Inhaltsverzeichnis
This interview contains spoilers for Star Trek: Prodigy. If you're not caught up yet, check out our spoiler-free Star Trek: Prodigy premiere review.
It took 20-episodes, but by the end of the Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1 finale, the ragtag crew of the USS Protostar proved that they were a crew worthy of the respect and admiration of both Hologram Janeway and Admiral Janeway (both voiced by Kate Mulgrew). In “Supernova, Part 2,” the closure of so many stories and the placement of the characters could be read by audiences as a series finale, but showrunners Kevin and Dan Hagemana assure IGN that there is plenty to come in the already in production Season 2.
In our IGN post mortem for “Supernova, Part 2,” the Hagemans reveal how long they planned for this particular outcome and what it all means for Dal R'El (Brett Gray) and his crew, as well as Admiral Janeway’s actual plans for them in the next season.
The Janeway Paradigm
Having guided the kids through space, ethical conundrums and leadership challenges across the Delta Quadrant, “Supernova, Part 2” had Hologram Janeway make the ultimate sacrifice by staying onboard the USS Protostar to detonate the core explosion, which ultimately saves Starfleet and allows the kids to escape via the shuttle. Technically, she’s just a bunch of code. But Kate Mulgrew voiced that moment so well, dry eyes did not compute.
As for that moment and having the kids lose their mentor, Dan says it goes back to their series pitch. “It's what we always had intended. It really is a coming of age story, where they were going to have to leave their mentor at some point, or the mentor was gonna have to leave them.”
Kevin continues, “For us, all we knew is we had one season of Star Trek, and we didn't know what was gonna happen. We were introduced to Star Trek by Wrath of Khan, which had a very emotional finale. And we wanted this [moment] to stick with people. We wanted it not just to be elegant and imaginative. When I look back at E.T., or The Iron Giant, I want kids to look back at this and go, "Oooh, Season 1 Prodigy."
And lest we forget, the kids now gain flesh and blood Admiral Janeway at Starfleet HQ, who proves to be their fiercest advocates and the new mentor for their futures as her warrant officers.
Teasing their future rapport, Dan says, “There's a sense of warmth there, but at the same time, Admiral Janeway is a little bit more no nonsense than Hologram Janeway. Season 2 is going to be another great opportunity for them to grow more. It's a completely different show.”
Speaking of Mulgrew, the pair say the highlight of writing this series has been their working relationship with the actress who has been deeply involved in her character’s arc and their writing of her.
“She's having a blast,” Kevin enthuses about her recording sessions with them. “She loves her Voyager days, but she's also like, "This is so fun." What we're giving her to do, it's really fun.”
“It's a bit intimidating too, though,” Dan adds. “The letters that she will craft to us, like emails, will be the most gorgeous turns of phrases. And we're like, 'Oh my God, how do we even write for her and not sound like dodos?' But it's fun to step into her shoes and try, as a writers’ room, to figure out what she might say.”
A Voice from the Future
The “What would Janeway say?” of it all expanded to “What would Chakotay say?” as “Supernova, Part 2” shocked audiences with a fleeting piece of a message from Chakotay (Robert Beltran), the Captain of the USS Protostar, from 52 years in the future. It momentarily rocks Janeway’s steely composure at Starfleet and is clearly going to be a motivator for her in Season 2.
As soon as they came up with the story idea, Kevin says they immediately went to Mulgrew to get her input. “When the episodes were coming up, we made sure that we were talking to her in the [voice] records,” he explains. “She's lived with her character so much longer than we have, so we were very much listening to her. And because you have a lot of different camps out there who want different things between Janeway and Chakotay. So we're like, 'Kate, let's talk. What do you think? How do you see it?'
“We were smart enough to listen to the important voices, from some massive Voyager fans to Robert to Kate,” Dan continues. “For some people who might feel let down in Season 1 because we did not see Janeway and Chakotay together yet. But I feel this has been the story of the main kids.” He says Season 2 will be where Janeway and Chakota really pay off.
As for Beltran who returned to voice that cameo, Kevin says they had to pitch the actor their full intentions for Chakotay before he signed back up. “He really cares about his character. And he didn't want to see us do anything weird with him.”
Kevin says the actor wanted to know why Chakotay should really come back. Gratefully, he loved what they pitched. “He could just tell that we are giving great respect to him,” Kevin says. “And again, in Season 2, we get to just dive so much deeper.”
Season 2 Intentions
With scripts written and voice recordings already underway, the Hagemans are excited about audiences getting to see what they’ve been working on for some time. In particular, the Chakotay story; the fate of Gwyndala (Ella Purnell) who decided to leave her friends and go to her homeworld to connect to her real history and origins, and what that big Protostar class ship might mean.
“We set up two really big engines there,” Dan acknowledges. “Having the weight of her world on her shoulders, so to speak. And then also the message from Chakotay 52 years in the future. Read into it what you'd like but those are two big engines that we aim to pay off in Season 2.”
As for the tease of a new ship, Kevin is clear that is not an easy fix for the loss of USS Protostar. “That would be a travesty, I think, if you have our ending, where they have to sacrifice their ship, and then five minutes later, they get a new one,” he winces. “For me, storytelling wise, that is a cop out. It's cheap. At the end of Episode 20, we show that there's another Protostar. But we're showing that there's a promise of something, but we can't say what's gonna happen.”
While “Supernova, Part 2” did feel like it could be a satisfying end to the whole Prodigy story, the Hagemans say it’s actually just the end to their Season 1 style of storytelling. “I compare it to when I loved watching the three Indiana Jones movies,” Kevin says. “There was the same DNA in them, but each was a different part of the world, or it had its own different feel to it. James Bond would do that too. In Season 2, there'll be a continuation and wrapping up of a lot of these stories that have not been fully finished. But it's going to have an added flavor. They're not starting off in the Delta Quadrant. They're starting at Starfleet so it's going to have a nice, new season feel to it.
As for how much we’ll see of Dal R'El, Jankom (Jason Mantzoukas), Zero (Angus Imrie), Rok-Tahk (Rylee Alazraqui) and Murf (Dee Bradley Baker)’s training, Kevin is clear their journey with Janeway and Starfleet is core to the Prodigy story.
“We're trying to take our time,” Kevin says. “We've learned that sometimes it's easy to write really quickly, like 'Ok, they're in Starfleet now. And they got a new Protostar!' But we wanted to try to take our time and enjoy the drama and the suspense and the thrills of just letting them earn certain milestones in their life. We're hoping that this show is going to keep going. And the hope is that from Season 1, you've fallen in love with this group of kids.”
Comparing them to the Guardians of the Galaxy crew, Kevin says, “That cast of characters is fantastic, so if they came out with a new movie every year, I'd be ready to go wherever, as long as it's them. And that's what I'm hoping that people say with us: "I love these kids. I'm ready for whatever future season and where we're gonna go."