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Jerry Goldsmith’s Full Orchestral Score For ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture’ Published As Book For First Time

| April 14, 2021 | By: Lukas Kendall 12 comments so far

Fans of composer Jerry Goldsmith and Star Trek music now have a new way to celebrate his Oscar-nominated score for Star Trek: The Motion Picture .

Omni Music Publishes Star Trek: The Motion Picture Score Book

Now that dozens of Star Trek soundtrack albums have been released by the specialty CD labels as expanded collector’s editions, Omni Music is opening a new frontier by publishing Jerry Goldsmith’s legendary score to Star Trek: The Motion Picture as a bound book. This is the first full, complete orchestral score released for any Star Trek music from film or television.

This unique book features the written, full orchestrations to Goldsmith’s magnificent score for the first Star Trek feature film. The orchestrations are intended for large symphony orchestra (enhanced by specialty instruments) so this isn’t something you could easily use to play the music at home on your keyboard; in fact, the book is licensed for study only, and not performance. The full printed score corresponds to the 3-CD set of The Motion Picture soundtrack album released by La-La Land Records in 2012 .

Sample page from Star Trek: The Motion Picture score book (Omni Publishing)

Omni Music Publishing is a specialty book company dedicated to publishing film scores in full, unabridged editions for fans, scholars, and music aficionados. While publishing classical music is pretty straightforward, doing the same for film scores is much more complicated due to dealing with the rights. There is also the archaeology work of locating the handwritten (and often, quite messy) original scores in studio vaults and engraving them (via computer) so that they are clear and legible. Omni has sorted through the red tape and undertaken the painstaking work to bring these treasures officially to the public.

Jerry Goldsmith’s score to Star Trek: The Motion Picture became the signature piece of Star Trek film music, with a main theme repurposed for Star Trek: The Next Generation (at Gene Roddenberry’s request) and also used by Goldsmith himself in his sequel scores for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , First Contact , Insurrection, and Nemesis . It features a beautiful love theme (“Ilia’s Theme”) and magnificent, ominous passages for the alien V’Ger threat, enhanced by pipe organ and a unique instrument called the blaster beam. The score overflows with melody and orchestral invention.

Because of the film’s troubled postproduction, Goldsmith wrote and recorded a number of alternate cues which were never heard until being presented on La-La Land’s 3CD set. All of them are included in a supplemental section of this book—along with four additional selections which Goldsmith wrote and had orchestrated, but which were never recorded in 1979, for one reason or another.

And the score all comes together in a beautiful 473-page, 9” x 12” bound softcover book. If you can’t read music, this will admittedly be like browsing a book published in a foreign language—but could still a beautiful collectible, with new cover art by Scott Saslow. The Star Trek: The Motion Picture score book can be purchased directly from Omni for $85.00 .

Visit Omni Music Publishing’s website to order and see other books in their catalog, such as The Matrix (Don Davis), Batman (Danny Elfman), Glory (James Horner) and Ghostbusters (Elmer Bernstein).

And if you are a musician looking for Star Trek sheet music to play at home with piano or other instruments, you can find a selection at musicnotes.com .

Bonus: TMP scene with unused “Body Meld” music

As a special treat for TrekMovie readers, composer Joe Kraemer ( Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation , Jack Reacher ) has created a synthesized “mockup” of one of the unrecorded cues, Goldsmith’s original intended version of the climactic “Body Meld” (available in the new printed full score). Judge for yourself if Robert Wise was right to reject it for being “too romantic.”

Lukas Kendall is the founder of Film Score Monthly and has been involved as a producer or consultant on numerous soundtrack album releases of Star Trek music. He is credited as a proofreader in Omni’s book edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture .

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REVIEW – Star Trek: Enterprise Collection, Volume 2

ooooohhhhh I really like this but, I the original is better suited.

That font! 🥰

Over a long period of time I’ve learnt to appreciate TMP a lot more. It still not one of my absolute favourites but the score most certainly is. I will go out on a limb here and say it’s still the finest Star Trek score of all time. It’s pretty magical. Jerry Goldsmith you still very much missed.

The blaster beam has such a distinctive sound- really sets TMP score apart from the other films.

I bought one, and purchased the big CD release back when it was new. Great companion/set.

The score is all at concert pitch, so if you want to plunk out the parts at your piano, you don’t have to transpose. This also makes it easier to see doublings, etc. As usual, viola parts are in alto clef.

I’ve not seen a film score before, so maybe rendering everything at concert pitch is standard in that industry? (Not so with other music… I’m mostly a choral conductor and composer but have conducted instrumental ensembles a bit, too.)

It depends on the composer. Most of the “old guard” asked their orchestrators to use transposed pitch; ST:TMP (Arthur Morton) was all done transposed. All of John Williams’ orchestrations are transposed. James Horner had his orchestrators use concert pitch (like Prokofiev). I am told that nowadays, concert pitch is much more common for today’s composers who are less likely to be classically trained.

Thanks for the info. Neat to be on this topic with Trek fans… my worlds of interest converge!

Thanks Lukas.

Well this is a super painful story. This is like showing us the ingredients of a cake and we have no access to getting the ingredients or putting it together.

I’m assuming most fans won’t even be able to read the recipes (to stay with your analogy), let alone recreate them. This kind of book probably has a very small target audience.

This reminds me that Star Trek is famous for introducing god-like or very very powerful beings, and then having absolutely zero follow-up. The Organians, Metrons… and THIS–a follow-up somewhere along the way would have been welcome. In fact, the only follow-through we’ve ever had with a god-like being has been Q. And even then, he’s still quite a mystery.

Beautiful music. Amazing how those themes imprint on your memory.

Screen Rant

Star trek tng: 10 things you didn't know about the theme song and intro.

Star Trek: The Next Generation's intro and theme song is iconic. If you want to know more about TNG's beginning, here's some facts and trivia.

From the moment your eyes settle on the vast expanse of stars, the first ambient sounds hit your ears, and you hear the mellifluous voice of Sir Patrick Stewart's cadence reciting, "Space: the final frontier..." you prepare your senses for the first thrilling notes of one of the most recognizable theme songs of all time. With much fanfare, the theme for  Star Trek: The Next Generation  sends your senses on an adventurous march through space, the  Enterprise- D shooting across the title sequence with each blast from the brass, each flurry of the harp, and each pounding of the percussion.

