A new poster for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy just dropped, and fans are already saying what many in the industry have been whispering for months: the reboot can’t come soon enough.
The bright, soft-focus promotional image — which looks more like an ad for a teen drama than a Star Trek series — only fuels the idea that the franchise is stuck in a tone and style that the new owners want to move away from.
And that’s the key point. With David Ellison and Paramount-Skydance taking over, the expectation is that Star Trek is about to undergo the biggest reset since the Abrams era. The franchise is gearing up for a full overhaul.
The Franchise Is Preparing for a Hard Reset
Rumors have said for months that once the Skydance deal closes, the franchise will be rebuilt from the ground up.
A new Star Trek movie is already in development, and reports say it isn’t connected to anything J.J. Abrams has done. The Kelvin timeline is done. The long-running streaming universe is winding down. And Alex Kurtzman — the architect of the current era — is widely believed to be on his way out once his outstanding shows finish their final seasons.
That means Starfleet Academy, along with Strange New Worlds, will likely serve as the last chapters of the Kurtzman era before the reboot begins.
Why the New Poster Isn’t Helping Confidence
The reaction online has been the same: this doesn’t look like Star Trek. Fans have compared it to promotional art for a CW series, a streaming YA drama, or anything but a sci-fi universe known for exploration, tension, danger, and ambition.
The timing is what makes it worse. Everyone knows the reboot is coming. Everyone knows the franchise is changing hands. Everyone knows Paramount-Skydance wants a new tone, new visuals, and a new creative direction. Dropping a poster this soft and sanitized only highlights how desperate the franchise is for its incoming overhaul.
If anything, it strengthens the argument that the reboot needs to start sooner rather than later.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Release Info
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will premiere with two episodes on Thursday, January 15 on Paramount+ in the U.S.
New episodes of the 10-episode season will drop every Thursday, with the season finale on March 12.
The series follows a new group of cadets training to become Starfleet officers as they deal with new friendships, rivalries, romance, and a threat that endangers both the Academy and the Federation.
Watch the trailer:
