Star Trek Confirms Starfleet Academy’s 2027 Spinoff Return
TJ Mills is an editor on ScreenRant's Comic team, where she combines her lifelong passion for DC with her analytical background as a former Intelligence Analyst. Since joining ScreenRant in 2023, she has specialized in covering major DC storylines, character evolutions, and industry developments.
Paramount+'s Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is the franchise's latest live-action installment, following a new generation of young cadets training to become Starfleet officers. Unfortunately, the series was canceled early and will conclude with its second and final season, set to premiere in March 2027. However, what some Trekkies may have missed is that Starfleet Academy also has a spinoff series that quietly launched in 2026 and is set to return with a new release in 2027.
Paramount+ reportedly canceled Starfleet Academy because of low viewership and mixed audience reception. However, before the cancellation, fans saw a comic spinoff of the series launch in April 2026: Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – Lost Contact. Like the TV series, the five-issue limited comic received a mixed response from readers, earning an average rating of 3.4 stars on League of Comic Geeks.
Despite the lackluster reception, there is no denying that this era of Star Trek has its own dedicated fanbase. Further proof of that is IDW Publishing's decision to greenlight a new release of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – Lost Contact, arriving on January 26, 2027, just two months before Paramount+'s second season premieres. So, if you love Starfleet Academy but haven't read the limited comic run, you'll want to pay special attention to this January release, as it collects the entire Lost Contact runin one comprehensive, collectible format.
Main Cover by Coralí Espuna for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – Lost Contact TP (2027)
Trekkies will see the return of writer Layne Morgan and artist Coralí Espuna's Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – Lost Contact in a new trade paperback collecting all five issues of the limited series. Featuring the cadets from Paramount+'s Starfleet Academy, the comic delivers brand-new adventures not explored on the small screen, including a dangerous first-contact mission.
The trade paperback will feature a perfect-bound format, 112 pages, and a $17.99 price tag when it arrives on January 27, 2027. Readers can find IDW's official synopsis for Lost Contact below:
Caleb, Genesis, Jay-Den, Kyle, and Tarima are all students of the illustrious Starfleet Academy, training to one day be upstanding commanders and communicators, boldly going, and representing progress across the Galaxy. But today, their mission is to simply execute a survey simulation on a low-oxygen, lifeless planet.
Or at least, it seems simple... until a huge storm cuts off their comms with their teachers aboard the U.S.S. Athena... and an impossibility appears. Now, they’ll have to work together and use everything they’ve learned in class to make it off the planet alive!
If you enjoy the TV series, you'll likely love this comic, as it carries over the same characters and themes that define the show. For starters, Trekkies get more time with fan-favorite characters and benefit from additional character development. The comic also stays true to the central premise of Starfleet Academy, focusing on young people learning what it takes to become Starfleet officers.
So, if you're planning to watch Season 2 in March 2027, we highly recommend picking up this comic series first. It's a true extension of the show, offering more character depth and extra context for fans eager to spend more time with Star Trek's new generation of Starfleet cadets.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – Lost Contact TP from IDW Publishing will be available to read on January 26, 2027!
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.