April has been a truly emotional month in the Star Trek fandom. We’ve got a renewal for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. YAY! We’ve got a cancellation for Star Trek: Lower Decks. NO! And now we’ve got yet another Star Trek movie in the works, but it’s not the previously announced fourth movie in the Kelvin-verse? HUH? It’s a headscratcher, and yet, we Star Trek fans persist. Let’s dig into the emotional whiplash of these recent good, bad, and confusing Star Trek announcements.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Renewed!
Let’s start with the good news. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has been renewed for a fourth season. I am very glad to hear this! I was already excited for the return of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season three. Getting a fourth season of this show is the icing on the cake. Let us hope and pray for many more. After listening to a recent interview with Strange New Worlds actress Melissa Navia on Open Pike Night, I am even more hyped for season three, which I didn’t know was possible! (By the way, the episode is called “Oops! Alltegas!” which sent me into an uncontrollable giggle fit). My hype train for Strange New Worlds will not be denied! Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season three is set to premiere in 2024. Stay tuned here to Fangirlish for all your Star Trek: Strange New Worlds updates.
Star Trek: Lower Decks Canceled!
Now for the bad news. Star Trek: Lower Decks will end with its fifth season, set to premiere sometime in 2024. I literally yelled, “NO!” along with a few other choice expletives when I got the news of the Lower Decks cancellation. Star Trek: Lower Decks is one of the better, and more beloved Star Trek series in this recent generation of new Trek. Moreover, Star Trek: Lower Decks is animated, which is significantly cheaper to produce than live-action Star Trek. What gives?
Not only am I shocked and disappointed by this news, but like so many other Star Trek fans, I am utterly befuddled at the logic here. If a show is popular, why cancel, particularly if it’s not as expensive to produce as other shows? It simply doesn’t make sense, at least from the outside looking in. Here’s hoping another studio or streamer can pick the show up. You can show your support by signing the Change.org Lower Decks petition. It’s one of the ways Star Trek fans saved Star Trek: Prodigy. Maybe we can do that with Lower Decks too. Set your hailing frequencies here to Fangirlish for continuing coverage of Star Trek: Lower Decks.
A New Star Trek Movie Announced!
If the first two news items didn’t give you whiplash, the announcement of yet another Star Trek film will. But wait, it’s NOT one of the six previously announced Star Trek films? Yes, you’re right, that IS confusing. According to The Wrap, a Star Trek prequel film has been announced with J. J. Abrams set to produce, with Toby Haynes (Andor) directing and a script by Seth Grahame-Smith. There have been talks of a fourth J. J. Abrams Star Trek film since before Star Trek: Beyond was released in 2016. In more recent memory, WandaVision showrunner Matt Shakman was set to direct the film, but once he got tapped to direct The Fantastic Four, he left the project. Last month, Steve Yockey was hired to write a fourth Star Trek movie, and now we have this one, which seems to be a completely different film altogether.
The Studio That Cried Wolf
The prospect of a new Star Trek film should be exciting for any Trek fan. However, with the near decade of teasing and false starts, Trek fans seem to be doubtful that any of these films will ever make it to the screen. Many fans are very much in the “I’ll believe it when I see it in the theater” mindset. It seems the majority of interest in the Kelvin-verse has dried up in the intervening years with mixed reactions in the fanbase to Star Trek: Beyond.
In my opinion, another Kelvin-verse film would be fun. I have a soft spot for those films because Star Trek (2009) was my introduction to the franchise and the reason I write and podcast about Star Trek today. It literally changed my trajectory and brought a host of new fans to the Star Trek fandom. But I think the time for that has passed. The mark has been missed, and I don’t think there is any going back to fix it.
If Star Trek were to put the franchise on the big screen again, why not stick to what is working right now in Star Trek TV? Let me put on my director’s hat and elaborate.
Putting on my Director’s Hat
Maybe it’s my Star Trek: Strange New Worlds fandom showing, but with Strange New Worlds being the crown jewels of Star Trek right now, it makes sense to put those characters on the big screen, as they did in the 90s with the Star Trek: The Next Generation films. The show sits at an astonishing 98% on Rotten Tomatoes right now. You’ve got a cast that can do everything from comedy to action to drama and can even sing! Plus you’ve got some real star power with folks who’ve crossed back and forth from the big to the small screen, like Rebecca Romijn, Babs Olusanmokun, and Carol Kane. And goodness, who isn’t in love with Anson Mount or Ethan Peck?
This seems like a no-brainer to me. We’ve got lightning in a bottle here. Take advantage of it. It would also be a way to bring in fans who have been reticent to sign up for one more streaming service. It would be easy to make a film that is accessible enough for fans who have not watched any Strange New Worlds previously. You have some familiar characters, which will draw in the uninitiated in the fanbase, and hopefully be accessible enough to those new to Star Trek entirely. That’s just my two cents, so if the powers that be want to call me, my hailing frequencies are open.
Final Thoughts
Let’s all take a collective deep breath. I’m glad for the fourth season renewal of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. That’s worth celebrating. The disappointment around Star Trek: Lower Decks is heavy though. Maybe we can convince the powers that be that this shouldn’t be the end for the Cerritos. They deserve better. Let’s give them better if we can. Sign the petition and keep streaming Lower Decks to show your support. As for a new Star Trek movie, I hope we get one soon. I’d love the opportunity to have more big-screen Star Trek adventures.
What do you make of all these recent Star Trek announcements? Leave me a comment and let’s talk Trek.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Lower Decks, and the Kelvin-verse Star Trek films are currently streaming on Paramount+. Star Trek: Prodigy is streaming on Netflix.