Longtime Star Trek fans will recognize it as one of the franchise's most definitive pieces of music, able to instantly transport them to an emotional state of nostalgia. It's selection as the theme song for the first new Star Trek television series since the original premiered was not an easy one, mired by bureaucratic decision making and creative differences. Did you know there was also an alternate theme? Read on for 10 things you didn't know about the  TNG  Theme Song and Intro!

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IT WAS TAKEN FROM STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE

For the first time in over ten years, the cast of the original Star Trek series came together to make  Star Trek: The Motion Picture.  Released in 1979, it would feature the crew of the original USS  Enterprise  being reassembled for another mission.

To capture the spirit of the original series, creator Gene Roddenberry wanted a rousing new theme song that would make audiences feel the pull to adventure of space exploration. He liked it so much, that he decided it would be used as the theme for the first new Star Trek series since the original,  Star Trek: The Next Generation.

IT WAS WRITTEN BY A FAMOUS COMPOSER

The composer of  TNG's  soaring theme song was none other than Jerry Goldsmith, long renowned in Hollywood for his particularly bombastic and exciting scores. He went from being a humble clerk typist in the musical department at CBS in the '50s to writing some of the most famous theme songs for film and television.

He wrote the original theme for the '60s spy series  The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,   as well as blockbuster films like Poltergeist , Alien, Total Recall, Airforce One,  and  The Mummy.  His themes are atmospheric, full of percussion and horns, and have lots of character, making each one as unique as the other.

IT ALMOST NEVER HAPPENED

The theme song for  TNG  may have come out of the music for  Star Trek: The Motion Picture,  but it almost never happened. Goldsmith had started composing the music for the film and finished a section to be used when Admiral Kirk and Scotty fly over the refit  Enterprise.

RELATED:  Star Trek: 10 Enterprise Memes That Are Hilariously True 

Director Robert Wise liked the sound he was creating, but ultimately had to reject it on the basis that it wasn't cohesive, and didn't have an overall "theme". So back Goldsmith went to the drawing board until he came up with the theme song we have today, used in not just  Star Trek: The Next Generation   but four other Star Trek films as well.

IT ALMOST SOUNDED LIKE A SUPERMAN RIP-OFF

When production first began on  TNG,  several themes were considered. They could either use the theme from the original series, by Alexander Courage, or they could compose something entirely new. The alternate version of the theme exists on Youtube and as you'll hear, sounds very different from the theme  TNG  ended up having.

The alternate theme sounds like  The Last Starfighter,  with elements of   Superman  and even a few fantasy films of the '70s and '80s. It has a swashbuckling feel, which definitely speaks to a call for adventure, but ultimately sounds a little too cheesy, almost like the theme for the fictitious  Galaxy Quest  television show.

THE WORDS OF ITS TITLE SEQUENCE ARE SPECIFIC

Prior to the main theme starting up, the voice of Patrick Stewart, aka Captain Jean-Luc Picard can be heard over ambient music, just as Captain Kirk's voice could be heard prior to the theme of the original Star Trek series. They recite an introductory speech that is nearly identical, save for a few key phrases.

Picard's states, "Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. It's continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before!". "Continuing mission" was put in place of the "five-year mission" as stated in the original, and "where no one has gone before" replaced "where no man has gone before" as a more gender-neutral choice.

IT WAS INTENDED TO DRAW IN LONGTIME TREKKIES

As Star Trek: The Next Generation  was the first Star Trek television program in over two decades, it came at a time when longtime Trekkies were still used to seeing the cast of the original series in feature films. Producers didn't know how they would react to a new series so they selected a theme song that would be recognizable to them.

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By using the theme song from the first Star Trek film, they hoped longtime Star Trek fans would be drawn into the show and give it a chance. By not using a new theme song, producers thought the new series wouldn't seem so alien to a skeptical audience.

IT CURTAILED HAVING TO PAY GENE RODDENBERRY ROYALTIES

Though Gene Roddenberry is credited as being Star Trek's creator, he's also been credited for almost causing its destruction. A polarizing figure in his own franchise like Star Wars creator George Lucas , he often felt that every decision he made was in the best interest of his creation when occasionally it only benefited him.

Case in point, when he felt that he wouldn't stand to make any profits off of the original series, he decided to compose lyrics for its theme so that at least he would get 50 percent of the royalties for the writing credit. If Paramount used his theme (even without the lyrics) for  TNG  they'd have to pay him royalties.

LICENSING AND EXPENSES PLAYED A PART

When producers for  TNG  were discussing what theme to go with for the series, they had to be careful about licensing, rights, and ultimately expenses. They hadn't used the original series theme again composed by Alexander Courage because of the issues surrounding having to pay Gene Roddenberry writing credits as well, so they turned to another composer.

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To commission a new piece of orchestral music at the time was going to be expensive. Hollywood composers operate at guild rates, and paying any of them for a new Star Trek show on an untested audience was a great risk, so recycling the theme song from  Star Trek: The Motion Picture  was the least expensive and convoluted option.

IT WAS ALMOST USED FOR STAR TREK PHASE II

Prior to word of  TNG  airing, there had been talk of doing another Star Trek series but involving the cast of the original series with a few new crew members. This was after the premiere of  Star Wars  in 1977 when producers felt continuing to have Star Trek compete in the science fiction film arena was too risky.

Star Trek: Phase II  as it was referred to had already started the casting and writing process, but ultimately Paramount Studios decided to continue cranking out Star Trek films, beginning with  Star Trek: The Motion Picture  in 1979 where the theme song for  TNG  was first heard. Concepts for characters and storylines from  Phase II  would wind up in  TNG  as well.

THE INTRO HAS BEEN REMASTERED FOR BLU-RAY

If you're streaming  TNG  today on Netflix or Hulu, chances are you're watching it in the digitally remastered Blu-ray glory it deserves. Even the beige interiors of the '90s sets look sharp and smart, and the bridge which once had all the charm of a hotel lobby now seems cleared for action.

All of the exterior shots of planets, the Milky Way, and the rest of the solar system in the Alpha Quadrant got their special effects beefed up as well. The  TNG  intro got shiny new lettering, as well as all of its galactic splendor restored thanks to the highly qualified folks at Industrial Light and Magic.

NEXT:  10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Big Bang Theory Theme Song And Intro

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Published Mar 24, 2022

David C. Fein Shares the Secrets of the Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Director's Edition

The man behind the remaster shares his thoughts on the process and some surprises in store

StarTrek.com | Special Features Producer/DP, Rafael Ruiz

In 1979, Star Trek: The Motion Picture first transported audiences back to the world of Captain Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise . In doing so, it re-launched a franchise — five more films featuring the TOS crew as well as multiple spin-offs and films — and brought life back to the fandom. David C. Fein, the man behind the upcoming Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Director's Edition , was one such fan.

