Doctor Who and Star Trek are Bringing Friendship to San Diego Comic-Con

Comic-Con is where people of all fandoms can come together, including the stars and creatives of big genre shows brushing shoulders at panels. San Diego Comic-Con’s a few weeks away, and the schedule for the annual convention will unite the showrunners behind Star Trek and Doctor Who—Alex Kurtzman and Russell T. Davies–to talk shop for anyone who’ll listen.

The two men will headline a panel for SDCC’s “Friendship is Universal” experience on Saturday, July 27 ahead of International Friendship Day on July 30. The aim is for the chat to bring together fans of either (or both) franchises and foster a greater sense of community between them. Trek and Who are also going to be the stars of a gallery experience with original props and costumes from both series, and there’ll be a special Doctor Who x Star Trek poster from artist Dusty Abell given to attendeees of Kurtzman and Davies’ panel. (Like friendship bracelets? They’ll be given away at the event!)

Doctor Who and Star Trek have been in each other’s orbits for a long time. Along with their respective debuts in the mid-60s, they’ve tackled similar themes of race, gender, and war, referenced each other, and become multimedia giants. They even crossed over in the pages of IDW’s Trek comics back in 2012, and Davies spoke in 2009 about his desires to do a TV crossover between them. His dreams died when Star Trek pivoted to film with the reboot movies, and it doesn’t seem like that could happen these days. But the panel may be worthwhile, if only to see Davies and Kurtzman talk about their approaches to the material and to make a connection with someone else in the crowd.

The “Friendship is Universal” panel will run on Saturday, July 27 5:30-6:30 pm PT in room 6A. The larger gallery will take place at 226 and 230 5th Avenue in the Gaslamp for all of San Diego Comic-Con.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.