After a few false starts, it's looking like Paramount has finally pushing ahead with its next Star Trek film. That presumably means audiences are headed back to the Kelvin timeline, which subsequently could mean we're reuniting with Chris Pine's Captain Kirk and the rest of the Kelvin castings we've known and loved since 2009. Could it also mean more than that though? Could we get more Kelvin versions of popular Star Trek characters?
I'm certainly hoping so, and even if it doesn't happen in the upcoming movie, I do hope the Kelvin timeline brings us some re-imaginings of other popular Star Trek characters. Here's a shortlist of some of the characters it'd be great to see in this form, be it the next movie or a little way down the road.
Jean-Luc Picard
Obviously it would take some time-traveling magic for Jean-Luc Picard to arrive in a Star Trek story that contains Captain Kirk. Star Trek: The Next Generation takes place approximately 100 years after The Original Series, but we've seen the two meet in the cinematic realm before. Could a modern Kelvin movie be so bold as to attempt and recreate a scene like that yet again? It certainly could, though in truth, I'm not sure that's the way I'd like to see it go down.
Ideally, I think Paramount should shift to the Kelvin TNG cast when it's no longer feasible for the current cast of the Star Trek movies to continually get together for movies. Truthfully, with the recent five-year anniversary of Star Trek: Beyond's release, it almost feels like that time is already here. Perhaps now is the time to pull the trigger, especially with James McAvoy entering prime Picard age. What? Did you think I would possibly suggest anyone else for that role?
Michael Burnham
Look, I know this may be a controversial pick for some in the Star Trek fandom, but it's time to accept that Star Trek: Discovery and the rest of the new Trek is just as valid in the canon. As part of that canon, we now know that Spock was raised alongside an adopted human sister that was taken in by his father Sarek. Michael Burnham went on to pursue her own career in Starfleet, though in the Prime Timeline, harbored unspoken aggression towards her brother because Sarek reserved an opportunity at the Vulcan Science Academy for him that Michael wanted.
Bringing in a Kelvin version of Michael Burnham wouldn't only be an acknowledgment of the new Star Trek shows on the big screen, but also show a unified front that the new shows are indeed the future of Star Trek. For all the movies that can be made, this franchise's future has historically been based on what's happening in television. Things have since changed with the creation of the Kelvin timeline, but wouldn't it be nice to see a bit of the blending of the brands once again?
Q
We've talked a bit about how some characters appearing in the Kelvin timeline in an adventure with Captain Kirk and the Enterprise crew would be impossible barring any craziness, and that's exactly the type of thing that Q specializes in. Q is one of the most powerful characters in the Star Trek universe and basically amuses himself by setting up elaborate scenarios to test the will of humanity in whatever way he can.
If ever Star Trek were to do something wild in a movie where multiple characters across eras crossed paths, I think Q is the most natural way to make it happen. It doesn't take long to explain who he is or what he's about, and once that's out of the way, a writer can do basically whatever with that as justification. I mean, I'm sure film critics may have something to say about it, but surely plenty of fans would be entertained.
Data
I think one of the most interesting things about the Kelvin universe is that it's a rare opportunity in the franchise to see a new actor portray a character that was iconically portrayed by another actor. Of course, we've also seen this occur on Star Trek television with Anson Mount portraying Captain Pike and Ethan Peck playing Spock, but to this point, we've only seen mostly members of Star Trek's original cast replaced by new talent.
We've yet to see how a new generation would portray actors from The Next Generation, and aside from Picard, Data would be the most fascinating person to be portrayed. As a Synth, Data researched and understood everything about being a human, but in practice, had to work very hard to act like a human with little success. His understanding of the human condition, yet inability to truly replicate it was such an awesome thing to see, and I'd love to see someone attempt to bring that to life that as well as Brent Spiner did.
The Borg Queen
There are plenty of instances in which a Star Trek: The Next Generation character could enter the story through some divine sci-fi weirdness, but few in which a future Star Trek character could organically inject itself into the Star Trek movies in a fresh way. The Borg would be an exception to that rule, as the infamous enemies of Starfleet were not created until 1989, well after The Original Series ended. Imagine how awesome it would be to see their origin story told in a Trek movie?
Introducing The Borg Queen, or any leader of The Borg, in a Kelvin Star Trek story would immediately have my attention, even if it isn't the Prime timeline. In fact, I'm so on board with the idea that I kind of don't want to think about it, because any other idea at this point is only going to disappoint me. Let's bring the Borg up against Chris Pine's Kirk and watch some real magic unfold in this fourth installment.
These are just a few of the characters who would be great for a future appearance in a Star Trek movie, but there are literally countless options left off the list. Of course, we'll just have to wait and see who is actually included in the fun. For now, continue check in with CinemaBlend updates on the movie, and let's hope this is the project that actually makes it to the big screen.
