dtm666

For those who haven’t gotten the memo, apparently Skydance – the new management at Paramount – has decided to move on from the long-dormant Kelvin timeline of Star Trek films (the 2009 JJ Abrams movie, Into Darkness, and Beyond) and opt for a fresh take on the franchise. Well, that’s mighty big of them to admit it after years of teasing pitches that went nowhere and tapping directors who’d stay in the lobby for a bit before moving on to greener pastures elsewhere.

I mean, was I hoping for another Chris Pine-helmed Trek movie with that cast? Actually, you know what? I kinda was. I make no qualms about admitting that I liked those movies. They were perfectly fine films for what they were – and yes, even Star Trek Into Darkness has its moments despite being the weakest of the bunch. I mean… shame that Beyond didn’t make the box office numbers the folks in charge wanted, but that’s on them for trying to turn Star Trek into something it wasn’t rather than try to make it, you know, Star Trek… something that even Chris Pine suggested; lower budgets, stronger stories.

When Star Wars became a hit and Paramount decreed that Star Trek would be a motion picture, they didn’t make another Star Wars with Star Trek colors. They made a very cerebral film with pastel shades and some Star Trek terminology… and then they made The Wrath Of Khan, a Star Trek movie that people actually liked unless your name is Gene Roddenberry, who was probably upset that nobody used his JFK time travel plot as a movie idea. The problem these days isn’t that you couldn’t make that type of movie or television series work today. It’s that nobody is willing to try… at least, not within Star Trek.

Could you make a Star Trek movie work in 2026? Sure, you can. It involves making a Star Trek movie that’s true to its core tenants and also features a compelling stories with compelling characters. Something it’s done in the past and can do again. It just requires people who are capable of crafting such stories.

So yeah, a part of me is sad that we’re not getting another Kelvin Trek because I’d very much like to see where that universe goes from there… but on the other hand, now that we’ve definitively closed the book on this thing, we can all move on with our lives and look forward to the next big thing in Trek lore… whiny fans whining about why those hacks at Paramount aren’t making their Legacy show or some bullshit like that, I don’t know.

Later.