“I grew up on the classic TV show,” Fein told StarTrek.com during an interview. “I was living in New York City, and I had to be home at 6:00 PM every single night in order to see Star Trek . I grew up on classic Star Trek . It became a major part of who I am.”

I learned so much about [it], watching that and growing up to learn everything I possibly could about it,” he continued. “What was always important is that the story mattered first.”

Fein first joined the franchise 22 years ago, when he — along with director Robert Wise — released the Director's Cut of Star Trek: The Motion Picture . “The film had never been finished, originally. It was rushed into theaters because of various marketing arrangements that had been made, and promises of the movie opening when it needed to open. Whatever could be assembled was assembled and put into theaters. That was so rushed. There were so many problems with the film, and even the point of the film was missing.”

Special Features Producer/DP, Rafael Ruiz

Fein had asked Wise for years if they could go back and release a director's cut of the film. “He had some apprehension, especially because he wasn't as familiar with Star Trek , even at the time, and relied on the actors and everybody else. But he understood that collaborating with us, with me and my team, would really make the difference of being able to finish the film. So we finished the film with 100 new visual effects shots, and it took about 1,000 edits, just to tighten the film, to get it to work back then.”

The film was re-released on DVD to mass success, but as the 40th anniversary of the film began to approach, Fein considered going back to his project. “My focus was to finish the film, not necessarily where it was going to be released. In finishing the film, the focus was using every tool within the ability of today, to focus on telling the story and finishing the story the best it could possibly be.” With that in mind, Fein set about remastering the director's cut, now titled Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Director's Edition .

“Most restorations are we want to make a 40-year-old film look great for a 40-year-old film. That wasn't the goal. When I was speaking to Robert Wise over the years, we learned about HDR, which is a better contrast that was in film, and learned so much more about where audio was going. He absolutely pushed me to always use every tool available and focus on the story. That's what happened this time,” Fein continued. “So the sound mix, which is a theatrical Dolby sound mix, is fantastic. It carries the story forward. In cleaning up the film and going back to the original camera negative, which absolutely blew my expectations away, I never realized how blurry many of the effect shots were just because of the rush to get them out. There was such a loss of quality. To be able to go back, even for the shots that previously existed and reassemble them from the different layers of effect elements, brought tears to my eyes. It was so beautiful.”

Restoring the film brought unexpected surprises as they began the process. “The day we brought back the effects team that we had previously… We wanted to bring back those people who had the experience of building the work originally. And the first thing we had to do was bring back the team, which the majority did return, which is wonderful mojo. It was great. We rebuilt the Enterprise . We brought that up there because there's so many little details you never saw in the ship, but I wanted to make sure that our digital version was exact. So we had all of that reference.”

“Then we upgraded it again because now we're going from a postage stamp to a theater screen, to a giant screen,” Fein added. “And everything had to hold up. So the first thing we had to do was build the team back and then we had to start working on those effects. But at the same time, we had to go back to the studio and get the scan of the film, the negative of the film.”

Another challenge was working on the sound, which led to a fantastic discovery for Fein and his team. They discovered the original ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement) for the film that they previously had not access to, which meant a piece of Star Trek history was being unearthed as they remastered the film. This also led to a heartfelt moment for Fein.

“Bob was directing the actors,” Fein said, getting emotional as he spoke about his friend, who passed away in 2005. “To hear him saying, ‘Okay, now let's do it again.’ But this way was magic. There have been just such a few times that I feel like he was standing behind me or telling me, ‘We need to do this. We need to do that.’ It was so precious that I just had to love it. And that was one of many things.”

For fans of the film, Fein also has another big surprise he revealed during the interview. “There's a deleted scene that we wanted to have back 20 years ago,” he said. “This was Ilia and Scotty and Decker in engineering. We found some of the footage 20 years ago, but there was no audio, so there was really no point in showing the scene. But it's three or four scenes that people have wanted to see forever. So we re-transferred that footage… and we found out that Bob looped the dialogue for the scene. Now that scene's going to be included in the physical media release and others, because he looped a few. And we found other key scenes that are just fantastic.”

StarTrek.com

Fein also teased “there's new dialogue from the actors in the background here and there, that you've never heard before that you're going to be surprised about.”

“Classic Star Trek didn't have the money for visual effects,” Fein later said as we discussed The Original Series . “Flash to Star Trek: The Motion Picture , and there's so much spectacle, so much spectacle. But it always remained about the people. And that's what's precious.”

Fein finds the focus on characters — particularly Jim Kirk — to be what helps make The Motion Picture — The Director’s Edition such a strong film.

“One of the things that I've always said about The Director's Edition from when we originally cut it even to now, is that we found our captain,” he said. “When you watch the original theatrical [edition], he's really angry. I never felt that he was really the character of Kirk that he was supposed to be. Even Bob didn't feel that it was right, but it was what we had to do to get the story together. So through editing, we were able to make him more human and more Kirk-like. If you pay attention to the story as it flows now, where I say it's compelling, I love how he's alone. He gets the Enterprise back, but he's not feeling overly secure.”

“McCoy comes. He calls McCoy back, and he gets a little more confident,” Fein added. “And then Spock shows up, and you see the joy on his face, like ‘I never thought Spock would be here. Spock's here.’ And it's such a story about the people, them coming together, to face this amazing entity that's coming.”

“Imagine just the thrill and the fact that this boldly went where no movie or series went before. And it launched everything. Even though it's still about the people,” Fein concluded, as we discussed Trek being a story-driven franchise. “It still remains about the people. Because after all, it's the human adventure, which is just beginning.”

As a gift to fans, Fein has also created phone backgrounds and desktop wallpapers featuring the remastered version of Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Director's Edition art. You can download them here to share your love of the final frontier, and of the human adventure that makes it so special.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Director's Edition Remastered Trailer

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20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Trek⁠: The Motion Picture (1979)

Deleted scenes, unused scripts, studio politics, and more tidbits about the first Star Trek movie.

More than forty years after its theatrical debut, Star Trek—The Motion Picture remains a divisive installment of the long-running franchise.

Harlan Ellison offered this assessment in 1980: "The saddening reality is simply that it is a dull film: an often boring film, a stultifyingly predictable film, a tragically average film."

Other reviewers have dismissed the movie with less eloquent descriptions than Ellison, calling it “The Slow-Motion Picture,” “The Motionless Picture, “The Motion Sickness,” and “Where Nomad Has Gone Before” (a reference to the original Star Trek episode “The Changeling,” the plot of which bares some resemblance to the film).

