Trek.” He started off with a passionate commentary on the pandemic and vaccination. Then he launched into a list of his new projects, which includes a lot of voice work and a feature film with Mel Brooks.
After that, Takei opened the floor for questions from the audience. For the next 45 minutes, Takei talked about everything from his favorite episode of TOS (more on this in an upcoming article!) to his relationship with Leonard Nimoy. The highlight of the panel, however, was when Takei took about ten minutes to talk about his childhood in a Japanese internment camp.
Saturday: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Panel
All new @startrek Discovery key art reveal at @newyorkcomiccon! #nycc
On Saturday afternoon, the cast of “Discovery” gathered on the Empire Stage to talk about the upcoming season, which premieres on Thursday, November 18, 2021. Sonequa Martin-Green (Captain Michael Burnham), Mary Wiseman (Ensign Sylvia Tilly), Blu de Barrio (Adira), David Ajala (Cleveland Booker), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), Anthony Rapp (Lieutenant Paul Stamets), and Michelle Paradise (co-showrunner) unveiled the key art for season four, screened a brand new trailer, and chatted about the big questions fans have about the fourth season, like who’s going to be operating the spore drive.
They also talked about what it was like to film season four during the pandemic, how the crew adapted to Michael being captain, and the growth the crew will experience in season four.
Sunday: ‘Star Trek: Prodigy’ Panel
“The philosophy behind this will reverberate into infinity,” @TheKateMulgrew says of Star Trek and Prodigy.
On Sunday afternoon, Kate Mulgrew (Captain Janeway), Brett Gray (Dal), Rylee Alazraqui (Rok-Tahk), director Ben Hibon, and co-showrunners Dan and Kevin Hageman took to the Empire Stage to talk about the first season of “Star Trek: Prodigy.” Before that, though, they screened the first two episodes of the series. Unfortunately, Heavy can’t say much of anything until after the premiere. Though we can say that the episodes were amazing.
They also screened a new teaser trailer that showed the crew of the Protostar meeting Hologram Janeway for the first time.
The cast and creative team then talked about how “Prodigy” will introduce “Star Trek” to a whole new generation of Trek fans. They discussed why the show isn’t just for kids and how it will honor all the Trek that came before it.
Toward the end of the panel, the Hageman brothers made the big announcement they’d been saving for NYCC attendees. They revealed four new cast members for the upcoming season of the show!
New York Comic Con was filled with awesome reveals and big news for “Star Trek” fans. Stay tuned as Heavy breaks down all the panels from the weekend throughout the upcoming week.
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