In Pixar’s latest film Elio, a surprising cameo by the legendary Captain Janeway from Star Trek: Voyager has fans buzzing. This article explores the significance of this cameo and the director’s insights.
The Legendary Cameo of Captain Janeway in Pixar’s Elio
The director of Disney Pixar’s Elio explains the cameo by the legendary Captain of Star Trek: Voyager. Elio begins with the eponymous young protagonist visiting a museum exhibit about the Voyager-1 space probe, narrated by a familiar voice. Fans of Star Trek: Voyager immediately recognized the narrator as Kate Mulgrew, who portrayed Captain Kathryn Janeway.
The directors of Elio, Domee Shi, Madeline Sharafian, and Adrian Molina, spoke to Johan Albrechtsen of Moovy TV about Kate Mulgrew’s surprise cameo. Shi elaborated on how the idea of casting Mulgrew came about, noting her professionalism and dedication to delivering a perfect performance. Read Domee’s quote below:
Yeah, Kate’s amazing! Star Trek: Voyager holds a special place in my heart because it was one of the TV shows my mom and I would watch together. I feel like that’s how my mom picked up on English too, watching Kate in her calm and commanding voice lead her crew.
In the prologue, we have a narrator introducing Elio to Voyager – this real satellite, a message in a bottle sent from Earth into space in the 70s. We thought it would be a great nod to sci-fi and Star Trek fans to have Kate Mulgrew do the voice, and she said yes!
It was amazing. I tried not to fangirl too much. She was a total professional, coming in, doing a take, and then saying, ‘Again!’ She would give herself notes, and we were like, ‘But the first take sounds great.’ And she was like, ‘No, I want to try this again.’
She’s just incredible, adding so much gravitas to our opening scene.
Why Kate Mulgrew Was the Perfect Choice for Elio
Who Knows More About “Intrepid” Spacecraft Than Captain Janeway?
Kate Mulgrew was the ideal voice for a special cameo in Elio‘s opening scene. Her delivery of exposition about the Voyager-1 space probe was inspired, as fans will always associate her with her seven years as Captain Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager. As Johan Albrechtsen noted, Mulgrew’s narrator calling the Voyager-1 an “Intrepid explorer” was a clever shout-out.
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Elio also stars Zoe Saldana, who portrayed Lieutenant Nyota Uhura in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek movie trilogy.
Captain Janeway’s USS Voyager was an Intrepid-class starship that survived seven years in the unexplored Delta Quadrant before returning home to Earth. Janeway’s mission serves as a spiritual predecessor to Elio‘s story of an Earth boy who joins an intergalactic Communiverse, similar to Star Trek‘s United Federation of Planets.
Our Take on Kate Mulgrew’s Cameo in Elio
Will Kate Play Admiral Janeway Again?
Kate Mulgrew is no stranger to feature films, having cameoed as Admiral Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Nemesis. Two decades after Star Trek: Voyager ended, Mulgrew reprised her role as Admiral Janeway and a holographic version of Janeway for two seasons of Star Trek: Prodigy, guiding a new generation of future Starfleet heroes.
Kate’s role in Elio is a wonderful Easter egg for Star Trek: Voyager fans, nodding to how much Star Trek has influenced science fiction and real science. It’s easy to imagine Elio fitting into Starfleet Academy under Janeway’s guidance. While Kate Mulgrew’s future in Star Trek remains uncertain after Star Trek: Prodigy, Elio proves her impact on generations of sci-fi fans is indelible.
Source: Moovy TV
