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Star Trek 4 potential release date, cast and everything you need to know

A new writer has boarded the USS Enterprise.

Star Trek 4 cast: Who's going to be in Star Trek 4?

Star trek 4 plot: what's going to happen in star trek 4, star trek 4 trailer: any star trek 4 footage yet.

Star Trek 4 has edged a little closer to finally happening, as the movie has found a new writer .

In March 2024, it was reported that Steve Yockey – who developed The Flight Attendant – had been hired to write a new draft of the fourth movie, which is intended to bring back Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldaña.

This is separate from the other two Star Trek movies in the works: a prequel movie directed by Toby Haynes and Star Trek: Discovery spin-off Section 31 , which finished filming in March 2024.

Back to Star Trek 4, though, and the long-gestating movie finally looked to be on track in February 2022 when it was announced that JJ Abrams was returning to produce with Matt Shakman directing, to the surprise of the cast as much as the fans.

Unfortunately, Shakman left the movie in August 2022 to direct Fantastic Four for Marvel instead . And then in September 2022, Paramount took the movie off the release calendar entirely, but at least it sounds like a director search is ongoing.

In March 2023, JJ Abrams – who has produced all three movies in the reboot trilogy and directed two of them – said that a search for a director is ongoing.

"I will say it's the first time [since the original reboot] that we have a story that feels as compelling as the first one," he told Esquire . Of course, Pine also called the franchise "cursed" so it depends how hopeful you feel like being.

All we really know right now is that Star Trek 4 is in active development at Paramount, even if we don't know exactly when it will be released.

But while we wait, here's everything you need to know about the (potential) return of the USS Enterprise in Star Trek 4 .

When can we expect Star Trek 4?

Once upon a time, Star Trek 4 was scheduled to be released in cinemas on December 22, 2023.

Of course, that never happened, and as mentioned above, Star Trek 4 hasn't got a confirmed release date as of April 2024. There's no rumours either about when it could reappear on the schedule.

In June 2022, prior to Shakman leaving the project, Paramount boss Brian Robbins did confirm development was under way on the fourth Star Trek . "We're deep into it with JJ Abrams, and it feels like we're getting close to the starting line and excited about where we're going creatively," he said .

However, in November 2022, star Zachary Quinto told The Independent : "At this point, I honestly have very little attachment to it.

"All of us would like to come back and make another movie, but I’ve learnt to only get excited about things I know are actually real. And there's nothing about a fourth Star Trek movie that feels real right now."

Other people involved seem to have faith in the project moving forward, though, and hopefully a new writer joining is a positive step.

All we can do is watch this space.

Even when Star Trek 4 was originally being released in December 2023, it hadn't been 100% confirmed that the reboot cast would be back.

That being said, during his June 2022 announcement, Robbins did say he knew audience "wants that cast in this movie" – referring to the reboot cast.

So, if it ever does come to fruition, we'd be surprised if it was with a brand-new cast. You can likely then expect the returns of Chris Pine (Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Zoe Saldaña (Uhura), Karl Urban (Bones), John Cho (Sulu) and Simon Pegg (Scotty).

Urban certainly seems keen for a return, although he also revealed in March 2022 that, like Pine, he hadn't read a script yet . "I would love to work with those guys again; so much fun, the best hang. We'll see," he enthused.

It all feels very up in the air, as per Quinto's quotes, but that doesn't mean we can't hope.

The initial plan for the fourth movie was to have a timey-wimey adventure that featured Chris Pine's James T Kirk somehow joining forces with his long-dead dad, played by Chris Hemsworth .

Hemsworth opened up in May 2019 about why he stepped away from the movie , saying: "I didn't feel like we landed on a reason to revisit that yet. I didn't want to be underwhelmed by what I was going to bring to the table."

It's unclear if this new version of Star Trek 4 plans to bring Hemsworth back or if it's gone in a totally new direction, but Hemsworth seems open to a return for the fourth movie.

In October 2022, Rings of Power bosses JD Payne and Patrick McKay teased more about what their original idea for the fourth movie was going to be. "The conceit was that through a cosmic quirk in the Star Trek world, they were the same age," McKay explained.

We also don't know yet whether the new movie will recast Pavel Chekov following Anton Yelchin's tragic death in 2016. "It's bittersweet because we are coming together for a fourth time, and one of us is no longer with us," Saldaña said in March 2022 .

"But we honestly feel that going back and keeping the Star Trek family together is a way to really keep him alive in our thoughts and our hearts."

Right now, we don't have any confirmed plot details for the fourth movie, and it's not clear how closely it'll follow on from the ending of Star Trek Beyond .

The third movie ended with Kirk declining the promotion to vice admiral and staying as the captain of the USS Enterprise. Spock also chose to remain in Starfleet and reignited his romance with Uhura.

As the movie ends, they're all set to continue their mission on a brand-new USS Enterprise after the previous one was destroyed during the movie's events.

It means that the fourth movie can go anywhere. But, for Pine, he believes that whatever the plot is, it shouldn't try to compete with Marvel .

"I've always thought that Star Trek should operate in the zone that is smaller. You know, it's not a Marvel appeal. It's like, let's make the movie for the people that love this group of people, that love this story, that love Star Trek ," he said.

"Let's make it for them and then, if people want to come to the party, great. But make it for a price and make it, so that if it makes a half-billion dollars, that's really good."

You're kidding, right? We'd love to get all timey-wimey ourselves and show you a trailer for Star Trek 4 from the future, but we're stuck in the Mirror Universe.

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Movies Editor, Digital Spy  Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor.  Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies , attending genre festivals around the world.   After moving to Digital Spy , initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.  

Gabriella Geisinger is a freelance journalist and film critic, and was previously Deputy Movies Editor at Digital Spy. She loves Star Wars , coming-of-age stories, thrillers , and true crime. A born and raised New Yorker, she also loves coffee and the colour black, obviously.

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‘Star Trek’ Cast, Including Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, Returning for Fourth Film

By Adam B. Vary

Adam B. Vary

Senior Entertainment Writer

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They’re boldly going back.

Paramount is planning to enter negotiations for “ Star Trek ” stars Chris Pine , Zachary Quinto , Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho and Simon Pegg to return to the Enterprise for their fourth tour of duty in the venerable sci-fi franchise.

The announcement was made by J.J. Abrams during the Paramount Investors Day Presentation on Feb. 15.

“We are thrilled to say that we are hard at work on a new ‘Star Trek’ film that will be shooting by the end of the year that will be featuring our original cast and some new characters that I think are going to be really fun and exciting and help take ‘Star Trek’ into areas that you’ve just never seen before,” Abrams said. “We’re thrilled about this film, we have a bunch of other stories that we’re talking about that we think will be really exciting, so can’t wait for you to see what we’re cooking up. But until then, live long and prosper.”

The six actors first stepped into their respective iconic roles as Kirk, Spock, Uhura, Bones, Sulu and Scotty in 2009’s “Star Trek,” directed by Abrams, which reset the “Trek” timeline and allowed for the reboot to exist unencumbered from the hundreds of hours of “Trek” continuity that had come before. The actors returned in two sequels, 2013’s “Star Trek Into Darkness,” also directed by Abrams, and 2016’s “Star Trek Beyond,” directed by Justin Lin.

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Abrams is producing the new, as-yet-untitled film through Bad Robot, with Matt Shakman (“WandaVision”) directing from a screenplay by Josh Friedman (“Avatar 2”) and Cameron Squires (“WandaVision”) based on a earlier draft by Lindsey Beer (“Sierra Burgess Is a Loser”) and Geneva Robertson-Dworet (“Captain Marvel”).

Paramount was close to bringing back this cast once before: In 2018, S.J. Clarkson (“Jessica Jones”) had signed up to direct a sequel that would have reunited Pine’s Kirk with his late father, played by Chris Hemsworth reprising his performance from the 2009 “Star Trek.” That film never materialized, however, after Paramount reportedly couldn’t close a deal with Pine and Hemsworth.

Since then, insiders say the studio has done market research to determine audience interest in the rebooted cast, given the long wait period between “Beyond” — which lost money for Paramount — and a prospective new “Trek” film. Execs determined that there was still lasting audience enthusiasm for Pine, Quinto and the rest of the cast in their established roles, which allowed the studio to feel comfortable with moving forward with bringing them back.

Paramount has also explored several other avenues for “Trek” features, none of which seem to have ultimately borne fruit. Quentin Tarantino reportedly cooled on a “Star Trek” script he was pursuing with “The Revenant” screenwriter Mark L. Smith. In late 2019, Paramount tapped “Fargo” and “Legion” creator Noah Hawley to write and direct a “Trek” movie that Hawley planned to feature new actors playing new characters. But when Emma Watts became president of the Paramount Motion Picture Group a few months later, insiders say she paused all “Trek” development, including Hawley’s film , to decide how best to move forward with one of the studio’s crown jewel franchises. With Watts’ departure from Paramount in September, it’s unclear what the current “Trek” film portends for other development for the franchise, including a screenplay by “Fear the Walking Dead” co-executive producer Kalinda Vazquez .