However, despite lukewarm reviews and a mixed response from fans, the movie was a box office smash. According to an analysis in Daily Variety, of the 103 million movie tickets purchased at the U.S. box office in December 1979, nearly one in four was for Star Trek—The Motion Picture.

In the years and decades since its initial release, there has also been a reassessment of the film’s merits in some circles. Mark A. Altman, author of many books about the franchise, recently called it “the most cinematic of the Star Trek films.” Bryan Fuller, co-creator of Star Trek: Discovery, has proclaimed it “a flawed masterpiece.” A search for “Star Trek—The Motion Picture Appreciation” will bring up multiple groups and forums online dedicated to the movie, each with thousands of members.

And yet, despite the decades of reviews, criticism, and reassessment (including a recut “Director’s Edition” of the film that was released on DVD in 2001), there are still many things most people don’t know about the making of the first Star Trek movie.

20. A Star Trek Theatrical Release Was Considered As Early As 1965

Following Star Trek’s cancellation in 1969, rumors and hopes of a motion picture or television revival immediately begin swirling, but talk of a theatrical Star Trek release can be traced back much earlier than the fan phenomenon it became in the 1970s.

After NBC rejected the first Star Trek pilot (“The Menagerie”) in 1965, Gene Roddenberry wrote to its star, Jeffrey Hunter, to propose bringing him back for a couple of days to expand the episode to theatrical length:

You will recall I mentioned to you during shooting that I felt there were things more important to both of us than budget. One result of this is we have an enormous investment in a project which can now be recouped in only one of two ways: (1) expansion of current footage via stock and long cutting into an "acceptable" motion picture, or (2) one day or two of shooting an additional action opening which can result in a fast, tightly cut, exciting film release.

An episode of Roddenberry’s previous television series, The Lieutenant, had been released in this manner internationally as “To Kill A Man” in 1964. Indeed, American television episodes were re-edited (sometimes with new footage) into “movies” for shows including Mission: Impossible, Custer, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Disneyland (specifically, Davy Crockett), Ramar of the Jungle, and The Untouchables.

These compilation films were mostly released overseas, but they were sometimes shown in the United States, too. Every actor on Star Trek had a “theatrical rate” built into their contract in case this happened—typically SAG minimum, although actors like William Shatner negotiated for more.

When NBC ordered a second pilot and Hunter decided not to continue with Star Trek, this idea appears to have been abandoned, but it was reconsidered later on. On June 20, 1967, Roddenberry wrote to Robert Coulson (an American science fiction writer and editor of the fanzine Yandro) about renewed possibilities following the sale of Desilu to Gulf+Western (owners of Paramount):

With Desilu now merging with Paramount Pictures there is some talk of releasing ["The Menagerie"] overseas as a motion picture and so it appears there is some chance that we may some day [sic] break even on the unusual costs involved in making two pilots.

In the same letter, Roddenberry offered budgetary aspirations that would be achieved more than forty times over when Star Trek—The Motion Picture was finally realized twelve years later:

All of us here would someday like to have the greater latitude permitted [by a] motion picture. The idea of having a million or more dollars in the budget is terribly appealing. Maybe someday.

Baseless rumors circulated during the run of the television series, too. On May 4, 1967, Science Fiction Times editor James Ashe sent a letter to Roddenberry asking about a rumored Star Trek movie. Apparently, author James Blish had mentioned the possibility at a recent convention, and Ashe wanted to know if the scoop was true. It certainly wouldn’t be the last time a fan queried Roddenberry for news about a Star Trek movie.

Michael is one of the founders of FACT TREK (www.facttrek.com), a project dedicated to untangling 50+ years of mythology about the original Star Trek and its place in TV history. He currently is the Director of Sales and Digital Commerce at Shout! Factory, where he has worked since 2014. From 2013-2018, he ran the popular Star Trek Fact Check blog (www.startrekfactcheck.blogspot.com).

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Star Trek: The Motion Picture ( Paramount Pictures , 1979 ) is the first feature film based on the popular science fiction television series , Star Trek: The Original Series .

• 1 Versions and dialogue
• 2 Transporter chief
• 3 Leonard McCoy
• 7 Main cast
• 8 External links

Versions and dialogue [ edit ]

Transporter chief [ edit ].

• Enterprise, what we got back didn't live long... fortunately.

Leonard McCoy [ edit ]

• It learns fast, doesn't it?
• Your child is having a tantrum, Mr. Spock!
• Spock, this child is about to wipe out every living thing on Earth. Now, what do you suggest we do? Spank it?
• Well, Jim, I hear Chapel's an M.D. now. Well I'm going to need a top nurse... not a doctor who will argue every little diagnosis with me. And they probably redesigned the whole sick bay, too! I know engineers—they love to change things.

Spock [ edit ]

• This simple feeling, is beyond V'Ger's comprehension.

Dialogue [ edit ]

• 2001 Director's Edition only.
• "82 AUs" in 1979 theatrical version and 1983 television version, "two AUs" in 2001 Director's Edition.
• Preceding dialogue in 2001 Director's Edition. Following dialogue included in all versions of the film.
• 1983 television version
• Concluding lines

Tagline [ edit ]

• Closing text

Main cast [ edit ]

External links [ edit ].

• Star Trek: The Motion Picture quotes at the Internet Movie Database
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture at StarTrek.com

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• Films based on television series
• Robert Wise films
• Films about revenge
• Films about artificial intelligence

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Star Trek: The Motion Picture review – high-definition with enough high camp to boldly go

The first feature film of the franchise, from 1979, has been rejigged and brightened, the better to enjoy the over-the-top acting

F or 10 years after the cancellation of the original Star Trek TV show in 1969, creator Gene Roddenberry’s mission was to seek out ways of getting a movie version, helped by the growing re-run fanbase and a warp-speed boost from the colossal success of Star Wars. The end result was Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979, now re-released in a 4K restoration, directed by veteran all-rounder Robert Wise with Douglas Trumbull on special effects. This is the “director’s edition”, first authorised by Wise in 2001: it brightens and clarifies the effects, enriches the sound mix, adds minor expository and ambient scenes and emphasises the unhurried visionary grandeur that Wise was aiming at.

