Former WWE World Champion Joins Star Trek Starfleet Academy

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy continues to build excitement for the new series.

The cast already includes Hollywood familiars like Holly Hunter, Paul Giamatti, Tatiana Maslany, and Tig Notaro. It also features Robert Picardo reprising his Doctor character from Star Trek: Voyager. Now, it’s added a WWE Superstar.

In a video shared to X, Becky Lynch announced:

You know when you’ve already been champion of the world, there’s only one place to go next, and that’s to the stars. I’m so excited to share with all of you that I’m joining
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
as part of the bridge crew. This has been the most amazing experience, acting alongside just a spectacular cast and crew, and I cannot wait for all of you to check it out when it comes out on Paramount+.

What Role Will Becky Lynch Play in Starfleet?

The depth and breadth of the role is still unknown. Being “part of the bridge crew” sounds like more of a guest spot, like the person in the background who pushes some buttons on a console or occasionally calls out “Shields are down to twenty-percent!”

The Irish-born Lynch, real name Rebecca Quinn, is a five-time WWE Women’s World Champion. She is also one of only five women in WWE history to headline Wrestlemania, the industry’s biggest annual show. Lynch is one of the company’s most popular stars.

In recent years, Lynch has tested her charisma and wit in various TV and film projects. She had guest appearances on Billions and Young Rock. She also voiced the character Axehammer in Rumble. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will be her biggest role yet. It also probably explains why she’s been on hiatus from WWE for almost a year.

What We Know About Starfleet Academy

As Lynch said in her announcement, Starfleet Academy will be a Paramount+ exclusive. As of publication time, the show has no premiere date. What we do have is a logline:

The series will introduce viewers to this young group of cadets as they come together to pursue a common dream of hope and optimism. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they will discover what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they navigate blossoming friendships, explosive rivalries, first loves and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself.

The showrunners are Noga Landau and Alex Kurtzman. If Kurtzman’s name is familiar, it’s because he was the writer of Transformers, Star Trek, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Star Trek Into Darkness, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

He’s also executive produced a slew of Star Trek shows, starting with Discovery in 2017, as well as Picard and Strange New Worlds. Kurtzman has been in charge of CBS Television Studios’s expanded Star Trek universe since 2018.

Starfleet is a direct sequel to Discovery, which concluded its five-season run in May 2024. Lynch’s addition adds another layer of anticipation, as the new series looks to bring a youthful energy and fresh feel to the established franchise.