Bringing the 2009 “Trek” cast back could prove a challenge given they’ve all had busy schedules since “Beyond.” Pine added the “Wonder Woman” franchise to his resume and he’ll next appear in Olivia Wilde’s thriller “Don’t Worry Darling” and the black-ops film “Violence of Action.” Quinto headlined the AMC series “NOS4A2,” and starred in the Broadway revival of “The Boys in the Band” and its 2020 Netflix film adaptation. Saldana continued her run as Gamora in several Marvel Studios films, including “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” and “Avengers: Endgame”; she’ll star in “Avatar 2” this year and in “Guardians Vol. 3” in 2023. Urban appeared in 2017’s “Thor: Ragnarok” and he’ll continue his performance as Billy Butcher on Season 3 of Amazon’s “The Boys” in June. Cho starred in acclaimed indies “Columbus” and “Searching,” and he starred in Netflix’s live-action adaption of the anime series “Cowboy Bebop.” And Pegg starred with Nick Frost on Amazon’s horror comedy series “Truth Seekers,” and he’ll reprise his role as Benji in “Mission: Impossible 7” in 2023.

One member of the 2009 “Trek” cast, however, sadly cannot join them. Anton Yelchin, who played Chekov, died in an accident in June 2016, a month before “Beyond” opened in theaters. At that film’s premiere at San Diego Comic Con, the cast, filmmakers and invited guests sat in a full minute of silence in tribute to the late actor.

Brent Lang contributed to this story.

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New 'Star Trek' Movie Gets a 2023 Release Date

Where will the franchise boldly go now?

Ever since 2016’s Star Trek Beyond , the film franchise has been in a holding pattern. When the films first came back with 2009’s Star Trek , director J.J. Abrams gave them a heavy Star Wars sheen, which then became irrelevant when real Star Wars movies returned in 2015. While the Star Trek brand hasn’t slowed down with Paramount pumping out a bunch of Trek series including Star Trek: Discovery , Star Trek: Lower Decks , Star Trek: Picard , and the upcoming Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , not much has happened with the films. There was talk of a fourth installment that would unite Chris Pine ’s James T. Kirk with his father George Kirk, played by Chris Hemsworth , but that never came together . There was also talk of Quentin Tarantino tackling a Star Trek , but that seems more like a fleeting fancy than a serious pursuit . And then there was Fargo showrunner Noah Hawley pursuing a Trek film that then also evaporated .

And yet today Paramount announced that they’ve got an untitled Star Trek on the books for June 9, 2023. Of course, release dates are highly subject to change, and it’s now standard operating procedures for studios to claim weekends before they even have a script. The truth is that we don’t know anything about this new Trek . We don’t know if it’s a continuation of the Kelvin timeline started with Star Trek 2009 or if it’s a fresh reboot, but io9 reports that it's being produced by Abrams.

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Personally, I’m hoping for the reboot route. While I think Star Trek 2009 and Star Trek Beyond are fun movies, they still feel like they don’t completely understand Trek , although Beyond gets pretty close to the 1960s TV series in terms of the scope of its adventure. But maybe the best thing for a Trek movie would be to simply rest on the brand name and build something from scratch. You could still interact with major Trek elements like the Borg or the Klingons or whatever, but you wouldn’t have to worry about alternate timelines or how your new take on Captain Kirk compares to The Original Series .

Of course, with everything being big, interconnected IP these days and Viacom gobbling CBS back up (they were previously split apart during the Kelvin timeline), my bet is on something that can link back to what’s happening on the Paramount+ series so that in the name of corporate synergy if you watch this new Star Trek movie you’ll be tempted to check out Star Trek Discovery or Star Trek: Picard or something that makes it so that the movies don’t stand alone. Everything is cinematic universes now, so why should Trek be any different.

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‘Star Trek’ Origin Story Movie Will Be Set Decades Before 2009 Film

CinemaCon 2024: The new project will be produced by longtime “Star Trek” steward J.J. Abrams

Paramount Pictures is ready to boldly go (again).

After rumors circulated earlier this year, Paramount officially announced a new “Star Trek” prequel film on Thursday, this time taking place decades before the original 2009 “Star Trek” feature.

“Andor” director Toby Haynes will direct from a script by Seth Grahame-Smith (who is also writing another hotly touted CinemaCon title, the third “Now You See Me” film). J.J. Abrams is returning to produce.

But then again, we’ve heard about a new “Star Trek” movie before.

During the run-up to “Star Trek Beyond” in 2016, it was revealed that a fourth film would reunite Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk with his deceased father (played, once again, by Chris Hemsworth). A year later, Quentin Tarantino approached Paramount about doing a “Star Trek” movie – this time as an R-rated gangster movie (based, in part, on the 1968 episode of the original series “A Piece of the Action”). In 2018 S.J. Clarkson, a TV vet who would eventually direct “Madame Web,” was hired to direct the fourth film in the Abrams-verse, but salary disputes led to Pine and Hemsworth leaving the project. That version was canceled in 2019 and Tarantino stated in 2020 that he wouldn’t be making his “Star Trek” either.

In November 2019 “Fargo” creator Noah Hawley was hired to write and direct a new “Star Trek” film based on his version of the series. A year later, this movie was canceled by new Paramount Pictures president Emma Watts. In 2021 “Star Trek: Discovery” writer Kalinda Vazquez was hired to write a version based on her original pitch, but a separate script was being developed by Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet. The studio even set a summer 2023 release date for a new “Trek” (which “Trek” was the question).

In 2021 that release date was pushed to Christmas 2023, under the direction of “WandaVision” director Matt Shakman. Josh Friedman and Cameron Squires were brought on to retool the script. In early 2022 it was announced that the stars of the three previous “Star Trek” installments in the Abrams-verse would all be returning, although it was later reported that the actors had not entered negotiations to return.

In 2022 Shakman left “Star Trek” to join Marvel Studios’ “The Fantastic Four.” But just last month Steve Yockey was hired to write a fourth “Star Trek” movie.

Now, we are finally getting word of another film in development, with another writer/director team. But it’s not the first time that a “Star Trek” prequel script has been floated, as Erik Jendresen, cowriter of “Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning,” had submitted a script for “Star Trek: The Beginning” before J.J. had taken over and pitched his 2009 version. It depicted the Earth-Romulan War.

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New Star Trek Prequel Movie Is Officially Official, Andor And Black Mirror Director Confirmed

Captain's Log: Stardate 2024. It's been eight years since the USS Enterprise's last voyage on the big screen, with the franchise having since returned to its roots on television. During that period, the property has proliferated thanks to an influx of streaming series that's included everything from a "Next Generation" reunion to a raunchy cartoon and a wonderfully silly musical episode . But through it all, the question has lingered: when will Trekkies get to undertake another mission painted on the largest canvas available?

It's not been for lack of effort on Paramount's part. Ever since the commercial disappointment of 2016's "Star Trek Beyond" brought the escapades of the Kelvin Universe film series to a halt, the studio has cycled through one filmmaker after another in its quest to get "Star Trek" up and running in theaters once more. Most recently, it turned to "Black Mirror" director Toby Haynes to helm a new chapter based on a script by "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" and "The LEGO Batman Movie" scribe Seth Grahame-Smith. At the same time, Paramount has continued to try and mount a fourth and final chapter in the Kelvin Timeline story that began with J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" in 2009, having only barely recruited Steve Yockey ("The Flight Attendant") to work his magic on the screenplay.

Thankfully, we finally got an official update today during Paramount's CinemaCon presentation in Las Vegas (which /Film's Ryan Scott was there to witness with his own two eyes). The studio confirmed that Haynes' film will usher in the franchise's long-awaited return to theaters while, apparently, also functioning as a prequel to the previous Kelvin Universe movies. Production will begin later this year.

Star Trek will boldly go before it's never gone before

Literally winding back the clock for a mission is common practice in "Star Trek," so much so that the property even has a strict set of rules covering all the do's and don'ts of time travel (lest anyone step on a butterfly and wipe James Kirk out of existence). Prequels, on the other hand, only really came into vogue in the 2000s with the one-two punch of "Star Trek: Enterprise" and Abrams' film, the latter of which also introduced the alternate timeline known as the Kelvin Universe. Now, much as its big screen reboot 15 years ago served to reinvigorate the franchise while also appealing to a new generation of Trekkies, it's possible Paramount's goal here is for Haynes' prequel to revive the Kelvin series before bringing the main cast back while at the same time offering a jumping-on point for those who're new(ish) to the whole trekking across space thing.

