What happens if Star Trek: Lower Decks gets canceled? Mike McMahan has ideas.
Star Trek: Lower Decks has an uncertain future. The fourth season is currently airing on Paramount+ but the streaming service has already shown the willingness and ability to cancel a show despite it being in production. Lower Decks’ fifth season isn’t officially in production yet, though series creator Mike McMahan is already writing it.
And he’s not writing season five like he intends to end the show anytime soon, nor is he going to write the series as a possible ending just in case. But what happens if Lower Decks gets the Prodigy treatment, and unlike Prodigy, can’t find a new home?
Well, McMahan has ideas. Speaking to TrekMovie.com, McMahan revealed that Lower Decks could thrive in other mediums, saying;
"Let’s say we did get canceled—knock on wood, I hope we don’t—but I love comic books, I love novels, I love video games. I would love them to hire me to write a movie. There’s always ways for this to grow. A part of why I got into animation was because of Futurama, watching that in high school. Then they cancelled it when I was working at Fox, because I love Futurama, and then they brought it back and then they just brought it back again. One of the powers of animation is it’s deciduous."
Star Trek: Lower Decks would do well as a comic book
Star Trek as a comic series has been a novel and worthwhile idea, it’s why there’s been a book almost constantly in print since the 80s. Fans love their Trek comics, and Lower Decks, especially a bit of a toned-down version, could be great for kids to read.
Or, if not a comic, why not a children’s book that focuses on some of the shenanigans; again, with it toned down.
There exists a reality where Lower Decks could have a second life elsewhere and that should excite fans who are worried about the show’s future.