Star Trekis still going strong as a TV franchise on Paramount+ withStar Trek: Strange New Worldsand the upcomingStar Trek: Starfleet Academy, but Paramount-Skydance’s new leadership could finally fix the biggest problem that has plagued the 60-year-old franchise created by Gene Roddenberry.
In early August, Skydance Media completed its purchase of Paramount Global,Star Trek’s parent company. Led by CEO David Ellison, who executive-producedStar Trek Into DarknessandStar Trek Beyond, the newParamount-Skydance discussed their plansfor the future of Paramount Studios with members of the press. Encouragingly,Star Trekwas hailed as a"priority"for Paramount’s new leadership.
Under executive producer Alex Kurtzman and Secret Hideout,Star Trekreturned to TV after a 12-year absence withStar Trek: Discoveryin 2017.Discovery’s success spawned a renaissance consisting of sixStar TrekTV seriesand a made-for-streaming movie,Star Trek: Section 31. Star Trek: Strange New WorldsandStar Trek: Picardseason 3 were particularly acclaimed.
However,Star Trektheatrical films have been dormant since 2016, which is when the Justin Lin-directedStar Trek Beyond, produced by J.J. Abrams, hit theaters. For years,fans have wondered why Star Trekmovies have been stagnant, and whyStar Trek’s newer TV properties haven’t become movies. Paramount-Skydance looks to finally fixStar Trek’s 20-year-old problem.
Paramount-Skydance Will Fix Star Trek’s Biggest Problem Of The Last 20 Years
Star Trek Is A Priority For Paramount’s New Leadership
As reported byVarietyat Paramount-Skydance’s presentation to the media, Dana Goldberg, Co-Chair of Paramount Pictures and Chair of Paramount Television, spoke about their"new approach to managing Paramount’s valuable “Star Trek” franchise."
“‘Star Trek’ is absolutely a priority, and it’s a priority across the company,”Goldberg said.“We’re not going to be siloed off so that there’s a conversation happening about television and another conversation” about film plans.“Varietycalled this Paramount-Skydance’s"holistic"approach to Star Trekgoing forward.
Star Trekhas not been a united franchise since 2006. The rights toStar TrekTV series, like Paramount+’s new output and the legacy shows fromStar Trek: The Original SeriestoStar Trek: Enterprise, were owned by CBS Corporation, while the feature film license belonged to Paramount Pictures, including the right to make newStar Trekmovies.
Paramount-Skydance reportedly aims to end this divide withinStar Trek,at last. Marvel Studios andStar Wars, for example, don’t silo off their IP between film and television. Hence, TV characters like the Thunderbolts+ can headline feature films, and the Mandalorian can also star in his ownStar Warsmovie. But that hasn’t been the case withStar Trekfor two decades.
Why Star Trek Was Split Between TV & Movies For The Last 20 Years
Star Trek Was Different In The 1980s & 1990s
In 2006, Viacom and CBS split into two separate companies. This altered the direction of theStar Trekfranchise asStar Trek’s ownership was divided between the two new entities. CBS Corporation keptStar Trek’s television library, consumer products licensing, and overallStar Treklicense, while the rights to make newStar Trekmovies and the library of the first 10Star Trekfeature filmswent to Paramount Pictures.
This is, essentially, the reason why J.J. Abrams’ 2009Star Trekreboot created the alternate Kelvin timeline as its setting. Abrams' newStar Trekmovies did not have the rights to be set in the Prime Timeline, and had to exist in their own universe. Similarly, this is whyStar Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, andStar Trek: Strange New Worldscouldn’t be spun off into theatrical films.
Most fans were unaware ofStar Trek’s internal split,remembering howStar Trekwas in the 1980s and 1990s before Viacom and CBS broke apart.Star Trekwas still one franchise under Paramount when it was overseen by executive producer Rick Berman. This is whyStar Trek: The Next Generationwas able to jump to movies afterStar Trek: The Original Series.
2002’sStar Trek: Nemesiswas the last theatricalStar Trekmovie made before Viacom and CBS split. Its critical and box office failure endedStar Trekmovies until J.J. Abrams' 2009 reboot, and initial hopes forStar Trek: Enterpriseto jump to feature films were dashed by the prequel’s poor ratings and cancellation in 2005. A year later, CBS and Viacom split.
Star Trek’s Possible TV & Movie Future Explained
Star Trek’s Franchise Could Finally Be United
Paramount-Skydance’s stated intention for a more"holistic"approach toStar Trekcould mean the forbidden door might open both ways, by possibly allowing Star Trek on Paramount+ properties to become feature films, and letting J.J. Abrams' Kelvin timelineStar Trekcharacters cross over into Paramount+’s TV universe. This wasn’t possible before.
Righting the ship when it comes to Star Trekmovies is a priority for Paramount-Skydance, as is producing new content to make the Paramount+ streaming service more competitive with Netflix and Prime Video. It’s unclear if this means greenlightingnewStar TrekTV projectsto further the franchise afterStar Trek: Strange New WorldsandStar Trek: Starfleet Academy, or possibly bringing back canceled series.
Made-for-streaming movies likeStar Trek: Section 31are"not a priority"for Paramount-Skydance.
Paramount has twoStar Trekmovies in development: aStar Trek Originprequel movie directed by Toby Haynes that was announced in 2024, but has seen no forward progress, andStar Trek 4, the reunion of the USS Enterprise cast led by Chris Pine that has been in development hell for nearly a decade.It’s unclear if either movie will happenor if Paramount-Skydance will pursue other types ofStar Trekmovies.
Star Trek on Paramount+ has a couple of ready options that could be turned into feature films:Star Trek: Legacyis the most desiredStar Trekproject among fans and could be refashioned into a theatrical movie. Meanwhile,Star Trek: Starfleet Academyis led by Academy Award-level movie star actors Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti, and could become a feature film if it proves popular on Paramount+.
Star Trek: Strange New Worldsis slated to end with season 5, and complicating matters is that the show is about the Starship Enterprise, as is the ever-rumored Chris Pine-ledStar Trek 4. Conflicting USS Enterprise films could cause conflict among moviegoers - unless they unite in an epicStar Trekcrossover movie on the big screen. Are you listening, Paramount-Skydance?