Haynes' movie itself has previously been described as an "origin story" for "Star Trek" at large , which certainly supports the idea of it functioning as a soft reset without actually wiping out any earlier continuity (just like Abrams' movie). The director, for his part, has already demonstrated an appreciation for the property with his acclaimed "Black Mirror" episode "USS Callister" — a darkly satirical take on "Star Trek" tropes and toxic fandom — while his work on the "Star Wars" series "Andor" proves he's more than up for the task of taking a beloved sci-fi property and subverting it in fresh and exhilarating ways. With a little luck, these past eight years will prove to be more than worth the wait.

Keep it tuned to /Film for further updates on anything and everything "Star Trek."

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

A prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, the show follows the crew of the USS Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike. A prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, the show follows the crew of the USS Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike. A prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, the show follows the crew of the USS Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike.

• Akiva Goldsman
• Alex Kurtzman
• Jenny Lumet
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• 1K User reviews
• 38 Critic reviews
• 9 wins & 32 nominations total

Episodes 31

• Captain Christopher Pike …

• La'an Noonien-Singh …

• Lt. Erica Ortegas …

• Una Chin-Riley …

• Nurse Christine Chapel

• Nyota Uhura …

• Dr. M'Benga

• USS Enterprise Computer …

• Lieutenant George Samuel 'Sam' Kirk

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• Captain Batel …

• Admiral Robert April

• Captain James T. Kirk …

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• Trivia Bruce Horak , the actor who plays Hemmer, is legally blind, just like his character's species, the Aenar, who are also blind.
• Goofs There are some rank insignia mistakes. Number One is introduced as "Lieutenant Commander Una Chin-Riley" yet she is wearing the rank insignia of a full commander: two full stripes. A Lieutenant Commander's rank insignia is a full stripe under a thin stripe (in TOS it is a full stripe and a staggered stripe). It is not uncommon for a ship's first officer to be a Lt. Commander if they have not been in the position long. Spock at this point is a Lieutenant but he is wearing Lieutenant Commander's stripes; a Lieutenant just has one stripe. La'an is the ship's chief of security and the ship's second officer. She is also wearing Lt. Commander stripes but is addressed as a Lieutenant, but it would make more sense for her to be a Lieutenant Commander. Either way both of their rank insignia are not matching the rank they are addressed by. Ortegas is addressed as a Lieutenant but is wearing Lieutenant Commander's strips. A Lieutenant Commander may be addressed as a Commander or Lieutenant Commander but never as just a Lieutenant, so either her rank insignia or the manner she is addressed by the rest of the crew is in error.

[opening narration]

Captain Christopher Pike : Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.

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• Runtime 52 minutes
• D-Cinema 48kHz 5.1
• Dolby Digital
• Dolby Atmos

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Star Trek 4 Development Details And More

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J.J. Abrams rebooted the "Star Trek" franchise in 2009, and since then, the three films in the new Kelvin timeline have been a smashing success. Altogether, the first "Trek" reboot, 2013's "Star Trek Into Darkness," and 2016's "Star Trek Beyond" have grossed more than a billion dollars at the global box office. They've also done fairly well critically. With all that love, it seems pretty obvious that Hollywood would want to get "Star Trek 4" to theater screens at warp speed.

However, the road to "Star Trek 4" has not been a smooth one. In fact, it's been filled with starts and stops, various creatives coming and going, and a release date that keeps getting beamed all over the place. What do we actually know about the fourth installment of the "Star Trek" reboot series, and what will it look like when it finally makes first contact? Read on for everything we know so far about "Star Trek 4."

What is the release date for Star Trek 4?

"Star Trek 4" has been in the works for a long time ... a really long time. In June 2015, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Chris Pine (Kirk) and Zachary Quinto (Spock) had signed up for "Star Trek 4." But Pine and Chris Hemsworth (who was said to be returning as Kirk's dad) allegedly left a potential fourth project over pay disputes in 2018, and in 2019, it was announced that the film had been shelved. Eventually, the project started moving again and earned a release date of June 9, 2023, but that got kicked back to December 22, 2023 ... before vanishing from the release slate completely.

We have reason to believe "Star Trek 4" is still in the works, however. Speaking with Collider , former director Matt Shakman (who left the project to direct "Fantastic Four") said, "I think what they're still working on is a version of what I have been working on for the time that I was involved." In August 2023, Quinto added his own take on the likelihood of a fourth outing. "I think there's a lot of other stuff, creative things. It's complicated," the actor remarked (via TrekMovie.com ). He continued, "I don't know if and when it will happen ... And if coalesces again and we come back and we're able to do it, wonderful. If not, we had a great run."

In a September 2023 piece on the end of the Writers Guild of America strike, Variety reported that Paramount was looking to polish a "Star Trek 4" script. Another promising nugget of info emerged around this time, when writer-director Lindsey Anderson Beer, who co-wrote a prospective "Star Trek 4" script, told Collider , "It's still on the tracks." So, "Star Trek 4" isn't dead in the water, and with the 2023 Hollywood strikes ended, a major obstacle is gone. But that's pretty much all we know.

What is the plot of Star Trek 4?

At this point, no plot details for the upcoming fourth "Star Trek" movie have been revealed. Some proposed paths forward have been rumored to involve alternate timelines, or even another reboot — especially Tarantino's attempt — but they've all fallen by the wayside. For now, we can probably assume "Star Trek 4" will take place after the events of 2016's "Star Trek Beyond," which was directed by Justin Lin of the  "Fast and Furious" franchise .

In "Star Trek Beyond," Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise see their beloved ship crash on the planet Altamid after an ambush by a pre-Federation human soldier, Idris Elba's Captain Balthazar Edison. When Kirk and the gang discover Edison's plans to use an ancient bioweapon to destroy the Federation, they're forced to stop him — without the help of their ship. That film also explores the death of Leonard Nimoy's Ambassador Spock, as well as relationship troubles between Spock and Uhura.

One story we know "Star Trek 4" won't be exploring is a reunion between Captain Kirk and his father George, courtesy of time travel. Chris Hemsworth briefly played George Kirk in 2009's "Star Trek," but turned down a chance to reprise the role in a bigger story in 2018. "Star Trek 4" also won't tie into any of the current "Star Trek" TV series, like "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" or "Star Trek: Lower Decks." Those series take place in a universe separate from the Kelvin timeline.

Who is starring in Star Trek 4?

You'd expect a "Star Trek" movie set in the Kelvin timeline to feature the return of the ol' gang, right? Why, yes, you would. However, nothing has been easy about getting "Star Trek 4" off the ground, and that includes bringing back the original cast. In 2018, Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth reportedly walked away from the project over pay disputes. In February 2022, when producer J.J. Abrams announced that "Star Trek 4" was finally moving ahead, new behind-the-scenes drama erupted. While Abrams said the original stars were returning, none of the actors had officially agreed to the project.

In March 2022, Pine told Variety about his reaction to the "Star Trek 4" announcement: "I think everybody was like, 'Did you hear about this?' We're usually the last people to find out, but I do know we're all excited. Whenever they want to send us a script, we're ready for it." Karl Urban had a similar stance, telling the U.K.'s Radio X (via TrekMovie.com ) in May 2022, "I have heard that it is happening, but I've been hearing that for the last three years ... All I know is they are developing it, they're writing a script, and I know 100% that we all want to come back and do it. So I think it's all just a matter of logistics and timing at this point."

Sofia Boutella — who played Jaylah in "Star Trek Beyond" — also expressed interest in returning, saying (via Fandom Spotlite ), "I would love to see [Jaylah] evolve with all of the guys ... I would do it in a heartbeat." However, Zachary Quinto seems a bit wary of the whole thing. During a November 2022 interview with The Independent , the actor said, "At this point, I honestly have very little attachment to it. All of us would like to come back and make another movie, but I've learnt to only get excited about things I know are actually real. And there's nothing about a fourth 'Star Trek' movie that feels real right now."

Will Star Trek 4 recast Chekov?

One of the most classic and beloved "Star Trek" characters, Pavel Chekov was memorably played in the first three Kelvin timeline movies by Anton Yelchin. Yelchin was killed in a car accident in June 2016, just one month before the release of "Star Trek Beyond." His passing has definitely been felt by both fans and his "Star Trek" cohorts.

In March 2022, when the movie was still moving forward under director Matt Shakman, Uhura actress Zoe Saldaña told Entertainment Tonight about the project. "Obviously, it's bittersweet," she remarked, "because we are coming together for a fourth time and one of us is no longer with us with Anton's passing, but we honestly feel that going back and keeping the 'Star Trek' family together is a way to really keep him alive in our thoughts and our hearts because he was such a fan. And he was such a devoted artist to the craft and also to 'Star Trek.'"

