Star Trek is all about the optimistic view of the future and the discovery of new worlds and absurd aliens. The new movie seems to have something else in mind and I don’t like it at all
A new Star Trek movie has been announced? I’m in. No franchise in recent years has shown me so much how you can still feel exciting, fresh and yet authentic after almost 70 years. The new movie is supposed to be a prequel and take place a few decades before Kirk, Spock & Co. – but the great potential lies somewhere else entirely
After the movie was canceled, the series saved Star Trek’s life
After the last movie Star Trek Beyond in 2016, it became quiet around the Enterprise on the big screen. There has been no sign of life from the charismatic cast around Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto as young and athletic versions of Kirk and Spock in recent years (even if Paramount still wants to make a fourth, final film)
Instead, a bumpy streaming era began that recently delivered some of the best Star Trek episodes of all time. Season 3 of Star Trek: Picard really surprised everyone with the emotional reunion of the aged warhorses from Starship Enterprise: The Next Century. And the musical episode of the already brilliant series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is now probably my favorite Star Trek episode ever. (Spock can sing!?)
(Star Trek: Strange New Worlds)
There’s also a third live-action series whose decisions are sometimes talked about less favorably in fan circles: Star Trek: Discovery. I found it very entertaining for the most part and have great respect for the controversial decision at the end of season 2: Discovery and its crew jump 930 years into the future. And that’s exactly where there’s a lot more to pick up for a new movie than bumbling around a few years before Kirk.
I don’t want a gloomy Star Trek prequel, I want an optimistic view of the future
Why the new Star Trek movie makes me queasy is because of the names attached to it. The screenplay is being written by Seth Grahame-Smith, who last made a name for himself with the bitter horror blockbuster It. Toby Haynes is to direct. Yes, he has just directed the great Star Wars series Andor, but that was very dystopian, sober and devastating by Star Wars standards. He also made a Star Trek-inspired Black Mirror episode. But I don’t need this cynicism in Star Trek. Star Trek has always stood for curious exploration and the drive to make the world a better place.
With these key data, the new Star Trek movie sounds like a dark and edgy prequel on paper. Fortunately, that’s just my own speculation for now, but while we’re at it, I have a counter-proposal: instead of staying in the same century, telling another similar (or even darker) Starfleet story, why not take a bold step into the future?
(Star Trek: Discovery far in the future)
1000 years in the future is where the real potential is hidden. Star Trek: Discovery has shown in the last two seasons that the door is open to explore a completely different time in the franchise. Starfleet has to be rebuilt, optimism has to be rekindled and the thirst for action has to be transported to the people.
There lies an exciting story whose outcome is not yet sealed. The problem with prequels is always that we already know what will happen next. As great as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is, it annoys me to no end that we already know the sad fate of the protagonist Captain Pike (Anson Mount)
All Star Trek films and series in chronological order
The new movie will probably want to tell a stand-alone story. This is certainly advisable so as not to get too caught up in the overflowing Star Trek lore. Nevertheless, in the spirit of the franchise, I think it would be wiser and more exciting to go far into the future and continue there. Liberated and with an optimistic view of the stars, as befits Star Trek.
