ReedPop and ViacomCBS are partnering to bring Star Trek: Mission Chicago to life. SyFy Wire reports that the newly minted official Star Trek convention will travel to other U.S. cities in the future but it will kick things off April 8-10, 2022 in the Windy City. This news comes after during a big week for the franchise, with new teasers for Star Trek: Discovery, Picard and Lower Decks all debuting.
Star Trek has always maintained a close relationship with fans through fan conventions. Creation Entertainment has always hosted the vast majority of fan conventions, moving from several smaller cons to one big yearly convention in Las Vegas.
As CBS aims to kick the franchise into a new gear, they’re looking to create a convention experience on their terms.
CBS hopes to engage with fans through new Star Trek convention
In a press release, ViacomCBS Consumer Products executive vice president shared that the company is looking to grow the convention side of things as the franchise expands. “We are excited to partner with ReedPop as our official Star Trek convention partner to take this next step in creating an event that will introduce the Trek experience to loyal and new fans alike each year.”
In addition to offering a fun experience for fans, the convention will allow ViacomCBS to place attendance requirements on talent to ensure that they are able to attend to promote their own shows. It can also become a place for major announcements.
The model works. Disney has been producing its own fan convention, D23, for years. D23 takes place on a bi-annual basis and is usually scheduled a few weeks after San Diego Comic-Con. They also manage the Star Wars Celebration, which travels to cities all over the world. Disney can launch Star Wars and Marvel news at its own events rather than give all of the breaking news to SDCC.
With the growth of the Star Trek franchise in recent years, including new movies, series and spinoffs, there’s no question that ViacomCBS is eyeing the D23 and Celebration models and looking for ways to bring fans together, and Star Trek: Mission Chicago is a great place to start.
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