Of course, that particular version of "Star Trek 4" is no longer moving forward, but if you think Saldaña's comments indicate that Paramount won't be recasting the part of Chekov, you're probably right. In a 2016 interview with Postmedia Network , shortly after Yelchin's death, producer J.J. Abrams explained, "I would say there's no replacing him. There's no recasting. I can't possibly imagine that, and I think Anton deserves better."

Granted, emotions were high when Abrams said they wouldn't replace Yelchin. However, there's been no indication in the years since the actor's death that a new Chekov will show up on the bridge of the Enterprise.

Who is directing Star Trek 4?

Perhaps the main reason that "Star Trek 4" hasn't happened yet is that Paramount Pictures is having a difficult time finding a director. For a moment, it looked like Quentin Tarantino was going to boldly go where he'd never gone before. J.J. Abrams was super excited about Tarantino's time-traveling concept of sending Kirk and co.  to a world of 1930s gangsters, similar to the classic "Trek" episode "A Piece of the Action." Screenwriter Mark L. Smith of "The Revenant" fame was set to pen the script, but sadly for Trekkies who wanted to see Spock quoting Ezekiel 25:17, Tarantino's vision never came to pass.

Then, it looked like S.J. Clarkson was going to make history as the first woman to helm a "Star Trek" movie. But after Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth left the project in 2018, the movie was subsequently shelved. Noah Hawley of "Fargo" fame was also working on a "Star Trek" movie — one that would've been about a brand new group of heroes — but Paramount eventually stepped in and shut things down because it wouldn't have featured the famous Enterprise crew.

The closest that "Star Trek 4" has come to happening was when Matt Shakman took the captain's seat. After he directed the entirety of the smash hit MCU series "WandaVision," the world was Shakman's oyster, and he intended to shepherd the newest entry in the "Star Trek" universe to theater screens. However, Marvel Studios was keen on working with Shakman again, and after director Jon Watts decided to step away from 2025's "Fantastic Four," the folks at Marvel asked Shakman to come back to the MCU — which he did. As a result, at the moment, "Star Trek 4" is floating through space without a captain.

Where to watch the previous Star Trek movies

While we all wait for news about "Star Trek 4," it might be a good time to go back and revisit previous installments in the "Star Trek" reboot series. If you want to watch the film that started it all and introduced us to new versions of Kirk, Spock, Uhura, and the rest of the Enterprise crew, you can stream 2009's "Star Trek" on Paramount+ . You can also rent it for $3.99 on Google Play ,  Amazon Prime Video , Apple iTunes , Vudu , and YouTube .

If you're ready for the 2013 sequel where Benedict Cumberbatch definitely doesn't play Khan Noonien Singh, you can stream "Star Trek Into Darkness" on Paramount+ . You can also rent it for $3.99 on Google Play , Apple iTunes , Vudu , and YouTube . Amazon Prime Video offers it for $4.29. If you're looking for the third film, where our heroes learn the true power of the Beastie Boys, you can stream "Star Trek Beyond" on Paramount+ . You can also rent it for $2.69 on Google Play and $3.99 on Amazon Video , Apple iTunes , Vudu , and YouTube .

The Star Trek “Origin” Movie Is Finally Going Into Production

The new Star Trek prequel movie is set to be revealed on the big screen. Probably.

For 30 years — from 1979 to 2009 — the longest wait between new Star Trek feature films was seven years. And, for most of that period, from the release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) to Star Trek: Nemesis (2002), there was almost always a new Star Trek movie in theaters every two to four years. But after the wildly successful J.J. Abrams-directed reboot film in 2009, the release clip for Trek movies went from maximum warp to impulse power, to glacially slow. And now, by the time the next Star Trek movie hits theaters, it will have been about 10 years since the previous one — Star Trek Beyond — beamed into cinemas in 2016.

Since that time, for Trekkies, updates of a new Star Trek film have been very similar to the game football Lucy plays with Charlie Brown; just when a hypothetical movie sounds real, it gets snatched away. But now, there’s a glimmer of hope. Thanks to reports out of CinemaCon 2024, it looks like, the next Trek film is scheduled for release in either 2025 or 2026. But what’s it about? And will it really happen?

Star Trek 14 is “an untitled origin story”

The new “origin story” will be set before the 2009 reboot. But how many decades before?

During CinemaCon 2024, Paramount confirmed several in-development projects including a live-action GI Joe / Transformers crossover (teased in 2023’s Rise of the Beasts ), a hardcore Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles live-action movie, a remake of the sci-fi thriller The Running Man (from Edgar Wright), the confirmation of an Avatar trilogy, and the assertion that a new Star Trek feature film will go into production this year, with a release date soon to follow.

Since 2016 to now, there have been at least five different attempts to make a new Star Trek film, either as timey wimey direct sequel to Beyond (“Star Trek 4”) a one-off space mobster movie (Quentin Tarantino’s script) or something else entirely (Noah Hawley and Matt Shakman’s attempts that remain undisclosed). But now, although Paramount is reportedly developing a sequel to Beyond — which would feature the reboot cast from the 2009 film one last time — the next Star Trek movie is not that sequel, but instead, as previously reported , an “origin story” that “takes place decades before the 2009 Star Trek film that rebooted the franchise.” This movie has been confirmed to be directed by Toby Haynes ( Andor, Doctor Who ) with a script from Seth Grahame-Smith ( The Lego Batman Movie , Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter) .

Wait? Wasn’t the 2009 film an “origin story?” While the answer to this question is technically a “yes,” the 2009 film (just titled Star Trek ) was also partially a time-travel sequel to the canon established in The Next Generation , and literally everything else in the Trek franchise up until that point. By saying the new prequel film takes place “decades before” the first reboot, this could hypothetically mean that the movie takes place in both the Prime and Kelvin timelines simultaneously.

TLDR: The Trek timeline diverged in the first reboot movie, beginning in the year 2233, so, a story set even a few decades before that divergence, in the 2210s or 2220s or earlier, would be consistent with all versions of Trek's future history. Presumably, the “origin story” won’t take place in the two decades between the prologue of the 2009 film (2233) and the main story (2258), because honestly, even for hardcore Trekkies that’s a big canon headache. So, sometime in the early 2200s, but before the 2230s is probably the best bet. And, even if the movie was set a bit earlier than that — say in the late 2180s or 2190s — we’d still be dealing with a very early point of Starfleet history that has never been depicted and that we know almost nothing about. Hence, if you squint — and don’t think about the prequel series Enterprise (2151-2161) too much — then yes, we’re looking at an origin story in which pretty much anything could happen.

Star Trek “origin” movie release date

One of the earliest shots of the USS Enterprise — from the 1964 Star Trek pilot episode “The Cage.” The new prequel film will likely be set half a century before this moment.

While some tweets out of CinemaCon seemed to indicate that the new Star Trek movie could hit next year in 2025 , TrekMovie confirmed that the “Untitled Star Trek Origin Story,” is on the Paramount slate for 2025 or 2026. TrekMovie also predicted that 2026 is more likely, writing, “If Paramount can move fast enough they could get the origin movie into theaters by 2026 — in time for Star Trek’s 60th anniversary.” Then again, 2025 is not impossible, it’s just cutting it a little close.

It should also be noted that the entire corporate entity of Paramount is reportedly close to a merger that would see it purchased by Skydance Media, the same production company behind the three existing J.J. Abrams-produced Star Trek reboots. If that deal is finalized soon, then, yes, this Star Trek feature film might actually happen very quickly. And if it doesn’t, there will still be plenty of new Star Trek shows streaming , not to mention the first direct-to-streaming standalone Star Trek movie, Section 31 , starring Michelle Yeoh, which will hit Paramount+ sometime later this year.

All the reboot Star Trek films (2009-2016) are currently streaming on Paramount+. The previous ten films (1979-2002) are all on Max.

• Science Fiction

Star Trek movies in order: Chronological and release

Untangle the different timelines and get the popcorn: Here are the Star Trek movies in order — both chronological and release.

• Chronological order
• Prime Timeline

The Original Series movies

The next generation movies.

• Kelvin Timeline
• Release order

Upcoming Star Trek movies

We've got a guide to watching the Star Trek movies in order, decloaking off our starboard side!

So long as movies stick numbers on the ends of their titles, it’s easy to watch them in order. Once they start branching out, however, things can get a little muddled, especially when reboots come along and start the whole process over from scratch. 

You may have heard that the even-numbered ones are good and the odd-numbered ones are not. That’s spot on for the films starring the cast of The Original Series (aka Kirk and friends) falls apart once you reach the tenth entry in the series. It would probably be worth your while to have this list of the Star Trek movies, ranked worst to best around to steer clear of the clunkers. Look, we’re not going to pretend everything here is worth two hours of your day, we’re just letting you know which came out after which.