At the time of its original release, I was disconcerted by the Enterprise crew’s silly new uniforms: the men’s tunics are extended downwards at the waist to form an entirely ridiculous triangular flap over the crotch area. And living in the eternal TV present as I was, I was secretly shocked at how much older the main cast suddenly looked, everyone’s hair greyer and more precariously bouffant-ed. With this first movie, the Star Trek concept had evolved into something more ambitious and Kubrickian, with plenty of andante outer-space sequences and an entire pre-credit “overture”, just dark starry space to a muted orchestral theme. I missed the cartoony narrative snap of the TV show and the original signature tune, but the doors still go fshhhht-fshhhht and the dialogue scenes between Kirk (William Shatner), Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and McCoy (DeForest Kelley) still have that wonderfully theatrical resonance and serio-comic panache, Shatner’s DRAMATIC way of SPEAKING, often-doing-a-one-breath-run-up-to-a-big-EMPHASIS is still a joy. It’s only now I can see that the relationship of Spock and Kirk has a Jeeves/Wooster drollery.

The setting is 10 years on from the original show and Kirk, now an admiral, demands to be given command of the refitted USS Enterprise once again, because this is the only starship in a position to intercept a destructive alien cloud-formation with a hyper-evolved intelligence at its centre, heading for Planet Earth: a sinister entity that appears to call itself “V’Ger”. Kirk’s high-handedly pulling rank to assume command infuriates the existing captain, Decker (Stephen Collins), whose competence and loyalty Kirk nonetheless comes to respect.

Kirk gets the old gang together for his new Enterprise jaunt, the most important of course being the stonefaced Spock, who – in an outrageously enjoyable and over-the-top scene – has had to abandon the “Kolinahr” ceremony on his home planet, in which he would renounce emotion for ever. But his human side would not permit it. There is also a new crew-member: Lieutenant Ilia from the Planet Delta IV, played by Indian star Persis Khambatta, a mysterious and elegant figure with a shaved head who once had a relationship with Decker on her home planet and it soon becomes clear that Decker is still deeply in love with her. (Deltans are said to be more attractive than other people and can only serve aboard Starfleet vessels if they have taken “oaths of celibacy” – a sexier thing can hardly be imagined.)

All this is to have important consequences when a probe from V’Ger invades Ilia’s body, effectively making her its avatar, but with Ilia’s own memory and consciousness still intact somewhere within her. It’s a bit overextended but very watchable with flourishes of exotic invention: I was sorry that Nichelle Nichols ’s Uhura is not given greater prominence but I love the “giant’s causeway” of stepping stones leading from the Enterprise to the centre of the alien.

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Here’s How Much Each Star Trek Movie Made at the Box Office Upon Release

Star Trek is one of the most lucrative franchises of all time. Let's look at each film's box office numbers.

Star Trek is a fascinating franchise. Originating as a television series that was canceled after three seasons, it quickly grew into a cult classic when it hit syndication, inspiring some of the first fan conventions. The series then made the leap to the big screen and is one of the most successful film franchises based on a television series. The film series has been both a continuation of the original series, a spin-off for Star Trek: The Next Generation , and a reboot.

There is a perception that Star Trek has never been mainstream, and it is certainly more "geeky" than other pop culture properties. Yet the box office results of the Star Trek franchise show that the franchise, for most of its history, was able to captivate mainstream audiences, even those who had never watched an episode of the television series.

The film series has had its ups and downs, and while it was never the box office sensation that Star Wars was, it was and still is popular. While fans wait for news on Star Trek 4 , here is how much every Star Trek film made at the worldwide box office adjusted for inflation.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) - $595,630,333

Star trek: the motion picture.

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Star Trek: The Motion Picture premiered in 1979, 10 years after Star Trek: The Original Series was canceled. The movie originated as a new series titled Star Trek: Phase II before being upgraded to a feature film following the box office success of Star Wars . With Academy Award-winning director Robert Wise at the helm, the movie follows James Kirk, now an admiral, assuming command of the recently refitted Starship USS Enterprise to lead a mission to save the planet and determine the origins of a new cosmic threat that they soon will discover have ties to Earth. The movie was highly anticipated, but it also had many problems behind the scenes and did not even have test screenings due to the film being edited to the last minute.

A Disappointing Box Office Hit

At the time of its release, Star Trek: The Motion Picture set a box office record for the highest opening weekend gross , making $11.9 million in its first three days, beating the record set by Superman: The Movie , which opened the previous year. The movie was the fifth-highest-grossing movie of 1979, and it sold more tickets than any other Star Trek film until 2009's Star Trek . Adjusted for inflation, the movie's worldwide gross would be $595 million. Despite all that, Paramount Pictures saw the movie as a disappointment compared to expectations and marketing costs.

The movie's massive opening weekend was offset by the fact that it was the most expensive movie at the time, with a budget of $44 million. The movie received mixed reviews from fans and critics alike. It did make enough money to warrant a sequel, but it was clear they would need to go back to the drawing board. Stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) - $308,074,930

Star trek 2: the wrath of khan.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan looked to get the franchise back on track, with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry having less creative control than he did on the previous film. The movie brought back Ricardo Montalbán as Khan from The Original Series episode "Space Seed", with the movie acting as a continuation of that episode.

Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise must stop Khan from gaining control of the Genesis device, a machine that can restore or destroy planets. While Kirk defeats his former enemy, it comes at great cost as Spock sacrifices himself to save the crew. This moment shocked fans and helped make the movie a must-see. The Wrath of Khan still influences the franchise to this day.

Star Trek Truly Returns

Much like Star Trek: The Motion Picture , Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan broke the opening weekend box office record when it opened in theaters on June 4, 1982, grossing $14 million over the three-day weekend. The film ended its run with $78 million domestically and $96 million worldwide. Adjusted for inflation, that is $308 million worldwide.

Despite bringing in less money than Star Trek: The Motion Picture , due to the fact that The Wrath of Khan cost less to make, it was a more profitable film as Wrath of Khan had a budget of $12 million, a cost it made back in its opening weekend and was almost four times less expensive than Star Trek: The Motion Picture . It also received stronger critical reviews from fans and critics alike, with the movie still considered the best Star Trek film yet. Stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) - $259,849,489

Star trek iii: the search for spock.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock looked to undo the bold ending of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . While this certainly would anger fans today, what helped was the fact that Leonard Nimoy stepped into the director's chair and was the man who guided the resurrection of his popular character.

The movie centers on the crew of the Enterprise looking to bring Spock back from the dead after they discover he left part of his soul inside Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, while a Vulcan named Kurge (Christopher Lloyd) looks to take the secrets of the Genesis device. Kirk is able to resurrect Spock but pays a heavy price as Kurge kills his son, leaving Kirk with a hatred for Vulcans that will carry over into the sixth film.

