EAS Today

Star Trek at a Crossroads?

The announcement that Strange New Worlds (SNW) will conclude with a shortened fifth season may mark a significant turning point for the Star Trek franchise. With no series on the horizon besides Starfleet Academy (SFA), and with Alex Kurtzman's contract apparently ending soon, it looks like the "Kurtzman era" will draw to a close. This development coincides with the impending Paramount–Skydance merger, raising questions about the future direction of the franchise.

The decision to end SNW with just six episodes in its final season is officially framed as a creative choice, being "just as we envisioned it" according to Kurtzman, Goldsman and Myers. It may also be done to be able to film the two last seasons back to back. However, the timing invites speculation. The Paramount–Skydance merger is expected to bring a renewed focus on profitability and brand consolidation. In this context, Star Trek, as a franchise with high production costs and a historically niche audience, may be seen as a less attractive investment unless it can demonstrate broader commercial appeal.

Skydance's track record suggests a preference for theatrical releases. It is plausible that the company may shift Trek's focus back toward feature films. In the worst case, it may lead to a departure from television. Another factor may be the potential conflict of interest between Skydance and Secret Hideout. If the new parent company seeks to streamline creative control, Kurtzman's strong role could be seen as an obstacle rather than an asset. His contract, signed in 2021 and reportedly running for five years, likely expires in 2026 - aligning with the end of SNW.

The Kurtzman era has been marked by an ambitious expansion of the Star Trek Universe, but also by creative inconsistency that sometimes descended into chaos. Discovery was divisive from the outset in 2017, with its serialized format, heavy-handed stories and extensive rewriting of the canon that alienated many long-time fans like me. While the show found a loyal audience, it never achieved the broad consensus enjoyed by earlier series. Picard fared a bit better but took until its third and last season to win over the fans eventually.

Strange New Worlds was widely praised for its return to episodic storytelling and its more optimistic tone. However, it inherited the burden of being a partial reboot from Discovery. It also suffers from self-indulgent nostalgia and sometimes prioritizes spectacle or self-referential humor over substance. With Picard, Discovery, Lower Decks and Prodigy concluded (and Section 31 reduced to a streaming movie that has to be labeled an utter failure), Starfleet Academy remains the only production that could survive after 2026. We don't know anything about the format and tone yet. In the best case, SFA, which inherits the 32nd century setting from Discovery, will have something of the lightheartedness and playfulness of SNW. But I can't imagine it as the new flagship series of the franchise. In the worst case, it may be the swan song of Trek on TV, also because Skydance may rule that the recipe is exhausted after almost ten years.

So will Star Trek's future be on the big screen?

At this point, I have stopped paying attention to "Star Trek movie announcements". From the much-hyped Tarantino project to the February 2022 reveal of a new Chris Pine film and the April 2024 announcement of an "origin story" set decades before the 2009 reboot, each was stopped or has quietly faded into development limbo. I will reserve my excitement and my commentary until anything actually starts filming. It is possible that Skydance will revive one or both of the latter two projects. But I somehow doubt that a return to the Abramsverse is a good idea. Star Trek on television, and in the Prime Universe, is so much more relevant and sustainable. Even some questionable decisions of the Kurtzman era don't change my opinion that the franchise should focus on the small screen. Feature films can offer opportunities but shouldn't be treated as the franchise's centerpiece or as vehicles for reinvention. These goals were missed already in 2009, if we are honest.

I love Skydance's Mission Impossible series and "Top Gun: Maverick". But I doubt they can be a model for Star Trek feature films, just as a Trek movie franchise will realistically never be able to compete with Disney's Star Wars or Marvel.

Star Trek has always thrived on television. The episodic format allows for moral exploration, character development and thematic depth - qualities that are difficult to sustain in a loose series of films. Television also permits a more intimate engagement with the loyal core audience. Maybe there is a chance for Star Trek: Legacy, the series proposed by Terry Matalas, to be finally produced after Kurtzman's possible departure?

Trek has claimed to return to its roots time and again - through prequels, reboots and token nostalgia. But the real roots of Star Trek aren't in reinventing the past - they're in boldly going forward. I hope there will be a new flagship series again - one that embraces the canon and that returns to the visual and thematic language of 24th century Trek. One that is set in the near future, the 25th century, for that matter. I want graceful starships, a good blend of old and new friends and foes, space oddities, ethical dilemmas and a vision of the future.

We do not really know what is going on behind the scenes. It will take time for us to find out what the upcoming merger means for the direction that Star Trek is going. It remains to be seen whether Kurtzman will still be at the helm if or when something new is on the horizon.

Addendum: In June 2025, Akiva Goldsman hinted at a TOS reboot after the end of SNW: "And we have those sets..." I didn't give it much credence at first. But thinking about it again, it would be the crowning moment for Goldsman, who strives to improve on his childhood memories of Kirk and Spock as by his repeated affirmations. Let's just hope that Skydance or whoever is in charge don't greenlight a vanity project that undermines the foundation of the franchise.

Bernd Schneider

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