Should your Trek appetite remain unsatiated after your movie watchathon, feel free to pull from either our list of the best Star Trek: The Original series episode s or best Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes . Either one will set you up for a weekend jam-packed with great Trek moments. Consult our Star Trek streaming guide for all the details on where to watch the movies and shows online 

Star Trek movies: Chronological order

Below is the quick version of our list if you just need to check something to win an argument, but it comes with a lot of in-universe time travel-related caveats that we'll explain below.

• Star Trek: The Motion Picture
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
• Star Trek: Generations
• Star Trek: First Contact
• Star Trek: Insurrection
• Star Trek: Nemesis
• Star Trek Into Darkness
• Star Trek Beyond

Star Trek: Prime Timeline

The first thing you need to know about the Star Trek films is that while they travel back and forth in time, they also diverge into two (for now) different timelines. The films of the original crew (well, the first iteration of them, anyway – more on that later) are all in what is known as the Prime Timeline. 

Within the Prime Timeline, the movies are then split between The Original Series movies and The Next Generation movies.

1. Star Trek: The Motion Picture

• Release date: December 8, 1979
• Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley

This is the film that brought the voyages of the U.S.S. Enterprise to the big screen. An energy cloud is making its way toward Earth, destroying everything in its path. Kirk and crew intercept it and discover an ancient NASA probe at the heart of the cloud. Voyager – known as V’ger now – encountered a planet of living machines, learned all it could, and returned home to report its findings, only to find no one who knew how to answer. It’s a slow-paced film, and the costumes are about as 70s as they come, but there’s classic Star Trek at the heart of this film.

2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

• Release date: June 4, 1982
• Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Ricardo Montalban

Ask a Star Trek fan what the best Star Trek movie is and more often than not, you’ll get Khan as your answer. A sequel to the events of the “Space Seed” episode of The Original Series, Khan is a retelling of Moby Dick with Khan throwing reason to the wind as he hunts his nemesis, James T. Kirk. Montalban delivers a pitch-perfect performance, giving us a Khan with charisma and obsession in equal parts.

3. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

• Release date: June 1, 1984

Spock might have died in The Wrath of Khan, but this third entry set up the premise for his return, with the creation of the Genesis planet. Essentially a heist movie in reverse, Search for Spock has the crew defying orders from Starfleet in an attempt to reunite Spock’s consciousness with his newly-rejuvenated body. It’s not a great movie, but it does include two very important events: the rebirth of Spock and the death of Kirk’s son at the hands of the Klingons. That’ll be important a few flicks from now.   

4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

• Release date: November 26, 1986
• Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Catherine Hicks

If Star Trek fans don’t say Khan is the best Star Trek movie, odds are very high they say Voyage Home is. It’s a funny film where the mission isn’t destruction, but creation – or more accurately, repairing the devastating effects of humankind’s ecological short-sightedness. 

A probe arrives at Earth, knocking out the power of everything in its path as it looks for someone to respond to its message (yeah, it happens a lot). This time, however, the intended recipient is the long-extinct blue whale. To save Earth, Kirk and co. go back in time to 1980s San Francisco to snag some blue whales. The eco-messaging isn’t exactly subtle, but it doesn’t get in the way of a highly enjoyable movie.

5. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

• Release date: June 9, 1989

A writers’ strike and Shatner’s directorial skills (or lack thereof) doomed this film before a single scene was shot. The core plot is actually pretty good: Spock’s half-brother hijacks the Enterprise so that he can meet God, which he believes to be… himself. Some Star Trek fans have an odd fondness for this movie, as it showcases the camaraderie of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy when they’re off-duty.

6. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

• Release date: December 6, 1991
• Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Christopher Plummer

Right, so if that Star Trek fan you’ve been talking to doesn’t choose either Khan or Voyage Home as the best Star Trek movie ever, they almost certainly name Undiscovered Country (and if they don’t, they have highly questionable taste, frankly). The Klingon moon of Praxis explodes, putting the entire Klingon race at risk. The Enterprise hosts a diplomatic entourage of Klingons, much to Kirk’s discomfort. 

Remember how Klingons murdered Kirk’s son? Well, he certainly hasn’t forgotten. Kirk’s lingering rage makes him the perfect patsy for the murder of the Klingon Chancellor, sending him and McCoy to a prison planet and setting the stage for war. Christopher Plummer is perfection as a Shakespeare-quoting Klingon general with no taste for peace.

7. Star Trek: Generations

• Release date: November 18, 1994
• Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner

And thus the torch is passed from the crew of The Original Series to that of The Next Generation. It’s a bit of a fumble, to be honest, but they all did their best to get Kirk and Picard into the same film and have it make sense. Malcolm McDowell plays Soran, a scientist who will stop at nothing to control the Nexus, a giant space rainbow that exists outside of space-time. 

Soran lost his family when his home world was destroyed and he wants to re-join them (or at least an illusion of them) in the Nexus. He’s not so much a villain as a tragic figure, but the Nexus makes a meeting between Kirk and Picard possible. Not all that sensible, but possible.

8. Star Trek: First Contact

• Release date: November 22, 1996
• Cast: Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Alice Krige

Okay, no, for real, if your Star Trek pal didn’t pick Khan or Voyage Home or… oh, nevermind. Cueing off the iconic two-part episode “Best of Both Worlds,” in which Picard is assimilated by the Borg, First Contact sees the collective traveling back in time in order to disrupt First Contact, the day Earth’s first foray into space attracted the attention of the Vulcans, kicking off the events that would eventually lead to Starfleet’s victory over the Borg. The Borg Queen torments Picard with visions of the past and tempts Data with humanity, going so far as to give him some human skin. 

The fight with the Borg aboard the Enterprise is thrilling, and the work on the surface to get first contact back on track is fun. Plus, there’s just nothing like Patrick Stewart turning it up to 11 as he lashes out at the enemy that haunts his dreams.

9. Star Trek: Insurrection

• Release date: December 11, 1998
• Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, F. Murray Abraham

Essentially an episode inflated for the big screen, Insurrection is about the Federation conspiring to displace a planet’s population in order to harvest the planet’s unique resource – super healing metaphasic particles. In addition to the rejuvenating natural resource, the Ba’ku also have access to exceptional technology, which they shun in favor of a more simple lifestyle. 

Data malfunctions, the villains are Federation allies (and former Ba’ku!), Picard gets to knock boots with a local – Insurrection is the very definition of “fine.” Chronologically, Insurrection is relevant for rekindling the romance between Riker and Troi, but not much else.

10. Star Trek: Nemesis

• Release date: December 13, 2002
• Cast: Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Tom Hardy

Before he mumbled his way into our hearts as Bane, Tom Hardy was Shinzon, a clone of Picard the Romulans created in an eventually abandoned attempt to infiltrate Starfleet. Shinzon is dying, and all that will save him is a transfusion of Picard’s blood. Unfortunately, Shinzon also happens to be a megalomaniac who happens to want to destroy all life on Earth and maybe a few other planets, too, if he’s feeling saucy. 

Nemesis is notable mostly for killing Data with a noble sacrifice, only to resurrect him moments later in a duplicate body found earlier by the Enterprise crew.

Star Trek: Kelvin Timeline

The last of the Prime Timeline movies failed to impress at the box office, so it was a few years before anyone tried to bring the Enterprise back to the big screen. Rather than lean on any of the TV crews, this new slate of movies would serve as a reboot, welcoming new audiences while honoring long-time fans. Welcome to the Kelvin Timeline. (For all the ins and outs, check out our Star Trek: Kelvin Timeline explained article).

11. Star Trek

• Release date: May 8, 2009
• Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban

Back to the beginning! Star Trek introduces us to James T. Kirk, Spock, and “Bones” McCoy as they meet and join the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Though the plot is a relatively straightforward affair of a Romulan named Nero trying to destroy the Earth. His anger borne out of grief, what matters most is how it all came to be. In the future, Spock – the Prime Timeline version – tries to save Romulus from being destroyed by a supernova, but fails. Both his ship and Nero’s are kicked back in time, setting off a chain of events that diverge from the original, “true” timeline. 

The name “Kelvin” refers to the U.S.S. Kelvin, the ship heroically captained by Kirk’s father, which is destroyed in the opening moments of the movie.

12. Star Trek Into Darkness

• Release date: May 16, 2013
• Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch

The benefit of the Kelvin Timeline is that it not only allows Star Trek to explore canon material – such as Khan (he of the Wrath) – but to do something completely new with it. Khan features heavily in Into Darkness, but he has no beef with Kirk. Instead, a Starfleet Admiral is threatening the lives of Khan’s crew, forcing them to craft weapons of mass destruction. 

