Star Trek movies in order: Chronological and release

Untangle the different timelines and get the popcorn: Here are the Star Trek movies in order — both chronological and release.

Commander Spock from Star Trek (2009)

  • Chronological order
  • Prime Timeline

The Original Series movies

The next generation movies.

  • Kelvin Timeline
  • Release order

Upcoming Star Trek movies

We've got a guide to watching the Star Trek movies in order, decloaking off our starboard side!

So long as movies stick numbers on the ends of their titles, it’s easy to watch them in order. Once they start branching out, however, things can get a little muddled, especially when reboots come along and start the whole process over from scratch. 

You may have heard that the even-numbered ones are good and the odd-numbered ones are not. That’s spot on for the films starring the cast of The Original Series (aka Kirk and friends) falls apart once you reach the tenth entry in the series. It would probably be worth your while to have this list of the Star Trek movies, ranked worst to best around to steer clear of the clunkers. Look, we’re not going to pretend everything here is worth two hours of your day, we’re just letting you know which came out after which.

Should your Trek appetite remain unsatiated after your movie watchathon, feel free to pull from either our list of the best Star Trek: The Original series episode s or best Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes . Either one will set you up for a weekend jam-packed with great Trek moments. Consult our Star Trek streaming guide for all the details on where to watch the movies and shows online 

Star Trek movies: Chronological order

Below is the quick version of our list if you just need to check something to win an argument, but it comes with a lot of in-universe time travel-related caveats that we'll explain below.

  • Star Trek: The Motion Picture
  • Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
  • Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
  • Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
  • Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
  • Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
  • Star Trek: Generations
  • Star Trek: First Contact
  • Star Trek: Insurrection
  • Star Trek: Nemesis
  • Star Trek Into Darkness
  • Star Trek Beyond

Star Trek: Prime Timeline

The first thing you need to know about the Star Trek films is that while they travel back and forth in time, they also diverge into two (for now) different timelines. The films of the original crew (well, the first iteration of them, anyway – more on that later) are all in what is known as the Prime Timeline. 

Within the Prime Timeline, the movies are then split between The Original Series movies and The Next Generation movies.

1. Star Trek: The Motion Picture

  • Release date: December 8, 1979
  • Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley

This is the film that brought the voyages of the U.S.S. Enterprise to the big screen. An energy cloud is making its way toward Earth, destroying everything in its path. Kirk and crew intercept it and discover an ancient NASA probe at the heart of the cloud. Voyager – known as V’ger now – encountered a planet of living machines, learned all it could, and returned home to report its findings, only to find no one who knew how to answer. It’s a slow-paced film, and the costumes are about as 70s as they come, but there’s classic Star Trek at the heart of this film.

2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

  • Release date: June 4, 1982
  • Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Ricardo Montalban

Ask a Star Trek fan what the best Star Trek movie is and more often than not, you’ll get Khan as your answer. A sequel to the events of the “Space Seed” episode of The Original Series, Khan is a retelling of Moby Dick with Khan throwing reason to the wind as he hunts his nemesis, James T. Kirk. Montalban delivers a pitch-perfect performance, giving us a Khan with charisma and obsession in equal parts.

3. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

  • Release date: June 1, 1984

Spock might have died in The Wrath of Khan, but this third entry set up the premise for his return, with the creation of the Genesis planet. Essentially a heist movie in reverse, Search for Spock has the crew defying orders from Starfleet in an attempt to reunite Spock’s consciousness with his newly-rejuvenated body. It’s not a great movie, but it does include two very important events: the rebirth of Spock and the death of Kirk’s son at the hands of the Klingons. That’ll be important a few flicks from now.   

4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

  • Release date: November 26, 1986
  • Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Catherine Hicks

If Star Trek fans don’t say Khan is the best Star Trek movie, odds are very high they say Voyage Home is. It’s a funny film where the mission isn’t destruction, but creation – or more accurately, repairing the devastating effects of humankind’s ecological short-sightedness. 

A probe arrives at Earth, knocking out the power of everything in its path as it looks for someone to respond to its message (yeah, it happens a lot). This time, however, the intended recipient is the long-extinct blue whale. To save Earth, Kirk and co. go back in time to 1980s San Francisco to snag some blue whales. The eco-messaging isn’t exactly subtle, but it doesn’t get in the way of a highly enjoyable movie.

5. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

  • Release date: June 9, 1989

A writers’ strike and Shatner’s directorial skills (or lack thereof) doomed this film before a single scene was shot. The core plot is actually pretty good: Spock’s half-brother hijacks the Enterprise so that he can meet God, which he believes to be… himself. Some Star Trek fans have an odd fondness for this movie, as it showcases the camaraderie of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy when they’re off-duty.

6. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

  • Release date: December 6, 1991
  • Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Christopher Plummer

Right, so if that Star Trek fan you’ve been talking to doesn’t choose either Khan or Voyage Home as the best Star Trek movie ever, they almost certainly name Undiscovered Country (and if they don’t, they have highly questionable taste, frankly). The Klingon moon of Praxis explodes, putting the entire Klingon race at risk. The Enterprise hosts a diplomatic entourage of Klingons, much to Kirk’s discomfort. 

Remember how Klingons murdered Kirk’s son? Well, he certainly hasn’t forgotten. Kirk’s lingering rage makes him the perfect patsy for the murder of the Klingon Chancellor, sending him and McCoy to a prison planet and setting the stage for war. Christopher Plummer is perfection as a Shakespeare-quoting Klingon general with no taste for peace.

7. Star Trek: Generations

  • Release date: November 18, 1994
  • Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner

And thus the torch is passed from the crew of The Original Series to that of The Next Generation. It’s a bit of a fumble, to be honest, but they all did their best to get Kirk and Picard into the same film and have it make sense. Malcolm McDowell plays Soran, a scientist who will stop at nothing to control the Nexus, a giant space rainbow that exists outside of space-time. 

Soran lost his family when his home world was destroyed and he wants to re-join them (or at least an illusion of them) in the Nexus. He’s not so much a villain as a tragic figure, but the Nexus makes a meeting between Kirk and Picard possible. Not all that sensible, but possible.

8. Star Trek: First Contact

  • Release date: November 22, 1996
  • Cast: Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Alice Krige

Okay, no, for real, if your Star Trek pal didn’t pick Khan or Voyage Home or… oh, nevermind. Cueing off the iconic two-part episode “Best of Both Worlds,” in which Picard is assimilated by the Borg, First Contact sees the collective traveling back in time in order to disrupt First Contact, the day Earth’s first foray into space attracted the attention of the Vulcans, kicking off the events that would eventually lead to Starfleet’s victory over the Borg. The Borg Queen torments Picard with visions of the past and tempts Data with humanity, going so far as to give him some human skin. 

The fight with the Borg aboard the Enterprise is thrilling, and the work on the surface to get first contact back on track is fun. Plus, there’s just nothing like Patrick Stewart turning it up to 11 as he lashes out at the enemy that haunts his dreams.

9. Star Trek: Insurrection

  • Release date: December 11, 1998
  • Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, F. Murray Abraham

Essentially an episode inflated for the big screen, Insurrection is about the Federation conspiring to displace a planet’s population in order to harvest the planet’s unique resource – super healing metaphasic particles. In addition to the rejuvenating natural resource, the Ba’ku also have access to exceptional technology, which they shun in favor of a more simple lifestyle. 

Data malfunctions, the villains are Federation allies (and former Ba’ku!), Picard gets to knock boots with a local – Insurrection is the very definition of “fine.” Chronologically, Insurrection is relevant for rekindling the romance between Riker and Troi, but not much else.

10. Star Trek: Nemesis

  • Release date: December 13, 2002
  • Cast: Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Tom Hardy

Before he mumbled his way into our hearts as Bane, Tom Hardy was Shinzon, a clone of Picard the Romulans created in an eventually abandoned attempt to infiltrate Starfleet. Shinzon is dying, and all that will save him is a transfusion of Picard’s blood. Unfortunately, Shinzon also happens to be a megalomaniac who happens to want to destroy all life on Earth and maybe a few other planets, too, if he’s feeling saucy. 

Nemesis is notable mostly for killing Data with a noble sacrifice, only to resurrect him moments later in a duplicate body found earlier by the Enterprise crew.

Star Trek: Kelvin Timeline

The last of the Prime Timeline movies failed to impress at the box office, so it was a few years before anyone tried to bring the Enterprise back to the big screen. Rather than lean on any of the TV crews, this new slate of movies would serve as a reboot, welcoming new audiences while honoring long-time fans. Welcome to the Kelvin Timeline. (For all the ins and outs, check out our Star Trek: Kelvin Timeline explained article).

11. Star Trek

  • Release date: May 8, 2009
  • Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban

Back to the beginning! Star Trek introduces us to James T. Kirk, Spock, and “Bones” McCoy as they meet and join the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Though the plot is a relatively straightforward affair of a Romulan named Nero trying to destroy the Earth. His anger borne out of grief, what matters most is how it all came to be. In the future, Spock – the Prime Timeline version – tries to save Romulus from being destroyed by a supernova, but fails. Both his ship and Nero’s are kicked back in time, setting off a chain of events that diverge from the original, “true” timeline. 

The name “Kelvin” refers to the U.S.S. Kelvin, the ship heroically captained by Kirk’s father, which is destroyed in the opening moments of the movie.

12. Star Trek Into Darkness

  • Release date: May 16, 2013
  • Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch

The benefit of the Kelvin Timeline is that it not only allows Star Trek to explore canon material – such as Khan (he of the Wrath) – but to do something completely new with it. Khan features heavily in Into Darkness, but he has no beef with Kirk. Instead, a Starfleet Admiral is threatening the lives of Khan’s crew, forcing them to craft weapons of mass destruction. 

Khan inevitably eludes captivity and strikes out against Starfleet, killing Captain Pike (and a bunch of others) in the process. Kirk and company eventually take Khan down, but not before Kirk sacrifices himself to save his crew. Don’t worry, these things don’t last in either Star Trek timeline, as Kirk gets better moments later thanks to *checks notes* Khan's super blood.

13. Star Trek Beyond

  • Release date: July 22, 2016
  • Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Idris Elba

Beyond leans into the camaraderie of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy now that they’ve had some time together, much to the movie’s benefit. The Enterprise is lured to Altamid under false pretenses, leading to much of the crew being marooned on the planet. The architect of the deception was Krall, who wants an opportunity to return to a galaxy where war is the order of the day. 

Beyond is a significant point in the timeline for two reasons. First, it sadly marked the death of Spock Prime due to the passing of Leonard Nimoy. Second, it culminates in the Enterprise embarking on the five-year-mission that started everything back in 1966.

Star Trek movies: Release order

If you can't be bothered remembering two different orders for the Star Trek movies then we've got good news for you — the release order is identical to the chronological order that we've shown above (accounting for the Kelvin timeline as it's own entity anyway).

The full run of Star Trek films currently tops out at 13 entries; the fate of the 14th was hidden within a nebula of conflicting information. “Star Trek 4” was slated for December 22, 2023, but given that filming had yet to begin as of July 2022, it seems inevitable that date will change. Back in February 2022, Paramount that the principal cast would be returning for the fourth installment of the Kelvin timeline, a claim quickly disputed by the agents of those selfsame actors. Awkward.

Soon after, however, Chris Pine eventually signed on the dotted line, and his shipmates reached their own agreements. As of right now, Kirk (Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), McCoy (Karl Urban, assuming he can make it work around filming of The Boys), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Uhura (Zoe Saldaña), and Sulu (John Cho) are all ready to beam up and get filming. Sadly, this will be the first of the Kelvin films to not feature Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov. Yelchin died in an accident at his home in 2016. It’s currently unclear if Chekov will be recast or if a different character will take his place on the bridge of the Enterprise.

Though the Kelvin timeline is often referred to as “J.J. Abrams Trek,” he won’t be directing Star Trek 4; Matt Shakman will take on that responsibility, leaving Abrams to produce. As for what it will be about, that’s anyone’s guess, but Chris Pine told Deadline he hopes this one tells a smaller story that appeals to the core Trek audience. “Let’s make the movie for the people that love this group of people, that love this story, that love Star Trek,” he said. “Let’s make it for them and then, if people want to come to the party, great.” It’s a strategy that makes sense; the disappointment with recent Trek films hasn’t been their content so much as their box office. A Trek film with a smaller scope (and budget) would almost certainly have a very healthy profit margin while also resonating with the fanbase.   

With no new announcements coming from San Diego Comic-Con 2022, it seems that we’ll have to wait for any more insight into the next Star Trek film. Sill, recent comments from Paramount CEO Brian Robbins have us cautiously optimistic: “We’re deep into [Star Trek 4] with J.J. Abrams, and it feels like we’re getting close to the starting line and excited about where we’re going creatively,” he told Variety . 

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Susan Arendt is a freelance writer, editor, and consultant living in Burleson, TX. She's a huge sci-fi TV and movie buff, and will talk your Vulcan ears off about Star Trek. You can find more of her work at Wired, IGN, Polygon, or look for her on Twitter: @SusanArendt. Be prepared to see too many pictures of her dogs.

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How to Watch Star Trek in Order: The Complete Series Timeline

The full star trek timeline, explained..

How to Watch Star Trek in Order: The Complete Series Timeline - IGN Image

Ever since 1966’s premiere of the first episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, the entertainment world has never been the same. This franchise that has boldly gone where no property has gone before has captured the hearts and minds of millions around the world and has grown into a space-faring empire of sorts filled with multiple shows, feature length films, comics, merchandise, and so much more. That being said, the amount of Star Trek out in the world can make it tough to know exactly how to watch everything it offers in either chronological or release order so you don’t miss a thing. To help make things easier for you, we’ve created this guide to break down everything you need to know about engaging with this Star Trek journey.

It used to be a bit trickier to track down all the Star Trek shows and movies you’d need to watch to catch up, but Paramount+ has made it a whole lot easier as it has become the home of nearly all the past, present and future Star Trek entries.

So, without further ado, come with us into the final frontier and learn how you can become all caught up with the adventures of Kirk, Picard, Janeway, Sisko, Spock, Pike, Archer, Burnham, and all the others that have made Star Trek so special over the past 56 years.

And, in case you're worried, everything below is a mostly spoiler-free chronological timeline that will not ruin any of any major plot points of anything further on in the timeline. So, you can use this guide as a handy way to catch up without ruining much of the surprise of what’s to come on your adventure! If you’d prefer to watch everything Star Trek as it was released, you’ll find that list below as well!

How to Watch Star Trek in Chronological Order

  • How to Watch Star Trek by Release Order

1. Star Trek: Enterprise (2151-2155)

Star Trek: Enterprise is the earliest entry on our list as it takes place a hundred years before the adventures of Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the crew of Star Trek: The Original Series. The show aired from 2001 to 2005 and starred Scott Bakula as Jonathan Archer, the captain of the Enterprise NX-01. This version of the Enterprise was actually Earth’s first starship that was able to reach warp five.

While the show had its ups and downs, it included a fascinating look at a crew without some of the advanced tech we see in other Star Trek shows, the first contact with various alien species we know and love from the Star Trek universe, and more.

2. Star Trek: Discovery: Seasons 1 and 2 (2256-2258)

star trek movie franchise

This is where things get a little bit tricky, as the first two seasons of Star Trek: Discovery take place before Star Trek: The Original Series but Seasons 3 and 4 take us boldly to a place we’ve not gone before. We won’t spoil why that’s the case here, but it’s important to note if you want to watch Star Trek in order, you’ll have to do a bit of jumping around from series to movie to series.

As for what Star Trek: Discovery is, it's set the decade before the original and stars Sonequa Martin-Green’s Michael Burnham, a Starfleet Commander who accidentally helps start a war between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire. She gets court-martialed and stripped of her rank following these events and is reassigned to the U.S.S Discovery.

3. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2259-TBD)

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds also begins before the events of Star Trek: The Original Series and is set up by Star Trek: Discovery as its captain, Anson Mount’s Christopher Pike, makes an appearance in its second season. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Pike first appeared in the original failed pilot episode “The Cage” of Star Trek: The Original Series and would later become James T. Kirk’s predecessor after the original actor, Jefferey Hunter, backed out of the show.

Fast forward all these years later and now we get to learn more about the story of Christopher Pike and many other familiar faces from The Original Series alongside new characters. It’s made even more special as the ship the crew uses is the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, the very same that would soon call Kirk its captain.

4. Star Trek: The Original Series (2265-2269)

star trek movie franchise

The fourth Star Trek series or movie you should watch in the order is the one that started it all - Star Trek: The Original Series . Created by Gene Roddenberry, this first Star Trek entry would kick off a chain reaction that would end up creating one of the most beloved IPs of all time. However, it almost never made it to that legendary status as its low ratings led to a cancellation order after just three seasons that aired from 1966 to 1969. Luckily, it found great popularity after that and built the foundation for all the Star Trek stories we have today.

Star Trek: The Original Series starred William Shatner as James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Spock, but the rest of the crew would go on to become nearly as iconic as they were. As for what the show was about? Well, we think Kirk said it best during each episode’s opening credits;

“Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise . Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.”

