After 10 Years, It’s Officially The End Of An Era For Star Trek
6 days ago
7
Published Apr 17, 2026, 2:30 PM EDT
Cooper Hood is the Associate Editor for all new movie releases, in theaters and on streaming. In addition to writing articles about these titles and upcoming releases, he also oversees content planning for each, ensuring that ScreenRant continues to cover major releases for months after their release.
He has written various reviews for ScreenRant that appear on Rotten Tomatoes, coordinated Oscars and San Diego Comic-Con coverage, appeared on CNN to talk about Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, and done select interviews with talent over the years.
The Star Trek franchise has lived long and prospered, but a specific era of the franchise is officially over now. In the decades since the franchise began in 1966 with Star Trek: The Original Series, the sci-fi universe has been a rich sandbox for amazing stories, universal themes, and compelling characters. These stories have often vacillated between the small and big screen.
However, we've now gone a full ten years since the last Star Trek movie was released in theaters. Fans of Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the U.S.S. Enterprise crew have been left without new adventures. And to make matters worse, the messaging about what the future looks like constantly changed, making it unclear if the Kevlin Timeline would ever continue beyond the initial trilogy.
After a decade, Paramount Pictures has announced plans for a new Star Trek movie. The news was made official at CinemaCon 2026, and while details on the upcoming sci-fi film are few and far between, the development of the fresh standalone adventure will help bring an end to the longest drought without a new Star Trek movie in theaters in history.
Why There Hasn't Been A Star Trek Movie In Almost 10 Years
The recent lack of Star Trek movies on the big screen is due to the decline of the Kelvin Timeline series. The 2009 film was a great start, not only financially — making $385 million off a $150 million budget — but also critically. Abrams' movie holds the all-time franchise record on Rotten Tomatoes with a 94% critics' score. But things started to go sideways after this.
The 2013 sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness, took the franchise to new heights at the box office, posting a record $467 million worldwide. But it also carried a higher budget, reportedly $185M-$190M, which means the film barely turned a profit with that haul. The reception to it was slightly less enthusiastic, even if it was still overall very positive (84% and 89% RT scores).
When the time came for Star Trek Beyond in 2016, the budget remained high at $185 million, but the box office return dipped to a trilogy-low haul of $343 million. That made it a loss for Paramount Pictures. The result gave the studio little incentive to rush to continue this continuity and make Star Trek 4.
Stardate 47988.1 · Crew AssessmentThe Final Frontier Trivia Challenge
🚀ShipsEnterprise!
⭐CrewMake it so
☠EnemiesResistance is…
⚡TechWarp speed!
📖LoreLive long…
ENGAGE →
01
The USS Enterprise is the most iconic starship in science fiction. What is the registry number of Captain Kirk’s original Enterprise from The Original Series?
ANCC-1701-D
BNX-01
CNCC-1701
DNCC-74656
✓ Correct! NCC-1701 is the registry of Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise. The “-D” suffix belongs to Picard’s Galaxy-class ship, NX-01 is Archer’s Enterprise, and NCC-74656 is Voyager.
✗ Red alert! The answer is NCC-1701. Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise carried this now-legendary registry. NCC-1701-D is Picard’s Enterprise from TNG, NX-01 is Captain Archer’s, and NCC-74656 belongs to Voyager.
NEXT →
02
Kirk’s most trusted officer is a half-human, half-Vulcan science officer famous for his logic and iconic salute. Who is this legendary character?
AData
BSpock
CTuvok
DSarek
✓ Correct! Mr. Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy, is the half-Vulcan science officer whose “Live long and prosper” salute became a cultural icon. His struggle between logic and emotion defines the heart of the Original Series.
✗ Red alert! The answer is Spock. Data is an android from TNG, Tuvok is Voyager’s Vulcan tactical officer, and Sarek is Spock’s Vulcan father. Only Spock is the half-human, half-Vulcan first officer of Kirk’s Enterprise.