Khan inevitably eludes captivity and strikes out against Starfleet, killing Captain Pike (and a bunch of others) in the process. Kirk and company eventually take Khan down, but not before Kirk sacrifices himself to save his crew. Don’t worry, these things don’t last in either Star Trek timeline, as Kirk gets better moments later thanks to *checks notes* Khan's super blood.

13. Star Trek Beyond

• Release date: July 22, 2016
• Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Idris Elba

Beyond leans into the camaraderie of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy now that they’ve had some time together, much to the movie’s benefit. The Enterprise is lured to Altamid under false pretenses, leading to much of the crew being marooned on the planet. The architect of the deception was Krall, who wants an opportunity to return to a galaxy where war is the order of the day. 

Beyond is a significant point in the timeline for two reasons. First, it sadly marked the death of Spock Prime due to the passing of Leonard Nimoy. Second, it culminates in the Enterprise embarking on the five-year-mission that started everything back in 1966.

Star Trek movies: Release order

If you can't be bothered remembering two different orders for the Star Trek movies then we've got good news for you — the release order is identical to the chronological order that we've shown above (accounting for the Kelvin timeline as it's own entity anyway).

The full run of Star Trek films currently tops out at 13 entries; the fate of the 14th was hidden within a nebula of conflicting information. “Star Trek 4” was slated for December 22, 2023, but given that filming had yet to begin as of July 2022, it seems inevitable that date will change. Back in February 2022, Paramount that the principal cast would be returning for the fourth installment of the Kelvin timeline, a claim quickly disputed by the agents of those selfsame actors. Awkward.

Soon after, however, Chris Pine eventually signed on the dotted line, and his shipmates reached their own agreements. As of right now, Kirk (Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), McCoy (Karl Urban, assuming he can make it work around filming of The Boys), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Uhura (Zoe Saldaña), and Sulu (John Cho) are all ready to beam up and get filming. Sadly, this will be the first of the Kelvin films to not feature Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov. Yelchin died in an accident at his home in 2016. It’s currently unclear if Chekov will be recast or if a different character will take his place on the bridge of the Enterprise.

Though the Kelvin timeline is often referred to as “J.J. Abrams Trek,” he won’t be directing Star Trek 4; Matt Shakman will take on that responsibility, leaving Abrams to produce. As for what it will be about, that’s anyone’s guess, but Chris Pine told Deadline he hopes this one tells a smaller story that appeals to the core Trek audience. “Let’s make the movie for the people that love this group of people, that love this story, that love Star Trek,” he said. “Let’s make it for them and then, if people want to come to the party, great.” It’s a strategy that makes sense; the disappointment with recent Trek films hasn’t been their content so much as their box office. A Trek film with a smaller scope (and budget) would almost certainly have a very healthy profit margin while also resonating with the fanbase.   

With no new announcements coming from San Diego Comic-Con 2022, it seems that we’ll have to wait for any more insight into the next Star Trek film. Sill, recent comments from Paramount CEO Brian Robbins have us cautiously optimistic: “We’re deep into [Star Trek 4] with J.J. Abrams, and it feels like we’re getting close to the starting line and excited about where we’re going creatively,” he told Variety . 

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Susan Arendt is a freelance writer, editor, and consultant living in Burleson, TX. She's a huge sci-fi TV and movie buff, and will talk your Vulcan ears off about Star Trek. You can find more of her work at Wired, IGN, Polygon, or look for her on Twitter: @SusanArendt. Be prepared to see too many pictures of her dogs.

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Star Trek's Next Wave Of Movies And Shows Revealed

Posted: March 28, 2024 | Last updated: April 1, 2024

Star Trek’s Next Wave Of Movies And Shows Revealed

As Star Trek nears its 58th birthday this year, the franchise’s journey through the final frontier now spans more than 900 episodes and 13 feature films—a whole 28 days’ worth of content—comprising an unparalleled narrative experience. Now, that journey through the oceans of space is set to expand further with a series of upcoming releases for both TV and cinema.

More Star Trek Than Marvel

There has never been more Star Trek, and we’d go as far as to say that the Star Trek universe is actually more foundationally solid than even the MCU, with its numerous interconnected releases. As things currently are, Disney is winding their production down with fewer releases, but Star Trek is going strong and steady with upcoming releases like the final season of Discovery, the upcoming Section 31 movie, Starfleet Academy, Strange New Worlds Season 3, and two potential movie releases, one to serve as an origin story, and another to provide a final chapter to the current trilogy.

The Star Trek Renaissance

So, it’s quite obvious that Star Trek is undergoing its own renaissance, following a years-long hiatus after the theatrical release of 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis, which was not only a box office failure that barely managed to recover its production budget but its also regarded as the franchise’s worst release. Fortunately, that all changed following the release of 2009’s Star Trek movie and its sequels, which really re-invigorated the franchise, leading to the eventual release of Star Trek: Discovery in 2017—twelve years after the Enterprise series had concluded.

Discovery Opened The Door

Star Trek: Discovery, however, wasn’t a perfect release; it was loved by some and hated by others, but despite the heavy criticism, it did open the door to other fantastic releases, like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Short Treks, and the upcoming Section 31 movie. Strange New Worlds has since become the centerpiece of the franchise, with Anson Mount’s Captain Christopher Pike at the helm of the USS Enterprise, along with younger versions of Spock and Uhura.

The Success Of Strange New Worlds

Mount’s own reflection on his role as the Captain of the Enterprise reveals a full-circle moment in which the actor has the opportunity to bring to life all the adventures he used to play out as a very young fan of Star Trek. Mount stated that he “had this immediate flashback to playing ‘Star Trek’ as a kid” when he first sat in the iconic Captain’s chair. Ultimately, the show’s success can be attributed to the careful balancing of the old with the new, which managed to appease the older fandom and reel in new eyes to the franchise.

More Shows Coming

The recent additions to the Star Trek franchise also showcase the same balancing act, embodying the franchise’s ability to, once again, reinvent itself while maintaining its core values and optimism that have defined it ever since its inception in 1966. Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 premieres on April 4, Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 and Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 premiere later in 2024, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 is in production to be released on Paramount+. No official announcement has been made about the upcoming films.

Source: Variety

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A New ‘Star Trek’ Prequel Film Is in the Works at Paramount

It would mark the franchise’s 14th spin-off movie..

Star Trek keeps moving further and further back in time. The space franchise is constantly growing – it counts 13 movies and the original Star Trek TV show has quite literally been renamed Star Trek: The Original Series to differentiate it from all its spin-offs.

The latest addition to the Star Trek saga, however, arrives in the form of a film. The news was announced at Paramount CinemaCon and while there aren’t any specific plot details, the movie will serve as a prequel to 2009’s Star Trek, which was directed by J.J. Abrams and starred Chris Pine as James T. Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock.

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• April 23, 2024 | THEORY: Did ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Finally Resolve The “Calypso” Mystery?
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• April 22, 2024 | Preview ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Episode 505 With New Images, Trailer And Clip From “Mirrors”

Preview ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Episode 505 With New Images, Trailer And Clip From “Mirrors”

| April 22, 2024 | By: TrekMovie.com Staff 46 comments so far

The fifth and final season of Star Trek: Discovery hits the halfway point on Thursday with the fifth episode, and we have details, new photos, trailer and a clip WITH SPOILERS .

Episode 5: “Mirrors”

The fifth episode of the season, “Mirrors,” was written by Johanna Lee & Carlos Cisco and directed by Jen McGowan. It debuts on Paramount+ on Thursday, April 25.

Captain Burnham and Book journey into extradimensional space in search of the next clue to the location of the Progenitors’ power. Meanwhile, Rayner navigates his first mission in command of the U.S.S. Discovery, and Culber opens up to Tilly.

Co-showrunner Michelle Paradise previously teased this episode saying, “I’m trying to think of something that won’t be spoilery! Surprising encounters and surprising new information about our heroes.”

NEW photos:

Wilson Cruz as Culber and Mary Wiseman as Tilly (John Medland/Paramount+)

Sonequa Martin-Green as Burnham and David Ajala as Book (John Medland/Paramount+)

Callum Keith Rennie as Rayner (Paramount+)

Mary Wiseman as Tilly, Blu del Barrio as Adira and Anthony Rapp as Stamets (Paramount+)

Previously released photo:

UPDATE: Trailer

You can see a clip from “Mirrors” from the latest episode of The Ready Room below …

Season trailers

Here is the trailer released in February.

And the season preview released with the first episode…

The fifth and final season of  Discovery debuted with two episodes on Thursday, April 4 exclusively on Paramount+  in the U.S., the UK, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, and Austria.  Discovery also premiered on April 4 on Paramount+ in Canada and will be broadcast on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada. The rest of the 10-episode final season will be available to stream weekly on Thursdays. Season 5 debuted on SkyShowtime in select European countries on April 5.

