Star Trek: Nicholas Meyer Confirms Work on New Project

It seems Star Trek: Discovery may not be the only new Star Trek project on CBS All Access for long.

Since 2016, there have been hints that Nicholas Meyer, the director of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and writer of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, is working on a new Star Trek project. Now Meyer himself has confirmed the rumors to be true.

According to TrekCore, Meyer revealed that he has been working on a new Star Trek project for CBS All Access. During a "Shakespeare and Star Trek" event at the University of California, Meyer told the audience that he had been hired to write a "standalone Star Trek-related trilogy" for CBS All Access, but that the project was currently "on hold."

It is unclear what Meyer's use of the word "trilogy" means. Is it a three-episode miniseries? A series of three seasons? Three made for streaming television movies?

Meyer also wouldn't divulge any details about the trilogy's subject matter. Some previous reports suggested that Meyer's project was a prequel series focused on Khan Noonien Singh, the classic Star Trek: The Original Series villain who first challenged Captain Kirk in the episode "Space Seed." Meyer is obviously familiar with the character from directing The Wrath of Khan.

Whatever Meyer's project is about, it can be seen as another sign of the resurgence of the Star Trek franchise. Longtime fans may remember what could be considered "peak Star Trek" in the 1990s when there were two television series being broadcast and a movie in development consistently from 1993-1999. The franchise began waning a bit with the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in 1999, leaving just one Star Trek television series on the air. Then the film series ended with Star Trek: Nemesis in 2002, and Star Trek went off the air completely for the first time since 1987 when Star Trek: Enterprise was cancelled in 2005.

Star Trek didn't return to theaters until 2009's Star Trek reboot film and didn't return as a television series until Star Trek: Discovery premiered in 2017. The film series seemed to be put on pause for a short time while Paramount reconsidered its options following Star Trek Beyond's disappointing box office performance, but now there are two Star Trek films in development. If a second television series joins Star Trek: Discovery on CBS All Access, the Star Trek franchise could become larger than it has ever been.

Meanwhile, Star Trek 4 just found its director and Star Trek: Discovery has begun filming its second season.