Enlarge / Kate Mulgrew speaking on a panel during the 17th annual official Star Trek convention on August 4, 2018, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (credit: Gabe Ginsberg | Getty Images )

Actress Kate Mulgrew, who played Captain Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager , is returning to the franchise to reprise her role in the upcoming Star Trek: Prodigy animated series, ViacomCBS announced today.

Mulgrew popped in to make made the surprise announcement during the end of a Star Trek panel at this year's all-virtual New York Comic Con. "I have invested every scintilla of my being in Captain Janeway, and I can’t wait to endow her with nuance that I never did before," Mulgrew said. "How thrilling to be able to introduce to these young minds an idea that has elevated the world for decades. To be at the helm again is going to be deeply gratifying in a new way for me."

Executive Producer Alex Kurtzman leveled a sideways blow at the sexism that dogged the first female Star Trek captain when she was cast in the 1990s, saying, "Captain Janeway was held to a different standard than her predecessors. She was asked to embody an inhuman level of perfection in order to be accepted as 'good enough' by the doubters but showed them all what it means to be truly outstanding. We can think of no better captain to inspire the next generation of dreamers on Nickelodeon, than she."