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Okay, I haven’t even watched any of Season 5 yet – I fell away during season 4, but because season 5 sounds interesting, I just jumped in again to finish season 4, and by now, I actually quite like it (Book and Stamets being my favourites). Reading about season 5, I keep wondering why they would revisit the Kellerun. I love DS9, I remember liking that episode, but there was really nothing about that species that made them particulary interesting, right? So I was wondering whether maybe they’ll tie the progenitor plot to the Harvester weapon – maybe it was based on progenitor tech? Any hints in the episodes yet about why it’s the Kellerun?

They haven’t revisited the Kellerun. His species hasn’t entered into the story so far. It’s just a fun Easter egg. His inclusion is about his personal arc, not his people. He just happens to be a Kellerun. And so far, he’s the best thing about the season.

“ And so far, he’s the best thing about the season.” – which probably all but guarantees his death

Ha! Probably, yeah. :)

Burnham and Book, the only characters who actually do anything of consequence on this show.

That’s a rather forced interpretation.

What’s forced is pretty much everything on Discovery. Relationships, casting, storylines, emotion …

I kind off agree with some of that. Not all, but some.

It’s pretty accurate. It’s become the B&B show.

Much in the same way that Voyager essentially became the Janeway & Seven show and Enterprise was the Archer, Trip & T’Pol hour.

We -just- had an episode last week that was all about Burnham, Rayner and Stamets.

I would love for Burnham to not be leading almost every away mission and come up with so many solutions totally on her own, but let’s at least recognize when they do change things for the better.

Well, that’s a bit of a tip off that someone looking to complain isn’t actually watching the show….

I know Burnham was front and centre, yet again. Whilst the others supported her, as usual.

Book was in one scene last episode and had zip to do with saving the day.

That’s because she is the main character.

Book was hardly even in the last episode.

I wouldn’t have minded Michael maybe going with another character on this mission though. Detmer, for example, is described as being an excellent pilot.

Nope, she takes her boyfriend (well ex) who isn’t even in Starfleet.

The person best suited to the mission, who has personal ties to the subject under pursuit. By the way, Seven wasn’t in Starfleet until Picard season 2, Odo never was in Starfleet, neither was Martok.

I have also seen you on here claiming that Sisko was wrong to be mad at Worf for abandoning the mission to bring his girlfriend home.

All you are doing is proving that you don’t watch the show at all but come here to fraudulently piss and moan about it.

I did that back when Enterprise came out. I refused to watch because I can’t stand Bakula from Quantum Leap days. I complained non stop about Enterprise, never watched a single episode until after it was cancelled when a player in my D&D group told me I should at least watch the show before I ran my mouth. I was indeed a stupid clown to act that way. I am glad I’m not one now.

I think you may have me confused with someone else as I actually agreed with Sisko’s decision to reprimand Worf.

I watch the show every week, actually more than once because I watch on Thursdays at 6 and again over the weekend.

There are also three separate people who post to Trekmovie with a name similar to mine, by the way.

Is this the episode where the Mirror Enterprise guest stars (as seen in the season preview clips)? If so, does that mean that Mirror Pike and/or Mirror Kirk and Mirror Spock, et al. will show up too, played by the SNW cast?

I expect the Enterprise to be abandoned or something, much cheaper for the show, then they’ll probably just blow it up, because well they can.

Blowing up the Enterprise…a Star Trek tradition since 1984…

You bring up a good point. When the original Enterprise was destroyed in The Search for Spock, it was shocking and tremendously sad.

Even when the D was scuttled in Generations, there was some poignance.

After that, with all these letters and the like, it’s become expected. Whenever the Enterprise is destroyed, it’s replaced by another Enterprise with another letter.

Very very doubtful lol. . And unless the episode is time travel based (which I doubt) it’s more likely its been abandoned and found in the 32nd century.

The clip describes it as an interdimensional wormhole so I don’t see why people can’t be on it.

We have seen clips inside the ship, nobody on board. We saw inside the ship in the first trailer for the season. Check trekculture.

I’ve seen the trailer, thanks.

Really looking forward to this one, especially after how much I loved the last one.

It’s exciting to go back to the ISS Enterprise and just like I watched The Chase to get me more motivated for the first episode I’m going to watch Mirror Mirror again for this one.

I’m truly rooting for this show to go out big. So far I’m mostly liking what I’m seeing.

Question: Why does everyone LOVE Shatner but Hate SMG? Aren’t they equa-diva? Isn’t the person playing say……Linus, going to be the Walter Koenig-type of the 2050s talking about all the shit she did and said? :)

Um not many love Shatner either…

Shatner is bigot, he steals other people’s work (to be fair he learned that from Gene), he was a murder suspect who has been likened to OJ Simpson by many people.

I haven’t seen any criticizm of Sonequa that was based on her behavior or history or anything but the fact she’s a she. So until there is something actually real and concrete it’s just sexism from Tate’s little minions.

Shatner is bigot, he steals other people’s work (to be fair he learned that from Gene), he was a murder suspect who has been likened to OJ Simpson by many people.

George Takei named him as a bigot he plagiarized every single book that carries his name and he was in fact a suspect in the death of his wife and many people believe that he was guilty I’m not saying I do but people do

Ah yes, the old “people say it’s true so it must be true” argument. Takei is an over-sensitive egomaniac who’s had a grudge on Shatner for over 55 years. Taking his bias opinion as fact doesn’t make it fact. Try a little critical thinking.

I don’t recall Shatner ever being a murder suspect. He was cleared early in the Nerine Shatner drowning.

It’s not SMG. It’s the writing. I think SMG is fantastic and doing the best she can with the drivel they write her. I think that’s people’s biggest issue.

The people who are making the complaints show by their complaints that they’re not actually watching the show therefore they can’t possibly be complaining about the writing

It’s too early in the day to be reading this kind of kindergarten logic. I’ve been watching the show since the beginning. I agree with some of the complaints about SMG and all of the complaints about the writing. Actually my complaints are more about Burnham than SMG and I find that season 5 is greatly improved. The point is let people have their opinions instead of being judgemental. Nobody needs to agree with you.

Agreed. This board has been bliss since you know who got the boot last month. Just let people say how they feel for good or bad instead of trying to get on their case about it. Seriously it’s going to be OK.

And the irony is this season so far has been the most civil I seen this board in years concerning Discovery. Yes there are still issues some people have with it, that will never go away but it’s been pretty balanced overall. Everyone has been giving their opinions and just moving on.

I been enjoying the season as well, probably more than I thought I would. It can still suck lol but right now I’ve had few complaints and that’s saying a lot with this show.

I also think SMG is a wonderful actress. I generally like her character, but, I think that there is a some inconsistency about the writing for her character. I also, like others, get a bit turned off by all the weepiness and emotion in this show. I read one article where a reviewer said that the Discovery crew kind of acted unprofessional compared to the TOS and TNG crews.

I had NO idea he was suspected in killing one of his wives. Dang……..And I guess I was overstating the love of Shatner. My bad. I stand corrected.

He wasn’t a suspect. LAPD cleared him of wrongdoing, because there was no case there. He was only a suspect to the lazy online rumormongers who didn’t bother to closely study it.

Not sure if you were expecting a civil discourse to come out of such a baiting question, but it prompted ugly aspersions about Shatner and Takei with a dig against Discovery’s critics, but nothing against SMG as a person. So… congrats?

What an odd and off topic question for an article that is simply a preview for the next episode of Discovery.

Shatner is fun to watch, SMG is annoying to watch. Simple as that.

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Breaking news, ny appeals court overturns harvey weinstein rape conviction, the o.j. simpson movie that owen wilson (among others) won’t be starring in.

Plus, legendary Hollywood agent Harry Abrams spills all (or at least some) in a new memoir, Star Trek beams into Santa Monica, and Cate Blanchett bears arms.

By Edited by Benjamin Svetkey , Edited by Julian Sancton April 24, 2024 10:00am

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A New O.J. Movie Stars the Controversial Charlotte Kirk (But Definitely Not Owen Wilson)

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When Harry Met Jaclyn

Talent agents find talent in the oddest places. For instance, back when he was getting started in the business in the early ’70s, veteran 15-percenter Harry Abrams — who has a freshly published memoir, Let’s Do Launch, in bookstores — was picnicking with his wife and three young kids in Central Park when he stumbled on a stunning young brunette doing pirouettes in the grass. “My 3-year-old wandered over to her, and I had to go rescue her from him,” he tells THR . “We started talking, and it turned out she was in town auditioning for the New York City Ballet. She had a Southern accent so thick, you could cut it with a knife. But I was struck by her natural beauty, so I gave her my card and told her to call me if she didn’t get into the ballet.” Jaclyn Smith didn’t get in, did call, and next thing you know she’s one of the original Charlie’s Angels. Abrams has a zillion of these stories, but you’ll have to buy his book to learn about the ones involving Liam Neeson, Jennifer Lopez, Katie Holmes, Jason Alexander and William H. Macy.

