While hasn't been any trouble getting upcoming Star Trek shows rolling out on a consistent basis, movies are a different story. Section 31 was the first movie from the franchise in nine years, and critics and audiences had complaints. Beyond the fact that the movie didn't get a theatrical release and was only available with a Paramount+ subscription, it also lacked a major component in connections that I think was the key to the most successful of Trek movies.
If we're looking at Star Trek movies that won the hearts of critics and audiences alike, I highlight the 2009 movie set in the Kelvin universe, First Contact and The Wrath Of Khan. What do these movies have in common? They all have a meaningful connection to the television shows, and I don't think the franchise will have much success in theaters until it leans back into that.
Star Trek Is Torn Between Creating Stories For The Masses And Its Dedicated Fans
While it's true that Star Trek remains a big moneymaker for streamers worldwide when it comes to its shows, it seems Paramount is invested in creating stories for the masses that pull in a new audience rather than strictly serve the fans currently supporting the long-running franchise.
We saw this in Section 31, which brought back Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh for the first time since her character's exit in Star Trek: Discovery. One might assume that the combination of those two facts played into why Paramount tapped her to be its first movie in close to a decade, but it turns out only one of those things was true.
Director Olutande Osunsanmi confirmed to CinemaBlend that the movie was deliberately made so that someone could enjoy it with no knowledge of Star Trek: Discovery, which to me means one thing. Whether it was someone at Star Trek or Paramount who made the decision, a deliberate choice was made to create Section 31, allowing viewers to watch it without needing to watch the television series. If you're trying to get the most people possible to watch the movie, it's probably the smart route to go, especially if you're planning on a theatrical release.
Of course, Section 31 didn't get a theatrical release, it was released on Paramount+. Given that Star Trek is one of the biggest franchises on the streaming platform it has a built-in audience of fans who were ready to stream, and guess what? Many of them watched Discovery.
As such, there was disappointment from the core fandom who tuned in and saw a movie that had little to do with what was happening with the character they followed for multiple seasons on the previous show. It doesn't seem as though a casual audience was so eager to see Section 31 that they subscribed to watch.
I wrote about how irksome it was to me as a fan, and it was among the list of complaints of other Star Trek fans as well. As fans, we want as many connections to the shows as possible, but let's face facts. We've heard from actors in the franchise that the fandom is in decline, and Trek needs to attract new fans to remain strong well into the future. That said, I think Section 31 shows why you don't ignore the core fandom completely in an effort to gain a new audience, and there's evidence in previous movies that confirms it can be done.
The Wrath Of Khan, First Contact And Star Trek (2009) Were Able To Do This Perfectly
It's strange to me that Star Trek shied away from television connections with Section 31, and it seems to be limiting connections to Trek TV with its upcoming origin movie, which will be released in theaters at some point. Let's not forget that Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was a sequel to the "Space Seed" episode, First Contact followed up on the various Bog storylines from The Next Generation, and 2009's Star Trek revolved around the destruction of Romulus in the Prime Universe. Beyond that, you could say most Prime Universe Trek movies are tied to the TV shows, as they used the same set of actors.
Speaking specifically to the named movies and the amount of acclaim they received, I think it's fair to say they were negatively impacted by how they incorporated the previously existing television lore into the scripts. This makes the decision by Section 31 to sever all meaningful ties to Discovery all the more baffling, and makes me curious as to why this decision was made.
One of the best things about Star Trek, and a leg up it has on many other franchises, is the rich 60-year history it can pull from to tell new stories. Trying to reinvent the wheel is hard enough in Hollywood, so why not lean on the crutch of pulling to proven stories and characters and use that to solidly insert the franchise back into theaters?
Will Paramount Marry The Television And Film Side Once Again?
Unfortunately, I'm not optimistic that Paramount will marry the film and television sides together anytime soon. Alex Kurtzman confirmed to CinemaBlend he has no involvement in the new film being made, of which we received zero updates on at CinemaCon. Patrick Stewart mentioned a while back that he was going to hear some pitches for a Picard movie, but we've yet to receive any meaningful updates on that.
It's baffling to me that we haven't heard about the possibility of a feature film for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, especially given the series' widespread popularity. To me, it's about the most accessible series someone looking to get into the franchise can watch at the moment, and the stellar cast would lend itself well to the big screen adventure. Again though, it seems Paramount isn't biting on marrying the film and television side of Trek at this time, so I wouldn't say the odds of this ever happening are especially good.
The good news is that we still have new Star Trek coming, despite the struggles to get a movie out in theaters. Strange New Worlds Season 3 will premiere this summer, and the new Starfleet Academy series is likely coming in 2026. Shoutout to the TV side for keeping the fans fed with new content, even if we did lose a few of those shows in the past couple of years.
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