New Enterprise showrunner Manny Coto is confident this season's direction will lead to a fifth year for the crew of the NX-01.

"I think it's very possible there'll be a season five," Coto recently told SFX Magazine (via the Great Link. "I expect that we're gonna do very well this season and they'll want to bring us back for another one."

Although season four has been planned as a series of smaller story arcs, such as the Augument arc featuring Brent Spiner as Arik Soong, Coto said the season will also have an overall theme relating to the genesis of the Federation. "We'll definitely see the build up to the formation of the Federation. The stories that we're telling will all tie together at the end, where we will see either the actual forming or the beginning of the forming. Definitely, that's where the season's heading."

Telling stories such as the founding of the Federation relates to Coto's desire to "fulfill the legacy of what the show was originally conceived as -- a prequel series". "The Star Trek universe is so grand and so deep that rather than go out and explore different worlds that we haven't seen in this series, I would rather use the prequel series to really explore the worlds that we know and would love to know more about."

Coto also has "interesting plans" for the character of T'Pol. Actress Jolene Blalock recently went on record to express her disappointment about aspects of her character's arc during season three (story), but Coto said he thinks Blalock will be "very happy" with the developments this season. "I would rather not comment on whether she should be happy about last year or not, I don't want to get into it," he said.

To read further extracts from the interview, in which the producer also talked about this season's reduced budget and the possible guest appearance by William Shatner (James T. Kirk), head over to the Great Link. The complete article can be found in issue 123 of SFX Magazine out now.

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