NEXT →
03
Starfleet’s most important regulation forbids interference with the natural development of alien civilizations. What is this guiding principle called?
AThe Temporal Accord
BGeneral Order One
CThe Omega Directive
DThe Prime Directive
✓ Correct! The Prime Directive (also known as General Order 1) is Starfleet’s most sacred law. It prohibits interfering with less-developed civilizations — though Kirk, Picard, and Janeway have all famously bent or broken it when lives were at stake.
✗ Red alert! The answer is the Prime Directive. While “General Order One” is technically another name for it, the Prime Directive is the universally known term. The Omega Directive and Temporal Accord are separate, more specialized Starfleet protocols.
NEXT →
04
“Resistance is futile.” This chilling declaration belongs to a cybernetic collective that assimilates entire civilizations into its hive mind. What is this fearsome species called?
AThe Borg
BThe Dominion
CThe Romulans
DSpecies 8472
✓ Correct! The Borg are Star Trek’s most terrifying villains — a hive-mind collective that forcibly assimilates species and technology. Captain Picard was famously assimilated and transformed into Locutus in the landmark TNG episode “The Best of Both Worlds.”
✗ Red alert! The answer is the Borg. The Dominion is the Gamma Quadrant empire from DS9, the Romulans are a rival empire, and Species 8472 is actually one of the few species that the Borg themselves fear. Only the Borg declare “Resistance is futile.”
NEXT →
05
Captain Jean-Luc Picard commands the Enterprise-D in The Next Generation and later received his own series, Star Trek: Picard. Which acclaimed actor portrays him?
AWilliam Shatner
BAvery Brooks
CPatrick Stewart
DScott Bakula
✓ Correct! Sir Patrick Stewart brought gravitas, Shakespeare, and Earl Grey tea to the captain’s chair for seven seasons of TNG, four films, and three seasons of Star Trek: Picard. His “Make it so” is one of TV’s most iconic catchphrases.
✗ Red alert! The answer is Patrick Stewart. William Shatner plays Captain Kirk, Avery Brooks is Captain Sisko on Deep Space Nine, and Scott Bakula captains the NX-01 Enterprise. Only Sir Patrick Stewart portrays the legendary Jean-Luc Picard.
NEXT →
06
Starfleet vessels travel faster than light by bending space around them using a matter-antimatter reaction. What is this propulsion system called?
✓ Correct! Warp Drive is the standard faster-than-light propulsion in Star Trek, powered by dilithium-regulated matter-antimatter reactions. Zefram Cochrane invented it in 2063, which led to humanity’s first contact with the Vulcans.
✗ Red alert! The answer is Warp Drive. Transwarp is an advanced Borg technology, Slipstream is an experimental quantum drive, and the Spore Drive uses mycelial network navigation (from Discovery). Standard Starfleet vessels use Warp Drive.
NEXT →
07
At Starfleet Academy, cadets face a notorious no-win scenario designed to test their character under impossible circumstances. James Kirk is the only cadet who ever beat it — by cheating. What is this test called?
✓ Correct! The Kobayashi Maru is an unwinnable rescue simulation that tests how cadets handle certain death. Kirk reprogrammed it so he could win — earning a commendation for original thinking. It was memorably featured in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
✗ Red alert! The answer is the Kobayashi Maru. The Corbomite Maneuver is a TOS episode, not an Academy test. The Kobayashi Maru is the famous no-win scenario that Kirk defeated by reprogramming the simulation — because he doesn’t believe in the no-win scenario.
NEXT →
08
In the widely regarded greatest Star Trek film, a genetically enhanced superhuman from Earth’s past seeks revenge against Captain Kirk. “KHAAAAN!” Who is this iconic villain?
AKhan Noonien Singh
BGeneral Chang
CQ
DGul Dukat
✓ Correct! Khan Noonien Singh, played by Ricardo Montalbán, is Star Trek’s greatest villain. First appearing in the TOS episode “Space Seed,” he returned in The Wrath of Khan (1982) for a devastating revenge plot that cost Spock his life.