Star Trek Is Here to Stay

Star Trek: The Search for Spock cost $16 million, which is also what the film made back in its opening weekend to take the number one spot. The movie grossed $76.5 million domestically and $87 million worldwide (adjusted for inflation $259 million), so it did gross less than Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan and cost more, but it was not seen as a disappointment.

The movie did face heavy competition that summer, as it was released the week after Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and a week before Ghostbusters and Gremlins. The film turned a healthy profit due to its low budget and the high demand for Star Trek , which the creators would capitalize on by beginning development on a new series, Star Trek: The Next Generation , which would air in 1987. Stream on Paramount+.

Related: Star Trek Movies in Order: How to Watch Chronologically and by Release Date

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) - $376,581,733

Star trek iv: the voyage home.

Even if one has not seen Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , they most likely know it as "the whale movie." When an alien probe threatens to destroy Earth as it attempts to contact now-extinct humpback whales, the crew of the Enterprise travels to Earth's past to find whales who can answer the probe's call.

In contrast to many of the films in the franchise, there is no villain, and it also takes place in the then contemporary present of 1986. Leonard Nimoy returned to direct the film in what would become one of the biggest films in the franchise.

A Breakout Hit with Non-Fans

The less sci-fi heavy premise, fish-out-of-water comedy angle of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home made it a big hit with audiences, for both hardcore Star Trek fans and even those who never watched the original series or movies . Opening over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend of 1986, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home made $39.6 million in its first five days of release, ending the eight-week run of Crocodile Dundee .

By the sixth week of release, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home sold more tickets than the previous two films and was close to approaching the total of Star Trek: The Motion Picture . By the end of its run, it grossed $109 million domestically, which made it the highest-grossing Star Trek film domestically until 2009's Star Trek . Combine that with an impressive $133 million worldwide total ($376 million adjusted for inflation) against a $21 million budget. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is one of the biggest hits in the franchise and is still beloved by fans today. Stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) - $175,684,558

Star trek v: the final frontier.

After Nimoy got to direct the previous two Star Trek films, Shatner would only return for a fifth film if he got to direct, so he was given the reigns of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier . Inspired by the phenomenon of televangelism at the time, the film focuses on the crew of the Enterprise confronting Spock's half-brother Sybok, looking to contact God at the center of the universe. The film was rushed into production during the 1988 Writer's Strike, which resulted in a mess of a movie that almost killed the franchise .

Disappointment Both Critically and Financially

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is often seen as both the worst entry in the origina l Star Trek films but also in the wider franchise. It opened in the summer of 1989, the poor audience and critical reaction, combined with competition from films like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Ghostbusters 2, Honey I Shrunk the Kids , and, of course, Tim Burton's Batman , made Star Trek V: The Final Frontier look worse by comparison.

The film had a budget of $30 million and grossed $52 million domestically and $70 million worldwide, which was not only a major fall from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home but also the second and third film. Even with the $175 million adjusted for inflation, it is still a big disappointment. With The Next Generation now on the air and becoming the new face of Star Trek , it was clear the original cast time might be coming to an end, but they wanted to make sure the cast got to go out on a high note. Stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) - $220,757,522

Star trek vi: the undiscovered country.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country looked to give the crew of The Original Series the final farewell they deserved. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan director Nicholas Meyer returned to helm the movie with a story by Leonard Nimoy that looked to be the space version of the Berlin Wall coming down and the end of the Cold War as the Federation and the Klingons, two sworn enemies, finally make peace.

Kirk, blinded by his hatred for the species after one of them killed his son back in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , is easily framed for the murder of the Klingon ambassador, and the film becomes a conspiracy thriller to find the real killer, clear Kirk's name, and assure peach between the Federation and Klingon Empire.

A Fitting Farewell

Released in December 1991, hoping to repeat the same success Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home had during the holiday season, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country had a budget of $27 million and grossed $74 million at the domestic box office with a $96 million worldwide total which is $220 million adjusted for inflation. The movie grossed $18 million in its opening weekend, setting the three-day opening weekend record for the franchise.

Released to tie in with the franchise's 25th anniversary, the movie received a large amount of publicity, which included Leonard Nimoy appearing on Star Trek: The Next Generation 's two-part episode "Unification," which aired a month before the film's release. Combined with strong reviews, it was a worthy final installment for the crew of Star Trek: The Original Series , and the stage was set for a new crew: The Next Generation. Stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Generations (1994) - $247,237,111

Star trek: generations.

Star Trek: Generations saw the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation take over the film franchise. The movie premiered only six months after the last episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation aired. The film's big hook was the meeting fans had been hoping to see for years: William Shatner's James T. Kirk would meet Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard. The two most famous Captains in the history of Star Trek would finally meet and that was enough of a pitch to sell the movie to audiences and would also kill off Captain Kirk .

Passing the Box Office Torch

Star Trek: Generations got a big marketing push, including being the first movie ever to have an official website to market a feature film. The movie opened number one at the box office with $23.1 million in its opening weekend. The movie grossed $75 million at the domestic box office and $118 million worldwide, which, adjusted for inflation, would be $247 million worldwide.

With a budget of $35 million, the movie was a box office hit and set the stage for The Next Generation cast to have their own Star Trek film series, with the sequel set to be even bigger. Stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: First Contact (1996) - $288,822,500

Star trek: first contact.

Star Trek: First Contact looked to combine the two most popular Star Trek films, The Wrath of Khan and The Voyage Home , into one movie. It featured a revenge story with The Next Generation 's biggest enemies, The Borg , similar to The Wrath of Khan , bringing back the character of Khan mixed with a time travel story like The Voyage Home .

The crew of The Next Generation travels back in time to stop the Borg from conquering the planet, while Jean-Luc Piccard also confronts his own PTSD from being assimilated by The Borg back in the Next Generation two-part episode "The Best of Both Worlds."

Star Trek Feels Bigger Than Ever

Putting the most popular villain of Star Trek: The Next Generation front and center in the marketing certainly helped as Star Trek: First Contact opened with $30 million and then went on to gross $92 million and a worldwide total of $146 million, which was the best box office for the franchise since Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home ten years prior.

Until the release of Star Trek in 2009, it was the highest-grossing Star Trek film at the worldwide box office. With an adjusted worldwide total of $288 million, this certainly painted the picture that The Next Generation cast could go for as many years as the original crew, but sadly, they would face two disappointing sequels that would kill any momentum. S tream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) - $214,348,942

Star trek: insurrection.