Santa Monica Makes It So

Cate blanchett, armed and dangerous.

Sure, she’s one of cinema’s most lauded thespians, an eight-time Oscar nominee and two-time winner. But, according to horror maestro Eli Roth, you haven’t really seen Cate Blanchett act until you’ve watched her brandish a flamethrower. “She’s obviously brilliant,” says the director, who first worked with Blanchett in 2018’s The House With a Clock in Its Walls and more recently shot her as an intergalactic bounty hunter in his video game adaptation Borderlands . “But I was like, ‘Cate, let me throw a hundred stunt guns at you and have you fight all these people and run up on all these boxes and flip around and jump down.’ I threw crazy stuff at her. She’s in this snakeskin suit twirling guns. I gave her a flamethrower. She has an amazing stunt team, but when you see her twirling guns, doing fights and using the flamethrower, that’s her. She’s incredible.” — CHRIS GARDNER

This story first appeared in the April 24 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe .

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Original ‘Star Trek’ Enterprise Model Is Found After Being Missing for Decades

The 33-inch model surfaced on eBay after disappearing around 1979. An auction house is giving it to the son of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of “Star Trek.”

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By Emily Schmall

The first model of the U.S.S. Enterprise, the starship that appeared in the opening credits of the original “Star Trek” television series , has been returned to Eugene Roddenberry Jr., the son of the creator of the series, decades after it went missing.

“After a long journey, she’s home,” Mr. Roddenberry wrote on social media on Thursday.

For die-hard Trekkies, the model’s disappearance had become the subject of folklore, so an eBay listing last fall, with a starting bid of $1,000, didn’t go unnoticed.

“Red alert,” someone in an online costume and prop-making forum wrote, linking to the listing.

Mr. Roddenberry’s father, Gene Roddenberry, created the television series, which first aired in 1966 and ran for three seasons. It spawned numerous spinoffs, several films and a franchise that has included conventions and legions of devoted fans with an avid interest in memorabilia.

The seller of the model was bombarded with inquiries and quickly took the listing down.

The seller contacted Heritage Auctions to authenticate it, the auction house’s executive vice president, Joe Maddalena, said on Saturday. As soon as the seller, who said he had found it in a storage unit, brought it to the auction house’s office in Beverly Hills, Calif., Mr. Maddalena said he knew it was real.

“That’s when I reached out to Rod to say, ‘We’ve got this. This is it,’” he said, adding that the model was being transferred to Mr. Roddenberry.

Mr. Roddenberry, who is known as Rod, said on Saturday that he would restore the model and seek to have it displayed in a museum or other institution. He said reclaiming the item had only piqued his interest in the circumstances about its disappearance.

“Whoever borrowed it or misplaced it or lost it, something happened somewhere,” he said. “Where’s it been?”

It was unclear how the model ended up in the storage unit and who had it before its discovery.

The original U.S.S. Enterprise, a 33-inch model, was mostly made of solid wood by Richard C. Datin, a model maker for the Howard Anderson Company, a special-effects company that created the opening credits for some of the 20th century’s biggest TV shows .

An enlarged 11-foot model was used in subsequent “Star Trek” television episodes, and is now part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum , where it was donated by Paramount Studios in 1974.

Mr. Roddenberry, who said he gave the seller a “reward” for its recovery but did not disclose the terms, assembled a group of “Star Trek” production veterans, model makers and restoration specialists in Beverly Hills to authenticate the find.

The group included a “Star Trek” art supervisor, Michael Okuda, and his wife, Denise, an artist on “Star Trek” television series and films, and Gary Kerr, a “Trek x-pert” who served as technical consultant for the Smithsonian during a 2016 restoration of the 11-foot model.

“We spent at least an hour photographing it, inspecting the paint, inspecting the dirt, looking under the base, the patina on the stem, the grain in the wood,” Mr. Roddenberry said.

“It was a unanimous ‘This is 100 percent the one,’” he said.

Gene Roddenberry, who died in 1991 , kept the original model, which appeared in the show’s opening credits and pilot episode, on his desk.

Mr. Kerr compared the model to 1960s photos he had of the model on Mr. Roddenberry’s desk.

“The wood grain matched exactly, so that was it,” he said on Saturday.

The model went missing after Mr. Roddenberry lent it to the makers of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” which was released in 1979, Mr. Maddalena said.

“This is a major discovery,” he said, likening the model to the ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz,” a prop that was stolen in 2005 and recovered by the F.B.I. in 2018, and that Heritage Auctions is selling.

While the slippers represent hope, he said, the starship Enterprise model “represents dreams.”

“It’s a portal to what could be,” he said.

Emily Schmall covers breaking news and feature stories and is based in Chicago. More about Emily Schmall

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Star trek’s paramount plus movies must keep canceled tv shows alive.

Star Trek on Paramount+'s potential series of made-for-streaming movies can keep canceled shows like Picard, Discovery, and Lower Decks alive.

• Paramount+ can revive canceled Star Trek shows through feature-length streaming films.
• Characters from Discovery, Picard, and Lower Decks can continue their stories in movies.
• The success of Star Trek legacy characters in films could pave the way for more spin-offs.

Paramount+ can keep canceled Star Trek shows alive by continuing the characters' adventures in feature-length made-for-streaming films. Although the Star Trek franchise began on television, Star Trek 's 13 theatrical movies provided more adventures with characters from Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation . Not only has the Star Trek franchise often moved from television to film, but Paramount+ has also set this precedent. The upcoming Star Trek: Section 31 starring Michelle Yeoh originally began as a concept for a television series.

Star Trek: Discovery comes to an end with season 5, and Paramount recently announced that the upcoming Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 would also be its last. Star Trek: Picard was always meant to be 3 seasons, but after the success of Picard season 3, fans began clamoring for a spin-off. While Star Trek: Picard season 3 ended with the perfect setup for the fan-desired Star Trek: Legacy , it remains little more than a hope. But made-for-streaming, feature-length films on Paramount+ could bring back the characters from these canceled Star Trek shows, allowing their stories to continue.

Every Star Trek Movie Ranked (From Worst To Best)

Star trek’s paramount plus movies can continue canceled tv shows, the characters of canceled star trek could live on in streaming films..

Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, and Star Trek: Lower Decks all introduced compelling new characters to the Star Trek universe, and it would be a shame never to see those characters again. Michelle Yeoh's Emperor Phillipa Georgiou left Discovery in season 3, but will be the lead in Star Trek: Section 31 , which brings back at least one Star Trek legacy character, a younger version of future USS Enterprise-C Captain Rachel Garrett (Kacey Rohl). If Section 31 proves to be successful, hopefully, Paramount+ will continue this trend with other Star Trek shows and characters.

Star Trek: Section 31 has wrapped filming, and there is talk of a sequel if the streaming movie is successful on Paramount+.

The return of the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast helped make Star Trek: Picard season 3 a resounding success, but the season also introduced several storylines that should continue. With the introduction of Picard's son, Ensign Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers), and Seven of Nine's (Jeri Ryan) promotion to Captain of the USS Enterprise-G, Star Trek: Legacy already has a compelling premise. If Paramount+ does not have the budget for another Star Trek television show, a streaming film could provide the chance to continue the story that began in Star Trek: Picard season 3.

Terry Matalas, the showrunner of Star Trek: Picard season 3, has expressed an interest in continuing the story, and many of the cast members would also love to return.

Why Star Trek On Paramount Plus Shouldn’t Abandon Discovery, Picard, & Lower Decks

Paramount+ should find a way to incorporate these characters into new stories..

Star Trek: Discovery's premiere in 2017 ushered in a new era of Star Trek on Paramount+. Discovery and the series that followed, such as Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Lower Decks , introduced numerous new characters that fans have embraced. S tar Trek streaming movies on Paramount+ offer an ideal venue to continue the stories from the concluded Star Trek series in a more cost-effective way than an ongoing series, given the changing streaming business model. Audiences will follow characters they've already invested in to streaming movies that continue their stories,

The Strange New Worlds/Star Trek: Lower Decks crossover also proved that characters can jump from one show to another, and Paramount+ will hopefully find new ways to continue this trend. Jack Quaid's Brad Boimler and Tawny Newsome's Beckett Mariner are great characters who should continue to be a part of Star Trek . The fan demand for Star Trek: Picard spin-off Star Trek: Legacy proves that fans want more Star Trek , especially when it connects to past Trek shows and characters. Whether with crossovers or mini-series or made-for-streaming movies, Paramount+ shouldn't abandon beloved characters of their canceled Star Trek shows.

Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, and Star Trek: Lower Decks are available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

Star trek: picard, star trek lower decks.