CBS Photo Archive The cast of the science fiction television series, "Star Trek: Voyager."
The actors of “Star Trek: Voyager” are making a huge comeback. It started with Jeri Ryan reprising her role as Seven of Nine in “Star Trek: Picard.” Then, in October 2020, Kate Mulgrew announced that she’s reprising her role as Captain Kathryn Janeway in the new animated Trek series “Star Trek: Prodigy.” In August 2020, a trailer for the second season of “Star Trek: Lower Decks” revealed that Robert Duncan McNeill is returning to the Trekverse as Lieutenant Tom Paris.
Though neither Janeway nor Paris is appearing in a traditional way — Janeway is a hologram and Paris is a hallucination brought on by a commemorative plate — their returns mark the first time fans have seen these “Voyager” cast members in nearly 20 years.
At the Star Trek Las Vegas convention in August, yet another “Voyager” actor revealed that they’ll be returning to the Trekverse.
Robert Beltran Will be in “Star Trek: Prodigy”
“Star Trek’s” biggest names were all at the official “Star Trek” convention in Las Vegas, which ran from August 11 through August 15, 2021. Of course, a bunch of huge announcements about the future of the Trekverse happened throughout the convention, one of which was the reveal that Robert Beltran will join Mulgrew in “Prodigy.”
Beltran, who played Commander Chakotay in all seven seasons of “Voyager,” made the announcement himself during the “Voyager” panel at the convention. He didn’t give any more details about his role in “Prodigy.” He just revealed that he recently recorded his voice for the show.
The logical assumption is that he will be reprising his role as Chakotay. However, the setup for the motley crew of teenage rebels meeting Chakotay isn’t straightforward. The show takes place in the Delta Quadrant. Since the crew of “Voyager” made it back to the Alpha Quadrant, it’s not likely that any of them ended up back in the Delta Quadrant given how far away it is. So, it’s unlikely that the crew would encounter Chakotay himself in their travels.
Janeway isn’t appearing as herself, but as a hologram of herself. So, it’s possible that Chakotay is also a training hologram on the ship the teenagers find.
It’s also possible that Beltran is bringing a totally new character to life. Fans will just have to wait and see!
A Long Wait
In January 2021, during a video chat with a fan, Mulgrew let it slip that she was excited to start work on the second season of “Prodigy.” The fan posted that video chat to Twitter, but it’s since been taken down. However, the original tweet can still be viewed in Heavy’s coverage of the reveal.
Mulgrew’s slip of the tongue was the first confirmation that “Prodigy” will be getting a second season. Paramount+ still has not confirmed that a second season has been ordered.
Since Beltran’s announcement indicated that he’s been doing voice work for the show recently, he won’t be in “Prodigy’s” first season, which is set to release in the fall of 2021. So, it looks like he’ll probably be in the show’s second season. Since the second season hasn’t even been officially announced, there’s no way to know how long it will be before fans “see” Beltran in the Trekverse again.
However, his reappearance is yet another thing for Trekkers to look forward to!
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