5. Star Trek: The Animated Series (2269-2270)

While Star Trek: The Original Series may have been canceled after just three seasons, its popularity only grew, especially with the help of syndication. Following this welcome development, Gene Roddenberry decided he wanted to continue the adventures of the crew of the Enterprise NCC-1701 in animated form, and he brought back many of the original characters and the actors behind them for another go.

Star Trek: The Animated Series lasted for two seasons from 1973 to 1974 and told even more stories of the Enterprise and its adventures throughout the Milky Way galaxy.

6. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (2270s)

star trek movie franchise

The first Star Trek film was a very big deal as it brought back the crew of Star Trek: The Original Series after the show was canceled in 1969 after just three seasons. However, even it had a rough road to theaters as Roddenberry initially failed to convince Paramount Pictures it was worth it in 1975. Luckily, the success of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and other factors helped finally convince those in power to make the movie and abandon the plans for a new television series called Star Trek: Phase II, which also would have continued the original story.

In Star Trek: The Motion Picture, James T. Kirk was now an Admiral in Starfleet, and certain events involving a mysterious alien cloud of energy called V’Ger cause him to retake control of a refitted version of the U.S.S. Enterprise with many familiar faces in tow.

7. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (2285)

Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry had a sequel to Star Trek: The Motion Picture written, but Paramount turned it down after the reception to that first film was not what the studio had hoped for. In turn, Paramount removed him from the production and brought in Harve Bennett and Jack B. Sowards to write the script and Nicholas Meyer to direct the film.

The studio’s decision proved to be a successful one as Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is considered by many, including IGN, to be the best Star Trek film. As for the story, it followed the battle between Admiral James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise vs. Ricardo Montalban’ Khan Noonien Singh. Khan is a genetically engineered superhuman and he and his people were exiled by Kirk on a remote planet in the episode ‘Space Seed’ from the original series. In this second film, after being stranded for 15 years, Khan wants revenge.

8. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (2285)

star trek movie franchise

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock continues the story that began in Wrath of Khan and deals with the aftermath of Spock’s death. While many on the U.S.S. Enterprise thought that was the end for their science officer, Kirk learns that Spock’s spirit/katra is actually living inside the mind of DeForest Kelley’s Dr. McCoy, who has been acting strange ever since the death of his friend. What follows is an adventure that includes a stolen U.S.S. Enterprise, a visit from Spock’s father Sarek, a run-in with Klingons, and so much more.

9. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (2286 and 1986)

While it is undoubtedly great that Kirk and his crew saved Spock, it apparently wasn’t great enough to avoid the consequences that follow stealing and then losing the Enterprise. On their way to answer for their charges, the former crew of the Enterprise discover a threat to Earth that, without spoiling anything, causes them to go back in time to save everything they love. The Voyage Home is a big departure from the previous films as, instead of space, we spend most of our time in 1986’s San Francisco.

10. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (2287)

star trek movie franchise

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier once again brings back our favorite heroes from Star Trek: The Original Series, but it’s often regarded as one of the weakest films starring Kirk, Spock, McCoy, etc. In this adventure, our crew’s shore leave gets interrupted as they are tasked with going up against the Vulcan Sybok, who himself is on the hunt for God in the middle of the galaxy.

11. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (2293)

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the final movie starring the entire cast of Star Trek: The Original Series, and it puts the Klingons front and center. After a mining catastrophe destroys the Klingon moon of Praxis and threatens the Klingon’s homeworld, Klingon Chancellor Gorkon is forced to abandon his species' love of war in an effort to seek peace with the Federation. What follows is an adventure that calls back to the fall of the Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall and serves as a wonderful send-off to characters we’ve come to know and love since 1966, even though some will thankfully appear in future installments.

12. Star Trek: The Next Generation (2364-2370)

star trek movie franchise

After you make it through all six of the Star Trek: The Original Series movies, it’s time to start what many consider the best Star Trek series of all time - Star Trek: The Next Generation . The series, which starred Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, ran from 1987 through 1994 with 178 episodes over seven seasons.

There are so many iconic characters and moments in The Next Generation, including William Riker, Data, Worf, Geordi La Forge, Deanna Troi, and Dr. Beverly Crusher, and many of these beloved faces would return for Star Trek: Picard, which served as a continuation of this story.

While we are once again on the U.S.S. Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation, this story takes place a century after the events of Star Trek: The Original Series. However, there may just be a few familiar faces that pop up from time to time.

13. Star Trek Generations (2293)

While Star Trek Generations is the first film featuring the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew, it also features a team-up that many had dreamed of for years and years between Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Captain James T. Kirk.

Our heroes are facing off against an El-Aurian named Dr. Tolian Soran, who will do whatever is necessary to return to an extra-dimensional realm known as the Nexus. Without spoiling anything, these events lead to a meeting with these two legendary captains and a heartfelt-at-times send-off to The Original Series, even though not every character returned that we wished could have.

14. Star Trek: First Contact (2373)

star trek movie franchise

Star Trek: First Contact was not only the second film featuring the crew from Star Trek: The Next Generation, but it also served as the motion picture directorial debut for William Riker actor Jonathan Frakes. In this film, the terrifying Borg take center stage and force our heroes to travel back in time to stop them from conquering Earth and assimilating the entire human race.

This movie picks up on the continuing trauma caused by Jean-Luc Picard getting assimilated in the series and becoming Locutus of Borg, and we are also treated to the first warp flight in Star Trek’s history, a shout-out to Deep Space Nine, and more.

15. Star Trek: Insurrection (2375)

Star Trek: Insurrection, which unfortunately ranked last on our list of the best Star Trek movies, is the third film starring the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew and followed a story involving an alien race that lives on a planet with more-or-less makes them invincible due to its rejuvenating properties. This alien race, known as the Ba’Ku, are being threatened by not only another alien race called the Son’a, but also the Federation. Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his crew disobey Federation orders in hopes to save the peaceful Ba’Ku, and while it sounds like an interesting premise, many said it felt too much like an extended episode of the series instead of a big blockbuster film.

16. Star Trek: Nemesis (2379)

star trek movie franchise

The final Star Trek: The Next Generation movie is Star Trek: Nemesis , and it also isn’t looked at as one of the best. There are bright parts in the film, including Tom Hardy’s Shinzon who is first thought to be a Romulan praetor before it’s revealed he is a clone of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, but it also features a lot of retreaded ground. There are some great moments between our favorite TNG characters, but it’s not quite the goodbye many had hoped for. Luckily, this won’t be the last we’ll see of them.

17. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2369-2375)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is the fourth Star Trek series and it ran from 1993 to 1999 with 176 episodes over seven seasons. Deep Space Nine was also the first Star Trek series to be created without the direct involvement of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, but instead with Rick Berman and Michael Piller. Furthermore, it was the first series to begin when another Star Trek Series - The Next Generation - was still on the air.

The connections between The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine don’t end there, as there were a ton of callbacks to TNG in Deep Space Nine, and characters like Worf and Miles O’Brien played a big part in the series. Other TNG characters popped up from time to time, including Captain Jean-Luc Picard, and certain Deep Space Nine characters also showed their faces in TNG.

Deep Space Nine was a big departure from the Star Trek series that came before, as it not only took place mostly on a space station - the titular Deep Space Nine - but it was the first to star an African American as its central character in Avery Brooks’ Captain Benjamin Sisko.

Deep Space Nine was located in a very interesting part of the Milky Way Galaxy as it was right next to a wormhole, and the series was also filled with conflict between the Cardassians and Bajorans, the war between the Federation and the Dominion, and much more.

18. Star Trek: Voyager (2371-2378)

star trek movie franchise

Star Trek: Voyager is the fifth Star Trek series and it ran from 1995 to 2001 with 172 episodes over seven seasons. Star Trek: Voyager begins its journey at Deep Space Nine, and then it follows the tale of Kate Mulgrew’s Captain Kathryn Janeway (the first female leading character in Star Trek history!) and her crew getting lost and stranded in the faraway Delta Quadrant.

The episodes and adventures that follow all see the team fighting for one goal: getting home. Being so far away from the Alpha Quadrant we were so used to letting Star Trek be very creative in its storytelling and give us situations and alien races we’d never encountered before.

That doesn’t mean it was all unfamiliar, however, as the Borg became a huge threat in the later seasons. It’s a good thing too, as that led to the introduction of Jeri Ryan’s Seven of Nine, a character who would continue on to appear in Star Trek: Picard and become a fan favorite.

19. Star Trek: Lower Decks (2380-TBD)

Star Trek: Lower Decks debuted in 2020 and was the first animated series to make it to air since 1973’s Star Trek: The Animated Series. Alongside having that feather in its cap, it also sets itself apart by choosing to focus more on the lower lever crew instead of the captain and senior staff.

This leads to many fun adventures that may not be as high stakes as the other stories, but are no less entertaining. There have already been three seasons of Star Trek: Lower Decks, and the fourth season is set to arrive later this summer.

The series is also worth a watch as it is having a crossover with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds that will mix the worlds of live-action and animation.

20. Star Trek: Prodigy (2383-TBD)

Star Trek: Prodigy was the first fully 3D animated Star Trek series ever and told a story that began five years after the U.S.S. Voyager found its way back home to Earth. In this series, which was aimed for kids, a group of young aliens find an abandoned Starfleet ship called the U.S.S. Protostar and attempt to make it to Starfleet and the Alpha Quadrant from the Delta Quadrant.

Voyager fans will be delighted to know that Kate Mulgrew returns as Kathryn Janeway in this animated series, but not only as herself. She is also an Emergency Training Holographic Advisor that was based on the likeness of the former captain of the U.S.S. Voyager.

The second season of Star Trek: Prodigy was set to arrive later this year, but it was not only canceled in June, but also removed from Paramount+. There is still hope this show may find a second life on another streaming service or network.

21. Star Trek: Picard (2399-2402)

star trek movie franchise

Star Trek: Picard is the… well… next generation of Star Trek: The Next Generation as it brings back not only Partick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard, but also many of his former crew members from the beloved series. The story is set 20 years after the events of Star Trek Nemesis and we find Picard retired from Starfleet and living at his family’s vineyard in France.

Without spoiling anything, certain events get one of our favorite captains back to work and take him on an adventure through space and time over three seasons and 30 episodes.

The show had its ups and downs, but the third season, in our opinion, stuck the landing and gave us an “emotional, exciting, and ultimately fun journey for Jean-Luc and his family - both old and new - that gives the character the send-off that he has long deserved.”

22. Star Trek: Discovery: Seasons 3 and 4 (3188-TBD)

While Star Trek: Discovery begins around 10 years before Star Trek: The Original Series, the show jumps more than 900 years into the future into the 32nd Century following the events of the second season. The Federation is not in great shape and Captain Michael Burnham and her crew work to bring it back to what it once was.

Star Trek: Discovery is set to end after the upcoming fifth season, which will debut on Paramount+ in 2024.

How to Watch Star Trek by Order of Release

  • Star Trek: The Original Series (1966 - 1969)
  • Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973 - 1974)
  • Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
  • Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
  • Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
  • Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1984)
  • Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987 - 1994)
  • Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
  • Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
  • Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993 - 1999)
  • Star Trek: Generations (1994)
  • Star Trek: Voyager (1995 - 2001)
  • Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
  • Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
  • Star Trek: Enterprise (2001 - 2005)
  • Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
  • Star Trek (2009)
  • Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
  • Star Trek Beyond (2016)
  • Star Trek: Discovery (2017 - Present)
  • Star Trek: Picard (2020 - 2023)
  • Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020 - Present)
  • Star Trek: Prodigy (2021 - TBA)
  • Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022 - Present)

For more, check out our look at the hidden meaning behind Star Trek’s great captains, why Star Trek doesn’t get credit as the first shared universe, if this may be the end of Star Trek’s golden age of streaming, and our favorite classic Star Trek episodes and movies.

In This Article

Star Trek

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Perhaps you've started watching Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and you're wondering where this whole thing (like the whole thing ) originated from. Maybe you're completely ingrained in the Star Trek universe but want to start all over from the beginning for the hundredth time. Whatever the case may be, you're currently reading this because you plan on watching or re-watching all of the Star Trek movies in order. No worries, we've got you all covered with everything you need to know before you get to it. When you're dealing with franchise that has been around many different decades and has had different iterations things can get a bit tricky.

We're going to break it down the best way we can.

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How Many Star Trek Movies Are There?

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All-in-all, there are thirteen total films in the Star Trek franchise as of this writing. That's the simple version. Now we're really going to break it all down.

Star Trek "Original Series" Movies in Order:

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  • Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
  • Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
  • Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
  • Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
  • Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
  • Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

Star Trek "Next Generation" Movies in Order

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  • Star Trek Generations (1994)
  • Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
  • Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
  • Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

Star Trek "Kelvin Timeline" Movies in Order aka the "New" Star Trek Movies in Order

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  • Star Trek (2009)
  • Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
  • Star Trek Beyond (2016)

1. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

  • Release Date: December 8, 1979
  • Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Nichelle Nicholas
  • Extra Recommended Viewing:  While it isn't required to watch Star Trek: The Original Series in its entirety before Star Trek: The Motion Picture , seasons one and two in particular can help prepare you for the overall pace of the movie and familiarize yourself with the characters as they are the ones that star in the film.

Ten years prior to the release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture , the television series, Star Trek: The Original Series , was cancelled after three seasons. Despite the cancellation, Paramount Pictures had been lobbying for a feature film which originally began development in 1975, but was scrapped in 1977 for another television series that was to be titled Star Trek: Phase II . However, after the success of Steven Spielberg's Close Encounter of the Third Kind in 1977, plans for a feature film were put back into motion since that particular film showed that science-fiction movies could be successful.

Finally, after many years, Star Trek: The Motion Picture was released on December 8, 1979, as we just mentioned, it featured the cast from the television series. Adm. James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the crew of the Starship Enterprise is called upon by the federation to help contain an object that is on a crash course with earth. This object is an alien cloud that is wreaking havoc on everything getting in it's way. Kirk uses his leadership expertise to intercept the cloud, which eventually leads to an alien attack.

We then find out that Voyager aka V'Ger,  a 20th-century Earth space probe previously believed lost in a black hole, was found by an alien race of living machines, learned all the information it could, returned home to report what they discovered, but that nobody knew how to respond to the findings. Some people believe that you can skip this film altogether, but if you want to say that you've watched every single Star Trek , you've gotta get it in.

2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

  • Release Date: June 4, 1982
  • Extra Recommended Viewing: Similar to the first film, nothing is required to be watched in order to understand the movie. However, if you want to get super nerdy, you can watch "Space Seed" (season 1, episode 22) from the television series as that's when Khan is originally introduced.

Despite the mixed reviews of Star Trek: The Motion Picture , the follow-up Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was released three years later on June 4, 1982. Many consider The Wrath of Khan to be the best Star Trek movie of all time, which makes for a fun debate amongst fans and movie critics. Adm. James T. Kirk and Capt. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) are monitoring trainees at Starfleet Academy when they discover that another vessel from the United Federation of Planets is about to test the planet-creating Genesis Device, which leads to two of Kirk's officers being captured and a showdown.

The Wrath of Khan was a huge box office success, grossing $97 million at the box office along with positive reviews from critics.

3. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

  • Release Date: June 1, 1984
  • Extra Recommended Viewing: For Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , you will need to watch The Wrath of Khan as this film is a continuation of the events that happened in that movie.

Fast forward two years later, Spock is dead. Or is he? Adm. James T. Kirk succeeded in defeating Khan, but that defeat apparently came with the cost of losing Spock. While investigating  the Genesis planet from aboard the science vessel  Grissom , they discover that Spock has been resurrected, but in the form of a child and that he has lost consciousness. The crew defies orders disables the USS  Excelsior , and steals the  Enterprise in the attempt to retrieve Spock's body. While The Search for Spock did gross $87 million at the box office (which in reality wasn't that much less than its predecessor), the film was still considered a "moderate" success compared The Wrath of Khan .

4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

  • Release Date: November 26, 1986
  • Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Nichelle Nicholas, Catherine Hicks
  • Extra Recommended Viewing: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home completes the arc of The Wrath of Khan and The Search for Spock , so you will need to watch both in order to understand what's going on.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is another debate starter as it is frequently put up against The Wrath of Khan in terms of which one is better. In it, Adm. James T. Kirk and his crew go back in time to San Francisco in 1986 to retrieve humpback whales — which is the key to communicating with a probe that's dangerously looking for somebody that understands it/them/whatever you want to call it. The plot is inexplicably corny 1980s, but you can't deny its charm as it pulled in $133 million worldwide at the box office, and received four Academy Award nominations for cinematography and sound.

5. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

  • Release Date: June 9, 1989
  • Extra Recommended Viewing: No required viewing, but it is recommended that you watch the previous films.

Alright, we're going to save you the trouble here — the mark was missed with Star Trek V: The Final Frontier . It has a case for being one of if not the worst Star Trek film of all time. That said, The Final Frontier centers around Sybok, the half brother of Spock, who hijacks the Enterprise in order to meet God, who he also believes is himself. Interesting. We're not going to say skip The Final Frontier completely, but we will say to have proper expectations before you watch.

6. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

  • Release Date: December 6, 1991
  • Extra Recommended Viewing: While it's recommended you watch the previous films, it should be noted that some have started their Star Trek journey with The Undiscovered Country . You don't have to watch the television series to understand what's going on this film either.

Whenever Star Trek would take a step backward in terms of critical and commercial success, they would always follow it up with a stronger attempt. The Undiscovered Country is a whirlwind journey as Capt. Kirk and the USS Enterprise Crew are carrying Klingon Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner) to Earth as leverage for a peace treaty with the United Federation of Planets. Their ship gets confused for firing on a Klingon vessel, which kills Gorkon. This leads to Kirk and Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) being arrested for murder as it is thought to be a revenge attempt by Kirk for the Klingons murdering his son. Now it's all left up to Spock to save the day.

7. Star Trek: Generations (1994)

  • Release Date: November 18, 1994
  • Starring: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Michael Dorn, William Shatner
  • Extra Recommended Viewing: It is our recommendation that you watch at least a few episodes of the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series that ran from 1987 to 1994, as the movies are set at the end of series and preceded by the 1994 series finale "All Good Things."

And here begins The Next Generation era of Star Trek . While not as captivating as the prior films, the movie had its own strong points as the Starship Enterprise gets sent to a giant energy field on the verge of engulfing two ships that presumably kills Capt. Kirk. Fast forward several years later, Capt. Picard (Patrick Stewart) learns that one of the survivors, Dr. Soran (Malcolm McDowell), has big plans to enter the field by destroying a neighboring star, and must be stopped. While The Next Generation received mixed reviews, it did gross $118 million at the box office, so it was a good first start to the new generation.

8. Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

  • Release Date: November 22, 1996
  • Starring: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Michael Dorn, Brent Spiner
  • Extra Recommended Viewing: "The Best of Both Worlds" (season 3, episode 26 and season 4, episode 1)

The story behind Star Trek: First Contact goes a little something like this — Paramount Pictures asked writers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore to start working on the next film. Braga and Moore wanted to feature the Borg in the storyline, but Rick Berman, the producer, wanted the plot to focus on time travel. The solution? They decided to combine both ideas, pulling references from the two-part episode "The Best of Both Worlds" from Star Trek: The Next Generation , which served as both a season finale for season 3, and a season premiere for season 4.

First Contact features the crew following a Borg ship and traveling back in time to prevent the Borg from taking over the Earth in a past era. Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) and a space travel guru (James Cromwell) are stuck trying to create the first time warp, whereas Capt. Picard and mdr. Data (Brent Spiner) are trying to battle the borg queen as she attempts to take over The Enterprise. Fun stuff.

9. Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)

  • Release Date: December 11, 1998
  • Extra Recommended Viewing: Any episode from The Next Generation and the previous movies in The Next Generation series.

When a mission to planet Ba'ku gets disrupted by a malfunctioning android named Data (Brent Spiner) taking the cultural task force hostage, Capt. Picard and crew learn that the Federation mission was actually a ploy by the Son'a to remove the inhabitants of Ba'ku. There's also the romance between Troi and Riker that gets rekindled in the process. While some may argue other Star Trek films are more dynamic, we'd argue that Insurrection stands on its own two feet.

10. Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

  • Release Date: December 13, 2002
  • Starring: Patrick Stewart, Stuart Baird, Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes, Tom Hardy
  • Extra Recommended Viewing: You could watch the entire Next Generation series and all the prior films before tackling Nemesis , but it also works as a standalone.

The final film of The Next Generation series sees Capt. Picard diverting Enterprise's trip to Cmdr. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Counselor Troi's (Marina Sirtis) wedding in order to negotiate a peace treaty with the Romulans. Pre-Bane Tom Hardy takes on the role of Shinzon, the new Praetor of the Romulans, who needs Picard’s blood to survive. The only problem is Shiznon is also trying to destroy the entire Earth and take everyone down with him, so there's that.

11. Star Trek (2009)

  • Release Date: May 7, 2009
  • Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban
  • Extra Recommended Viewing: The 2009 Star Trek essentially restarts the whole series. You can watch it without having seen any of the prior series or movies.

Back to the beginning we go! We get re-introduced to Kirk, Bones, Spock and the rest of the USS Enterprise crew as they are dealing with the villainous Romulan commander Nero (Eric Bana) who's kinda threatening all of mankind. It's up to Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), and everybody else to defeat Nero before it's too late. Nothing too complicated here — just a simple plot to introduce newcomers to the franchise.

12. Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

  • Release Date: May 16, 2013
  • Extra Recommended Viewing: Star Trek (2009)

Capt. Kirk gets removed from his commander position by violating the Prime Directive, Admiral Pike replaces him, Spock gets transferred to another ship, and that's just the beginning. Khan is back, but he's actually kind of... somewhat... nice, and Kirk and the rest of The Enterprise team set out to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction which leads to a life or death battle. Fun stuff again.

13. Star Trek Beyond (2016)

  • Extra Recommended Viewing: Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

And this is where the Star Trek movies (emphasis on movies) leaves us in this era until Star Trek 4 which is currently in development. Star Trek Beyond was about The Enterprise being deceived by Krall (Idris Elba), a vicious enemy who gets his energy from sucking the life out of his victims. Long story short, Krall needs an artifact that's on The Enterprise ship, and Kirk and the crew have got to battle against him. The events of Star Trek Beyond effectively serve as a prequel to the 1960s series, so you can actually watch Star Trek: The Original Series after this.

The Star Trek Movies in Release Order:

Unlike other franchises or universes , the Star Trek movies in order of release date is actually exactly the same as the chronological order.

  • Star Trek: The Motion Picture - December 6th, 1979
  • Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - June 4th, 1982
  • Star Trek III: The Search for Spock - June 1st, 1984
  • Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home - November 26th, 1986
  • Star Trek V: The Final Frontier - June 9th, 1989
  • Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country - December 6th, 1991
  • Star Trek: Generations - November 18th, 1994
  • Star Trek: First Contact - November 22nd, 1996
  • Star Trek: Insurrection - December 11th, 1998
  • Star Trek: Nemesis - December 13th, 2002
  • Star Trek - May 7th, 2009
  • Star Trek Into Darkness - May 16th, 2013
  • Star Trek Beyond - July 22nd, 2016

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Every Star Trek Show And Movie In Chronological Order

Star Trek

As a media phenomenon, "Star Trek" began on September 8, 1966 with the airing of "The Man Trap" (the sixth episode in production order, but the first aired). Originally, the show's writers, including creator Gene Roddenberry, used the concept of "stardates" to ensure the show's actual timeline was left vague; for several episodes, all audiences knew was that "Trek" was set in the future and that the future was a pretty keen place. It wouldn't be until the episode "The Naked Time" (seventh episode produced, fourth aired, first aired on September 29, 1966) that the Gregorian year would be mentioned out loud, and an actual timeline could begin to be constructed. 

Since then, "Star Trek" has extrapolated an extensive, centuries long timeline of events, often skipping merrily back and forth through the centuries, adding more and more to the franchises complex chronology. The chronology of "Star Trek" is so complicated that entire books have been published tracking the various shows' and films' events. Because of the constant production of new "Star Trek," these books became dated immediately. 

" Star Trek: Strange New Worlds " is set to debut on Paramount+ on May 5, and it is set immediately before the events of the original "Star Trek," making it the third "prequel" series to the original. To keep matters as clear as possible, here is a (very brief, by the standards of "Trek") rundown of "Star Trek" chronology from within its own canon. 

NOTE : This list will not necessarily include single episodes wherein characters go back in time, but give an overall timeframe for each individual film and TV show.

1986: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Although beginning and ending within the proper chronology of the "Star Trek" future, Leonard Nimoy's 1986 feature film " Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home " is set largely in the earliest point in the franchise's timeline (again, excluding single time travel episodes of any given TV series, wherein Mark Twain, the 1950s, and other eras are regularly visited). In the film, the crew of the Enterprise must go back in time to rescue a pair of humpback whales from extinction in order to appease an enormous, inscrutable space monolith that has been draining future Earth of its oceans, looking for its own kind. 

The bulk of "Voyage Home" takes place in 1986, and the film gained a lot of critical and audience attention for its fish-out-of-water humor and light tone; the previous three films had been comparatively dour, downbeat, or cerebral.

2024: Star Trek: Picard (Season 2)

As of this writing, the second season of "Star Trek: Picard" is still being released weekly on Paramount+, so the ultimate conclusion of the story is as yet unknown. 

What is known is that the trickster god Q (John De Lancie), a playful villain from "Star Trek: The Next Generation," visited an elderly Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) to warn him of a parallel universe. In this parallel universe, Earth is a genocidal conqueror race that has wiped out most life in the galaxy. Picard must travel back in time, paralleling the story of "Voyage Home" in order to stop the fascist timeline from starting. Thanks to the limited information they have, they travel to the year 2024, and the bulk of the season's action takes place there. 

A bit of a continuity error already: In previously mentioned "Trek" canon, the Eugenics Wars — the conflagration that wrought Khan from "Star Trek II" — should have already happened by 2024 (I believe the original date for the Eugenics Wars was 1997), but, in "Picard," they had clearly been delayed. One of the subplots of the second season of "Picard,' however, involves a malevolent genetic engineer, so it looks like the Eugenics Wars may finally be nigh.

2063: Star Trek: First Contact

Although never directly filmed, there are constant references throughout "Star Trek" to World War III, an event that left the entire planet devastated. Despite destitution and technological ruin, an inventor named Zefram Cochran managed to invent an engine that allowed humanity to travel faster than light. This technology, when being tested for the first time in the solar system, attracted the attention of some Vulcans who just happened to be passing by. This was the First Contact mentioned in the title of the 1996 film " Star Trek: First Contact ." 

In that film, the characters from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" travel back in time to foil a plot by a malevolent species of cyborgs called The Borg, and find themselves in the year A.D. 2063 where they could witness First Contact themselves. This was the event that essentially kicked off creator Gene Roddenberry's vision of a peaceful future. In meeting intelligent space aliens, a hobbled humanity learned that war was churlish, and that unity as a species was preferable in the face of a suddenly occupied cosmos. 

"First Contact" is essentially the "Star Trek" origin story.

2151 - 2155: Star Trek: Enterprise

After first talking to Vulcans, humans were eager to take to the stars and join the galactic community. The conceit of the 2001 TV series " Star Trek: Enterpris e" (originally just called "Enterprise") was that the Vulcans, seeing how illogical and roughhewn humanity still was, encouraged them to stay on Earth for nearly a century before actually taking to the stars. In that century, humanity rebuilt, formed a Starfleet, and constructed its very first long-mission starship, the U.S.S. Enterprise NX-01. The show is about the adventures of the very first humans in space, circa A.D. 2151.

"Enterprise" took place before a lot of established "Trek" tech had been invented. There were transporters, but they weren't entirely safe for use on humans. There were no shields around the ship. There were no food replicators, and the Enterprise required a galley. Most notably, there wasn't a Prime Directive yet, so a lot of mistakes are bound to be made. It wouldn't be until 2161 — according to ancillary revelations — that the Federation would be formed. 

2254: The Cage

The unused "Star Trek" pilot has probably gained more canonical traction than any other unused footage from any other work of filmed fiction. "The Cage" didn't air in its complete form until 1986, 20 years after its making. Previously, footage from "The Cage" was incorporated into a two-part "Star Trek" episode called "The Menagerie" (November of 1966). 

In the pilot, we first meet Capt. Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) and his ship the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701. We were first introduced to Spock as well, although Spock would be the only character carried over into the second pilot that was eventually used. Majel Barrett played the Enterprise's first officer in "The Cage," and she would go on to play multiple other roles throughout "Star Trek," including Nurse Chapel, M'Ress, Lwaxana Troi, and the voice of the ship's computer. 

The events of "The Cage" would also be revisited in the second season of "Star Trek: Discovery."

2256 - 2258: Star Trek: Discovery (seasons 1 and 2)

Another cataclysm that had been mentioned multiple times throughout "Star Trek" was a war between the Klingons and the Federation. The first season of "Star Trek: Discovery," which debuted on CBS All Access (now Paramount+) in November of 2017, dramatized those events explicitly, as seen through the eyes of the U.S.S. Discovery. This new ship was a science vessel that had figured out a way to tap into a galaxy-wide network of near-undetectable, microscopic spores into order to teleport anywhere in the galaxy instantaneously. 

After surviving the Klingon war, the Discovery teamed up with the U.S.S. Enterprise while it was still being captained by Christopher Pike (now played by Anson Mount), putting the events of "Discovery" immediately after the original pilot. There were a lot — and I mean a LOT — of narrative excuses as to why the high-tech Discovery (realized with late-2010s special effects) didn't match the boxier, monochromatic world of "The Cage." 

The show's writers also needed to come up with an organic reason why a ship that can teleport — a technology that would have fundamentally changed the world of "Star Trek" — was never mentioned in any of the "Trek" shows made from 1966 until 2017. As such, at the end of the second season of "Discovery," the ship was thrown almost 1,000 years into the future in order to outrun an insidious computer intelligence that would spread throughout the galaxy if knowledge of it was passed around. As such, the Discovery more or less deleted itself from existence. As panicked, narrative ass-saving measures go, it's a 7.

2258: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

The appearance of Capt. Pike on "Discovery" was so well-received that Paramount+ elected to go back to the Enterprise, bring back the characters from "The Cage," lump in a few familiar faces from the 1966 "Star Trek," and make " Strange New Worlds ," a series that takes place only eight years prior to the events of the original TV series. 

"Strange New Worlds" brings back Anson Mount as Pike, as well as a young Spock, a very young Uhura, a young Nurse Chapel, one of Khan's ancestors, and Dr. M'Benga, who showed up in a few episodes if the 1966 show. It also, notably, will not have season-long story arcs, but a single-hour episodic structure, standing in contrast with most of the other Paramount+-era "Star Treks," with "Lower Decks" being the proud exception.

2258 (KELVIN): Star Trek (2009)

Thanks to "Star Trek," the notion of parallel universes is quite well-known to the public. Incidentally, it's been quite odd watching the films and TV shows in the Marvel universe slow-walk the notion of a multiverse over the course of multiple installments when we've already seen Spock with a goatee. 

Thanks to complicated studio politics, there was a split in Paramount in the mid-2000s, and the Paramount side of the schism — when wanting to make a new "Star Trek" feature film — was legally required to make something distinguishable from the TV shows. Enter J.J. Abrams and his 2009 feature film " Star Trek " which takes place at the same time as "Strange New Worlds," but in a parallel universe where the characters from the 1966 show now look like a new cast, the Enterprise looks brighter and sleeker, and everything is more intense and action-packed. 

This new timeline would be created when a villain went back in time interfered with James T. Kirk right when he was born.

2259 (KELVIN): Star Trek Into Darkness

Although taking place far before the events of 1982's "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," J.J. Abrams' " Star Trek Into Darkness " (2013) drew a lot of story parallels to the Nicholas Meyer film. Taking place almost immediately after the 2009 film, "Into Darkness" involved the character of Khan who, in the timeline of the 1966 series, wouldn't be resurrected from cryogenic sleep for a few years hence. In "Into Darkness," he was awakened early, became involved in a plot to smuggle other cryogenically frozen compatriots. 

Originally, the Eugenics Wars were meant to have started in the 1990s, but — as "Star Trek" persisted, and the '90s came and went in the real world — that timeline had to be altered several times. The timeline of the Eugenics Wars in "Into Darkness" are a little unclear. As we saw above in "Star Trek: Picard," we know that they'll now take place sometime after 2024.

2263 (KELVIN): Star Trek Beyond

In Justin Lin's " Star Trek Beyond " (2016), Kirk (Chris Pine) laments that his adventures have already become episodic. It's unusual that the 2009 film and the 2013 sequel are essentially origin stories about the young Kirk coming into his own, and "Beyond" skips ahead to the point where he's already tired of being on "Star Trek." We missed the actual "five year mission" part!

Another interesting wrinkle in "Beyond" is that it alludes to a time somewhere after "Star Trek: Enterprise": The evil Kroll (Idris Elba) was, in fact, a human captain named Edison who led his own starship in the "Enterprise" era. Before the film, he was mutated into an evil alien. "Beyond," in explicitly mentioning the Xindi wars and other events from "Enterprise," anchors the Kelvin films a little more solidly into the "Trek" timeline.

2265 - 2269: Star Trek

After "The Cage" was abandoned by Paramount, the studio and Gene Roddenberry reworked the show into the 1966 program we all know and love. As mentioned, Spock was the only character carried over from the original pilot, and "Star Trek" now featured William Shatner as Captain Kirk and a host of new characters besides. "Star Trek" began as a horror show — there are many monsters and scare moments in the first season — eventually tackling ethical issues in a sci-fi fantasy context. 

"Star Trek" ran for three seasons, ending its initial run on June 3, 1969. Thanks to the gods of syndication, "Star Trek" would remain in reruns for the following decade, building up interest, spawning Trek conventions, and allowing the show to grow into a full-blown cultural phenomenon.

