Nichelle Nichols will long be remembered as Lt. Uhura from Star Trek: The Original Series and the follow-up movies. She followed up her time on the series by teaming with NASA to recruit more diversity into the space program. And now, she’s gearing up for her final film role, and although this newest adventure will take Nichols back to space, it isn’t a Star Trek film.
Renegades: Ominara is a story of a world in which telepathy is common, Nichols plays the older version of Ominara who is the leader of the Underworld and similar to the character she portrayed in the mirror universe on the Original Series. According to Frank Zanca, who is the producer of the movie, Ominara is “the captain of her own ship. She’s built herself into a pirate.” The younger version of Ominara will be played by newcomer Loren Lott, and Walter Koenig, who we all remember as Chekov, portrays an unsavory character who has figured out how to control minds.
The new sci-fi film is directed by Tim Russ (Commander Tuvok of Star Trek: Voyager) and both he and Zanca hope a network will consider Ominara for a television series, using the movie as a backdoor pilot. Right now, though, according to Den of Geek, the movie isn’t finished as it’s being funded by Kickstarter, and there isn’t enough money to finish post-production.
Becoming a contributor gives you access to various levels of prizes, including a digital download of the movie, Nichelle Nichols’ autograph package, an Ominara figure autographed by Nichelle Nichols, a walk-on role, an associate producer credit, and a contributing producer credit. Kickstarter provides full details about the movie, including the background on Nichols’ character.
One other note: Renegades: Ominara has its roots in Star Trek: Renegades which starred Robert Picardo, Tim Russ, and Cirroc Lofton, to name a few. So if you loved that fan film, odds are good Ominara will be a must-see.