A rejected storyline for Star Trek: The Next Generation would have undermined Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban) and ruined the ending of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Widely considered to be one of the best Star Trek movies of all time, The Wrath of Khan has left a lasting impression on the franchise to this day. There have been many attempts to recapture the spirit of the acclaimed Star Trek: The Original Series movie, with the most notable being J.J. Abrams’ controversial Wrath of Khan remake, Star Trek into Darkness.
Star Trek: The Next Generation is also guilty of revisiting Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan in pursuit of a great movie idea. The final TNG movie, Star Trek: Nemesis, effectively remade Khan with two Star Trek: TNG characters fulfilling the roles of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Captain Spock (Leonard Nimoy). In Nemesis, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) is faced with an implacable enemy, while Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) sacrifices himself to save the crew of the starship Enterprise. However, this wasn’t the only time that Picard and Data revisited The Wrath of Khan.
Star Trek’s Khan Noonien Singh Strange New Worlds & TOS History Explained
Khan Noonien Singh is the greatest enemy Kirk’s Enterprise ever faced in Star Trek: The Original Series, and Strange New Worlds seeds his return.
Star Trek: TNG’s Unmade Khan Episode Explained
Somehow, Khan returned, and fought the next generation of the starship Enterprise.
In 2017, Vulture revealed that writer-producer Marc Bernardin sent a spec script to the Star Trek: The Next Generation production office that was entitled “Past Present”. The episode was set up as a sequel to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, but with a wild twist ending. From what Bernardin remembered, the story involved the USS Enterprise-D navigating an unpopulated region of space, when they’re attacked by a mysterious foe. With the Enterprise disabled, their enemy is revealed as Khan Noonien-Singh, who was resurrected by Star Trek 2‘s Genesis device.
By the end of the speculative episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, it was revealed that Khan was not alive, and was actually a holographic reproduction created by Data to test the crew’s battle-readiness. Picard, concerned about the crew growing rusty while navigating an unpopulated region of space, inadvertently ordered Data to create his elaborate simulation, complete with inertial dampener manipulation. While the return of Ricardo Montalban would have been a draw for audiences, the reveal that he was merely part of what Bernardin called “a big-ass motion simulator ride” would have seriously undermined his ending.
Star Trek Also Wanted To Bring Back Khan For A TNG Movie
Khan could have returned in TNG’s unmade fifth movie.
Star Trek: Nemesis was never planned to be the end of the Star Trek: The Next Generation movies, so screenwriter John Logan and Data actor Brent Spiner began plotting a fifth entry. John Logan and Brent Spiner’s “Justice League of Star Trek” pitch would have teamed up Tom Hardy’s Shinzon with Khan Noonien Singh, and some other franchise super villains. To combat the threat posed by Star Trek‘s super villain team-up, Picard goes back through time to get the assistance of Captain Kirk and Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula).
The expense involved in Logan and Spiner’s pitch for a fifth Star Trek: The Next Generation movie, and the failure of Star Trek: Nemesis at the box office meant that the story was never developed further. That was definitely for the best, as it sounds like it would have repeated many of the flaws of Nemesis, namely too much focus on Picard and Data at the expense of the rest of the Enterprise’s crew. The biggest flaw in the “Justice League” concept, however, was that Kirk and Khan had already had their greatest battle in the unimpeachable Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is the third installment in the sci-fi franchise and follows the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew members of the USS Enterprise. Set around one hundred years after the original series, Picard and his crew travel through the galaxy in largely self-contained episodes exploring the crew dynamics and their own political discourse. The series also had several overarching plots that would develop over the course of the isolated episodes, with four films released in tandem with the series to further some of these story elements.
