Will Star Trek: Starfleet Academy finally address Captain Sisko’s disappearance after DS9? EP weighs in

Captain Benjamin Sisko, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
Avery Brooks dressed as Commander Benjamin Sisko (Image via Getty)

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is going to be the one to disclose the fate of Captain Benjamin Sisko, after the events of Deep Space Nine (DS9).

Noga Landau, the showrunner of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, says that the new series, starting on January 15, 2026, on Paramount+, will unmask Sisko’s fate. He was taken off the scene at the end of DS9 after he had finished his job as the Emissary of the Prophets of Bajor.

This enigma has remained unresolved for more than two decades now, and fans have been waiting patiently for its solution. Now, looks like the upcoming series has set its eyes on finally answering some, if not all, questions related to the fate of Sisko.

The question of whether Sisko broke his promise or transcended human understanding is, in fact, a very personal and at the same time a big thematic puzzle. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is set to pay tribute to this legacy and, at the same time, incorporate it into the wider Star Trek universe.


Star Trek: Starfleet Academy: Addressing Captain Sisko’s disappearance

Captain Benjamin Sisko (Image via Star Trek)
Captain Benjamin Sisko (Image via Star Trek)

Noga Landau, the executive producer of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, has made an announcement saying that Captain Benjamin Sisko's disappearance will be dealt with in the series. It is a very overdue follow-up to the saga that ended at the very instance of DS9's last episode What You Leave Behind (1999), about almost 26 years ago.

At New York Comic Con 2025, Landau was quite clear in her statement that the series is very much a part of Star Trek's legacy, which has been famous for its iconic characters and stories, and therefore brings both nostalgia and new perspectives to the fans.

Among other things, she mentioned the homage to the great Starfleet heroes and the amazing values that the new show is portraying through the sets and casting, and at the same time, the presence of some very familiar characters like Robert Picardo, who will be playing The Doctor from Voyager, and some of the other Discovery cast members. Taking all this into account, the announcement that the Sisko mystery will be addressed is a big temptation for the old-time fans of Star Trek.

Speaking with ScreenRant, Landau said:

“And there's also mysteries. Watch out for Benjamin Sisko! We get to do some really cool stuff that hasn't been done in a long time, that I think really honors the fans who've been waiting to see what happens. So we definitely know who we are and the shoulders that we are standing on today.”

The big question that no one seemed to solve is that at the end of DS9, Sisko was last seen going into the Prophets' kingdom, merging with them, and living in a place beyond the ordinary timeline.

Even though Sisko expressed his longing to go back to his family, later canonical mentions in the Star Trek series, like Lower Decks Season 3 episode Reflections, indicate that he is “working hard in a celestial temple.” The implication here is still in the Bajoran wormhole and remains in contact with the divine beings called the Prophets.

The presence of Sisko's baseball on Colonel Kira's desk during the Deep Space Nine visit in the episode set in 2381 CE, 20 years before the timeline of Picard Season 3, implies that he has not come back from the wormhole dimension physically at that time.

Fans have had a lot of different points of view on whether Sisko was really going to return or not, with some more pessimistic interpretations seeing that his taking off made it impossible for him to be with his loved ones for good. By choosing this episode of Sisko’s life, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy might be able to clear the air on these matters, which could provide certainty on the questions of legacy, duty, and sacrifice that have been associated with Sisko’s character development.

Interestingly, Avery Brooks, who played Sisko, was reportedly against the original writing that left Sisko's return ambiguous, claiming it was a troubling choice both character-wise and culturally to have Sisko leave his pregnant wife.

This conflict provides narrative depth to the new series' decision to tackle Sisko's fate, enabling further storytelling to either merge or expand the character's intricate heritage. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy thus finds itself at a crossroads of past storytelling honor and future Star Trek franchise extension, with Sisko's storyline being an important link.


What is Star Trek: Starfleet Academy about?

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (Image via Star Trek)
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (Image via Star Trek)

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy takes viewers to the iconic institution where the next generation of Starfleet officers is being trained.

The program in the show is quite strenuous. It intends to portray the scenario of how the cadets are trained and how they adapt to the challenges presented to them through a series of adventures. The series also positions itself as a link between the historical aspect of the entire Star Trek universe, the one that has lasted for more than 60 years, and its futuristic aspect.

The story of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy primarily centers on cadets who are going through Starfleet’s strenuous training. Viewers will see the storyline of characters, together with their leadership abilities, in the episodic missions. The storyline also introduces characters from previous Star Trek series known to the audience in a way that conveys a sense of continuity and of the legacy of Starfleet endowed to the cadets who are tasked with new moral dilemmas.

The important "wall of heroes" in the Academy’s atrium is a symbolic element that visually ties the show’s acknowledgment of Starfleet’s history and values.

As Noga told ScreenRant:

“...when you look at the wall of heroes in our atrium, our giant set, you'll see us honoring so many of the people who came before us, who showed us what heroism is, and who showed us what the values of Starfleet are.”

In the official plot of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, new cadets are the main focus, but the integration of the Sisko story arc makes it more complex and fascinating. Sisko’s metamorphosis into a Prophet and his promise to return reportedly set up the mystery that the Academy and its characters will face, both as an event in Starfleet’s past and as an unfolding question in the narrative’s timeline.

This accompanying thread of the storyline promises to deal with the themes of sacrifice, leadership, faith, and identity, making it one of the key characteristics of Starfleet Academy that differentiates it from other Star Trek productions and gives it a strong emotional and philosophical foundation.

The link between Starfleet Academy's cadet-oriented storytelling and the legend of Sisko brings about narrative complexity in diverse ways, one of which is the position of the cadets as witnesses to the heroes and their unwritten tales of Starfleet. It is also a connection to the broader Star Trek themes of the existence beyond the material world, the responsibilities that come with command, and the difficulties of balancing personal life and duty, which were extremely important in Sisko's original storyline in DS9.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will start streaming on Paramount+ on January 15, 2026. The launch will come with the two initial episodes, after which the rest of the episodes will be released weekly every Thursday, with the last one set for March 12, 2026.

The season consists of 10 episodes in total. Paramount+ is the only place where Star Trek: Starfleet Academy can be streamed. The release schedule was revealed during the Star Trek Universe panel at New York Comic Con 2025.

Edited by Sahiba Tahleel