Star Trek: Picard Season 3 is connecting with a lot of fans of The Next Generation and has folks talking about future adventures with past beloved characters. With Kate Mulgrew talking about her wish to return to live-action and fans still talking about a Voyager movie being made, it seems like an obvious idea to make a Trek movie that's exclusive to Paramount+. So, why hasn't it happened yet? CinemaBlend might have some insight, thanks to our recent interview with actor and director Jonathan Frakes.
I spoke to Jonathan Frakes about Star Trek: Picard and his recent wonderful episodes as Will Riker, and we also discussed the future of the franchise, with Discovery and Picard ending. The door is open for Paramount+ to bring in more Trek shows, and maybe even make a straight-to-streaming feature of some kind. When I asked Frakes about the odds of that happening, and why we haven't heard about something similar being utilized, he said the following:
My understanding is that Paramount+ has the television franchise and Paramount has the movie franchise. I could be wrong, but that’s what I gather is the separation between the movie and television divisions.
Jonathan Frakes, who directed Star Trek: First Contact and Insurrection in the past, implied it's unlikely that any Star Trek movies will be made specifically for Paramount+. The parent studio is seemingly intent on sticking Star Trek movies to the big screen, even though the franchise hasn't released anything since Beyond arrived in 2016.
Paramount and various creatives have been working on a fourth Star Trek movie set in the Kelvin universe, but hit numerous roadblocks trying to make it happen. When I asked if it seemed like the only types of Trek movies we're going to see will be set in the Kelvin universe, Jonathan Frakes said this:
That’s my understanding.
Jonathan Frakes can only present the info that he's currently aware of, so there's no telling that this is the actual stance of how things are in Star Trek. With that said, it would be pretty disappointing to hear for sure that there's no chance of movies being made for Paramount+ in light of the news of Discovery ending, as that would be a great way to keep giving fans more adventures in the future.
Paramount+ movies for Star Trek would also present an opportunity for movies that are very much in demand amongst fans, but perhaps might lack the mega-mainstream appeal to justify a big-screen feature. However, if Jonathan Frakes is correct that Paramount+ isn't going to make any movies at all, the odds of any standalone features being made feel slim to none.
Of course, there's no telling how quickly conversations may change behind the scenes, and if Paramount still is no closer to making Star Trek 4 by the end of 2023, maybe we'll get a Trek movie another way. I know that I still have my heart set on Quentin Tarantino's movie one day getting made, as bonkers as it sounded.
Pick up a Paramount+ subscription to see Jonathan Frakes in new episodes of Star Trek: Picard Season 3 on Thursdays. The actor is delivering a performance I feel is worthy of awards recognition, but viewers can tune into Paramount+ and judge for themselves.
