Voyager‘s Kathryn Janeway, as played by Kate Mulgrew across all seven seasons of the spinoff series, is often overlooked in the pantheon of Star Trek captains, but she’s just got a unique honor today that trumps the likes of Kirk and Picard. The citizens of the character’s future hometown of Bloomington, Indiana have saluted the Starfleet legend with a statue based on her likeness.
The statue was the brainchild of the Captain Janeway Bloomington Collective, who’ve been working hard to make it a reality since last year. This Saturday, October 24th, the grand unveiling finally happened, with Mulgrew herself virtually attending the ceremony. Her Voyager co-star Robert Picardo also took part via a pre-recorded message.
Here’s what Peter Kaczmarczyk of the Collective said earlier in their campaign about why Janeway deserved this honor:
“Captain Janeway consistently demonstrated integrity and humanity in the face of many challenges. She led her crew home without compromising her principals and became a role model to a generation of young women. Captain Janeway deserves to be recognized in Bloomington, the place of her future birth,” said Kaczmarczyk.
The timing of this statue going up couldn’t be better, seeing as earlier this month we got the good news that Mulgrew is officially returning to the role for the first time in what will be 20 years. She’ll be voicing the character again in upcoming animated series Star Trek: Prodigy, which is hitting Nickelodeon in 2021. While the show is mostly geared towards younger audiences, Mulgrew’s involvement confirms that it’s still a must-see for veteran fans.
There’s also the possibility that she’ll be back for a live-action appearance in CBS All Access’ (soon to be Paramount Plus’) Star Trek universe as well. This could be for a guest spot in Picard – opposite old co-star Jeri Ryan – or maybe even in her own show. Either way, Janeway’s definitely getting the recognition she deserves at last, whether on screen or with statues.