Paul Giamatti will be the "super-villain" in Starfleet Academy according to Robert Picardo

Starfleet Academy is most likely well over a year away from making its debut on Paramount+, but the buzz around the series has been ongoing since it was announced. That only intensified with the addition of Oscar-nominee Paul Giamatti and Oscar winner Holly Hunter to the cast.

We don't know much about what Giamatti's character will be up to during his short tenure on the series' first season, but in a recent Threads selfie with Giamatti, another cast member, Robert Picardo, promised the actor's turn on the series wouldn't be something we'd forget. "He is an actor’s actor and will be memorable, I assure you, as our Season 1 super-villain on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy on Paramount+… Stay tuned!" Picard wrote as a caption beneath the selfie. [via Trekmovie]

The series will be set in the 32nd century, the same time as Star Trek: Discovery's final three seasons, which will enable stars from that series to pop in as well. Tig Notaro, who portrayed Commander Reno on Discovery, has already been added to the main cast while Mary Wiseman, who portrayed Sylvia Tilly and Oded Fehr, who was Admiral Vance, are both a part of the recurring cast.

The first season will consist of ten episodes, and the series began filming on August 26th. Starfleet Academy has already been renewed for season two, and will, most likely have the same number of episodes. The first two episodes were directed by Alex Kurtzman. In addition, Star Trek: Discovery and Section 31 director Olatunde Osunsanmi has directed an episode as has Jonathan Frakes.

All we really know about Starfleet Academy is that it will follow the first new class of the Academy in over 100 years. As these cadets navigate life while training to become officers, they come face to face with a new threat, Paul Giamatti's character, to the Academy and the Federation.