Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' second season will feature a major crossover episode with Star Trek: Lower Decks that will mix the worlds of live-action and animation.

Paramount+ announced the news during the Star Trek Universe panel at San Diego Comic-Con and Strange New Worlds' star Anson Mount, who plays Captain Christopher Pike, revealed that Tawny Newsome's Ensign Beckett Mariner and Jack Quaid's Ensign Brad Boimler will join the U.S.S. Enterprise in this special episode.

Furthermore, Star Trek: The Next Generation actor and director Jonathan Frakes, who player Commander William Riker, will be directing the episode for a third Star Trek series connection.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds co-showrunner Henry Alonso Myers talked about how this unexpected crossover came to be and how the stars really did align to make it so.

"All of us are huge Lower Decks fans on the Strange New Worlds writing staff," Alonso Myers said. "One of our writers is also a writer on The Boys and had the idea for a crossover and we thought it would be great if we could get even more people to come on. The crazy thing is that we had a whole discussion about it and then Alex [Kurtzman] called us and said, out of nowhere and coincidently, “hey, you guys should do a crossover with Lower Decks,” and I was like, “Have I got good news for you!"

Alongside the Lower Decks crossover, the Gorn look to be a big part of Strange New Worlds future, and not in a great way for our crew.

"I think early on, when Akiva and I were breaking the pilot, we wanted the Gorn to be the big bad of the series; The idea of what we could to do with the Gorn now, with the technology, stretching them over the season as the big bad, it’s the exciting," executive producer Alex Kurtzman said. "It’s still episodic, but they’re there. It’s not going to be the only time you see the Gorn.”

Paul Wesley was also in attendance at Star Trek Universe, and on his birthday no less, and he talked about brining Captain James T. Kirk to life.

“We only saw Kirk for a handful of scenes in the finale and that was a particularly intense episode and when you go back and watch the original episode, 'Balance of Terror,' Kirk is quite intense in that episode so I look forward to fans seeing a different Kirk," Wesley said. "Certainly not a different timeline Kirk but one who is a bit lighter. As a lieutenant on the Farragut. Still finding his way. There’s more levity. It's an exciting season. So I’m looking forward to everyone seeing that."

Oh, and the team behind Strange New Worlds surprised Wesley with a Kirk cake for his birthday and it's just wonderful.

It’s Paul Wesley’s birthday so they brought him a custom creamy KirkCake™ #sdcc #StarTrekSDCC pic.twitter.com/DU6hv6pMIj

— Fowler Zip Zap Zop SDCC (@TheMattFowler) July 23, 2022

There is no premiere date or window for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' second season, but this news should excite fans and prove that the possibilties are endless for this show that is truly going where no one has gone before.

The first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds recently came to a close and we gave it a rare 10/10. In our review, we said, "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ first season manages to recapture the joy of classic Trek in a way that perhaps many of us didn’t know was missing until we experienced this show."

The news of this crossover was accompanied by a teaser and posters for Star Trek: Picard's third season that shows the return of the crew of The Next Generation and a trailer for Lower Decks' third season that teases a visit to Deep Space 9.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

San Diego Comic-Con 2022 – one of the biggest conventions held – is here, and we are eager to hear about what everyone is enjoying so far after day one. We got new information and partial dates for multiple animated Marvel Shows coming to Disney+ like X-Men '97, Spider-man: Freshman Year, Marvel Zombies, and more.

We also sat down for interviews with the minds behind Harley Quinn, and Paul Dano stopped by to discuss The Riddler: Year One comic. We also dove into the first 20 minutes of the upcoming film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero and talked with William Shatner about the documentary covering his life as a star in TV and Film. These are just the tip of the iceberg, so if you missed any of the news coming out of SDCC 2022, check out our round up article of everything announced at the show.

Today's Let's Talk About topic is San Diego Comic-Con. Were you shocked to see Lebron James announced for Multiversus? What were your favorite upcoming movies, shows, and comics that we got a glimpse into? Are you excited for the continuation of X-Men '97 like us? Any Comic-Con exclusive merchandise you are hoping to get your hands on? Let us know in the comments.

Star Trek: Lower Decks received a trailer and character posters for its third season during the Star Trek Universe panel at San Diego Comic-Con and they tease a visit to Deep Space 9.

The trailer begins by showing the aftermath of Captain Freeman being put on trail following the Season 2 finale and shows some of the adventures the crew will go on when the series returns to Paramount+ on August 25, 2022.

Prepare yourself for warp 10 excitement! #StarTrekLowerDecks Season 3 premieres August 25 on @ParamountPlus! pic.twitter.com/QwOYsOMQL1

— Star Trek on Paramount+ (@StarTrekOnPPlus) July 23, 2022

While Deep Space 9 was only shown for a moment at the end, the trailer also features Beckett Mariner, D'Vana Tendi, Bradward Boimler, and Samanthan Rutherford at Sisko's Creole Kitchen, the New Orleans restaurant that was owned by Captain Benjamin Sisko's father Joseph.

