W A R N I N G: This post contains spoilers from Star Trek: Prodigy season two, which is now streaming on Netflix.
Many, many fans of Star Trek: Voyager are also fans of a romance between now Admiral Janeway and Captain Chakotay. It's something they've wanted since Voyager began, and discovering that Robert Beltran's character would be joining Prodigy gave them hope that he and Kate Mulgrew's character would finally reach a romantic resolution. Those dreams didn't come to fruition with the latest season of the animated series. Though Janeway and Chakotay were reunited onscreen, and it was clear they had deep feelings for one another, there was nothing to indicate their relationship had momumentously changed. And according to the creators of Prodigy, Kevin and Dan Hageman, that had a lot to do with how Mulgrew felt about it.
In an interview with CinemaBlend, Dan Hageman explained just why Janeway and Chakotay didn't venture into a relationship beyond the one they already had.
"I remember when we were discussing what to do, we were listening a lot. We were talking to Kate [Mulgrew] and Robert [Beltran]. And Kate had always just moved us when she said, ‘Their relationship is beyond a love relationship. It’s a Captain and a First Officer and there’s so much more intense feelings.’ It would cheapen it too much just to take Janeway and just make it a romance."Dan Hageman
Definitely not what the fans wanted to hear, but it can't come as a surprise as it was Mulgrew who didn't want a romantic relationship between Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay aboard Voyager as well. She's not wrong about there being intense feelings between the pair. Prodigy highlighted just how close the two were emotionally, and their reunion was a beautiful moment!
So does this mean we'll never see a romance between the two of them? It's something the comics might take up outside of canon, but if it's not something Mulgrew wants onscreen, then it's probably not something that's going to happen. That said, there's always the possibility she could see things a different way, especially if Prodigy gets renewed for more seasons which would potentially give them more time together if Beltran returns. If there's one thing Trekkies always have, that's hope!