Summary
As the nextStar Trekshow,Star Trek: Starfleet Academyhas the opportunity to fix two Klingon problems fromStar Trek: DiscoveryandStar Trek: The Next Generation.BothStar Trek: The Next GenerationandStar Trek: Discoverymade great strides in developing the KlingonsafterStar Trek: The Original Seriesportrayed Klingons as regular alien antagonists.TNGandStar Trek: Deep Space Ninegave insight into Klingon culture with Starfleet’s own Lt. Commander Worf (Michael Dorn).Star Trek: Discoverypushed both the makeup designs and cultural background of Klingons with characters like Chancellor L’Rell (Mary Chieffo) and outcast torchbearer Voq (Shazad Latif).
Of all theupcomingStar Trekshows,Star Trek: Starfleet Academycan develop the Klingons even further thanStar Trek: The Next GenerationandStar Trek: Discoverydid.Starfleet Academyis a spinoff ofStar Trek: Discoverythat takes place in the 32nd century, promising to show how Starfleet rebuilds afterStar Trek: Discovery’s Burn devastated the galaxy and separated former member worlds of the United Federation of Planets. By opening their doors to cadets from across the galaxy,Star Trek: Starfleet Academycan address two lingeringStar Trekproblemswith just one new character: a Klingon cadet.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy - Cast, Story & Everything We Know
Exploring another corner of the Star Trek universe, the upcoming series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is a brand-new take on the classic franchise.
Starfleet Academy Can Finally Solve Star Trek: Discovery’s Biggest Klingon Question
We Could Find Out What Happened To 32nd-Century Klingons
Star Trek: Starfleet Academycan solve the biggest question thatStar Trek: Discoveryraised about Klingons in the 32nd century by introducing a new Klingon character, with a definitive answer about what happened to the Klingons between the 24th and 32nd centuries. The fates of otherStar Trekaliens were shown inDiscovery, like Vulcans and Romulans finally united on the planet Ni’Var. Trill and Earth became isolationist.Star Trek: Discoveryeven showed aStarfleet Ferengi on the USS Discovery.Klingons, however, seemed to have vanished from the galaxy, with none appearing on-screen.
The absence of the Klingons inStar Trek: Discovery’s 32nd century is likely due to the critical backlash thatDiscoveryfaced after theradical Klingon redesigns inStar Trek: Discoveryseason 1. Rather than answer what 32nd century Klingons looked like, or where they had gone,Star Trek: Discoveryjust didn’t bother to address Klingons at all. BecauseStar Trek: Starfleet Academytakes place in the 32nd century,a Klingon cadet could explain the Klingons' absence inStar Trek: Discovery’s later seasons. Were the Klingons isolating themselves? Had they destroyed themselves with infighting?Starfleet Academycould have these answers.
Klingon characters inStar Trek: Strange New Worlds, which takes place in the 23rd century likeStar Trek: Discoveryseason 1 and 2, more closely resemble the Klingons in theStar Trek: The Next Generationera, suggesting multiple variations of Klingon exist at the same time.
Star Trek’s Academy Show Can Fix Worf Being Starfleet’s Only Klingon
A Klingon Cadet Could Fulfill Worf’s Legacy After 700 Years
IfStar Trek: Starfleet Academydoes introduce a new Klingon character as a Starfleet Academy cadet, that would mean that Lt. Commander Worf is no longer the only Klingon in Starfleet. Being raised by humans on Earth meant Starfleet was an option for Worf, who bridged the gap between these two worlds and philosophies. Worf garnered honor for both the Federation and the Klingon Empire, serving as the Captain of the USS Enterprise-E and winning the title of Chancellor before turning it over to Martok (J.G. Hertzler). Even with these accolades,no other full-blooded Klingons are known to have followed Worf into Starfleet.
“I am Worf, son of Mogh, house of Martok, son of Sergey, house of Rozhenko, bane to the Duras family, slayer of Gowron. I have made some chamomile tea. Do you take sugar?”
- Worf,Star Trek: Picardseason 3, episode 3 “Seventeen Seconds”
A new Klingon Starfleet Academy Cadet might have any number of reasons to join Starfleet. They might be inspired by Worf as a hero of legend. Joining Starfleet could give them opportunities that citizens of the Klingon Empire don’t have. If the Empire doesn’t exist inStar Trek’s 32nd century,Starfleet may be one of just a few promising paths to glory.A new Klingon cadet may simply want to explore the galaxy, after the Burn prevented it. Regardless of the reason, a new Klingon cadet would be a great addition toStar Trek: Starfleet Academy,and a way to answer these two long-standing Klingon questions.
