In 2009, the Star Trek franchise received the shot in the arm it desperately needed when the J.J. Abrams-directed reboot hit theaters. Earning widespread critical praise and becoming one of the biggest box office hits of that summer ($385.7 million worldwide), Star Trek marked the beginning of a new era for the iconic sci-fi property. Given the film’s reception, a sequel unsurprisingly came into fruition quickly, but it was here when the series started to lose some momentum. Star Trek Into Darkness earned a lot of money ($467.3 million) but it proved to be divisive amongst fans due to uninspiring creative choices. Threequel Star Trek Beyond did a better job of capturing the spirit and tone of classic Trek, but underwhelmed commercially.
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For nearly a decade after the premiere of Star Trek Beyond, Paramount tried to get a fourth Kelvin Timeline installment off the ground. The project cycled through multiple filmmakers and lingered in development hell until the studio finally decided to pull the plug. In the aftermath of the Paramount/Skydance merger becoming official, it was announced that a new Star Trek movie is in the works, one that will serve as another reboot with different actors in place. That development brought the Kelvin Timeline era to the end, meaning a bit of unfortunate Star Trek movie history was made.
The Kelvin Timeline Cast Broke an Unwanted Star Trek Franchise Record
With Paramount shifting gears, the Kelvin Timeline cast will have starred in only three feature films. That is the fewest for a particular Star Trek ensemble in franchise history. The Original Series crew starred in six movies, while The Next Generation cast followed with four. For a while, it looked like the Kelvin Timeline actors were going to tie The Next Generation cast, but it unfortunately wasn’t meant to be. The group’s fate has an ironic twist to it, as they were the first Star Trek cast assembled specifically for movies. The other two, of course, made the jump from TV to films.
There’s a universe where the Kelvin cast might be challenging the Original Series crew for the all-time record instead. Ultimately, lukewarm reception is what did this film series in. If Beyond was a bigger box office hit, then Paramount would have felt compelled to quickly move forward on another follow-up. Star Trek 4 (and maybe even Star Trek 5) probably would have been out by now. As it stands, the studio was likely trying to determine if another Star Trek movie was worth the pricey investment. Star Trek Beyond got overshadowed by Disney’s Star Wars revival and peak interest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From a business perspective, it was hard to fully justify going full speed ahead on a fourth movie when the series was struggling to connect with audiences.
The Kelvin Timeline still has a sizable fan base, but it’s easy to understand why Paramount decided to go in a different direction. By the time the next Star Trek movie comes out, it will be over a decade since the franchise last graced the big screen. As Paramount starts a new era under new leadership, this new Star Trek film is being envisioned as a fresh start for the series. Obviously, the hope is longtime fans take an interest in the revival, but the real goal is to also bring in new fans to help keep the property in the limelight. It’s easier to accomplish that with a new cast than bringing back an ensemble that made its debut over 15 years ago.
No casting announcements for the next Star Trek film have been made yet, but it’ll be interesting to see how long of a run that crew has whenever it comes together. Star Trek is a major priority for Paramount moving forward, and it shows in some of the choices the studio has made. Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, the duo behind fan-favorite films like Game Night and the underrated Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, have signed on to write and direct the new Star Trek movie. Based on their track record, they’re the perfect creative team for this endeavor, as they’ve demonstrated a knack for creative and fun takes on big-budget studio blockbusters. Hopefully, their Star Trek cast will live long and prosper.
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