Star Trek: Insurrection follows the crew of the USS Enterprise -E as they rebel against Starfleet after they discover a conspiracy with a species known as the Son'a to steal the peaceful Ba'ku's planet. Insurrection is known for having a troubled production, as the movie underwent many rewrites and even major changes following test screenings. While two other Star Trek series, Deep Space Nine and Voyager , were on the air, this was the beginning of the Star Trek franchise beginning to lose audiences.

Audiences Start to Lose Interest

Star Trek: Insurrection was seen as a big stumble. Despite taking the number one spot in its opening weekend with $22.1 million, that was below the opening weekend of Star Trek: Generations and Star Trek: First Contact . The film received mixed negative reactions from fans and critics, who felt that the movie felt more like an expensive episode of the television show than a big-screen epic.

The movie did gross $70 million domestically, but that was also the price of its production budget, so this movie needed the $117 million worldwide to be deemed a hit. Unfortunately, things were only about to get worse for Star Trek . Stream on Paramount+.

Related: Star Trek 4: Plot, Cast, Release Date, and Everything Else We Know

Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)-$116,154,849

Star trek: nemesis.

Star Trek: Nemesis saw the Star Trek franchise enter the 21st century in a rough way. The film had a big hook, with a clone of Jean-Luc Picard named Shinzon ( played by a young Tom Hardy ) taking control of the Romulan Empire as he declares war with the Federation and with the original Picard. The movie looked to be the darkest entry in the franchise, with an ending that killed off Data in a manner similar to the death of Spock in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan .

The Film That Killed The Franchise (For a While)

Star Trek: Nemesis was a box office disaster in many ways. It grossed $18 million in its opening weekend, which was not only lower than the previous three Star Trek films but also the first time a Star Trek movie did not open to number one at the box office as the movie was beaten by the Jennifer Lopez/Matthew McConaughey rom-com, Maid in Manhattan . It grossed $43 million domestically, the lowest-grossing film in the franchise, and that is unadjusted for inflation.

With just $67 million worldwide, it barely made more than its $60 million budget, which made the movie an outright flop. Facing stiff competition from films like Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets , Die Another Day, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers , and The Santa Clause 2 , Star Trek: Nemesis 's failure kept the franchise off the big screen for seven years. For the series to properly return, it would need to be rebooted. Stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek (2009) - $557,883,582

Director J.J. Abrams looked to update Star Trek for a modern audience, rebooting the series with new actors taking on the iconic roles of the crew of the Enterprise. The film's script features a clever twist as it is a reboot, but also is a prequel, as it features younger versions of the characters, but also a sequel to The Original Series, as the film's rebooted timeline is kicked off by an older Spock (Leonard Nimoy reprising his role) creating the new timeline by traveling back.

The movie gave Star Trek a summer blockbuster infusion, with big bombastic trailers and state-of-the-art visual effects that looked to give fans the Star Trek of the original series on a budget like never before.

Star Trek Blasts Off Into a New Era

J.J Abrams's Star Trek roared into the summer movie season with a $75 million opening weekend, which was the biggest opening weekend for the franchise but adjusted and unadjusted for inflation. The movie became the highest-grossing entry in the Star Trek film franchise, unadjusted for inflation, with $257 million, which also made it the seventh highest-grossing movie of 2009.

Worldwide, it had a total of $385 million ($557 million adjusted for inflation). The film was originally supposed to be released on Christmas 2008 but was delayed to summer 2009, a decision that paid off as the movie looked even better by comparison as it was a blockbuster that got rave critical reviews due to not being impacted by the 2007-2008 writer's strike such as other summer movies that year like X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Terminator Salvation, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen or G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra . Star Trek was back in a big way. Stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) - $622,585,229

Star trek into darkness.

Star Trek Into Darkness was the sequel to 2009's Star Trek . The movie used the rebooted timeline to put a new spin on The Wrath of Khan , featuring Benedict Cumberbatch as this new incarnation of Khan while dropping the new young crew of the Enterprise into a mission that involves a political conspiracy regarding a secret black ops subsection of Starfleet, the Klingon Empire, and a push for war following the events of the destruction of Vulcan.

Like many of J.J. Abrams's films, the movie put a great deal of emphasis on mysteries and secrets, even hiding the fact that Cumberbatch was playing Khan despite fans calling it early on.

A Mixed but Successful Result

Star Trek Into Darkness opened to $84.1 million over its extended four-day opening (it was released on a Thursday as opposed to a Friday). While it grossed less than its predecessor domestically, with $228 million, worldwide, it actually outperformed the previous movie. Star Trek Into Darkness grossed $467 million worldwide, with $238 million coming from foreign markets.

Considering how Star Trek had always been a franchise that never translated well overseas to big box office numbers, this was a big win for Paramount Pictures as, to date, the film is the highest-grossing Star Trek film worldwide. Stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek Beyond (2016) - $444,104,691

Star trek beyond.

Despite being a box office hit, Star Trek Into Darkness was seen as a disappointment for many, and the studio wanted to go in a different direction for the next film, putting the emphasis on new plots and villains to celebrate the franchise's fiftieth anniversary. J.J. Abrams would move on to direct Star Wars: The Force Awakens , allowing Justin Lin to step into the director's seat for Star Trek Beyond .

The film looked to be the true big-budget version of an episode of The Original Series that the films had never actually done, with the plot involving the crew of the Enterprise investigating a strange message on a deserted planet only to be stranded by a mysterious villain with ties to the Federation. Split up on the planet, the crew will need to reunite and test the unity of the Federation against a threat that believes unity has made the galaxy weak.

A Disappointing Box Office for a Strong Movie

Despite the Star Trek 50th anniversary push and strong positive reviews, Star Trek: Beyond disappointed at the box office. While it claimed the number one spot in its opening weekend, it grossed $59.3 million, which was well below the $70 million plus opening weekends of Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness . It finished its domestic run with $158 million, $99 million below 2009's Star Trek .

Worldwide, it brought in $343 million (adjusted for inflation $444 million). Star Trek Beyond was just one of many high-profile box office disappointing sequels released in the summer of 2016 , including X-Men: Apocalypse, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Independence Day Resurgence, and Jason Bourne .

While Star Trek Beyond certainly looked better by comparison to them, it was still a major hit to the franchise and one it has not been able to shake as Star Trek 4 has languished in development hell for eight years now, making for the longest gap between Star Trek films in the franchise's history. Stream on Paramount+.

• The Inventory

Go On a Tour of One of the Greatest Sets in Star Trek History

Grab a jumja stick and let quark himself take you through one of the most important locations in star trek : deep space nine's promenade..

