Star Trek | Is the Franchise at a Crossroads?

As a franchise, Star Trek is at something of a crossroads, with Paramount canceling shows like Star Trek Discovery and recently announcing that its flagship series Strange New Worlds will conclude with a fifth and final season. Fans may feel uncertain about the future of Star Trek. Sure, there’s the upcoming Paramount+ Star Fleet Academy series on the horizon, but nothing significant that’s going to move the needle for Star Trek as a whole.

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After years of no new Star Trek films of any kind being produced due to several factors, including revolving writers and directors, the Paramount and Skydance merger, and rising costs, progress on a return to the big screen seems far away. However, there are two different movie concepts that still remain in development that include an origin story and a return to an alternate timeline. As of now, it is unclear, with all that’s going on, whether the studio will be able to get another Star Trek movie into theaters for the 60th.

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Let’s face it. Do fans really want another Star Trek origin story or a film set in the alternate timeline Kelvin Universe? The answer is a hard no. At least for me! The studios decision to focus on yet another origin story could be seen by some as a way to appeal to a broader audience without alienating existing fans, but also risks being perceived as unnecessary, redundant, or a sign of creative timidity. This reaction is common for reboots of well-known characters whose origins are already widely understood. The Kelvin timeline movies are seen as being divisive among the fanbase and makes Star Trek look even more complicated and convoluted.

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So where does the studio go from here? Recently, Lucasfilm announced its upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter will be a stand-alone story set in a previously unexplored time period of the Star Wars cinematic universe. It won’t follow any of the main plot lines from past films. So it’s not a prequel or a sequel, it’s an entirely new adventure. 

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Paramount, a Skydance Corporation could learn from Lucasfilm’s new approach by exploring unexplored timelines and new directions to revitalize the franchise. Returning to a focus on exploration, boldly going, and giving fans a brand new cast with characters that we’ve never ever heard from before could prove beneficial moving forwad. Although for Star Trek to work on the big screen in the modern era it would need a high caliber director with vision and free reigns to run as they please.

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There does seem to be renewed hope for the return of Star Trek films to the big screen. David Ellison, Paramount’s new big CEO, gave the Hollywood media a preview of what they have in store.

“One of our biggest priorities is restoring Paramount as the No. 1 studio for filmmakers and talent in the world. Great filmmakers make great movies. For us, we’re going to strategically scale the amount of content for our streaming service as well s studios.”

Also the event presser, Paramount’s new co-film chief Josh Greenstein got more specific saying the plan is to expand Paramount’s film slate to up to 20 releases each year, which would include making “Star Trek is a priority across the company”. This is great news for Trekkers, who have been waiting nearly a decade for a new movie. It’s the longest gap ever for a Trekfilm since the franchise began in 1979. Whatever direction the studio decides to go, hopefully something actually makes it to theaters.

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Will the new set of films focus on a cast of “brand new characters,” giving the franchise a fresh start or will it attempt to bring back familiar faces like Kirk, Spock, Bones and the crew of the Enterprise in the Kelvin Timeline? The answer remains unclear at this time.

Star Trek owes its continued existence to dedicated fans who kept the universe alive. There’s even some celebrities who have chimed in recently saying the time has come for a new film.

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You can watch the exchange below.

You can almost hear Jerry Goldsmith’s Oscar-nominated score for Star Trek: The Motion Picture main-title theme faintly starting to get just a little louder. Very soon fans.

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Chad Stevens is a freelance writer who has contributed to StarWarsNewsNet.com, MovieNewsNet.com, Outerplaces.com, Nerdist, and more. Follow me on X @RealChadStevens to talk Star Wars, Star Trek, Apple Computers, politics and more.