The fourth film in Star Trek‘s Kelvin timeline isn’t happening, and that opens the door for the movie franchise to take a break. The entire Star Trek universe has been in a constant state of flux recently, with shows being greenlit, shows being canceled, movies getting poor reviews, and projects being left on the back burner for years.
Paramount has announced plans for another Star Trek movie, but were quick to point out that the Kelvin universe crew wouldn’t be coming back. Going for something entirely new is a smart play by the studio, but it shouldn’t come on the big screen. Star Trek 4‘s cancellation means the franchise should let the movies rest for a while.
The Star Trek Movies Are An Extension Of The TV Shows
One key detail that seems to be lost in Paramount’s rapidly-changing take on the Star Trek universe is that the movies have always been extensions of the shows. When Kirk and the rest of the Enterprise crew returned in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, it was a momentous occasion for the popular series that was canceled a decade earlier.
Similarly, the movies featuring The Next Generation crew picked up where the show left off, and built upon the series. Even the Kelvin universe movies were extensions of The Original Series in a way, reimagining the iconic characters if their lives were subtly different. In every instance, successful Star Trek movies were beholden to the goodwill created by the shows.
The movie franchise would never have worked in a vacuum, and there’s no telling how audiences would have responded to the Star Trek movies if they arrived out of thin air. Fans went to see all their favorite heroes in bigger and better adventures, and movies had so much more at their disposal than TV did at the time.
We Need A Great Star Trek Show Before We Can Have Another Movie
When Star Trek: Discovery premiered in 2017, it divided hardcore fans because its tone was wildly different from the optimism of the older shows. The series ran for five seasons, but failed to become the cultural phenomenon that Star Trek was during its heyday. Therein lies the biggest problem with making more movies.
The modern Star Trek franchise has yet to make a great series that can logically continue in a feature film. Section 31 was not only a miserable failure because its writing was so bad, but also because it had no interest from fans. Even arguably better shows like Lower Decks and Strange New Worlds are lost in their own niches.
At 22% on Rotten Tomatoes, Star Trek: Section 31 is the lowest-rated film in the entire franchise.
The Hollywood Reporter reports that a new Star Trek movie is already in development that seeks to reboot the film franchise. With details so scant, it’s impossible to know exactly where the series will go in this latest installment. However, it does nothing to rectify the overarching optics problem that has plagued Star Trek for years.
Paramount is so concerned with nostalgia that they’ve failed to build the Star Trek franchise in any meaningful way. Moving away from Kirk and Spock might be the secret to the franchise’s future, but any new show must be well-written and broadly appealing. Otherwise, it might be best that the Star Trek movie franchise goes away for good.
- Created by
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Gene Roddenberry
- First Episode Air Date
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September 8, 1966
- Cast
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William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Deforest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Wil Wheaton, Avery Brooks, Nana Visitor, Rene Auberjonois, Alexander Siddig, Cirroc Lofton, Armin Shimerman, Colm Meaney, Terry Farrell, Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson, Jeri Ryan, Robert Duncan McNeill, Robert Picardo, Ethan Phillips, Garrett Wang, Jolene Blalock, Connor Trinneer, Dominic Keating, Scott Bakula, Linda Park, John Billingsley, Anthony Montgomery, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho, Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anton Yelchin, Idris Elba, Sonequa Martin-Green, Mary Wiseman, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Wilson Cruz, Oyin Oladejo, Emily Coutts, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Rebecca Romijn, Michelle Yeoh
- TV Show(s)
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Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Animated Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Short Treks, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek Lower Decks, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy