Star Trek 4‘s development has been rougher than taking a photon torpedo with shields at ten percent, but when the time for Star Trek 5 comes, Paramount’s current big screen troubles could look like a stroll through the holodeck in comparison. Under the watchful eye of J.J. Abrams, the Star Trek franchise underwent a complete makeover in 2009, with a fresh-faced cast and a modern, sleek style dragging the franchise back to mainstream prominence. Sequels followed in 2013 (Star Trek Into Darkness) and 2016 (Star Trek Beyond), but with box office dwindling, Chris Pine’s Enterprise came to a sudden standstill.
What followed has been a menagerie of failed ideas and aborted projects. First Star Trek 4 eyed a return for the considerably-more-famous-than-he-was-in-2009 Chris Hemsworth as George Kirk, before controversy ensued over Chris Pine potentially not appearing. S.J. Clarkson was involved, then she wasn’t. Noah Hawley was involved, then he wasn’t. Matt Shakman was involved, then he wasn’t. Quentin Tarantino turned up at Paramount studios brandishing an R-rated script in one hand and a bat’leth in the other (maybe), then the inevitable reports of cancelation arrived.
Star Trek 4 must’ve infused itself with tribble blood because, against all odds, J.J. Abrams confirmed in February 2022 that the sequel was warping ahead with the Kelvin cast. Progress have been elusive to the point of non-existence since, but Star Trek 4 is, by all accounts, still happening. But if you thought that was a drama, Star Trek 5 faces an even bigger obstacle…
Star Trek 4 Always Had One Big Advantage
Star Trek 4 has bounced from one behind-the-scenes mishap to the next, and it’s a miracle the project is still standing (however unsteadily) this long after Star Trek Beyond. That Star Trek 4 has survived so much can be attributed to one factor and one factor only: the Kelvin timeline cast. Over the past 6 years, the likes of Karl Urban, Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine have all spoken positively about making a fourth Star Trek movie, and those sentiments were returned double by audiences. Reportedly, Paramount only decided to push forward with Star Trek 4 because market research indicated the Kelvin cast was still adored by fans. If a fourth Kelvin timeline Star Trek movie happens, it’ll be thanks to the cast’s enthusiasm, and the audience’s enthusiasm to see them.
That’s not a luxury Star Trek 5 will have. Although Star Trek 4 isn’t explicitly confirmed as the final entry in J.J. Abrams’ Kelvin series, the constant string of delays and cancellations mean it’s highly likely this’ll be their final frontier. With pretty much every actor more in-demand now than in 2009, Star Trek 4 production might’ve started sooner if aligning the cast’s calendars wasn’t such a thankless task. After the nightmare of Star Trek 4, doing it all over again seems crazy, which means Star Trek 5 would need to start over. And that’s where the trouble really begins…
Star Trek 5 Faces A Major Identity Problem
Star Trek 5‘s big problem will be figuring out what Star Trek 5 should actually be – more specifically, which era and cast replace the Kelvin timeline? Star Trek‘s The Original Series and The Next Generation casts graduated from TV to film after their respective series ended, but that strategy won’t work for Star Trek 5. The Discovery crew doesn’t have the universal popularity among fans or mainstream presence necessary for a seamless jump to cinema. The Star Trek: Strange New Worlds crew does meet that criteria, but Captain Pike’s impending death and Kirk’s imminent promotion to Enterprise captain leave little room for trekkin’ on the big screen.
Star Trek 5 can’t visit a parallel universe because that’s the trick J.J. Abrams used in 2009, can’t reboot completely because Star Trek is a franchise where everything falls under one canon umbrella, and can’t bring back The Next Generation‘s crew because time is a relentless mistress. One option would be to take Star Trek into bold new territory, but the collapse of both Quentin Tarantino and Noah Hawley’s versions of Star Trek 4 suggests Paramount is reluctant to get too outlandish with its iconic IP. Another option would be introducing a completely new ship and crew in a relatively untouched chunk of Star Trek‘s timeline – but then what separates it from Paramount+’s various TV offerings?
The problem of figuring out what Star Trek 5 should be, who should appear, when the story should be set, and how to differentiate from TV content could dwarf the obstacles Star Trek 4 has faced.
Why Star Trek 5’s Best Option Could Be A Crossover
Paramount’s best (some might say only) viable option for Star Trek 5 could be an ambitious crossover featuring a franchise-spanning ensemble in a time-spanning battle for all reality. Legacy characters from Star Trek: The Original Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise could mingle with choice selections from Star Trek: Discovery, Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, and the Kelvin timeline, with new characters sprinkled in for good measure. Thankfully, Star Trek mythology provides approximately 247 different scientific ways this mashup could become an in-universe possibility.
Not only would a Star Trek crossover movie deliver an “event” storyline worthy of cinematic release and completely elevated beyond the small screen, but an era-spanning spectacle is the only logical conclusion to the massive expansion Gene Roddenberry’s universe is currently undergoing on Paramount+. As its shared universe expands, Star Trek is already halfway toward a crossover, and collaborations are already happening (Lower Decks‘ Boimler and Mariner in Strange New Worlds, for example). Without any other obvious solution, Paramount may as well engage its increasingly inevitable crossover for Star Trek 5.