Star Trek: Lower Decks creator and showrunner Mike McMahan stopped by the Star Trek Universe panel to give fans a few more details on this trip to Depp Space 9.

"Yes, on Lower Decks, we circle Deep Space 9 and we count the pylons," McMahan said. "Then we go into Deep Space 9 and enjoy the Kardassian architecture. And you might see some friendly faces in there. It feels to me like one last walk around Deep Space 9. I can’t wait for you guys to see it."

These four crew members were also featured in the character posters revealed during the panel, and you can check them out in the gallery below.

In our review of the first five episodes of the second season of Star Trek: Lower Decks, we said that it "continues that balanced groove with even more confidence in mixing comedy with away mission hijinks and character progression."

The Star Trek Universe Panel was full of other news, including a teaser and posters for Star Trek: Picard's third season that shows the return of the crew of The Next Generation and a live-action and animated crossover of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

The first teaser and posters for Star Trek: Picard's third and final season have been revealed and they feature many of the returning crew members from Star Trek: The Next Generation, including Geordi La Forge, Worf, Dr. Beverly Crusher, Deanna Troi, and Commander William Riker.

The teaser and poster were shown during the Star Trek Universe panel at San Diego Comic-Con and Jeri Ryan's Seven of Nine and Michelle Hurd's Raffi Musiker also received the character portrait treatment. The one notable crew member missing from these portraits is Brent Spiner's Data despite the confirmation that he will be returning.

As long as you remain steadfast, you are never without hope. #StarTrekPicard concludes with Season 3 in 2023, exclusively on @ParamountPlus. pic.twitter.com/MD2TTRi0gY

— Star Trek on Paramount+ (@StarTrekOnPPlus) July 23, 2022

The return of Star Trek: The Next Generation's crew was first announced during this year's First Contact Day celebrations, and Picard showrunner Terry Matalas shared a few words as to why Jean-Luc having his friends by his side for this final mission was the only way to go.

"I remember watching the premiere of ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ almost 34 years ago with my father like it was yesterday. It was the spark that ignited my love for science fiction,” said Picard Season 3 showrunner Terry Matalas. "So, it’s most fitting that the story of Jean-Luc Picard ends honoring the beginning, with his dearest and most loyal friends from the U.S.S. Enterprise. It would be an understatement to say that giving these characters a proper send-off is an honor. The entire STAR TREK: PICARD team and I can’t wait for fans to experience this final, high-stakes, starship-bound adventure in season three!”

Star Trek: Picard will premiere on Paramount+ in 2023, and while these characters have made brief appearances throughout the series in one form or another, this final season will bring them all together for one last mission.

In our review of the second season of Star Trek: Picard, we said that it is a "disappointing entry in the legendary captain’s journey, and possibly the worst season of Star Trek ever."

The Picard news was accompanied by a teaser and posters for the announcement of a live-action and animated crossover of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks and a trailer for Lower Decks' third season that teases a visit to Deep Space 9.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

During a San Diego Comic Con panel, we got a (sort of) update on George R.R. Martin's Winds of Winter, with the author confirming that he's still working on the book and doesn't intend to cameo in any Game of Thrones shows or series until it's done.

When a fan asked if he'd consider a cameo, Martin replied:

"I don’t know. For the last couple years since COVID hit I’ve barely left my house. Also, you may not know this but there’s this book I’m writing and it’s a little late. So I won’t be doing any acting until I finish and deliver that book and if the show is still running then then maybe."

However, Martin added that he did actually do a cameo in the original Game of Thrones…that we unfortunately never got to see.

"I did do a cameo in the original pilot of Game of Thrones but they reshot most of that so I wound up on the cutting room floor," he said. "I was also supposed to be a severed head. In the scene where Joffrey shows Sansa the heads one was supposed to be mine. Then they found out how expensive it was to make a severed head so they just bought a box of severed heads. One of them turned out to be George W. Bush, and they got in a lot of trouble. Who knows? Maybe I can yet become a severed head."

House of the Dragon has had plenty to share lately, including a brand new trailer a few days ago and an extended edition planned to drop on Discovery tomorrow. We learned the series will incorporate multiple time skips, that it may serve as a foundation for other Westeros stories, and that its redesigned Iron Throne includes 2,500 swords. We also learned about some of the other unused Game of Thrones prequel ideas, and spotted a handful of new stills from the show.

And there's tons more coming from all your favorite shows, films, games, and more out of San Diego
Comic-Con 2022, and we've got the full schedule to guide you through the weekend of panels, announcements, trailers, and surprises.