2269 - 2270: Star Trek: The Animated Series

In the opening credits of " Star Trek ," Shatner brazenly informed the audiences that the U.S.S. Enterprise was on a five-year mission. Given that the show was canned after only three years, there was more mission left to witness. In 1973, Roddenberry teamed up with Filmation to make an animated "Star Trek" series that would, by dint of its two seasons, ostensibly complete the five-year mission. Chekov (Walter Koenig) was absent from this show, but other unusual aliens took his place, including a cat woman named M'Ress and Mr. Aryx, a being with three arms. The animated format allowed for wilder ideas, aliens, and ships to be employed, and there are stories featuring flying serpents, aliens made of plants, an undersea episode, and a story with a 50-foot Spock. 

This 1973 version of "Star Trek," in only running 30 minutes per episode, cut out a lot of extraneous character moments from the traditional "Trek" structure, and got straight to the story. It's a far more efficient show than the 1966 program, and it has a passionate following of fans. 

2273: Star Trek: The Motion Picture

The decade of syndication, "Trek" conventions, and the financial success of George Lucas' sci-fi serial epic " Star Wars " in 1977 led Paramount to start thinking about restarting "Star Trek" on TV. A project was put into production that was to be called "Star Trek Phase II," and would have reunited several familiar "Trek" characters as well as introduce some new ones. For various reasons, "Phase II" was abandoned and elements of it were transformed into what would become the 1979 theatrical release " Star Trek: The Motion Picture ."

If all you had prior to "The Motion Picture" was a failed, low-budget TV show and a little-regarded animated series, this movie would feel grand in ways that you couldn't previously imagine. A lot of time was devoted to the size of the Enterprise, the importance of the characters, and mind-bending notions about the unending vastness of the cosmos. Here was a "Star Trek" film that is often compared to 1968's "2001: A Space Odyssey." Good gracious was it enormous. 

"The Motion Picture" was successful enough to warrant a sequel, but not so successful that Roddenberry was welcomed back. Remember that detail when we get to "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

2285: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

2285 was a significant year. In the events of Nicholas Meyer's "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" (1982), a thawed out Khan — the version played by Ricardo Montalbán from the 1967 "Star Trek" episode "The Space Seed," not the version played by Benedict Cumberbatch in "Star Trek Into Darkness" — hijacked a starship called the U.S.S. Reliant and set out on a mission of revenge against Admiral Kirk. The good admiral, we find, had forgotten about a lot of irresponsible actions taken in his past and had to face them head on just as he was looking down the barrel of old age. "Star Trek II" didn't end well for Kirk or for Spock. In that film, Spock famously dies. 

Not wasting any time, however, Kirk and co. sprang back into action in Leonard Nimoy's " Star Trek III: The Search for Spock " (1984), which picks up immediately after "Khan" ended. Thanks to the fineries of Vulcan psychic powers, and a high tech radiation wave that can generate life out of nothing, Spock could potentially be resurrected, and Kirk hijacks the Enterprise in order to help a friend. In so doing, Kirk destroys the ship, rouses the ire of some Klingons, loses his son (killed by said Klingons), and possibly destroys his career in Starfleet. Oops. 

Perhaps one of the reasons "Star Trek IV" (which began in 2286) was so popular was that it was the first "Trek" film to end on a wholly positive note. 

2287: Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Often cited as the worst of the "Trek" movies, William Shatner's "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" (1989) starts with a promising concept, but was undone by a bad script hastily written during a strike, and a repeatedly cut FX budget. The film ultimately feels flimsy and ill-considered, not able to truly confront the interesting ideas it brings up. Shatner has apologized for the poor quality of his film, which was fraught with production troubles.

In "Frontier," a newly-built Enterprise is hijacked by Spock's half-brother Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill), who is leading a cult of brainwashed followers, freed from pain by their leader's psychic powers. He seeks a mysterious planet at the center of the galaxy where he believes God physically lives. The final frontier of the title is not space, but the soul, religion, or spirituality. Many "Trek" purists will point out that seeking the center of the galaxy, and finding a deity there, is similar to an Animated Series episode called "The Magicks of Megas-Tu," wherein Kirk found the planet at the center of the galaxy is actually home to Satan. 

Note : "The Magicks of Megas-Tu" is far better than "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier."

2293: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Made after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Nicholas Meyer's " Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country " (1991) was very clearly a metaphor for the end of the Cold War. In it, the Klingon Empire is crippled by the accidental explosion of one of their moons, leaving the entire government requiring Federation help. "Country" is about how difficult it is to give up being enemies, especially when so much of one's identity is tied in with hate. There's an assassination, a investigation, a trial, a prison break ... It's one of the best "Trek" movies. 

One might glean from the title of the previous film in the series that the entire Kirk era was meant to end with "The Final Frontier." One might also glean that the poor reception and bad box office of "Final Frontier" led to one last go 'round. Fans may be relieved that the final feature film in the Kirk era was actually, y'know, a good one.

2364 - 2370: Star Trek: The Next Generation

Throughout the 1970s, Gene Roddenberry made tours on the convention circuit, talking about his vision for "Star Trek," and interacting with fans who were inspired by the peace, diplomacy, and calm that "Star Trek" has written into its DNA. Looking back over the 1966 show, notions of optimism and diplomacy are present, but they are mixed in with a lot of violence, sexism, and other now-backward ideas. After Roddenberry was essentially barred from involvement on the "Star Trek" feature films, he decided to make a purer, better version of his old show, set another 80 years in the future, and even more devoted to intelligence and diplomacy than ever before. Hence, 1987's " Star Trek: The Next Generation ." 

Taking place on a new ship, the Enterprise NCC-1701-D, and featuring an all new cast, the update of "Star Trek" started a little clumsily, but eventually found its stride to become the best "Star Trek" has offered to date. The tech was more convincing than it ever was, and it featured professional, adult characters who deal with crises with stiff upper lips. More so, it more frequently addressed questions about the meaning of life that humanity will always, it seems, wrestle with.

"Next Generation" last for seven full seasons, and its characters ended up occupying just as large a place in the pop consciousness as the characters from the 1966 TV series. 

Yes, "Next Generation" went back in time several times.

In terms of chronology, "Next Generation" overlapped with...

2369 - 2375: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

" Deep Space Nine " (1993 – 1999) was an unusual animal in many ways. It was the first time two "Star Trek" shows would run concurrently, and would take place over the same time frame (Picard from "Next Generation" appeared in the show's pilot). It was not about trekking at all, as it took place aboard a space station. It was also not set in the world of the Federation, often revolving alien species who were not offered protection from the organization. It was a show of healing and animosity. Of war and death. It started with an ensemble of seven or eight people, and eventually expanded to include about 30 main characters. "Deep Space Nine" is "Star Trek" via a Russian historical novel. 

When taken as a unit, "Next Generation" and "Deep Space Nine," both excellent in their own rights, become a complementary mass that is greater than their sum. The strength of diplomacy vs. its breakdown. The avoidance of war vs. the involvement in it. The absence of fascism vs. its inevitable regrowth. 

Yes, "Deep Space Nine" went back in time several times. 

"Deep Space Nine's" chronology would overlap with "Star Trek: Voyager," as well as with...

2371: Star Trek: Generations

The 1994 feature film " Star Trek: Generations " was a strange excursion. Although "Next Generation" had already run for seven years, "Generations" was still insistent on "passing the torch" from Kirk to Picard, and it bent over backwards to create the means by which Kirk and Picard, separated by 87 years of history, could meet face-to-face. It was the fan crossover no Trekkie wanted. As such, "Generations" is a flimsy affair, speeding through a ridiculous plot about a mobile temporal nexus that serves as Heaven for the people it scoops up along its path. 

Trekkies were even-headed enough to realize that Kirk and Picard weren't meant to meet, and that "Next Generation" was its own entity. The decision to aggressively tie the two shows even more closely together was just baffling. 

Notable too: The Enterprise-D was destroyed in "Generations," and would be replaced by a big ol' ugly thing for three additional feature films.

2371 - 2378: Star Trek: Voyager

" Star Trek: Voyager " debuted in 1995 and ran concurrently with "Deep Space Nine" both on television and within the chronology of "Star Trek." To cleverly avoid any interference between the two shows, however — "Deep Space Nine" would eventually become embroiled in a galaxy-spanning war — "Voyager" was given a "Lost in Space"-style premise wherein the title ship was thrown all the way across the galaxy to a portion of space that has never been explored by Starfleet, and could otherwise only be reached by 70 years of space travel. 

While the premise would perhaps lead a viewer to believe that "Voyager" was going to be about resource allocation and survival, it quickly became more about the Borg, a character played by actress Jeri Ryan, and Captain Janeway's (Kate Mulgrew) steady slide into autocracy. 

"Voyager" struggled with ratings for years, but still managed to last seven seasons like "Next Gen" and "Deep Space" before it. The final episode of "Voyager," a time travel story called " Endgame ," would air in March of 2001.

2375: Star Trek: Insurrection

While "Voyager" and "Deep Space Nine" were running concurrently on television, the "Next Generation" crew were yukking it up in the overwhelmingly mediocre 1998 Jonathan Frakes film " Star Trek: Insurrection ." Like "The Final Frontier," "Insurrection" can be seen straining against the limits of its budget, with bad CGI, bland costumes, and locations clearly found in the California mountains. The cheapness of "Star Trek" has often served as a boon for its story, forcing writers to insert interesting and challenging ideas into their plywood sets. "Insurrection" has no such ideas, asking the ethical question of forced relocation, but never feeling threatening, and offering a magical curative radiation that would require study and collection. 

Although one can admit this: "Insurrection" captures the tone of the "Next Generation" TV series far better than any of the other movies in this part of the series. It's a pity, though, that after the grand finale of "Next Generation," we find ourselves with suck lackluster films. 

Speaking of lackluster films ...

2379: Star Trek: Nemesis

Released in 2002, Stuart Baird's " Star Trek: Nemesis " was poised to be the final gasp for "Star Trek." "Enterprise" was already taking the franchise in a new direction, and the "NextGen" cast was clearly too tired to handle a continued barrage of poorly planned action movies, and thrillers that didn't resemble the show they were inspired by. "Nemesis" is dark and action-packed and violent and takes a lot of structural cues from "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." 

In it, Tom Hardy plays a character named Shinzon who is, in fact, a clone of Captain Picard, grown in a Romulan lab, and eventually discarded into a Romulan mine. Shinzon escaped the mine, built an army, and is poised to take a giant death ship into Federation space to revenge all over people. "Nemesis" is also the film in which Data (Brent Spiner) dies, and Captain Picard drives a dune buggy. 

The sentiment of the time was reminiscent of T.S. Eliot's " The Hollow Men ." This is the way "Next Gen" ends. Not with a bang, but a whimper.

Worry not. There will be further whimpers for the NextGen crew.

2380 - ?: Star Trek: Lower Decks

Named after a seventh season episode of "Next Generation," and taking place in line with the end of "Nemesis" and "Voyager," " Star Trek: Lower Decks " debuted on Paramount+ in 2020 as part of a slew of "Star Trek"-related indicia that the company was desperate to exploit. And while the all-your-eggs-in-one basket approach to TV production affected by Paramount led to stinkers like "Discovery" and "Picard," it did lead to this surprisingly good animated program. 

One of the more appealing aspects of "Star Trek" is that it's essentially a series of workplace shows. The characters are typically vocation-forward, and take their duty to their ship very seriously. Where a "Star Trek" character works speaks powerfully to who they are. "Lower Decks" follows the people who have the worst possible jobs on a Starfleet vessel, often tasked with cleaning holodecks, sanitizing floors, and arranging widgets for the senior staff. It's rough going for ensigns. They sleep in the hallway and are typically not deemed important enough to include on more exciting missions. What's more, the central ship on "Lower Decks" is a tiny, crappy ship with substandard tech. Surely such jobs would exist in "Star Trek." 

"Lower Decks" is eager to make "Trek" references, and is clearly made by people who understand "Trek's" ethos, but who still have a raunchy sense of humor. The future is here. And it's still crappy for those on the bottom. 

2383: Star Trek: Prodigy

Produced under the auspices of Nickelodeon, " Star Trek: Prodigy " (2021) was the first Trek series to be made explicitly with a younger audience in mind. The series follows a ragtag group of alien youths as they flee a prison mine and discover an abandoned Starfleet vessel called the U.S.S. Protostar. On board is an instructional hologram of Captain Janeway from "Voyager," and she teaches the kids how to behave like Starfleet officers, the importance of duty and compassion, and how their trauma does not define them. The design and the creatures are more reminiscent of "Star Wars" than "Star Trek" (the series features an evil emperor and his powerful masked servant, invoking the Emperor and Darth Vader), but it certainly functions as a generic space adventure. The "Star Trek" stuff is mere window dressing. 

It's almost disappointing to include "Prodigy" on this timeline, as one of the show's central mysteries — at least for the first part of its first season, the only part to have aired as of this writing — is when and where it takes place. It was possible that "Prodigy" took place centuries or even millennia beyond the known Trek universe. The last we saw, however, the real Captain Janeway is still alive, giving "Prodigy" a known place in Trek chronology. 

2399: Star Trek: Picard (Season 1)

After nearly 20 years of a world without Picard, Paramount+ convinced Patrick Stewart to reprise his role in a new show named for him. " Star Trek: Picard " debuted on Paramount+ in 2020, taking place further in the future than any other Trek show to date. In the timeline of "Picard," the Federation had become soured by xenophobia and openly discouraged the evacuation of Romulus, historically an enemy world, but now in dire straits after their sun went supernova (something something J.J. Abrams). Picard had left Starfleet in disgust, and had now retired to his winery. 

The story of the first season is too convoluted to get into here, needless to say it involved a Romulan secret society, a planet of androids, a reclaimed Borg cube, and a robot Cthulhu. I'm not kidding. 

It's a pity that "Picard" did not roll with its future setting more, establishing new tech or positive sea changes in the "Trek" universe. Instead, everything is devoted to a chewy, awful story about androids. Indeed, by the end, Picard himself would have his consciousness shunted into an android body. What a snore.

3188 - 3190: Star Trek: Discovery (Seasons 3 and 4)

When last we saw the U.S.S. Discovery, it was being pulled through a time hole into the distant future. In the third and fourth seasons , Discovery's crew learns that they are stranded 930 years from home, and now must rediscover their function as Starfleet officers after the Federation went into hiding. A galaxy-wide disaster — The Burn — spontaneously destroyed millions of starships, and a fierce new criminal enterprise, The Emerald Syndicate, now rules the galaxy.

The 23rd-century ship now has to learn how to use 32nd-century technology. The Discovery was redesigned, and the new mission became to spread diplomacy in a galaxy unready for it. This is the premise, it seems, that Discovery should have started with two years prior. The writing is still rather weak, and the characters are callow and weepy, but "Discovery" does excel in one notable way: Queer representation. Seven of the main cast members are openly queer. After 55 years of a dodgy relationship with queerness, "Discovery" finally nailed it.

I just wish it were a better show.

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Star Trek (2009)

The brash James T. Kirk tries to live up to his father's legacy with Mr. Spock keeping him in check as a vengeful Romulan from the future creates black holes to destroy the Federation one pl... Read all The brash James T. Kirk tries to live up to his father's legacy with Mr. Spock keeping him in check as a vengeful Romulan from the future creates black holes to destroy the Federation one planet at a time. The brash James T. Kirk tries to live up to his father's legacy with Mr. Spock keeping him in check as a vengeful Romulan from the future creates black holes to destroy the Federation one planet at a time.

  • J.J. Abrams
  • Roberto Orci
  • Alex Kurtzman
  • Gene Roddenberry
  • Zachary Quinto
  • 1.6K User reviews
  • 532 Critic reviews
  • 82 Metascore
  • 27 wins & 95 nominations total

Star Trek: Final Theatrical Trailer

  • Spock Prime

Eric Bana

  • (as Zoë Saldana)

John Cho

  • Amanda Grayson

Chris Hemsworth

  • George Kirk

Jennifer Morrison

  • Winona Kirk

Rachel Nichols

  • Captain Robau

Clifton Collins Jr.

  • Officer Pitts
  • (as Antonio Elias)
  • All cast & crew
  • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Star Trek Into Darkness

Did you know

  • Trivia Simon Pegg did not audition for the role - he simply received an email from J.J. Abrams asking if he would like to play Scotty. Pegg said he would have done this for free, or even paid Abrams to be in this film, if he had not been offered a role.
  • Goofs After Spock boards the Vulcan ship on board the mining vessel, Kirk is seen walking through some pipes. His Starfleet phaser has switched to a Romulan gun (longer barrel and no lights), before switching back to the Starfleet one again in the next scene. He actually acquires the Romulan gun a few scenes later.

Spock Prime : James T. Kirk!

James T. Kirk : Excuse me?

Spock Prime : How did you find me?

James T. Kirk : Whoa... how do you know my name?

Spock Prime : I have been and always shall be your friend.

James T. Kirk : Wha...

[shakes head]

James T. Kirk : Uh... look... I-I don't know you.

