Kate Mulgrew talks about the differences in Captain Janeways.
Captain Kathryn Janeway became a cultural icon for a time during the run of Star Trek: Voyager. The series debuted in 1995 and ran through 2001, and featured the ship known as the U.S.S. Voyager trying to get back home to the Alpha Quadrant after being left stranded in the Delta Quadrant.
Mulgrew made waves as the first woman to star as the captain in a Star Trek television series. Her turn as Janeway made her a franchise stalwart for years, and now she’s returned to the role once again with Star Trek: Prodigy.
Now, the former captain is a fixture in Trek and returning to her character after 20 years. Though it’s not actually her former character. While Prodigy is an animated show and boasts the return of Janeway, this isn’t the real Janeway, but instead a hologram.
While doing press for the show, she was asked by fans what the biggest differences between this new character she’s doing, Hologram Janeway, as opposed to her former character Kathryn Janeway.
From Star Trek.com
"The Captain Janeway you saw on Voyager has aged beautifully! The hologram is young, dazzling, full of life and energy. She is of course a hologram and this is the essential difference and one that I’m being most mindful of."
Any way we can get Kate Mulgrew back is a good thing for Star Trek: Prodigy
Star Trek: Prodigy features the Hologram Janeway and not the real Janeway, at least that we’re aware of. With the show set in the Delta Quadrant, it’s unlikely we ever see the real Janeway in any meaningful capacity but the hologram version isn’t something to thumb your nose at.
Mulgrew was so impactful to so many people as Janeway, so even if Prodigy only ever has the hologram version of the character, that’s enough, because either way it brings fans new material from Mulgrew.