What’s the most important set on a Star Trek show? Depending on the series, it might differ—for the most part, it’s going to be the bridge of a starship . But “the bridge of a starship” isn’t really the answer to that question: it’s the place that feels most like home . And while it’s definitely not a starship, Deep Space Nine ’s promenade is exactly that, perhaps more than any other iconic locale in the franchise.

Today as part of a series of updates to its virtual tour offerings on the Apple Vision Pro, the Roddenberry Archive and OTOY announced a raft of new virtual reality set tours , taking fans inside the world of Star Trek . To celebrate this week’s return of Star Trek: Discovery , the bridge of the legendary vessel is now available for virtual visitation, as are the first virtual tours inside the fleets of the Klingon Empire —specifically the I.K.S. Amar , the K’t’inga battle cruiser from the opening of The Motion Picture . But perhaps the most fascinating addition is a further exploration of Deep Space Nine ’s titular station, and the most important place of all among its rings and pylons : the thoroughfare of the Promenade.

The Promenade was already part of the archive, but now audiences can explore further aspects of the set—one of the biggest ever built for Star Trek , the biggest outright at the time of filming—but the real highlight is a new, accompanying documentary about the design history of the set and its legacy, narrated by the perfect tour guide for such a locale: Armin Shimmerman, the man behind the lobes of the Promenade’s premiere businessman, Quark.

It’s a great little piece, looking at the set’s design process, how its scale was captured on screen, as well as Shimmerman relishing in giving little in-universe guides to everything that the Promenade had to offer. It’s a reminder of not just what an impressive set it was, but how its design language informed the very heart of what Deep Space Nine was doing with Star Trek . In the Promenade, we have a primary set that is unlike anything we’ve ever seen on the show before: this is not Federation design, or Starfleet ship corridors, but the brutalist angles of Cardassian aesthetic clashing with the pops of color from the flags hung by the Bajorans and other alien cultures steadily in the process of reclaiming what was once a grim shadow over the oppressions of Bajor. Few Star Trek sets are exactly comforting, but this heady mix of sharp angles and cool metallics against the vibrancy of shop lights and flags brings the Promenade a sense of homeliness that few other regular Trek sets could match.

But one thing this tour can’t capture about the Promenade that made it so compelling in the first place is the people milling about the place: the life that made it feel like home more than anything else. Sure, every Trek set has had some flavor of walk and talk on it before, the bustle of crew milling about and looking at monitors, but the Promenade was life itself made manifest. The culture clash of the design language was echoed in the people —so many people, more people than we would often see in one place on Trek outside of big crowd sequences or social hubs like canteens and bars. You had Starfleet crew, sticking out in their black and division-colored uniforms, you had the browns and beiges of Odo and his local security officers, you had Bajoran priests, you had civilians of all species and stripes, from visitors passing through to vendors hocking food and trinkets—and, of course, the myriad patrons of myriad scruples flocking in and out of Quark’s bar. The Promenade was defined by background vibrancy, a social and communal space that was far more important to Deep Space Nine than the cramped battle bridge of the Defiant , or the command crew’s home in operations.

That life made the Promenade sing—sometimes literally, in the case of the Klingon restaurateur playing his accordion and roaring traditional Klingon ballads at diners—and it made it the heart of Deep Space Nine , a sacred space for the viewer that the show could then violate at a moment’s notice to amplify any given threat. The Promenade has been home to firefights, assassination attempts, it’s been besieged , it’s been captured by our heroes’ worst enemies, but it’s also a place of love, adventure, and fun, the sight of some of the best moments in the entirety of DS9 . It is, after all, where the show’s heart is—and that is where home resides.

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 .

The Next Star Trek Movie Will Be An Origin Story For The Entire Franchise

W hen a franchise has lasted for upwards of half a century and is still going strong, the decision-makers in charge will inevitably run into one pressing question above all others: Where do we go next? "Star Trek" became a beloved institution among the nerdiest of fans for a pretty good reason, largely because of its wholesale commitment to treading new ground and envisioning a new future. But with the franchise firing on all cylinders these days (on television, at least) and no signs of slowing down anytime soon, writers have become increasingly hard-pressed to boldly go where no others have gone before ... literally speaking, that is, since recent "Star Trek" shows like "Strange New Worlds," "Lower Decks," "Discovery," "Picard," and more have filled in all sorts of gaps in the official canon.

It's no secret that Paramount is eager to get back in the big-screen business for "Trek," however, and one of the more intriguing productions currently in the works seems to have settled on its main focus. We previously knew that "Black Mirror" and "Andor" director Toby Haynes had been tapped to lead an untitled upcoming "Star Trek" movie -- one that's not  meant as a continuation of the alternate-universe (aka Kelvin Timeline) movies starring Chris Pine and the rest of those films' cast. The studio is still playing its cards close to the chest on this, but a new report has shed a little more light on what we can expect from this mysterious motion picture.

The key phrase, apparently, is "origin story."

Read more: What Went Wrong With Star Trek: Nemesis, According To Jonathan Frakes

An Origin Story ... 'Of Sorts'

Variety has the scoop on the future of "Star Trek," unveiling a flashy new cover story covering practically every corner of the (fictional) universe. One tidbit buried among the rest, however, paints a rather interesting picture of what one of the movies in development could end up focusing on. With names like Toby Haynes and writer Seth Grahame-Smith ("The LEGO Batman Movie," "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter") attached, there's clearly no shortage of creative talent looking to put their stamp on future plans for the franchise. Figuring out what exactly that direction should be, however, is another story altogether.

According to the report, fans can expect the movie to "serve as an origin story of sorts for the main timeline of the entire ['Star Trek'] franchise ." What that means, of course, is anybody's guess. In terms of the timeline, the best guess is that this will take place long before the events of the 2009 J.J. Abrams semi-reboot and that of "The Original Series" as well. Discounting time-travel adventures that placed contemporary "Trek" characters on, say, 20th Century Earth, the earliest era of the canon that we've seen was previously explored in "Star Trek: Enterprise," which is set a full century before the likes of Captain James T. Kirk or Mr. Spock ever stepped foot on the USS Enterprise.

Trekkies already know how events like First Contact between humanity and the Vulcans unfolded or how events like the Eugenics Wars ravaged the Earth and set our civilization on a course for the stars, so could this in-development movie tackle the formation of Starfleet and the Federation as a whole? At this point, your guess is as good as ours. We'll definitely be keeping a close eye on this one.

Read the original article on SlashFilm .