Voyager star Kate Mulgrew names condition for her Janeway return – fans will love her for it

Captain Kathryn Janeway, played by the incomparable Kate Mulgrew, led the sci-fi series Star Trek: Voyager. It took her seven seasons to bring her crew stranded in the Delta Quadrant home, which she finally managed to do in the 2001 finale episode, Endgame.

In the age of reboots and reunions, Trekkies after 20 years – and especially after three seasons of Star Trek: Picard – naturally ask themselves: Where is Star Trek: Janeway?

Sci-fi star Kate Mulgrew would return as Star Trek Captain Janeway – under the following condition

Back in 2022, Mulgrew told TrekMovie (via SlashFilm) how high her expectations would be for a live-action return of the coffee-loving captain, who appeared as a promoted admiral in the film Star Trek – Nemesis:

I have this to [Trek-Produzent Alex] Kurtzman said: The script would have to be absolutely exquisite and dense – and I mean absolutely dense. I want the language to explode completely. And I want the story to be thin and tight. I said: ‘No pining.’ I don’t want any highs and lows. I want a Janeway that everyone can say: ‘This is what she’s become. I support her, it’s great.’ Right? And I think some extraordinary adventure. Even bigger than Voyager. Even bigger than the Delta Quadrant.

When Mulgrew appeared and was interviewed this year during the San Diego Comic-Con 2024, she again spoke about the topic – and sounded very similar. For example, in a conversation with CinemaBlend:

These things go around in circles over and over and over again, because I believe the fans would love to see them again. […] You just have to be very careful that this decision is not arrogant. I’m not interested in that at all. […] The legacy is already set: I was the first female captain. I gave everything I had for seven years and it changed my life dramatically. To come back, it would have to be spectacularly good. And I don’t know if that’s possible. Captain Janeway has already come back – in cartoon form

When we talk about the return of Captain Janeway, we only mean her return in live-action form. She has long since returned in animation, namely as part of the series Star Trek: Prodigy. In this series, young aliens in the Delta Quadrant locate an experimental, stranded Starfleet spaceship and experience their own space adventures. They are looked after by an AI hologram Janeway with which the ship is equipped. In the original English version, Mulgrew took on the dubbing work for her animated alter ego.

The series was canceled after one season and was eventually saved by Netflix, where two seasons are available to stream. For Star Trek: Voyager, they also turned to the streaming market leader or Paramount+.