✗ Red alert! The answer is Khan Noonien Singh. General Chang is a Klingon from Star Trek VI, Q is TNG’s omnipotent trickster, and Gul Dukat is DS9’s Cardassian antagonist. Only Khan inspired Kirk’s legendary scream across the cosmos.
REVEAL MY SCORE →
Mission CompleteYour Starfleet Record
/ 8
Are you an Admiral — or still a cadet on deck-scrubbing duty?
↻ RE-ENGAGE
The diminishing returns of the series as a whole left Paramount to consider alternative approaches to the franchise instead. Announcements were made about new films in development from S.J. Clarkson, Noah Hawley, and Matt Shakman over the last ten years. Even Quentin Tarantino penned an R-rated Star Trek script that could have conceivably been the tenth and final movie he directed, but it didn't come to fruition.
During this stretch, the Star Trek franchise considered movies that would extend the Kelvin Timeline as well as others that would be a totally new thing. This includes Clarkson's version bringing Chris Hemsworth back to co-star with Chris Pine, uniting George Kirk with his son James T. Kirk through time travel. Hawley's movie may have been connected to Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation. An origin film from Andor's Toby Haynes was even put into development.
Alas, none of these movies made it to the light of day. It now appears that Paramount's new Star Trek movie is the only one officially on the way after a decade of unrealized projects and pitches.
Star Trek Has Flourished On TV Over The Last Decade
The mismanagement of Star Trek on the big screen has, luckily, not meant a complete lack of new releases in this world. Paramount ushered in a new wave of TV shows the year after Star Trek Beyond came out, with Star Trek: Discovery as the launching pad for a revitalized effort to put Starfleet stories out more consistently.
From 2017 to 2026, there have been seven new Star Trek shows: Discovery, Short Treks, Picard, Lower Decks, Prodigy, Strange New Worlds, and Starfleet Academy. These series have managed to tell bold, fresh stories in animation and live-action, as well as continue previous continuities and bring back iconic characters across 21 released seasons and 235 released episodes.
All those shows were made for and released on Paramount+, with Prodigy switching to Netflix after season 1. They've all been met with high praise, with some referred to as holding some of the best Star Trek stories ever told. These shows have done a tremendous job of keeping the franchise relevant during a prolonged gap in theaters and reminding people how well serialized storytelling works with this universe.
However, Star Trek's revived TV era is over. Short Treks only ran for two seasons, ending in 2020. Picard's three-season run concluded in 2023. Lower Decks and Discovery both ended after five seasons in 2024, while Prodigy also finished that year with its second season.
The only shows still going are Strange New Worlds and Starfleet Academy, and both have the end in sight. Strange New Worlds will end with its fifth season (season four releases later this year). Starfleet Academy's upcoming second season is confirmed to be its final run, too. And with no other Star Trek TV shows in development, the slate is seemingly being wiped clean for a full franchise rebirth on the big screen.
Everything We Know About The First New Star Trek Movie In 10 Years
Paramount's new Star Trek movie is still in the early stages of development. While the studio didn't share any official information on it at CinemaCon, previous reports have helped bring aspects of the project to light.
This new film will come from directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, the creatives behind films like Game Night and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. They were hired in November 2025 to write, direct, and produce an original Star Trek movie. It will not be connected to any previous iteration of the franchise on the big or small screen and feature an entirely new cast of characters.
Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldaña, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, and others won't be brought back. That makes the next Star Trek movie the end of an era in more ways than one. Not only will it be the one responsible for finally ending the theatrical drought, but it will also take the franchise in a new direction, signaling the conclusion of the Kelvin Timeline once and for all.
The wholly original, standalone Star Trek movie does not currently have a release date, but with Paramount CEO David Ellison positioning this as one of the many IPs he wants to get off the ground under his leadership, it could come sooner than expected. 2028 is realistically the earliest it could come if everything goes smoothly from here.
English (US) ·