The Big Picture

Star Trek thrives on television with its variety of shows providing a range of stories and appealing to different fan bases. The reboot films of the Kelvin Timeline haven’t been as successful with audiences, receiving mixed reviews and falling short of expectations. The recently concluded writers’ strike may pave the way for a new Star Trek film to be developed, giving hope for a future on the silver screen.

The Star Trek franchise is thriving more than ever. Thanks to Paramount+, there’s a variety of shows to choose from. Those looking for a modern Trek tale can try Star Trek: Discovery. Fans nostalgic for a certain era will gravitate towards Star Trek: Picard or Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Discovery is even generating its own spinoffs in the form of Starfleet Academy and the upcoming Section 31 movie. But one question remains: will Trek have a future on the silver screen? The last theatrical release was way back in 2016 with Star Trek Beyond and even though Paramount has been itching to get a new Trek film into theaters multiple factors may stand in the way.

Image via Paramount Pictures Star Trek Beyond The crew of the USS Enterprise explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a new ruthless enemy, who puts them, and everything the Federation stands for, to the test.

Filmmakers Board and Leave Star Trek Projects at Rapid Speed
There was a time when new Star Trek films were being developed at warp speed (if you’ll pardon the pun) to match the growing number of television shows. First J.D. Payne Patrick McKay developed a story for a fourth film in the rebooted Trek film series that would have seen Jim Kirk (Chris Pine) come face to face with his deceased father George (Chris Hemsworth). Then in 2018, S.J. Clarkson of Jessica Jones was hired to direct. But then that version of the film was shelved, leading Paramount to try and develop a new film series.

But even then, a potential reboot hit all kinds of roadblocks. First Noah Hawley was tapped as a writer/director. Then Kalinda Vasquez – who had written Discovery’s Season 3 finale – was asked to write a script. Said script went through multiple rewrites, until Matt Shakman was announced as a director – and then departed due to scheduling conflicts,

Then there’s the Quentin Tarantino of it all. After a conversation with J.J. Abrams, who directed the first two films in the reboot series, Tarantino started developing his take on the Trek franchise. Rumors swirled that it could be R-rated, and Tarantino even confirmed that he wanted the story to act as a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series. But eventually, he decided to step back.

Ironically, nearly all of these creatives have boarded other franchises. Hawley is the showrunner of a new Alien television series. Payne and McKay are shepherding Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Shakman is going for a doubleheader with his work on Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and Marvel Studios’ upcoming Fantastic Four reboot.

Star Trek Thrives on TV

Even with the turnover from the film side of things, Star Trek is thriving on television. In fact, that’s where it has always seemed to fit the most. Many of the previous Trek films, while hewing close to the series’ themes of discovery and unity, weren’t exactly the type of science-fiction films that tended to draw massive audiences. Star Trek: The Motion Picture is considered to be the slowest of burns and the less said about Star Trek V: The Final Frontier the better. While other films including Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek: First Contact have been major draws for Trekkies and non-Trekkies alike, there’s the fact that the franchise seems better suited for a more serial medium like television.

There’s also the matter of the current crop of Star Trek shows providing enough variety for a fleet of movies. Discovery is perhaps the best example of this; in its third season, the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery was flung into the far future and essentially lived out a post-apocalyptic experience. Strange New Worlds is more or less tailor-made for fans who grew up on The Original Series. Picard reunited the crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation in its current & final season. Trek’s even ventured into the realm of animation with Star Trek: Lower Decks and Prodigy, even including Prodigy’s move to Netflix. Each series has tackled a wealth of stories, so for a film version to stand out it’d have to bring something to the table that hasn’t been done before.

The Kelvin Timeline Films Haven’t Really Taken Off With Audiences

Then there’s the matter of the reboot films, or the “Kelvin Timeline” as it’s officially called. When it first made its debut in 2009, Abrams’ first Trek film was a shot in the arm of the franchise. Pine and the rest of the cast received high praise for providing fresh new takes on the iconic crew of the Enterprise. That wasn’t even mentioning the action – yes this may be one of the most action-packed Star Trek movies on record. But its sequel Star Trek Into Darkness received a far less welcome reception, with many citing it as a pale imitation of Wrath of Khan. Beyond fared slightly better, but its box office was impacted by other summer releases and fell short of expected goals – a knife that was only twisted by the fact that it fell on Star Trek’s 50th anniversary.

Fans also remained divided on the Star Trek reboot films. While many appreciated the film’s updates and the lengths Abrams went through to set the series in a parallel universe, many feel its action-packed nature goes against the spirit of the franchise. Some have even pointed out that Abrams’ Star Trek features more elements that would be at home in Star Wars; ironically he’d help relaunch that franchise with Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Perhaps no one is more frustrated with the current state of things than Pine. During an interview, he expressed his feelings at supposedly being locked out of the loop and that he felt the franchise was “cursed.” “I would say it’s frustrating,” Pine confessed “It doesn’t really foster the greatest sense of partnership, but it’s how it’s always been. I love the character. I love the people. I love the franchise. But to try to change the system in which things are created — I just can’t do it. I don’t have the energy.”

In an interview with ComicBook.com, Lindsey Anderson Beer – who was tapped to write a version of Star Trek 4 before departing to write/direct Pet Semetary: Bloodlines – discussed her involvement with the project. “I wrote a couple drafts of that before I had to leave for Pet Sematary. And it was originally, the seed of the idea came from J.J. himself, who’s such a creatively generous person, and it was amazing collaborating with him,” she said.

The Writers’ Strike May Have Cleared a Path For a New Trek Film
Image via Paramount Pictures

Star Trek may yet see life on the silver screen, thanks to the recently concluded writers’ strike. Not only has the Writers’ Guild of America secured a three-year contract that addressed many of their demands, but studios are racing to fine-tune projects that were left up in the air. Paramount is one of those studios, as a report from Variety noted that it was seeking writers to fine-tune a potential Star Trek reboot alongside the upcoming Rainbow Six film starring Michael B. Jordan. Beer even confirmed that a fourth Kelvin Star Trek film is still in the works despite her departure. It seems as though TV won’t be the final frontier for Star Trek after all.

Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Lower Decks, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds are available to stream on Paramount+. Star Trek: Prodigy will start streaming on Netflix in late 2023, with a second season planned for 2024.

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