Star Trek may be celebrating its franchise in the midst of the SAG-AFTRA and WGA writers’ strikes, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t announcements to be made on Star Trek Day. In fact, the franchise revealed that it’s teaming up with a hip hop icon for a collaboration that makes total sense. The “Man On The Moon,” a.k.a. Kid Cudi, is working with the entertainment property on some exciting ventures that fans will definitely appreciate.
It was announced on Star Trek Day that the science fiction franchise and Kid Cudi will be working together on its “Boldly Be” campaign. More details will be announced at a later date but, for now, fans can expect an original song from Cudi that will make heavy reference to the Star Trek franchise, in addition to an interactive game and a fashion line. Kid Cudi, whose real name Scott Mescudi, explained his connection to the franchise, which was introduced to him by his father:
I grew up watching ‘Star Trek’ with my dad, who is single-handedly responsible for turning me into a fan. The most important thing to me is to be as authentic as possible. ‘Star Trek’s’ mission has always been about having a hopeful future, and when I was first approached about this project, it was the perfect marriage of all the things I believe in – being brave and a hero by doing what’s right and fighting for freedom. I can’t wait to share my love of this incredible franchise with the world.
As a longtime Kid Cudi fan, I can’t express enough just how excited I am for this collaboration. His breakout album, Man On The Moon: The End Of Day, has been on yearly rotation for me ever since its release. His music and other projects are also jam-packed with imagery tied to space, the vastness of the galaxy. That was most recently true of his Entergalactic special, which should becomes a TV show. His work also holds many of the same values that Star Trek stands by with its Vulcan philosophy of Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. This might feel like an odd pairing to some, but I can assure anyone who’s skeptical that this is a good move. Check out the promo video below:
The most exciting takeaway, for this fan, is that there’s a new fashion line on the way and a chance for Trek to right the previous missteps of past campaigns. There’s immediately something about this Kid Cudi collaboration that feels cool, unlike, for example, those “The (insert Star Trek ship name here) Is Landing” shirts from the recent past. Working with Cudi allows the franchise to form a bigger footprint in the world of pop culture and pulling more mainstream concepts into the franchise is never a negative.
Of course, fans may be looking forward to bigger news today, such as the announcement that Prodigy has found a new home following its cancellation. As it stands, it remains to be seen if anything like that will be divulged, as the strikes have halted active production on upcoming Trek shows. Also, Paramount is seemingly not actively promoting Prodigy outside of shopping it to other prospective buyers. All of that aside though, this piece of news regarding the Grammy-winning recording artist has me excited already today.
Look for more details about Star Trek and Kid Cudi’s “Boldly Go” campaign in October. Those looking to stream Trek in the meantime can absolutely do so with a Paramount+ subscription and check out the vast majority of content available.