The hype around the Star Trek: Starfleet Academy villain is already outlandish

Paul Giamatti is one of the finest actors going. He is the true "character actor" archetype we're told so much about. The type of performer who can't be typecast and will dive deep into any role given to him. Truly a talented thespian and an amazing get for the folks behind Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.

Yet, the multi-time award winner is coming in with some outlandish hype around his name. Not too dissimilar from one a pro sports team lands a major free agent, landing Giamatti was unexpected. He may arguably be the best actor that Star Trek has acquired in not just years, but maybe decades (if not ever). Yet, a talented performer needs more than what they bring to the table.

They need a script. More importantly, they need a well-crafted character supported by said script. So color I was shocked when I saw ScreenRant post a shocking headline wherein they claimed Starfleet Academy already has the most "exciting" villain since Star Trek: Picard.

That's pretty bold for two very different reasons. Firstly, we don't know that Starfleet Academy has an exciting villain. We don't know who Giamatti is playing, we don't know how many episodes he'll be in and we don't even know if the script he has is worthwhile. We may be in for a very dull, or very flat outing here. It may be the best television Star Trek has ever done. We simply don't know.

Since we know nothing about the character, the script, or anything else, we can safely say we don't know that Giamatti is the best television villain since Star Trek: Picard.

Secondly, Picard has had some of the worst villains in the franchise's history, moreover, Picard's entire plot line is lacking. Especially in season three. While the article references Amanda Plummer's performance as the Picard season three villain, we can't help but remember that her character, a changeling, was nothing more than a thug for the real big bad, the Borg Queen.

The entire plot line had "Somehow, Palpatine has returned" levels of nonsense to it, just without the catchy delivery of a line that is meme-worthy.

We're optimistic about Academy, especially with GIamatti onboard. But just like you don't crown Super Bowl champions in the NFL during free agency, we're not going to give any love to a show that hasn't even started filming yet.