‘Star Trek’ Vet Billy Campbell to Reprise & Voice His ‘Next Generation’ Role on ‘Prodigy’ (VIDEO)

Fans of The Next Generation are going to love what’s coming up on Star Trek. Not only is Picard staging a major reunion for its third and final season, but now, as part of Star Trek Day — celebrating the anniversary of the Star Trek: The Original Series pilot and the franchise’s enduring legacy — Paramount+ has revealed a TNG character is coming to Prodigy.

The streaming service announced that the animated kids’ series will return with the rest of its first season on Thursday, October 27 and unveiled a sneak peek. That clip (which you can watch above) shows Billy Campbell is joining the voice cast in a recurring role, reprising his The Next Generation role as Thadiun Okona, a roguish space captain who’s constantly outrunning trouble caused by his own tactics. When he runs into the young, impressionable Protostar crew, he’ll soon discover they are in more hot water than he is.

The Star Trek: Prodigy voice cast includes Kate Mulgrew (Hologram Kathryn Janeway), Brett Gray (Dal), Ella Purnell (Gwyn), Rylee Alazraqui (Rok-Tahk), Angus Imrie (Zero), Jason Mantzoukas (Jankom Pog), Dee Bradley Baker (Murf), John Noble (The Diviner), and Jimmi Simpson (Drednok). Campbell joins previously announced recurring voice cast members Daveed Diggs (Commander Tysess), Jameela Jamil (Ensign Asencia), Jason Alexander (Doctor Noum), and Robert Beltran (Captain Chakotay).

“From early on in the writers’ room, we knew we wanted Captain Thadiun Okona to return and become a questionable guide to our impressionable crew,” executive producers Kevin and Dan Hageman said in a statement. “It was so much fun to not only explore where Okona’s outrageous life has taken him in his later years, but to also work with Billy Campbell who effortlessly fell back into the role of Okona like he had never left.”

As for what to expect from Prodigy when it returns, as the hopeful crew makes their way towards Starfleet, their dreams are threatened when they discover the U.S.S. Protostar harbors a weapon designed to tear the United Federation of Planets apart. To make matters worse, the real Vice Admiral Janeway is on a manhunt for the Protostar, eager to uncover what happened to her missing former First Officer Chakotay. With these two ships on a collision course and destruction on the horizon, the fate of the Alpha Quadrant hangs in the balance.

Star Trek: Prodigy is from CBS’ Eye Animation Productions, CBS Studios’ new animation arm; Nickelodeon Animation, led by President of Animation Ramsey Naito; Secret Hideout; and Roddenberry Entertainment. Alex Kurtzman, Heather Kadin, Aaron Baiers, Katie Krentz, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth serve as executive producers, alongside co-showrunners Kevin and Dan Hageman. Ben Hibon directs, co-executive produces and serves as the creative lead. Aaron Waltke and Patrick Krebs also serve as co-executive producers.

Star Trek: Prodigy, Midseason Return, Thursday, October 27, Paramount+