Spock Prime : I am Spock.

James T. Kirk : Bullshit.

  • Crazy credits The first part of the closing credits is styled after the opening credits of Star Trek (1966) , where the starship Enterprise blasts off into space as a monologue describes its mission, and then the cast names appear as the famous "Star Trek" theme music plays.
  • Connections Edited into De wereld draait door: Episode #4.157 (2009)
  • Soundtracks Theme from 'Star Trek' TV Series Written by Alexander Courage & Gene Roddenberry

User reviews 1.6K

  • Apr 17, 2009

Reboots & Remakes

Production art

  • If this premise is that an alternate timeline created when Nero traveled back in time, then what happened to James Kirk's older brother, Sam, aka George Samuel Kirk Jr.?
  • How can Spock's mother still be alive years later (original series) when she dies earlier on in this movie ?
  • What is Star Trek about?
  • May 8, 2009 (United States)
  • United States
  • Official Facebook
  • Star Trek: The Future Begins
  • Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park - 10700 W. Escondido Canyon Rd., Agua Dulce, California, USA (Vulcan)
  • Paramount Pictures
  • Spyglass Entertainment
  • See more company credits at IMDbPro
  • $150,000,000 (estimated)
  • $257,730,019
  • $75,204,289
  • May 10, 2009
  • $385,680,446

Technical specs

  • Runtime 2 hours 7 minutes
  • Dolby Digital
  • Dolby Atmos
  • 2.35 : 1 (original ratio)
  • 2.39 : 1 (original ratio)

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Every Star Trek Movie Ranked

Star Trek

One of the most beloved and influential science-fiction franchises of our time, the Star Trek universe continues to captivate audiences and expand into new worlds – from the Original Series, to the Next Generation, to the J.J. Abrams -led reboots, to the plethora of live-action and animated Enterprise outings on the small screen in recent years.

To mark the 40th anniversary of the all-time classic and many a Trekkie’s favourite, Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan , we’re boldly going where many have gone before, and wrangling the 13 big-screen Star Trek adventures into a definitive order of quality. Here’s Empire’s list of the best Star Trek movies, ranked from worst to best:

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

13. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

After two films directed by Nimoy, Shatner stepped up for Star Trek V , but it was a troubled production, beset by rewrites, re-shoots and industrial action. The results are, let's say, uneven: a collision of separate stories that don't really mesh, with some jarring tonal shifts. On one level this is a classic Roddenberry concept about exploring the universe and investigating its creation, but that sits alongside Klingon-Romulan-Human politicking and moments of comedy: Kirk and Bones ribbing Spock round a campfire, or Scotty knocking himself unconscious because he doesn't know his way around the new Enterprise. An impressive Dune -like desert sequence gives way to a knock-off Mos Eisley bar scene. Spock suddenly has a renegade brother we've never heard of before. And yet, while the separate parts might not add up to a cohesive whole, there's enough going on that some of it works. Fundamentally, this is a film where Captain Kirk meets God and is unimpressed . That might just be the ultimate Kirk moment, and getting there is worth a couple of hours of janky runaround.

12. Star Trek: Nemesis

12. Star Trek: Nemesis

A fairly catastrophic failure both critically and commercially, Nemesis did what no Trek film had done before: killed the franchise stone dead for almost a decade. It's still fun to hang out with the Next Generation crew, but that cozy familiarity aside, this is a disappointing experience. It's visually murky, bogs itself down with a leaden plot about Romulan intrigue, has its limelight hogged by Brent Spiner, and suffers from one of the weakest villains in the series: Tom Hardy 's Reman rebel leader Shinzon. This was one of Hardy's earliest roles, and it probably isn't his fault, but he's less than stellar in it and looks borderline ridiculous, sporting a prosthetic nose. His introduction is set up as a huge reveal moment - "Oh my God, it's Picard !" – except he looks nothing like Picard, and the only visual clue that he's Picard's clone is that he's bald. The action periodically delivers and Data's sacrifice – while not a patch on Spock's – gives it a little heart, but as the Next Gen crew's last hurrah, this one saw Picard and the gang go out with a whimper, not a bang.

11. Star Trek Into Darkness

11. Star Trek Into Darkness

The continuing mission of the rebooted Enterprise has all the pleasure of the 2009 film in its interplay between the principals, and some great San Francisco spectacle. But Into Darkness ' great weakness is its villain: in this instance, Benedict Cumberbatch inheriting the role of Khan from Ricardo Montalban. The problem is exactly the same one that Spectre had with Blofeld: Khan only means something to the audience. He doesn't mean anything to the characters on screen. This Enterprise hasn't even met him in Space Seed. So, the films whole agenda – it's a remixed Star Trek II with another Khan, hold on to your hats! – doesn't work. This Khan is just another bad guy doing generic bad guy stuff. His being Khan is ultimately neither here nor there. "I'm not Harrison, I'm Khan." – are you? Who's that then? If you need a Zoom call with your future self to explain the stakes, you've got more problems than you realise.

10. Star Trek: The Motion Picture

10. Star Trek: The Motion Picture

The frequent goofiness of the Original Series sometimes obscured the fact that it was often dealing in strong sci-fi concepts and attempting serious philosophical musing. There was even a high-falutin' pretension to some of the episode titles, like season 3's 'For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky'. So, while in a post- Star Wars world, a straight-up space adventure might have seemed the no-brainer way to approach a Star Trek movie, you can see how Gene Roddenberry would have been more attracted to trying to do Kubrick's 2001 . Years in development, and at one point conceived as a new TV series before flipping back to film again, Robert Wise's film has been dubbed the Slow-Motion Picture by wags, and there's no denying its ponderousness. But where it achieves what it's aiming for is in the sequences designed to inspire absolute awe in the viewer – the early reveal of the new Enterprise in space dock, or Spock's solo float through the unbelievably vast V-Ger ship. It isn't to everyone's taste, it arguably doesn't make the best use of its cast, there's not much action and the new uniforms look awful. But there's a tone and ambition to The Motion Picture that's unique in Trek.

9. Star Trek: Generations

9. Star Trek: Generations

The long-heralded meeting of the generations kind of delivers on its promise, but instead of being great, it's only… fine. Part of the problem with Generations is its set-up, which shunts Kirk off into the time-defying Nexus. The plot device that gets him across the generations leaves all his own crew behind, meaning that the Original Series cast get cameos at best. Nimoy isn't in it at all. So, it's essentially a Next Generation movie with Shatner in it – less Enterprise meets Enterprise, more Picard meets Kirk. There are some Klingon shenanigans (hello TNG stalwarts Lursa and B'Etor), a wry Malcom McDowell is a solid principal villain, and the Enterprise is destroyed (again). But it never feels like the event it should, and Kirk's death, which ought to have been momentous, is badly fumbled; compare it to Spock's death in Wrath Of Khan and it's simply a shrug. Shatner was miffed enough that he brought Kirk back from the dead in a series of novels.

Star Trek: Insurrection

8. Star Trek: Insurrection

Of all the Star Trek films, Insurrection feels the most like a standard episode of the TV series (in this case, the Next Generation). The budget is obviously bigger, the screen wider, the effects more impressive, but strip those elements away and the story would barely have played any differently on the small screen. It's much lighter in tone than its immediate predecessor, First Contact , and therefore feels less consequential. But still enjoyable for all that. Largely a character piece focused on Data – as the Next Gen films increasingly were – it involves the Enterprise crew accidentally breaking Star Fleet's sacred Prime Directive of non-interference while on an observation mission on the peaceful backwoods planet Ba'Ku. The consequences draw the attention of the Son'A: Clive Barker-ish mummified aliens who keep themselves alive with frequent transplant surgery and are led by an unrecognisable F. Murray Abraham . The stakes are on the low side, but the set-pieces deliver. And you get to see Riker and Troi in the bath, if that's your thing.

7. Star Trek III: The Search For Spock

7. Star Trek III: The Search For Spock

Star Trek III can't help but feel smaller and less urgent than the extraordinary Wrath of Khan , and while clearly we want Spock back, this does feel like an entire film in the service of undoing Star Trek II 's most unforgettable moment. It's less flat-out and simply less fun than its predecessor, and that seems to be a deliberate choice: while not at Motion Picture levels of heaviness, it still seems to be aiming for more weight again. Leonard Nimoy directs – the first of many Trek cast members to make the transition to the other side of the camera – and he's clearly great at getting performances, but less sure-footed with pacing and action. And there's a lot of spoken exposition. The villains, too, don't seem as threatening, just a brigade of ornery Klingons, led, rather oddly, by comic actor Christopher Lloyd. You can argue that he wasn't Doc Brown yet, but he was the Reverend Jim. Even the destruction of the Enterprise doesn't quite have the impact that's intended (although maybe that's a function of our having seen it destroyed again so many times in the years since). Still, it's never less than enjoyable, particularly in the Bones Behaving Oddly strand that largely drives the story. This is amiable, watchable Trek , and sometimes that's enough.

6. Star Trek Beyond

6. Star Trek Beyond

After the misfire of Into Darkness , the clear mission here was simple: forget fan-pleasing that pleases no one, and deliver a straight ahead brand new Star Trek adventure with the characters we know and love, untethered from any weight of continuity or dour intertextual engagement with past glories. Beyond is a breath of fresh air and, creatively, a huge success, benefitting from the gonzo energy of multiple Fast & Furious movie director Justin Lin . Simon Pegg 's Scotty emerges as perhaps the film's MVP (odd that, considering he co-wrote it), and is given an amusing double-act with newcomer alien scavenger Sofia Boutella ("Beats and shouting!"). And Idris Elba is a solid villain, although you might wish the new series would play a different bad guy card than 'grudge against Starfleet'. Still, it's all such a blast that it's hard to mind too much, especially during the air-punching callback to the 2009 film's use of the Beastie Boys' 'Sabotage'.

5. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

5. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Aka 'the one with the whales'. A family-friendly, fish-out-of-water comedy adventure, almost entirely set on (at the time) present-day Earth, intent on delivering an environmental message and with no real villain to speak of. An Enterprise crew who don't even have an Enterprise… Star Trek IV shouldn't work, but somehow it's one of the best, and certainly most beloved, films of the series. Maybe that's about its accessibility: it's Trek enough for fans, but un-Trekky enough to tempt the unconvinced. The comedy is great (particularly thanks to the revived Spock, whose befuddled weirdness goes barely remarked in 20th century San Francisco); the extended cast all get decent stuff to do (think Chekov's side-mission to find a 'nuclear wessel'); and Shatner gets a love interest that doesn't play as creepy. The whole film is like a warm hug. Is it Star Trek ? It seems from this evidence that Star Trek is whatever Star Trek says it is.

Star Trek - Chris Pine

4. Star Trek (2009)

Star Trek 's big comeback was a reboot and an origin story, re-casting the Original Series crew and telling the story of their first mission aboard the Enterprise, not long out of Star Fleet Academy. The surprise is the extent to which it's also Star Trek 11 : smartly setting up a branching timeline that allows it to remain canonical even as it contradicts the Trek that's gone before. It has its gagh and eats it too. Leonard Nimoy cameos as the Spock we already know, and the new cast ( Chris Pine , Zachary Quinto , Karl Urban , Zoe Saldana , Simon Pegg) do a great job at making their iconic roles feel both familiar and fresh. It's an energetic, colourful, pacy film, revelling in joyful nostalgia and a deep love for these characters. It's just a pity that, with the focus on building the team, Eric Bana 's villain ends up a bit sidelined. Even while he's destroying planets, he's somehow no Khan.

3. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

3. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

The near-disaster of Star Trek V almost killed the franchise, so VI was returned to the safe hands of Nicholas Meyer, who'd previously snatched The Wrath Of Khan from the jaws of The Motion Picture . It doesn't quite hit Khan levels of excellence, but it does give the series its best villain since Montalban, in Christopher Plummer 's raging, Shakespeare-quoting Klingon general: a monomaniacal Ahab whose white whale is Kirk. Epic in scale, taking place across multiple ships and planets, the film's main plot hook is nevertheless a more intimate murder mystery, so there's room for character moments and effective storytelling. The obvious advancing age of the principals is explicitly acknowledged (adorably, the climax of the film genuinely rests on whether a portly old man can run up some stairs). And the wider context of peace negotiations between the Federation and the Klingon Empire serves to bridge the gap between The Original Series and the just-starting Next Generation , making this arguably a more effective handover than Generations. While some of the principal cast would return for guest appearances, either in subsequent films or on the small-screen Next Generation and Deep Space Nine , The Undiscovered Country feels valedictory, the last true hurrah of the original Enterprise crew.

2. Star Trek: First Contact

2. Star Trek: First Contact

With the Borg the stand-out villains of The Next Generation – they even assimilated Picard in a fantastic end-of-season cliffhanger – their progression to a big-screen face-off was almost inevitable. The results in First Contact make it one of Trek 's nailed-on classics. The implacable Borg's Giger-ish design and body-horror vibe don't necessarily quite gel with the Star Trek ethos, but the film balances those elements with some wide-eyed Roddenberry-ish wonder in a plot about humankind reaching for the stars: specifically the first Warp flight. Some have questioned the introduction of the Borg Queen – they were a terrifying hive mind but now they've got a leader? – but logic aside, she's an undeniably great character, played with insidious relish by the otherworldly Alice Krige. The scenes where she's tempting Data are hugely compelling, circling around one of those big sci-fi ideas that Trek loves and addresses so well: an android choosing to be human.

1. Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan

1. Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan

The film that ensured Star Trek 's future. A major regrouping and rethinking following The Motion Picture , it's thrilling, breathlessly action-packed, and emotionally hefty. The Motion Picture really only had a mystery, but The Wrath of Khan gives the Enterprise crew a truly credible – even frightening – adversary in Ricardo Montalban's aggrieved superhuman, and there's no greater illustration of how genuinely high the stakes of this film are than one of the main cast having to die: the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few. It's a straight-up, knock-down brawl across the galaxy, weaving in lore from deep Star Trek cuts but never alienating a non-expert audience (it's a sequel to a season 1 episode, but you don't really need to have seen 'Space Seed' to get immediately on board). There are new crew members - notably Kirstie Alley's Vulcan Saavik - but The Wrath of Khan proves that the legacy players are far from done, even as the film sweetly acknowledges their lengthening teeth (and faltering eyesight). And there is, of course, that Shatner moment ("KHAAAAAAAAN!"), reminding us that, while there are other space adventure franchises, there are some things that are just uniquely, gloriously Trek . Of all the films we have encountered in our Star Trek travels, this was the most… human.

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All Star Trek Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

Star Trek (2009) is back in theaters for Rotten Tomatoes’ 25th anniversary screening series at AMC — get tickets now !

We’re boldly ranking the Star Trek movies by Tomatometer, from the original film series (1979’s The Motion Picture to The Undiscovered Country ), into the handoff to films featuring the Next Generation cast ( Generations to Nemesis ), and through to the reboot series (2009’s Trek to Beyond ). – Alex Vo

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Star Trek (2009) 94%

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Star Trek: First Contact (1996) 93%

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Star Trek Beyond (2016) 87%

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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) 87%

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Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) 84%

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Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) 83%

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Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) 82%

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Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) 78%

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Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) 55%

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Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) 53%

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Star Trek Generations (1994) 48%

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Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) 38%

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Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) 21%

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All The Star Trek Movies, Ranked

This is my definitive list.

William Shatner screaming as Kirk in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

There are so many Star Trek movies to enjoy -- 13, to be exact, and soon we’ll have 14 when Michelle Yeoh’s Section 31 movie is available for those with a Paramount+ subscription -- but which among them are the best of the best? That’s what I’m tasked with deciding here today, and I can certainly say there are some I like more than others. 

Opinion, by its nature, is subjective. I’m not sure I’ve seen any Star Trek fan with an identical top list of movies online, but I will say I enjoy most every Trek series I’ve watched. Therefore I wouldn’t expect this lineup to be too controversial, but I’ve been surprised before. Let’s dive in, and boldly go and make a definitive ruling on where each Star Trek series belongs. 

13. Star Trek: Generations (1994)

It’s a shame that Star Trek: Generations is near-universally panned as the worst of the Star Trek movies. Seeing Patrick Stewart ’s Jean-Luc Picard and William Shatner ’s James T. Kirk team up should unquestionably be the greatest thing that ever happened to the franchise. Unfortunately, the movie wasn’t quite all that, and what should’ve been a great introduction to The Next Generation crew making the transition from television to movies is a sloppy movie that delivered one of the most controversial moments in the sci-fi series’ history.

The movie killed off Captain Kirk by having him fall from a collapsing catwalk. I get that death comes for anyone in unexpected ways but in a scripted movie? They could’ve done better even if William Shatner had his reasons for how it was done. Still, the unique time travel elements and story has given this movie its fair share of fans over the years, so I’d say it’s still worth a watch. It wouldn’t be my first, second, or even 12th choice though, hence its rating on the list. 

Watch Star Trek: Generations On Max

12. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

William Shatner has undoubtedly played a big part in Star Trek ’s early success. While his acting work as Captain Kirk will live on for decades, the same can’t be said for his directing. That may sound harsh to say, but when Shatner himself admitted directing Star Trek V: The Final Frontier was a mistake , it’s kind of hard not to agree with him.   

