Star Trek Sequel Confirmed: Picard Fan-Favorite Returns as the Main Character

Star Trek fans have plenty to look forward to this year as the franchise celebrates its 60th anniversary, and new information about its upcoming sequel run has finally emerged. IDW Publishing will officially kick off a new Star Trek series this September.

The new mainline Star Trek run will be written by Christopher Cantwell with art by Dennis Menheere, and it will see Picard fan-favorite Seven of Nine starring as the Captain of the USS Enterprise-G. Set after the events of Star Trek: Picard, the new flagship series sees its group of adventurers heading out on a top-secret mission to a hidden region in space, and it takes them beyond the four charted quadrants of the Star Trek universe as fans know it.

Star Trek's New Sequel Stars Seven of Nine in the Captain's Seat

IDW's full solicit for the debut issue of its new Star Trek series teases plenty of action to come. "The Enterprise-G is on a desperate mission beyond the known Galaxy to relocate the dying Avuran people when its crew finds a perfect new home in a region of unknown space called the Epsilon Corridor."

What appears to be a hidden gem quickly reveals itself to be far more dangerous. "Three pristine Class-M worlds — the Trinity — await the refugees. No signs of civilization. No detectable threats. A colonist's dream. But the dream fractures fast."

IDW's solicit continues, revealing Seven of Nine's role in the mysterious happenings: "When Captain Seven of Nine and her divided, fast-tracked crew begin exploring the Trinity, they uncover disturbing contradictions: vanished structures, inexplicable artifacts, time skips, and evidence of a presence Starfleet's century-old probes never detected. Each world houses a different ecosystem, different physics problems, and different secrets — as if they've been curated... or quarantined. But from who? Or what?"

The issue kicks off the first arc of IDW's new ongoing series, which the publisher describes as a "prestige, mystery-driven, high-stakes psychological thriller of an opening salvo." It promises to deliver "new worlds, new species, new existential threats" all anchored by Seven, Jack and Crash La Forge.

Fan-Favorite Star Trek Writer Discusses Franchise's Future After 60 Years

Earlier this year, Christopher Cantwell discussed with io9 about working on the new flagship Star Trek title. "As we look back on 60 years of Star Trek, we celebrate a story universe that has actually always been about looking forward—a shared dream swirling within the daunting wonder and awe of the stars," Cantwell said, going on to discuss how the established Star Trek lore will be used for the new series, while it also goes off on its own path.

"In building a brand new Star Trek adventure, we seek to do just that: create something brand new, something that looks entirely forward into the hope of the complete—and at times frightening—unknown, all as our ensemble of characters stands shoulder to shoulder, facing the expanse of an adventure never dared before," he added. "There is an abundance of incredible mythos that Star Trek has given us over six decades, but with this launch we seek to shed that past even as we embrace its best qualities."

IDW Publishing's Star Trek #1 goes on sale on Sept. 23.