Star Trek: Emissary Opening Credits Gives Fans Everything They Want
No franchise does cool fan productions quite like Star Trek. over the years, we’ve been treated to fan films like Star Trek: Of Gods and Men that bring back some of the actors from The Original Series and ambitious series like Star Trek: Continues that completely recast the iconic original crew.
Now, Deep Space Nine superfans David Frank and Christian Lerch have used their extensive experience in motion graphics to create the ultimate love letter to the best Trek series of all. Below, you can view their killer trailer for Emissary, an imaginary Trek show named after the DS9 pilot episode.
Even though this trailer for Star Trek: Emissary is focused on teasing a series that might have come out decades ago, it clearly takes its design inspiration from Star Trek: Picard. One of the better aspects of that official show on Paramount+ was that it integrated elements (past, present, and future) of Picard’s life to create a trailer that felt very intimate.
After viewing this amazing trailer, we’ve only got one question for Paramount: when are we getting a Picard-style show featuring Benjamin Sisko?
Emissary’s trailer does the same thing regarding the life of Deep Space Nine’s Benjamin Sisko, and that means it is filled with great Easter eggs for fans to discover.
For example, near the beginning of the Star Trek: Emissary trailer, we can see an image of the Earth transformed into a baseball, symbolizing how baseball superfan Sisko keeps a ball on his desk as a memento of home.
There are some cute textual gags thrown in, including the fact that the fictional show is presented by “Terok Nor Television.” As Trek fans can tell you, Terok Nor was the official Cardassian name for the space station before Starfleet rechristened it “Deep Space Nine.”
The trailer for Star Trek: Emissary also draws inspiration from the most traumatic moment in Sisko’s life. At one point, we can see a Miranda-class vessel flying towards Picard’s head from when he was transformed into the evil Locutus of Borg. This is a reference to the ship Sisko served on (the USS Saratoga) during the Battle of Wolf 359, and his wife was killed during this infamous battle against the Borg.
Even though this trailer for Star Trek: Emissary is focused on teasing a series that might have come out decades ago, it clearly takes its design inspiration from Star Trek: Picard.
Later in the Star Trek: Emissary trailer, we can see the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards last glimpsed in the first season of Picard. This is where Sisko worked and recovered after the loss of his wife, and it’s where he helped design his future ship the USS Defiant, which also makes an appearance in the trailer.
Beyond the details of Sisko’s own life, the trailer also includes beautiful glimpses of his future life with the Bajoran people, including a look at a Prophet (or “wormhole alien”) as well as one of the special orbs the Prophets sent to the Bajoran people.
The Star Trek: Emissary trailer ends with a glimpse of Sisko surrounded by the familiar white light that indicates he is speaking with the Prophets. These aliens are nonlinear, and that’s certainly appropriate to the trailer: Sisko’s interactions with the Prophets while reluctantly serving as their Emissary is one of the narrative through points that connect the very beginning of Deep Space Nine to the very end.
After viewing this amazing trailer (and believe us, these are just a few of the awesome Easter eggs), we’ve only got one question for Paramount: when are we getting a Picard-style show featuring Benjamin Sisko?
At this point, we’re ready to start praying to the Prophets if that’s the only way to bring Avery Brooks back to this franchise.