I don’t think it’s unfair to say Star Trek V: The FInal Frontier is the worst of the TOS movies, especially after the streak of movies that came before it. With that said, had it not been for this movie, we wouldn’t have gotten the subplot in Strange New Worlds with Spock running into his half-brother Sybok’s lover Angel , who I do hope we’ll see at a later date. 

Watch Star Trek V: The Final Frontier On Max

11. Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

Star Trek: Nemesis was, in many ways, a failure. The movie did not perform at the box office like previous movies and ultimately encouraged Paramount to go in another direction with its franchise. Critics panned the movie, and even the cast of The Next Generation was not a fan of the final project. In fact, it was why actress Marina Sirtis was grateful for Star Trek: Picard Season 3 years later, as she felt the cast was robbed of a proper send-off.  

The Next Generation crew dealing with a clone of Picard in control of the Reman people, played by a young Tom Hardy , sounds awesome. In execution, the whole thing fell flat. Even the memorable parts have aged poorly. Data, for example, was resurrected in Picard , killed, and then resurrected again. In fairness, Star Trek fans were glad to see him back in the mix again, but if they’re thrilled about a retcon to something established in Star Trek: Nemesis , it may speak to their overall enjoyment of the movie as a whole. 

Watch Star Trek: Nemesis On Max

10. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

A lot of the older generation would rank Star Trek: The Motion Picture a lot higher than I have, and I think it's a matter of experience. Those who lived through the cancellation of the original series, only to see it return to the big screen after success in syndication? It was a huge coup for a new fandom, and the beginning of great things to come. 

I’m of the mind that Star Trek: The Motion Picture has gotten a bad rap as it aged, and suffered from being the first movie in the franchise ever made. There’s no way for younger generations to understand just how awesome it was to see the Enterprise from front to back. I still can appreciate it, but even the brutality of the transporter accident can’t stop me from glancing at the time on my phone while watching.  

Watch Star Trek: The Motion Picture On Max

9. Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

If there was a list of sins a Star Trek movie could commit to gain the ire of the fandom, Star Trek Into Darkness created perhaps the biggest. Trying to recreate a storyline involving Khan, the most notable villain of TOS , was going to set a high bar. 

Of course, these are the feelings of someone who is a true blue Star Trek fan. The mass audience reception to Star Trek Into Darkness was pretty good, and people were all about Benedict Cumberbatch as a villain. Even so, it wasn’t worthy of comparison to Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan , which is hard to ignore. 

Watch Star Trek Into Darkness On Paramount+

8. Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)

Star Trek: Insurrection had the impossible task of following up First Contact , which proved to be a huge challenge. Additionally, Paramount was interested in switching up the tone to something lighter than the previous movie, so the challenge to deliver to producers and audiences was high. 

Insurrection feels like a long episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. That's not a terrible thing, but when it comes to movies, the bar should be a bit higher than what audiences can already view on television. Frankly, Insurrection doesn't prove to be more entertaining than the best of TNG . 

Watch Star Trek: Insurrection On Max

7. Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (1984)

Similar to Star Trek: Insurrection , The Search For Spock had the insurmountable challenge of following up the greatest movie to date. Perhaps even worse, the third TOS movie had to reverse the heart-wrenching death of Spock in a way that didn't upset audiences. 

I think it's fair to say the latter goal was a success, but is rescuing Spock's spirit from Bones' mind as thrilling as a face-off with Khan? It is not, but it's still a decent movie, and one worthy of its middling status in this ranking. 

Watch Star Trek III: The Search For Spock On Max

6. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

In hindsight, maybe Nicholas Meyer should've helmed all the Star Trek TOS movies. One can't help but wonder what these movies might've looked like had he kept runnings things post Wrath Of Khan . 

The Undiscovered Country , I think is a look at what could have been, and it's pretty damn promising. Of course, having big stars like Kim Cattrall and Christopher Plummer only bolster the enjoyment of a movie that feels like a return to form for the classic Enterprise crew, right before sending them off into the sunset. 

Watch Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country On Max

5. Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Star Trek Beyond is the newest film in the franchise, as Hollywood struggles to try and make a fourth installment in the Kelvin timeline. Fortunately, if there's never another one, the third movie is a delightful send-off to the Kelvin crew and all they accomplished, after Star Trek Into Darkness left a sour taste in my mouth, Beyond is the perfect palette cleanser. 

If there is any part of Star Trek Beyond that isn’t enjoyable, it’s that the entire crew doesn’t spend a ton of time together. Instead, they’re sectioned off with their own respective storylines, which worked well for the actors and their increased fame. Unfortunately, it feels like if they had found time to do more scenes with the entire ensemble, this might’ve been the best movie of the Kelvin timeline. 

Watch Star Trek Beyond On Paramount+

4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

The whale one? Yes, the whale one. It's always fun when a Star Trek project travels back to our present timeline, if only to remind us how strange our world would be to them, and how strange they'd be to us. 

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is funny, wholesome, and a good time all at once. It's not the best TOS film, but it's pretty high up there in comparison to everything else that was released. 

Watch Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home On Max

3. Star Trek (2009)

J.J. Abrams ’ 2009 re-imagining of Star Trek isn’t just a great movie, it could be the most significant film in the history of the franchise. The Next Generation crew’s set of movies didn’t perform quite as well as the TOS movies, and Enterprise was the last Trek series in five years leading up to this film. Had this re-imagining of Star Trek in another timeline flopped, the franchise might’ve died. 

Fortunately, that didn’t happen, and the more action-driven narratives of the movie bled into the new generation of Star Trek shows. While there are critics of the modern style of storytelling and increased action, the fact that there are plenty of upcoming Trek shows in the pipeline and people still clamoring for a fourth installment of the Kelvin movies. 

Watch Star Trek On Paramount+

2. Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

Star Trek: The Next Generation didn’t have as much success critically or financially as the TOS movies, but it still managed to make one of the best movies the franchise has ever delivered. First Contact is required viewing for any Star Trek fan, especially those who wish to see the origin of how the story of mankind’s massive leap into space exploration came to be. 

The success of the movie solidified Jonathan Frakes status as a reputed director, and he’s gone on to play a big part in directing episodes of Star Trek ’s new era. This is a movie that I would say is so good, it appeals to even the non- Star Trek fans despite being heavily entrenched in the lore of The Next Generation . For that reason, it’s ranked among the very best. 

Watch Star Trek: First Contact On Max

1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

I spent far too many years having not seen Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan , but after seeing it for the first time , I can see the hype. I don’t think there’s any real dispute this is the best film in the franchise, as much as I love First Contact . Seeing James T. Kirk in the Captain’s chair in a battle of wits against a former villain from the series is not only captivating, it’s “fascinating,” as Spock would say.

Speaking of Spock, it's his noble sacrifice that lays out the entire theme of the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few. A dark ending, to be sure, though of course, we all know Spock didn't stay dead! This, plus the fantastic showdown between Kirk and Khan make this the definitive best Star Trek movie, hands down. 

Watch Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan On Max

Currently, the Star Trek movies are available to stream either over on Max or Paramount+. It’s really convenient for anyone who wants to make their own ranking list of the movies, though I’d like to think no one can do it better than I just did. 

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Mick Joest

Mick Joest is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend with his hand in an eclectic mix of television goodness. Star Trek is his main jam, but he also regularly reports on happenings in the world of Star Trek, WWE, Doctor Who, 90 Day Fiancé, Quantum Leap, and Big Brother. He graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Radio and Television. He's great at hosting panels and appearing on podcasts if given the chance as well.

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Star Trek (film franchise)

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Star Trek is the cinematic branch of the Star Trek media franchise it began in 1979 with Star Trek: The Motion Picture and had 5 sequels, forming a six film saga.

In 1994 William Shatner played a supporting role in Star Trek Generations , symbolically passing the torch to Patrick Stewart , the Captain of the Next Generation to takeover the film franchise. It was followed by three sequels, First Contact , Insurrection and Nemesis .

In 2009 Bad Robot Productions produced a reboot simply titled Star Trek . It featured Leonard Nimoy in a supporting role to symbolicly pass the torch to a younger cast playing original series characters. It was followed by two sequels, Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond , in the years since the franchise has returned to television.

  • 1 The Original Series Films (1979-1991)
  • 2 The Next Generation Films (1994-2002)
  • 3 Bad Robot Trilogy (2009-2016)

The Original Series Films (1979-1991) [ ]

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The Next Generation Films (1994-2002) [ ]

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Bad Robot Trilogy (2009-2016) [ ]

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Timeline [ ]

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

  • 1 Connor Reed

Screen Rant

Chris pine's star trek movies explained.

Chris Pine stars as Captain James T. Kirk in J.J. Abrams' Kelvin Timeline Star Trek reboot movies, including Into Darkness and Star Trek: Beyond.

  • Chris Pine stars as Captain James T. Kirk in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek reboot movies, which revitalized the franchise after previous films failed to perform.
  • The success of Abrams' Star Trek trilogy showed that iconic roles like Kirk and Spock could be successfully recast, inspiring new Star Trek series.
  • Chris Pine's Star Trek movies can be streamed on Paramount+ and other services, and they are also available for rent on various platforms.

Chris Pine stars as Captain James T. Kirk in the Star Trek reboot movies produced by J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions, also known as the Kelvin Timeline movies. Abrams reinvigorated the Star Trek brand with his 2009 film about characters from Star Trek: The Original Series, after the fourth Star Trek: The Next Generation movie, Star Trek: Nemesis , failed to perform at the box office amidst dismal reviews from critics and fans alike.

In addition to Chris Pine's Kirk, Abrams' Star Trek movies cast Zachary Quinto as Mr. Spock, Zoe Saldaña as Lt. Nyota Uhura, Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, John Cho as Hikaru Sulu, Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov, and Leonard Nimoy as Ambassador Spock. The success of Abrams' Star Trek trilogy proved that the franchise could successfully recast iconic roles like Kirk and Spock, and Abrams' films inspired the cinema-quality visuals of Star Trek: Discovery and the new wave of Star Trek series on Paramount+ from 2017 into the present day.

Star trek 2009 spock kirk enterprise

Star Trek 2009 Ending Explained

How many chris pine star trek movies are there.

Chris Pine as Kirk and promotional artwork for Star Trek Beyond

There are three Star Trek movies starring Chris Pine. Star Trek (2009) is an introduction to the new cinematic series, as Pine's James Kirk and Zachary Quinto's Mr. Spock come together to save the day despite their fiercely clashing philosophies, with Leonard Nimoy's Ambassador Spock passing the proverbial torch to his younger self. Star Trek: Into Darkness sees Starfleet take extraordinary means to increase its defenses in the wake of the previous film's conflicts, with Benedict Cumberbatch as the villainous Khan Noonien Singh . In Star Trek: Beyond (2016), the Enterprise crew faces off against brand-new enemy Krall (Idris Elba), with help from newcomer Jaylah (Sofia Boutella).

Where To Watch Chris Pine’s Star Trek Movies

Chris Pine as Kirk and the cast of Star Trek

Chris Pine's Star Trek movies can be watched on limited streaming services and are also available to rent online. In North America, Great Britain, Europe, and Australia, all three Chris Pine Star Trek movies are available to stream for subscribers on Paramount+, and services that have a Paramount+ channel, like Apple TV+, Amazon Prime, Roku (US) and Binge (Australia). In the United States, Star Trek (2009) is also on Hulu, and Star Trek: Into Darkness is also on DIRECTV. Star Trek movies starring Chris Pine are available to rent on Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube, Amazon Prime, and Microsoft Movies, as well as region-specific video rental services like Sky and Rakuten in the UK and Cineplex Store in Canada.

Kelvin Timeline In Chris Pine's Star Trek Movies Explained

William Shatner Kirk Chris pine kirk Star trek earth

The timeline that Chris Pine's Star Trek movies take place in is known as the Kelvin Timeline, to differentiate it from the Prime Timeline that the Star Trek TV shows and all the films prior to 2009's reboot take place in. The Kelvin Timeline so named because of its inflection point, in which the USS Kelvin is destroyed by the time-traveling Romulan ship Narada. James Kirk's father, George (Chris Hemsworth), goes down with the Kelvin, so Chris Pine's Kirk never knows his father, and grows up to be a very different character from the James Kirk played by William Shatner in Star Trek: The Original Series.

In previous time travel stories in Star Trek , alternate realities are created when a point of divergence creates a new, branching timeline, but the Kelvin Timeline doesn't work that way. Instead, the Narada's appearance 150 years in the past creates a ripple effect that reverberates throughout the Kelvin Timeline, causing changes to both its past and its future. This means even events prior to the inflection point may be different from those in Star Trek: The Original Series, allowing for narrative changes such as Chris Pine's Kirk being born in space instead of Iowa, and an in-universe explanation of the updated production design not matching the 1960s aesthetic from TOS.

Will There Be Star Trek 4 Starring Chris Pine?

Chris Pine as Kirk, with Star Trek Beyond and Star Trek Bridge Crew artwork

There's certainly interest in seeing Chris Pine's Captain Kirk back on the silver screen, but creative differences and scheduling conflicts have prevented Star Trek 4 from being realized. Between 2016 and 2020, three different scripts were written. Quentin Tarantino's gangster-inspired Star Trek film was a tonal departure that never took off. The father-son story between Pine's James Kirk and Chris Hemsworth's George Kirk was slashed after Star Trek: Beyond 's disappointing box office figures. Noah Hawley's third version of Star Trek 4 left the Kelvin Timeline behind , projecting a new direction for the franchise, but was also shelved in 2020.

The success of new Star Trek TV series like Star Trek: Discovery reinvigorated audience interest as well as Paramount's faith in Star Trek . A new version of Star Trek 4 was announced at a Paramount investor event in February 2022, with several actors set to return, including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Zoe Saldaña. With a release date set for June (later December) 2023, it looked like Star Trek 4 might finally be made, but director Matt Shakman's departure from the project in spring 2022 left Star Trek 4 adrift. As of October 2023, plans for a fourth Star Trek movie with Chris Pine remain nebulous at best, but there's still hope as the studio continues its search for a director.

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What Happened to Tarantino’s ‘Star Trek’ Film? Every Detail About His Canceled Pitch

By Zack Sharf

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Quentin Tarantino Star Trek

Paramount confirmed this week that “WandaVision” director Matt Shakman will head into production on a new “ Star Trek ” movie later this year with Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho and Simon Pegg reprising their roles for a fourth go-around on the big screen. For Quentin Tarantino fans, the news is the latest reminder that the Oscar winner’s “Stark Trek” movie remains dead. At least for now.

Tarantino fans were sent into a frenzy in late 2017 after it was announced that Paramount and “Star Trek” producer J.J. Abrams loved Tarantino’s pitch for a new “Star Trek” movie and were assembling a writers room to flesh out the idea. Tarantino ultimately partnered with “The Revenant” screenwriter Mark L. Smith, who was tasked with writing a “Star Trek” film script based on Tarantino’s idea while Tarantino was busy finishing post-production and touring the world for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”

Smith revealed on the  “Bulletproof Screenwriting” podcast in August 2021 that J.J. Abrams’ production company Bad Robot gave him a call on Tarantino’s behalf.

“They just called me and said, ‘Hey, are you up for it? Do you want to go? Quentin wants to hook up.’ And I said, ‘Yeah,’” the screenwriter said. “And that was the first day I met Quentin, in the room and he’s reading a scene that he wrote and it was this awesome, cool gangster scene, and he’s acting it out and back and forth. I told him, I was so mad I didn’t record it on my phone. It would be so valuable. It was amazing.”

Tarantino intended to bring a “Pulp Fiction” vibe to “Star Trek” with an idea that was a largely earthbound story set in a 1930s gangster setting. Tarantino’s pitch appeared to take inspiration from “A Piece of the Action,” the 17th episode of the second season of “Star Trek: The Original Series.” The installment, which aired in 1968, followed the Enterprise crew as they visit a planet with an Earth-like 1920s gangster culture.

Smith told “Bulletproof Screenwriting” that the screenwriting process started almost immediately after he agreed to work with Tarantino, adding, “I would go hang out at his house one night and we would watch old gangster films. We were there for hours…We were just kicking back watching gangster films, laughing at the bad dialogue, but talking about how it would bleed into what we wanted to do.”

According to Smith, Tarantino’s “Star Trek” idea was “really wild” and like “its own very cool episode.” The plot included “a little time travel stuff going on” and “had a lot of fun” with Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk. Tarantino fans expected the director to go all in on Pine considering Tarantino’s outspoken love for the actor. Tarantino has called the Pine-starring “Unstoppable” one of his favorite action films, and he had nothing but raves for Pine’s performance as Kirk in the 2009 “Star Trek” reboot

“I thought Chris Pine did a fantastic job, not just playing Capt. Kirk but playing William Shatner’s captain — he is William Shatner,” Tarantino once told MTV. “He’s not just another guy, he’s William Shatner’s Capt. Kirk. And Zachary Quinto is literally Leonard Nimoy’s — because they both have the same scene together — he’s his Spock. They fucking nail it. They just nail it.”

