Star Trek: Starfleet Academy isn’t waiting to pull out the big guns, and phasers are definitely not set for stun, in terms of the "firepower" being unleased in the pilot episode. Yes, when the new series debuts in 2026, Trekkies won’t have to wait long to see Academy Award-winner Holly Hunter go toe-to-toe on-screen with her Oscar-nominated co-star, Paul Giamatti.
Starfleet Academy’s co-showrunner, Alex Kurtzman, reveals in a brand-new interview that the Starfleet Chancellor/the captain of the USS Athena (Hunter) will come face to face with the villainous Nus Braka (Giamatti) in the pilot episode almost immediately. Kurtzman said of the heated match-up (per Entertainment Weekly):
"The second scene of the pilot is Tatiana, Holly, and Paul together. Just the firepower in the scene is so extraordinary."
Yes, Tatiana Maslany of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law will also be thrown into the mix with Hunter and Giamatti immediately. Maslany portrays the mother of the orphaned Starfleet Academy character Caleb Mir (Sandro Rosta). Caleb is one of the show’s main five cadets, who are the focal point of the upcoming series. He is also the lone human among the fivesome, and Mir’s troubled past might be tied to Giamatti’s part Klingon, part Tellarite antagonist.
Nus Braka has already been teased as having a connection to one of the cadets. So, when Trekkies begin to connect the dots, it seems very likely that Braka has ties to Caleb. After all, the second scene of the pilot features the cadet’s mother (Maslany) sharing the screen with Nus Braka and the Starfleet Academy Chancellor. Additionally, fans now know that the orphaned Caleb felt his best chance to find his mother was by joining Starfleet.
Do you think Caleb Mir is connected to the show’s villain Nus Braka? Or is co-showrunner Alex Kurtzman trying to throw Trekkies a curve ball? Share your thoughts and comments with us on the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages.
Live long and prosper, Trekkies!