“People Will Be Surprised”: Star Trek Movie Directors Promise Exciting Big Screen Revival, Even as TV Shows Stall
It’s a strange time to be a Star Trek fan right now. Strange New Worlds has returned for an epic fourth season, with a bold time travel epic that rewrites all the rules. And yet, for all that’s the case, the franchise has broken an 11-year streak where a new TV show had either been greenlit or in production. The Kurtzman era is ending, with Strange New Worlds closing on Season 5 and Starfleet Academy canceled after Season 2 wrapped production. Paramount is pivoting back towards the movies, with Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley hired to write and direct the relaunch.
Speaking at Collider‘s “Directors on Directing” panel at San Diego Comic-Con, Goldstein and Daley offered an update on the movie. “I think we can say the script is in progress,” Daley said carefully, “and that we’re very excited about it. And I think people will be surprised. I really can’t say anything else, other than that.” Perhaps sensing that vague comment was a little anticlimactic, Goldstein did add a little more:
“I think we’ve said in the past, and it’s been reported, that it won’t be the characters that you’ve seen previously in your Star Trek movies. So there’ll be a new sort of take on that, and I think it’ll probably be a little further into the future than we’ve been before.”
What Can We Expect From Star Trek’s Big Screen Revival?
There had indeed previously been reports that the relaunch would feature new characters, so it’s nice to have that confirmed. This means we’re likely saying goodbye to the rebooted Kelvin timeline, while Goldstein also teases a new part of the Star Trek timeline. It’s unclear whether he’s only referring to the movies here, though, or whether he’s also pressing on beyond the TV shows too; Star Trek: Discovery shifted to the 32nd century after Season 2, and Starfleet Academy is set in that distant future too. Those shows did reestablish the Federation in that era, so the possibility can’t be ruled out.
That said, I have to say that I find the prospect of something fresh and new to be tremendously exciting. Star Trek is 60 years old, but the franchise has become obsessed with lore and nostalgia; as much as I love Strange New Worlds, it’s really a prequel to the original series that aired 60 years ago. Meanwhile, Starfleet Academy lacked a consistent sense of identity, blending Gen-Z-friendly narratives with the kind of deep lore only old-school fans would enjoy. It didn’t really know who its audience was, and so failed to garner the attention its performances deserved.
Star Trek has always been an unusual franchise, one of the few that straddles both film and TV in a natural, organic way. Paramount focused on the small screen for well over a decade now, but – as with other franchises like Star Wars – there have been diminishing returns, and studios are pivoting back towards the big screen. I do think Star Trek is one of the few franchises that can safely flourish in multiple formats at once, even in what Christopher Nolan has called a “post-franchise” Hollywood era, and the easiest way to do that is to clearly differentiate between the time periods that are being explored. It’s possible Paramount is waiting for Goldstein and Daley to cement their plans, before greenlighting new shows.
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