It seems Paramount is making yet another attempt at a Star Trek feature film. The studio confirmed the news at CinemaCon 2024. Toby Haynes, who directed episodes of Andor, will direct this newest Trek film, with screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith providing the script. In terms of plot, all we know is that it will be set decades before the events of J.J. Abram’s 2009 Star Trek, technically the eleventh Trek feature overall, which launched a trilogy. This new Star Trek movie will also release in 2025. Abrams’ Bad Robot will remain as producers. A fourth Star Trek film featuring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and the rest of that cast remains in the works.
The last Star Trek feature film to hit theaters was 2016’s Star Trek: Beyond. Whenever this new Trek movie arrives, it will be the longest gap between Star Trek films since the long-running franchise launched with 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The longest gap until now was between 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis, the fourth and final film in the saga of Captain Picard’s crew, and the 2009 reboot. Although Star Trek has been missing in movie theaters all these years, it has been thriving on streaming television, with series like Discovery, Picard, Lower Decks, and most recently, Strange New Worlds.
So what could “decades before” mean in regards to this movie’s timeline? The 2009 Star Trek began with the birth of Captain Kirk. It could be a story about the Romulan Wars. The infamous Vulcan offshoot species began a war with Earth, one constantly referenced in almost every Trek series. Its fallout saw the foundation of the Federation Starfleet. That’s a story possibly worth telling, even if it is another prequel to a prequel. Collider notes that this movie has been described as an “origin story.”
When Will This New Star Trek “Origins” Movie Release?
No word yet on when production is meant to commence on this film, but as mentioned, the film has a release window of 2025. Hopefully, it will fare better than those other announced Star Trek movies that never got off the ground.
Originally published on January 10, 2024.