AfterStar Trek: Strange New Worldscomes to a close, the franchise should move on from prequels. Following the adventures of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and his Enterprise crew,Strange New Worldstakes place just before theevents ofStar Trek: The Original Series.
With its incredibly compelling cast of characters and classicStar Trekstories,Strange New Worldshas been a major success for Paramount+.Captain Pike makes for a dynamic lead, andStrange New Worldsoffers fascinating insights into a period ofStar Trekhistorythat had only been hinted at before.
Strange New Worldsallowed the franchise to add more depth to characters like Ensign Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) andNurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush), who didn’t always get much to do onTOS. While I’m gladStrange New Worldsexists,I’d like to see theStar Trekfranchise boldly go into the futurerather than continue exploring its past.
Why Strange New Worlds Should Be Star Trek’s Last Prequel
Star Trek Should Boldly Look Toward Its Future
WhileStar Trek: Strange New Worldsmade the most of its status as a prequel,the franchise should focus on the future as it moves forward.Strange New Worldsitself is aspin-off ofStar Trek: Discovery,which began as a prequel toStar Trek: The Original Series,but truly found its footing after launching its characters into the far future of the 32nd century.
Prequels are always tricky because they have to set up a story that has already been told without outwardly contradicting anything. This limits the types of stories that prequels can tell, and inevitably upsets fans when things don’t quite line up with the original timeline.
This was part of the problem withDiscovery’sfirst two seasons, as it made big (and controversial) changes to Spock’s (Ethan Peck) story and the look of the Klingons.Strange New Worlds,too, has retconned some elements fromTOS,including Starfleet’s history with the Gorn and Spock’s romantic relationships.
Paramount+ and CBS Studios recently announced thatStar Trek: Strange New Worldswill end with a shortened fifth season, giving the production team plenty of time to wrap up the story in a satisfying way.
Star Trek’supcomingDiscoveryspin-off,Star Trek: Starfleet Academy,will take place in the 32nd century, exploring an unknown period ofStar Trek’sfuture. Other potentialStar Trekprojects, likeStar Trek: Legacyor thelive-action comedy being developed by Tawny Newsomeand Justin Simien, would be set in the 25th century, presumably after the events ofStar Trek: Picard.
Two Possible Star Trek Movies Could Still Be Prequels
Star Trek 4 & An Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie Would Be Star Trek Prequels
In 2009,J.J. Abrams’Star Trekfilm reinvigorated the franchise,in a prequel following a young James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and his future Enterprise crew.Star Trek(2009) and its subsequent sequels took place in an alternate universe created when the Romulan Nero (Eric Bana) arrived from the future and destroyed the USS Kelvin.
Even beforeStar Trek: Beyondpremiered in 2016, a fourthStar Trekfilm featuring the same cast had already been announced. Despite this,Star Trek 4has yet to be made, although most of the cast have expressed an interest in doing at least one more film.
In January 2024, Paramount Studios announced plans for another prequel film set"decades before"J.J. Abrams' movies. With a script by Seth Grahame-Smith,thisUntitled Star Trek OriginMoviehas tapped Toby Haynes to direct,but very little news has been shared about the film since its announcement.
Haynes, who directed episodes ofDoctor WhoandAndor,as well as the"USS Callister" episodes ofBlack Mirror, seems like a solid choice to helm aStar Trekfilm. However, it remains to be seen whether this particular prequel or the long-rumoredStar Trek 4will ever make it to the big screen.
Why Star Trek Needs To End Prequels & Move Forward
Star Trek Has A Wide Open Future That Remains Unexplored
BetweenStar Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Discovery’sfirst two seasons, andStar Trek: Strange New Worlds, theStar Trekfranchise has explored a lot of its past.The franchise has thoroughly explored the events leading up to the creation of the United Federation of Planets, as well as the events leading up toCaptain Kirk’s (William Shatner) command of the Enterprise.
After the success ofStar Trek: Picardseason 3, fans have been clamoring for the proposed spin-off,Star Trek: Legacy.A show like this would allow the franchise to continue telling stories with beloved characters likeJeri Ryan’s Seven of Nine, while also diving into a period thatStar Trekhas yet to explore.
SettingStar Trekstories further into the future will also allowthe shows to take full advantage of CGI and other modern technologywithout having to explain why everything seems more advanced than it did onStar Trek: The Original SeriesorStar Trek: The Next Generation.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is proof that prequels can work when done well, but Star Trek has spent enough time looking back at its past.
While there’s still a period of time between the finalTOSmovie and the beginning ofStar Trek: The Next Generationthat has yet to be fully explored,Star Trekshould focus its gaze on the future.Star Trek: Strange New Worldsis proof that prequels can work when done well, butStar Trekhas spent enough time looking back at its past.
