By ITZEL LUNA Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Not many franchises have fueled society’s timeless fascination with the boundless possibilities of a utopian future like “Star Trek.”
Next year the sprawling franchise will add more shows, Lego sets and even a Rose Parade Float in a yearlong celebration of its 60th anniversary.
The hefty lineup of “fan-centric” celebrations was announced by the franchise on its 59th anniversary Monday, known as Star Trek Day. The projects are the first wave, Paramount said in its announcement.
“The 60th anniversary celebrates “Space for Everybody,” extending an open invitation to celebrate the future that “Star Trek” aspires to — a future of HOPE, a future of EXPLORATION and a future where we rise to the challenge to BE BOLD,” the announcement read.
The sci-fi franchise began with the TV series created by Gene Roddenberry that debuted in 1966 and has since sprawled into a multi-billion dollar cultural phenomenon.
Today, fans, known as Trekkies, have enjoyed countless movies, spinoff shows and video games based on the original series.
Set in the Milky Way a couple hundred years in the future, the series followed the crew behind the starship USS Enterprise. Their journey led them to, “Boldy go where no man has gone before,” as William Shatner, who played Captain James T. Kirk, famously said at the top of every episode.
Celebration kicks off at the Rose Parade
The yearlong celebration will kick off on New Year’s Day, with a float in the Rose Parade in California. The float “will reflect values of hope, inclusivity, exploration and unity,” the franchise representatives wrote in a statement.
The float will also feature the upcoming new series “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” set to launch in early 2026 on Paramount+. The show will center on a group of young cadets who navigate the responsibilities of becoming Starfleet officers all the while juggling new friendships, love interests and enemies.
Paramount gave a first look of the show, which starts actors Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti, during a Comic-Con event in late July.
The franchise also announced “Star Trek: Scout” a new original, animated YouTube-first series. Created by Nickelodeon Digital Studio in association with CBS Studio, the show is the first preschool extension of the franchise. It follows three 8-year-old friends as they train to become future Starfleet Explorers.
The first two episodes of the 20-episode run were released Monday, and the rest will roll out into the next year.
A new scripted podcast, “Star Trek: Khan” also released its first episode Monday. New episodes will air weekly and chronicle Khan’s descent into the iconic villain introduced in the 1982 film “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.”
New partnerships
Following the longstanding success of Lego partnerships with similar franchises like “Star Wars,” the company will partner with Paramount for the first time to bring “Star Trek” to life.
The franchise and the Lego company “have strong shared values of imagination, exploration and building a better tomorrow, making this an ideal partnership for fans of all ages,” the statement read.
A “Star Trek” cruise will set sail in late February “filled with once-in-a-lifetime experiences in celebration of the franchise’s 60th anniversary,” according to the statement. Various “Star Trek” actors, including Shatner and Walter Koenig, will join the voyage.