Tarantino’s “Star Trek” was widely believed to be rated R, although it was never confirmed. Fans expected the R-rating given the graphic nature of Tarantino’s movies. It was also never confirmed that Tarantino would direct the script himself. Tarantino has maintained that he is retiring from feature filmmaking after his 10th directorial effort, which means he only has one movie left to make, post-“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Fans questioned whether or not Tarantino would want an IP-based movie like “Star Trek” to be his curtain call.

Tarantino revealed to Consequence of Sound in December 2019 that he was “steering away” from directing the “Trek” movie. A final blow arrived in January 2020 when Tarantino confirmed , “I think they might make that movie, but I just don’t think I’m going to direct it. It’s a good idea. They should definitely do it and I’ll be happy to come in and give them some notes on the first rough cut.”

After Justin Lin’s 2016 entry “Star Trek Beyond” underwhelmed at the box office with less than $400 million worldwide, Paramount put a pause on the film franchise as it figured out what to do next. Tarantino and Smith’s script was one of three potential “Star Trek” films in development at the same time. “Fargo” and “Legion” creator Noah Hawley was working on his own “Star Trek” film that was to feature a new cast, while Paramount was also developing a more traditional sequel to “Beyond” with the same cast. Filmmaker S.J. Clarkson was attached to this third “Trek” idea for a time.

The “Star Trek” announcement this week confirmed that a “Beyond” sequel with the returning cast is officially a go. Paramount announced in July 2021 that Shakman was hired to helm a new “Star Trek” movie, the cast for which was unclear at the time. Shakman is a prolific television director with credits that include “WandaVision,” “Six Feet Under,” “House,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “Game of Thrones” and “Succession.” He’s only directed one previous feature, the 2015 indie “Cut Bank” with Liam Hemsworth and Billy Bob Thornton.

As reported by Variety , Paramount did market research to determine whether or not there was still audience interest in Chris Pine and the 2009 reboot cast given the long wait period between “Beyond” and a new “Trek” film. Insiders said that studio executives determined there was still lasting audience enthusiasm for Pine, Quinto and the rest of the cast, which allowed the studio to feel comfortable with moving forward with bringing them back.

One person most likely relieved that Paramount is moving ahead on a “Star Trek” movie without Tarantino is Rod Roddenberry, son of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry and the CEO of Roddenberry Entertainment. Roddenberry, who serves as an executive producer on several “Star Trek” series on Paramount Plus (“Star Trek: Discovery,” “Star Trek: Picard,” “Star Trek: Lower Decks,” etc.), told Forbes in September 2021 that he had mixed feelings on Tarantino coming into the “Star Trek” fold.

“I struggle with that because the way I’m pretty myopic with the way I see ‘Star Trek,’” Roddenberry said when asked about Tarantino’s “Star Trek” idea. “I mentioned that I grew up with fans coming up to me out saying how ‘Star Trek’ inspired them and gave them hope for the future. It’s the optimism and the messaging in there that make ‘Star Trek’ what it was. I truly believe that. If you create a ‘Star Trek,’ that is just action; that is not ‘Star Trek,’ in my opinion. That’s what makes it different than ‘Star Wars,’ and I love ‘Star Wars,’ but they can both coexist. And I love Tarantino’s work and the kind of films that he does. I am trying to have an open mind.”

Roddenberry continued, “I would be curious to read a script on his take. I do not think you could say we’re going to do a ‘Reservoir Dog-Star Trek.’ I’ll be honest, that doesn’t work for me, but he is a fan, and I think as a fan, he probably understands to some degree that ‘Star Trek’ has to have some of this messaging.”

Production on the Tarantino-less new “Star Trek” movie will begin later this year.

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8 Star Trek Things To Look Forward To In 2024

  • Star Trek fans have a lot to look forward to in 2024, with virtual and in-person conventions, Star Trek Day, podcasts, and new series announcements.
  • Despite uncertainties, the production of Star Trek: Section 31 and Lower Decks Season 5 are progressing smoothly.
  • The final season of Star Trek: Discovery is set to premiere in April 2024, marking the end of Captain Burnham's voyages.

Star Trek has a big 2024 on tap, and here are 8 things to look forward to from the final frontier this year. Although the dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes halted Hollywood production and the ability of talent and creatives to promote their work for much of 2023, Star Trek had a phenomenal year. Star Trek: Picard season 3, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, and Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4 released a cumulative 30 episodes, were highly acclaimed as some of the most innovative Star Trek in years, and many episodes charted in the Nielsen streaming Top 10. All in all, 2023 was a great year to be a Star Trek fan.

Significant questions loom over Star Trek in 2024, however. Paramount may be up for sale, which would certainly impact Star Trek on Paramount+'s various series and projects. There remains no new Star Trek theatrical movie in development, going on 8 years since Star Trek Beyond hit theaters in the summer of 2016. And there is no indication that Paramount+ will greenlight Star Trek: Picard 's proposed spinoff, Star Trek: Legacy , in spite of the same type of dedicated fan campaign that helped Star Trek: Prodigy jump to Netflix after it was canceled by Paramount+. The WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes also delayed production of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, which likely won't premiere until 2025. Still, Star Trek has a massive 2024 planned , and here are 8 things for fans to be excited about.

10 Things We Want From Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3

Star trek has amazing podcasts, the 7th rule, the shuttlepod show, inglorious treksperts, the delta flyers, and more.

Star Trek has podcasts to satisfy every type of fan , and they're available to watch on YouTube or stream wherever you get your podcasts. Walter Koenig joins The 7th Rule with Cirroc Lofton and Ryan T. Husk to discuss his episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series. The Delta Flyers: Through The Wormhole added Terry Farrell and Armin Shimerman, who join Star Trek: Voyager 's Garrett Wang and Robert Duncan McNeill to review episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nin e. Inglorious Treksperts hosts Mark A. Altman and Daren Dochterman continue their unrivaled expertise of classic Star Trek with podcasts and live panel shows. Sadly, The Shuttlepod Show 's co-host Dominic Keating has left the podcast, but hosts and producers Connor Trinneer, Erica LaRose, and Mark J. Cartier will continue to dive deep into the lives and careers of their illustrious Star Trek guests. Star Trek fans have a wealth of podcasts to enjoy in 2024, with new episodes weekly.

Walter Koenig Interview: Star Trek The Original Series & The 7th Rule Podcast

Star trek virtual & in-person conventions, trektalks, virtual trek con 5, the llapy awards, stlv, and more.

Star Trek has a connection to its fans unlike any other in entertainment, and thanks to the various Star Trek conventions, both virtual and in-person, Star Trek fans have the privilege and ability to meet and hear from their favorite talent and creatives. Star Trek essentially pioneered the fan convention and 2024 kicks off with two huge virtual events: TrekTalks 3 , hosted by John Billingsley of Star Trek: Enterprise and Bonnie Gordon of Star Trek: Prodigy, streams live on YouTube on January 13th with a full day of panels featuring over 30 Star Trek guests, all to benefit the Hollywood Food Coalition. TrekTalks 3 will also feature a can't-miss Star Trek: Picard season 3 panel.

Virtual Trek Con 5 , from Cirroc Lofton of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Ryan T. Husk, and The 7th Rule podcast, streams on YouTube from February 15-19 with 4 days of Star Trek panels with numerous special guests. VTC5 is capped off by the 3rd annual LLAPy Awards , the only Star Trek awards show voted on by fans , which streams live on YouTube on Sunday, February 19. For in-person Star Trek cons, two of the biggest are Creation Entertainments ST:SF in San Francisco in March and STLV: Trek to Vegas in Las Vegas in August, both featuring dozens of Star Trek talent. And, with no strikes this year, Star Trek on Paramount+ will no doubt return once again with huge panels at San Diego Comic-Con in July and New York Comic-Con in October.

Star Trek Day 2024

Star trek celebrates the franchise in person again.

2023 sadly saw Paramount+'s annual in-person Star Trek Day event canceled because of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Since 2021, Star Trek Day has been a celebration of the franchise bringing together talent and creatives from Star Trek on Paramount+'s series and Star Trek 's legacy shows and films. Held at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles and streamed on Paramount+ and Star Trek 's social channels, Star Trek Day is expected to return in September 2024, with a likely agenda of honoring the departing Star Trek: Discovery and looking ahead to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 and more.

Screen Rant was on the red carpet for Star Trek Day 2022 .

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Announcements

Expect information about the newest star trek series.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy was announced by Paramount+ in April 2023, and nothing more is known about the newest upcoming Star Trek series besides the fact that Star Trek executive producer Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau ( Nancy Drew ) are the showrunners, and the writers' room includes Tawny Newsome of Star Trek: Lower Decks . 2024 should finally see more information about Starfleet Academy, which will hopefully announce the actors/characters of the show, and perhaps even confirm that Starfleet Academy is set after Star Trek: Discovery season 5 , as expected.

Star Trek: Section 31

Star trek's first made-for-streaming movie..

Announced in April 2023, Star Trek: Section 31 finally begins production from January to March in Toronto for a possible release in late 2024. Section 31 stars Academy Award-winner Michelle Yeoh , who reprises her Star Trek: Discovery anti-hero, Emperor Michelle Georgiou, and Yeoh used her clout from her Best Actress Oscar to ensure Section 31 is made. Star Trek: Section 31 is directed by Olutande Osunsanmi and written by Craig Sweeny, but nothing else is known about the first Star Trek movie made exclusively to stream on Paramount+ . Section 31 's potential success could lead to the plan for a new Star Trek streaming movie every 2 years to come to fruition. Even if Star Trek: Section 31 doesn't premiere in 2024, fans should at least finally learn what other characters are in the movie and what era of Star Trek Section 31 is set in.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5

Premieres in 2024 on paramount+..

Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4 may have been the animated comedy's best season yet, and hopes are high that Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 will top it. The SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes didn't affect the production of the animated series, and Star Trek: Lower Decks was able to complete its scripts, with 10 new episodes in production for the show's traditional late summer/early fall release date on Paramount+. Little is known about the stories planned for Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 and the newly-minuted junior Lieutenants of the USS Cerritos, except that there will be more exploration of the Orion culture through the eyes of former Lt. D'Vana Tendi (Noel Wells). And while there are fears that season 5 could be the last for Star Trek: Lower Decks, hopefully, the 2023 crossover with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds created more fans of Lower Decks, and creator Mike McMahan's hilarious animated show can continue for years to come.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 - The Final Season

Premieres april 2024 on paramount+..

The only live-action Star Trek series on Paramount+'s 2024 schedule, Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is the final season marking the end of the voyages of Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the USS Discovery. It was Star Trek: Discovery' s success on CBS All-Access, which became Paramount+, that led to Star Trek 's current TV renaissance. Although Discovery season 5 was not originally planned as the final season, following Paramount+ canceling the series in March 2023, reshoots were completed to turn Discovery 's season 5 finale into a proper ending for the entire series . Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is also a shift in tone to an Indiana Jones -like intergalactic treasure hunt adventure, according to Jonathan Frakes, who directs the penultimate episode of Discovery . Premiering in April 2024, Star Trek: Discovery will be the Star Trek event on Paramount+.

8 Star Trek: Discovery Things To Know Before Season 5

Star trek: prodigy season 2, premieres in 2024 on netflix.

With a huge global audience discovering the all-ages animated series on Netflix, Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 is possibly the most anticipated Star Trek event of 2024 . Netflix premiered Star Trek: Prodigy season 1 on Christmas Day, priming viewers new and old for 20 all-new Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 episodes from creators and showrunners Kevin and Dan Hageman and their team. Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 promises to go even bigger than season 1's high stakes, taking Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and the young ragtag former crew of the USS Protostar into an alternate 25th-century future and beyond. Star Trek: Prodigy season 2's massive scope will reportedly touch upon the entire Star Trek franchise, and the already-announced new castmember The Doctor (Robert Picardo) as well as the new USS Voyager-A are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the surprises, fun, and adventure Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 has in store.

Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Lower Decks are streaming on Paramount+. Star Trek: Prodigy is streaming on Netflix.

Star Trek: Discovery

Release Date: 2017-09-24

Cast: Sonequa Martin-Green, Rekha Sharma, Rainn Wilson, Maulik Pancholy, Doug Jones, James Frain, Anthony Rapp, Michelle Yeoh, Chris Obi, Jason Isaacs, Shazad Latif

Genres: Sci-Fi, Adventure, Drama

Story By: Bryan Fuller, Alex Kurtzman

Writers: Alex Kurtzman, Bryan Fuller

Streaming Service(s): Paramount+

Franchise(s): Star Trek

Directors: Olatunde Osunsanmi, Jonathan Frakes

Showrunner: Alex Kurtzman

Star Trek Lower Decks

Summary: The animated comedy seriesStar Trek: Lower Decks follows the support crew on one of Starfleets least significant ships, the U.S.S. Cerritos, in 2380. Ensigns Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Boimler (Jack Quaid), Rutherford (Eugene Cordero), and Tendi (Nol Wells) have to keep up with their duties and their social lives often. At the same time, the ship is being rocked by a multitude of sci-fi anomalies.

Release Date: 2020-08-06

Cast: Jack Quaid, Gillian Vigman, dawnn lewis, Noel Wells, Eugene Cordero, Fred Tatasciore, Jerry O'Connell, Tawny Newsome

Genres: Animation, Adventure, Action

Story By: gene roddenbury

Writers: Gene Roddenberry

Network: Paramount

Star Trek: Prodigy

Cast: Brett Gray, Kate Mulgrew, Ella Purnell

Release Date: 2021-10-28

Story By: Dan Hageman

Writers: Dan Hageman

Directors: Dan Hageman

Showrunner: Dan Hageman

8 Star Trek Things To Look Forward To In 2024

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Published Feb 25, 2024

Remembering Kenneth Mitchell, 1974 – 2024

StarTrek.com honors the late actor and his contributions to the Star Trek universe.

Kenneth Michell at the Star Trek: Discovery premiere

StarTrek.com

StarTrek.com is deeply saddened to report the passing of Kenneth Alexander Mitchell, who played the Klingons Kol, Kol-Sha, and Tenavik, as well as Aurellio, on Star Trek: Discovery . In addition, he voiced several voice characters in an episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks . Mitchell passed away at age 49 on February 24, 2024.

Born November 25, 1974, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Mitchell appeared in multiple films and television shows, including roles such as the father of super hero Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel and Olympic hopeful in Miracle . Other roles include turns on Jericho , The Astronaut Wives Club , Ghost Whisperer , and Switched at Birth .

As Kol, Mitchell hoped to bring a new perspective on Klingon culture to fans through his turn on Discovery . "Whether someone is good or bad is all about perspective, and it’s about understanding that culture," he told StarTrek.com in 2017. "You’ll get to know the Klingons on our show, and then people can decide if we really are the villains."

Mitchell is survived by his wife Susan May Pratt, and their two children. He requested that any gifts be directed towards amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research or in support of his children, Lilah and Kallum . 

The entire Star Trek family sends their condolences to Mitchell’s family, friends, loved ones, and fans around the world.

KENNETH A. MITCHELL 25.11.1974 ~ 24.02.2024 With heavy hearts we announce the passing of Kenneth Alexander Mitchell, beloved father, husband, brother, uncle, son and dear friend. pic.twitter.com/CdknbeFWQm — Kenneth Mitchell (@MrKenMitchell) February 25, 2024

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Star Trek: Deanna Troi’s 16 Best Quotes from the Franchise

The beloved half-Betazoid character is empathic, willful, playful, sarcastic, and wears her heart on her sleeve. Here are Deanna Troi's best quotes.

The space opera franchise Star Trek has been diligently building its fan base since 1966, introducing and developing more and more complex characters who embody its philosophy of inclusivity, diversity, and humanism. The captains of starships and space stations may have gotten the most attention, but their crew members are an integral part of their peregrinations, joys, and tragedies and have also left their mark. One such beloved officer is Deanna Troi, infamous leotard included .

Portrayed by Marina Sirtis , the character debuted in Star Trek: The Next Generation ’s ( TNG ) pilot episode, Encounter at Far Point , as Lieutenant Commander and Counselor aboard the USS Enterprise-D , the United Federation of Planets’ latest flagship. She is half-human, half-Betazoid, a humanoid species with large black irises from the planet Betazed, in the Alpha Quadrant, whose superpowers include telepathy and empathy .

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Deanna is the daughter of Lwaxana Troi (played by Majel Barrett), a verbose and eccentric Federation Ambassador with an exasperating tendency to meddle in people’s personal affairs; therefore, the mother-daughter dynamic is generally tense and complex in many episodes, but it also provides much-needed comedic relief, and the chemistry between the actresses is on point.

Besides TNG and its subsequent films, Star Trek Generations , First Contact , Insurrection , and Nemesis , Sirtis reprised her role in three episodes of Voyager ( VOY ), in Enterprise ’s ( ENT ) finale, and in Picard ( PIC ) and Lower Decks ( LD ). Here are some of Deanna Troi’s most memorable quotes from the franchise that best demonstrate her empathy, willfulness, determination, spontaneity, sarcasm, and playfulness.

