Star Trek star to launch a brand new animated series on Crunchyroll

A Star Trek star is launching a new anime series on Crunchyroll.

Star Trek and Marvel star Zoe Saldana is launching a brand new anime series called Dark Star Squadron on the Crunchyroll service. The project is thanks to a partnership with the anime streaming service Crunchyroll and Saldana’s own Cinestar PIctures. Cinestar Pictures is co-ran by Zoe and her sisters Cicely and Mariel.

The project seems to be emulating Star Wars, as it’s being described as an “epic animated space opera”, which was how Star Wars was once described; minus the animated part.

The plot of the show will follow four academy cadets who go joyriding in a starship, only to return and see their academy has been destroyed. They then set out on a mission to find missing students and figure out what happened to their academy.

The series sounds a bit like a mash-up of future Star Trek properties, the soon-to-be-released Prodigy series, and the unnamed Starfleet Academy series.

The Saldana sisters released a statement on the release, saying;

"As true animation and anime fans ourselves, we are so excited for the opportunity to partner with Crunchyroll to bring ‘Dark Star Squadron’ to a wide audience […] We can’t wait for everyone to meet the crew and follow the journey of our unlikely heroes"

Could the Crunchyroll/Funimation merger affect things?

While the premise is certainly enticing, a major concern for those involved includes the merger of Crunchyroll with Funimation; the two biggest paid subscription services for anime. Sony, who owned Funimation, has just bought out Crunchyroll from AT&T for over $1 billion.

The two brands will be merged under the Funimation umbrella in the coming months, with word that it could take a year for it to completely happen.

The cost of the merger will certainly cause some to be concerned. Now with a stranglehold over the American anime market, Funimation will look to maximize its costs. That means series that are original to the services will probably have to hit their numbers far earlier and far more often to be renewed. That means Dark Star Squadron will likely have a smaller window to achieve success.

It also means that bigger properties that generate more revenue will be given top priority.

There was a chance the deal wouldn’t go through but due to Netflix getting more and more involved in anime, the judge ruled that the merger wasn’t a monopoly. Needless to say, fans aren’t happy over the news. The merger will put many out of work and will make it harder for fans to expect and demand a higher quality product.

Here’s hoping that Dark Star Squadron will get its chance to shine with the new merger.