Star Trek is trying to cater to younger viewers by announcing a partnership with Kid Cudi.
Star Trek is trying to go younger these days and that seems pretty apparent. With the creation of Lower Decks and Prodigy, and angling a new show around Starfleet Academy, the hope is to infuse the nearly 60-year-old franchise with a dose of youthfulness. A smart strategy.
In conjunction with this idea of getting younger, the folks behind Star Trek partnered up with 39-year-old Cleveland, Ohio native, Scott Mescudi, aka Kid Cudi. The new partnership is being dubbed “Boldy Be” a play off of the idea of the iconic Star Trek phrase “to boldly go”. The collaboration is set around the idea of adventure, discovery, imagination, and hope.
Kid Cudi spoke about the partnership and his love of Star Trek in a statement (via Star Trek.com)
"I grew up watching ‘Star Trek’ with my dad who is single handedly responsible for turning me into a fan. The most important thing to me is to be as authentic as possible. ‘Star Trek’s’ mission has always been about having a hopeful future and when I was first approached about this project it was the perfect marriage of all the things I believe in – being brave and a hero by doing what’s right and fighting for freedom. I can’t wait to share my love of this incredible franchise with the world."
But what does the Kid Cudi crossover bring to Star Trek?
We know from the official release on Star Trek.com that the Boldy Be campaign will revolve around music, gaming, and fashion but…where?
Set to launch in October, the collaboration will likely see a lot of Kid Cudi-inspired, Star Trek attire being turned out. That seems great, a lot of fans will be into that; but where is it? You’d think with only two weeks until October, that we’d have a better idea of what was coming with such a high-profile and exciting collaboration.
This is something that a franchise like Fortnite would do; announce the crossover and wait a few weeks to drop the goods. That works for them because that’s how they always do it. They have countless crossovers like this, so their fanbase knows to wait.
But this isn’t the same situation. Star Trek’s release of the crossover used a lot of hollow buzzwords but offered no real hype about what was coming.
Especially when you realize that the brand is pumping out so many video games at the moment, and they’re just lumping in a brief announcement that something involving games will be coming soon. That’s a great way to get this major crossover lost in the sauce.
Here’s hoping, however, that despite the vagueness of Trek’s announcement, the Kid Cudi crossover really does deliver. The fandom could use something cool and new infused into it to help it cater to younger fans.