What's Next For The 'Star Trek' Franchise?
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On April 4, Star Trek: Discovery started its fifth, final season on Paramount+. Starring Sonequa Martin-Green as Michael Burnham, Discovery has had a pivotal role in bringing back Star Trek to television. Two spin-offs have developed from Discovery’s reign, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and the upcoming Star Trek: Section 31. Strange New Worlds renewed the Enterprise’s legacy in the form of a prequel, seeing the years of Captain Christopher Pike’s crew, including Spock and Uhura. Their stories and others live on in Star Trek: The Original Series as members of Captain Jim Kirk’s crew.
'Strange New Worlds'
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Strange New Worlds will continue with its next season in 2025. The third season will be big, with even more sets including one for a science lab with live schematics for the crew’s workstations. At least seven episodes have finished production, and the rest should be completed by the end of May.
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Anson Mount, who plays Capt. Pike leading the Enterprise, has commented on the production’s use of the AR wall, a massive LED screen used as an interactive green screen, sometimes referred to as “the holodeck” by the cast. Being able to see the director’s vision for all of the otherworldly settings has been game-changing for the Strange New Worlds cast. Mount has also explained just how surreal his role is: “I don’t think a day goes by where I don’t at some point stop and think to myself, ‘I’m on f—ing Star Trek.’”
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One episode we’re looking forward to in this new season of Strange New Worlds is the murder mystery episode directed by Jonathan Frakes. Known for his role as Will Riker in Star Trek: Next Generation and his many Star Trek directorial credits, Frakes has described it as “the best episode of television I’ve ever done.” It was recently announced that Strange New Worlds will proceed with a fourth season as well, with no production timeline determined yet for that season.
'Star Trek: Lower Decks’
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Star Trek: Lower Decks will come to a close after its fifth season, and should air by the end of 2024. Producer Alex Kurtzman and creator Mike McMahan have shared that they “remain hopeful that even beyond season five, Mariner, Boimler, Tendi, Rutherford, and the whole Cerritos crew will live on with new adventures.” Lower Decks has achieved sensational reviews, with a 99% currently on Rotten Tomatoes for its fourth season.
'Star Trek: Prodigy'
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Star Trek: Prodigy just released its second season on Netflix about a month ago. The animated series is the first production in the franchise meant for children, though it was also the only Star Trek series to be removed from the Paramount+ catalogue. The show is free of adult themes but still holds on to continuity with Kathryn Janeway (Star Trek: Voyager) mentoring the main characters through the tribulations that brought them together.
'Star Trek: Section 31'
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Star Trek: Section 31 will be the next new release to come from the Trek franchise. Discovery’s Michelle Yeoh will resume her role as Philippa Georgiou, notably her mirror universe counterpart. Other cast members include Omari Hardwick (Power), Kacey Rohl (The Magicians), and Sam Richardson. Rohl plays a young Rachel Garrett, one of the previous captains of the Enterprise-C, first seen in Next Generation. Section 31 is written by Craig Sweeny and directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi. Alex Kurtzman, Heather Kadin, Rod Roddenberry, and Trevor Roth serve as executive producers for the Paramount+ special movie event.
'Star Trek: Starfleet Academy'
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Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will be the first Star Trek movie or show to focus on the lives of young cadets at Starfleet Academy. The series will take place in the 32nd century, where Discovery lept to for its third season. Led by executive producers, Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau, the series is due to start production this summer. The writing team currently includes Gaia Violo, Tawny Newsome (Beckett Mariner on Lower Decks), and Kiley Rossetter (writer for Star Trek: Picard).
'Star Trek 4'
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The newest Kelvin timeline film, currently titled Star Trek 4, is in active development, with Steve Yockey writing a new draft as of March 2024. Bad Robot, J.J. Abrams’s production company, is already connected to the film, continuing the legacy of the last three films. Paramount Pictures and Skydance Media may also be involved as they were for Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond.
Recently announced at the Paramount CinemaCon, there is also an origin story for the Kelvin timeline that would precede the events in 2009’s Star Trek, possibly by decades. The prequel will be directed by Toby Haynes (Star Wars: Andor), produced by J.J. Abrams, and written by Seth Grahame-Smith (It and The Lego Batman Movie). There is a possibility that preproduction may begin by the end of the year, but that seems mighty confident. No further details, including any casting, have been announced yet.
A Really Powerful Place To Live Every Day
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Executive producer for almost all Star Trek projects recently, Alex Kurtzman has described the Star Trek franchise as “a really powerful place to live every day.” He thrives on being “able to build in this universe to tell stories that are fundamentally about optimism and a better future at a time when the world seems to be falling apart.”
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