Khan Is Back! And Other ‘Star Trek’ Day Highlights

Paramount+ celebrated its third annual Star Trek Day Thursday, marking the beloved science fiction franchise’s 56th year. There were panelists, surprise guests, and a big reveal: Khaaaaaaan is baaaaaack!

The star-studded event in Los Angeles featured many of the biggest names in the series’ history, from the 1990s to today. Many of them are out LGBTQ+ actors and allies.

Actress Mary Chieffo, who came out as queer on Star Trek Day 2021, co-hosted the livestreamed pre-show on the “purple carpet, alongside drag queen Jackie Cox of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Also among those attending, Pandora Boxx, another Drag Race star decked out in a glittery version of a classic Star Trek minidress uniform.

Trans nonbinary Star Trek: Discovery star Ian Alexander was in attendance, as was Jess Bush, who plays the newly-revealed bisexual character of Nurse Christine Chapel on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

The event, which is viewable on both Paramount+ and on YouTube, also featured appearances by Sir Patrick Stewart, Kate Mulgrew, Jeri Ryan, Michelle Hurd, John DeLancie, Wil Wheaton, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Melissa Navia, Babs Olusanmokun, Rebecca Romijn, Brett Gray, Noël Wells, Fred Tatasciore and more.

Also on hand were Kenneth Mitchell, James Frain, Linda Park, Robert Picardo, Terry Farrelll, Cirroc Lofton, Bill Nye, Bjo and John Trimble, Alex Kurtzman, Rod Roddenberry, Mike McMahan, Henry Alonso Myers, Terry Matalas, Kevin Hageman and Dan Hageman.

Joining them was out gay actor/producer Jonathan Del Arco, who’s now starring in Borrowed, which makes its New York City debut at the Latino Film Festival on September 14.

The hosts were podcasters and actors Paul F. Tompkins and Tawny Newsome, of the animated comedy series, Star Trek: Lower Decks, which is now streaming, and The Pod Directive podcast, which will return for a third season.

Among the big announcements:

• Oscar-nominated actor Carol Kane (The Princess Bride, Hunters) is joining Star Trek: Strange New Worlds for its second season.

• Billy Campbell will reprise his role from Star Trek: The Next Generation as “The Outrageous Okona” on the animated series Star Trek: Prodigy, which will have its mid-season premiere on Oct. 27 on Paramount+.

• Star Trek stars and fans spent a moment in silence to pay tribute to original series cast member Nichelle Nichols, who passed away in July at 89.

• And the biggest surprise of the day was the announcement by Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan director and screenwriter Nicholas Meyer himself, that fans will be getting a Star Trek scripted podcast called Star Trek: Khan—Ceti Alpha V. The podcast will reveal what happened during the 15 year-exile of iconic villain Khan Noonien Singh, played by the late Ricardo Montalbán. As most fans recall. Khan and his motley crew of 20th century augmented humans were stranded on the planet Ceti Alpha V by none other than Capt. James T. Kirk, in an original Star Trek episode from 1967, “Space Seed.” The podcast will tell their story, up and until being accidentally rediscovered during the events of the 1982 film, The Wrath of Khan.

“Nick made the definitive Trek movie when he made Wrath, and we’ve all been standing in its shadow since,” said Star Trek head honcho Alex Kurtzman. “Forty years have offered him a lot of perspective on these extraordinary characters and the way they’ve impacted generations of fans. Now he’s come up with something as surprising, gripping and emotional as the original, and it’s a real honor to be able to let him tell the next chapter in this story exactly the way he wants to.”

Read more about Star Trek: Khan at startrek.com and click here to watch the Paramount+ replay of Star Trek Day.