16 "You know, there’s nothing wrong with a healthy fantasy life, as long as you don’t let it take over."

Hollow Pursuits episode in Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Hollow Pursuits" - Season 3, Episode 21

The 21st chapter of TNG ’s third season is among the funniest Star Trek episodes . It centers on the socially inept Lieutenant Reginald Barclay (Dwight Schultz), who has created a special Holodeck program as an outlet to ridicule the officers he is intimidated by and embellish and glorify the ones he is attracted to in various exaggerated simulations. Counselor Troi is among the characters Barclay obviously likes, as she has been treating his issues professionally.

In a classic case of transference, Barclay has highly sexualized Troi’s fantasy version, which shocks the unsuspecting officer as soon as she walks into the program. But, true to her mindful and empathetic nature, she gently tries to explain to her patient that a little fantasy is acceptable and even needed, as long as it doesn’t consume him and borders on obsession and disrespect.

15 "Timeline? Now is not the time to argue about time! We don’t have the time! What was I saying?"

Star Trek: First Contact

Star Trek: First Contact

Star trek: first contact (1996).

The Borg, a cybernetic army controlled by a manipulative Queen, are among the franchise’s most formidable opponents, abducting people from various species to assimilate them as their own and add their technology and knowledge to their collective hive mind. In the 1996 film First Contact , directed by Jonathan Frakes, who also plays First Officer William Riker, the crew of the USS Enterprise-E travels from the 24th to the 21st century through a temporal vortex to stop the Borg from assimilating Earth. They land on the day before the legendary Dr. Zefram Cochrane creates and operates a warp drive that grants starships super speed, thus enabling humans to come in contact with alien life.

Given her abilities, Troi is obviously among the landing party, and in her attempt to blend in with Cochrane and get him to trust her and spill information, she agrees to have some tequila with him, “the good stuff.” Riker finds them both drunk , and she tells him that they must clue Cochrane in about the Borg’s plan to stop him from achieving first contact. When Riker protests that in doing so, they would alter history and disturb the timeline, she argues with the aforementioned quote, one of the funniest in the franchise.

14 "If you’re looking for my professional opinion as ship’s counselor: he’s nuts!"

Marina Sirtis as a drunk Deann Troi in Star Trek: First Contact

Still in that same scene, Riker seems both amused and shocked by Troi’s uncharacteristic inebriety, but she asks him not to criticize her “counseling technique,” especially because Cochrane got a little too handsy with her.

When Riker wonders out loud whether Cochrane would be able to handle the truth, should they tell him what is really going on, she labels the eccentric genius “nuts” (something she would never normally do!), prompting Riker’s sarcastic reply, “I’ll be sure to note that in my log.”

Related: Star Trek: William Riker's 12 Best Quotes, Ranked

13 "Dreams are the royal road to the knowledge of the mind."

Star trek: the next generation - "phantasms" - season 7, episode 6.

In TNG ’s sixth episode from the seventh season, “Phantasms,” Lieutenant Commander Data, a synthetic lifeform with an impressive positronic brain played by Brent Spiner, starts experiencing strange nightmares straight out of a horror movie .

Citing Sigmund Freud, the Austrian neurologist who wrote “The Interpretation of Dreams,” Counselor Troi patiently explains to Data that dreams in general reflect the unconscious mind through symbolism and that he should embrace the experience. In doing so, she not only attempts to reassure the puzzled android, but also validates his sentience, as he has always aspired to emulate human behavior and customs.

In typical Troi insight, kindness, and levelheadedness, she also advises Data not to overanalyze every element in his nightmares, though.

Data: Perhaps Dr. Freud was correct. The knife I dreamed about is the embodiment of my unconscious desire to inflict violence. Troi: Data, even Freud said, “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”

12 "It must be like staring in a mirror at a reflection you don’t want to remember."

Star trek: voyager - "life line" - season 6, episode 24.

The Emergency Medical Hologram, simply known as The Doctor aboard the starship USS Voyager , is truly a one-of-a-kind digital creation. He thinks very highly of his medical abilities, has an acerbic sense of humor, and aspires to better himself by adding disciplines like opera and the theater to his features.

Played by Robert Picardo, a prolific character actor who doesn’t get enough credit , The Doctor came from the genius mind of Dr. Zimmerman, who made sure he looked exactly like him. Unfortunately, they both share a highly inflated ego, so it’s no wonder they butt heads in VOY ’s 24th episode from the sixth season, “Life Line.”

The Doctor asks to be sent 30,000 light years away to the Alpha Quadrant to treat his dying "father" and is horrified to find out that the latter considers his holographic model, the Mark I, only good enough for cleaning plasma conduits. They constantly argue and mock each other; consequently, Counselor Troi is asked to impart her professional wisdom on them. When she witnesses their obstinacy in person, she reminds Zimmerman, who is old and sick, that his anger and bitterness must stem from facing a younger and “healthier” version of himself in a model he considers obsolete and a failure.

star trek: voyager

Star Trek: Voyager

11 "i never met a chocolate i didn't like.".

Deanna Troi expresses her love of chocolate in Star Trek: The Next Generation's episode The Game

Star Trek: The Next Generation - "The Game" - Season 5, Episode 6

In the sixth episode of the fifth season, amid an alien infiltration of the ship, Riker catches Troi digging into a bowl of “chocolate ice cream, chocolate fudge, and chocolate chips,” and asks her if she is depressed and if she’d like him to leave them alone. His familiarity stems from their romantic feelings for each other; naturally, her next move is naturally to hand him a spoonful of her dessert, which he declines, as he doesn’t like fudge. To which she retorts by expressing her unconditional love for all types of chocolate.

This scene makes her particularly relatable to viewers. Between the alien hostility she has to help manage and the therapy sessions with other crew members, Troi is bound to tap into her human side by indulging in the comforting decadence of chocolate and chocolate-based desserts, whether digitally replicated or not.

10 "Do whatever you feel is necessary to protect the ship and the crew. But know this: I’m going to have this baby!"

Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation's episode The Child

Star Trek: The Next Generation - "The Child" - Season 2, Episode 1

The season-two premiere of TNG is considered one of Star Trek ’s most controversial episodes , as it features a non-corporeal entity impregnating an unsuspecting Troi in an attempt to experience an accelerated material life from gestation to maturity and death. Concerned about this new type of alien infiltration and the security risk it may pose, the crew proposes she terminates her pregnancy.

Though she didn’t give consent, her maternal instinct kicks in, and she refuses to comply, all the while acknowledging that the ship’s wellbeing is indeed primordial. She puts her foot down and firmly retorts that she will first see this pregnancy through, and only then will they decide what to do.

9 "Confidence is faith in oneself. It can’t easily be given by another."

Star Trek: The Next Generation's episode Loud as a Whisper

Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Loud as a Whisper" - Season 2, Episode 5

In TNG ’s fifth episode from the second season, “Loud as a Whisper,” the Enterprise transports Riva, a deaf and telepathic mediator, and his loyal team of three interpreters to the war-torn planet Solais V to help with peace negotiations.

When the interpreters are killed, Data quickly learns sign language to communicate with Riva, but it’s obviously harder for the rest of the crew. Throughout the episode, Troi is particularly patient and understanding, remarking that any type of dialogue should be encouraged, and that people should have more faith in themselves first, in order to build a good rapport with others.

8 "That’s the problem with believing in a supernatural being... trying to determine what he wants."

Troi and Riker in disguise in Star Trek: The Next Generation's episode Who Watches the Watchers

Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Who Watches the Watchers?" - Season 3, Episode 4

In TNG ’s “Who Watches the Watchers,” the fourth episode of the third season, the crew travels to the planet Mintaka III to repair a Federation outpost meant to observe the primitive locals. They’re unfortunately discovered by them, and as is customary with remote races who aren’t familiar with technology, mistaken for all-powerful gods.

This quote echoes the franchise creator Gene Roddenberry’s own advocacy of secular humanism. Divine messages and religious beliefs are subject to interpretation and often divisive, and shouldn’t those in power and divine beings also be held accountable for their actions anyway?

7 "To admit that you’re afraid gives you strength."

Worf and Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation's episode Night Terrors

Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Night Terrors" - Season 4, Episode 17

In TNG ’s 17th episode from the fourth season, the Enterprise gets trapped in a special anomaly that causes hallucinations in everyone except Data, Troi, and the wise El-Aurian barkeep, Guinan. Worf, the iconic honorable Klingon , is plagued with fear.

Worf: I am no longer a warrior. I’m no longer strong. I... I feel... Troi: What? What do you feel? Worf: I feel fear.

After which, Troi reassures him that the first step to strength is acknowledging one’s apprehension, doubt, and limitations. Real courage isn’t blind; it’s being aware of the risks and seeing a task through anyway.

6 "In order to defeat your enemy, you must first understand them."

Deanna Troi posing as a Romulan in Star Trek: The Next Generation's episode Face of the Enemy

Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Face of the Enemy" - Season 6, Episode 14

In TNG ’s 14th episode of the sixth season, Troi is kidnapped by a Romulan first officer (When will Trekkies get a series exclusively from the Romulan point of view, incidentally?), and her features are altered to make her look like them. She is asked to pose as Major Rakal of the Tal Shiar, their infamous secret police, and make use of her empathic abilities.

When faced with the Federation as Rakal, Troi attempts to stall her Romulan crew members by calling for dialogue first before she agrees to “lower the shields” and “destroy them.” In stating her “strategy” out loud, she is also reminding herself that she should always put herself in people’s shoes and see things from their perspective, especially when dealing with a little-understood race like the Romulans.

5 "I can order you held for psychiatric observation - extended observation."

Star trek: voyager - "inside man" - season 6, episode 7.

In VOY ’s sixth episode of its seventh season, Troi is yet again lending a kind ear to the socially-awkward Barclay, who has been ordered by Starfleet to take a leave. Barclay complains that his girlfriend, Leosa (Sharisse Baker-Bernard), left him on the day the groundbreaking holographic program he had developed for Voyager was tampered with.

They confront Leosa after learning that she is the culprit and has been working with a Ferengi to modify the program in order to get the nanoprobes of Seven of Nine, the former Borg drone who is now part of the Voyager crew. When Leosa defies Troi and claims she can’t prove anything, the latter uses her prerogative as a renowned and respectable counselor to threaten to throw her in a psychiatric ward -- indefinitely.

4 "I know Klingons like to be alone on their birthdays. You probably want to meditate, or hit yourself with a pain stick, or something."

Troi and Worf in Star Trek: The Next Generation's episode Parallels

Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Parallels" - Season 7, Episode 11

TNG’s 11th episode of the seventh season revolves around Worf, who, upon returning to the Enterprise from a bat'leth tournament on Forcas III, gets moved between several parallel universes. It also features romantic interactions with Troi, a subplot that has never sat well with the fans. Her gently worded sarcasm refers to the Klingon tendency to over-dramatize everything and their love of hard physical training, even on joyous occasions such as one’s birthday.

3 "Would you like to talk about what’s bothering you, or would you like to break some more furniture?"

Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation's episode Birthright, Part I

Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Birthright, Part II" - Season 6, Episode 16

In TNG ’s 16th episode from season six, Troi walks in on Worf exercising so violently that he has smashed his glass table.

Troi: Did the table do something wrong? Worf: No. Troi: I’m glad you weren’t that hard on Ensign Lopez. Worf: He made a mistake. The duty roster was inaccurate.

Troi then reminds him that it'd be better for him to confide in her about what is really bothering him instead of taking his frustration out on innocent furniture, which doesn't actually solve anything. She always resorts to sarcasm when dealing with the people she cares about, especially if it's a stubborn, temperamental, but well-meaning Klingon.

Related: 10 Star Trek: The Next Generation Characters Who Deserved Better

2 "I forgot the one thing that all counselors should remember. You can’t skip to the end of healing."

Troi and Riker as a married couple in Star Trek: Picard's episode Surrender

Star Trek: Picard - "Surrender" - Season 3, Episode 8

Star Trek: Picard may have been met with mixed feelings , but at least it brought back beloved characters like Troi and Riker. They were now married but unfortunately lost their son, Thad, long before the show’s events.

In the eighth episode of season 3, Changeling and Borg threat aside, the couple, who has been going through a rocky patch while dealing with grief, have a poignant heart-to-heart, and Troi admits that she has been a little too hard on him, and that each person moves on from loss in their own way and at their own pace.

1 "We deal with our pain in many different ways. But over the years, I’ve discovered it’s in joy that the uniqueness of each individual is revealed."

Captain Picard and Counselor Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation's episode The Bonding

Star Trek: The Next Generation - "The Bonding" - Season 3, Episode 5

Speaking of loss, TNG ’s fifth episode from the third season revolves around Jeremy (Gabriel Damon), the troubled young son of a recently killed crew member who can’t come to terms with this tragedy. Worf, who was also orphaned at a young age, wants to take the child under his wing, and Troi discusses with Captain Picard the best approach to handle the situation. The full quote is, "We deal with our pain in many different ways. But over the years, I’ve discovered it’s in joy that the uniqueness of each individual is revealed. If I can help a person back to a state of joy... well, my role has its rewards."

Her compassionate, understanding, and giving nature shines through this quote, in which she expresses her dedication to helping every patient, regardless of age and character, without judgment.

6 Most Evil Characters In Star Trek History

Despite having a hopeful outlook on the future, Star Trek doesn't shy away from presenting intergalactic sinister villains.

  • V'Ger, a powerful entity, poses a threat to the whole galaxy in Star Trek: The Motion Picture .
  • The Keepers, illusionists with mind-control powers, trap humans for their own amusement in Star Trek: The Original Series .
  • Lore, an evil android, undermines humans and their allies in Star Trek: The Next Generation .

The Star Trek universe has a whole volume of evil characters that fans of every show and movie love to hate. Some of these bad guys were so memorable that the writers and creators of modern Star Trek have brought them back to drive the plot again and push our heroes to the limit of their abilities.

Star Trek: Worst Starships to Work On

Star Trek: Worst Starships To Work On

There are so many awesome and terrifying antagonists in the Star Trek IP that it's difficult to choose only a few of the best. A few are so famous, however, that their reputation for evil deeds extends well beyond the franchise.

A few of the following entries give away a villain's origins, plans, and ultimate fate. Spoiler alert for those who have yet to explore every corner of the Star Trek universe.

6 V'Ger

The potential to destroy all life.

V'Ger

  • First Appearance: Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Star Trek: The Motion Picture was made when science-fiction meant big, epic blockbusters that leaned hard into visuals as opposed to action, which is why critics and audiences at the time weren't impressed. However, the movie has aged well, partly because of the brilliant idea behind the villain.

Identified at first only as V'Ger, this powerful entity seems to be a mix of artificial and extraterrestrial intelligence, and it has the power to hold the whole galaxy hostage. The crew of the Enterprise has been sent to make contact with V'Ger and figure out what it wants before it destroys all life in the galaxy.

V'Ger has modest wants. It's searching for its "creator" and it wants to go home, and any human can empathize with that. Home is Earth, the creators are humans, and V'Ger was the old Voyager satellite returning to its origin after hundreds of years adrift in alien space.

5 The Keepers

Powerful beings above all life.

the keeper the cage star trek cropped

  • First Appearance: Star Trek: The Original Series , Episode 1, "The Cage."

The antagonists of "The Cage" appeared again in "The Menagerie" a two-parter that was intended to tie up the dropped thread of the previous episode. The stakes were high in the pilot, and the cast and storyline had to go through some changes afterward, but it's interesting that when the villains returned they were just as effective with few changes.

Split image showing two pictures of James T. Kirk in Star Trek.

Star Trek: 8 Impressive Things Kirk Did Before Joining The USS Enterprise

The legend of Christopher Pike, who was the Captain at the time, was ensured by his successful battle with the Keepers. In "The Cage" the race known as The Keepers were illusionists who had the power to control the human mind.

They lured the Enterprise under the pretense of a rescue mission but they were really trying to trap humans under the pretext of breeding them for a zoo of sorts, hence the title of "The Menagerie" for the two later episodes that featured Kirk's Enterprise.

Data's Evil Twin

Star Trek: data lore

  • First Appearance: Star Trek: The Next Generation , S1E13, "Datalore."

Considering that the development of artificial intelligence was one of the more interesting themes of The Next Generation it makes sense that one of the series' best and most memorable evil villains was an android. In modern Trek, androids are called "Synths" which is short for "synthetic" and Lore is part of the reason why their manufacture is so controversial.

Lore was colloquially referred to as Data's "brother" because they were both built by Doctor Noonien Soong. Another earlier model, B4, was too simple-minded to be dangerous, but Lore had the same level of strength and intelligence as Data with none of the morals or ethics.

Soong had built Lore's brain differently from Data's , and the older model had unstable emotional responses. Lore came to believe that he was superior to humans instead of equal to them. This led to several instances where Lore would actively undermine or even attack humans or their allies in Starfleet and the Federation.

3 Gul Madred

Cardassian torturer who almost broke picard.

Star Trek Gul Madred

  • First Appearance: Star Trek: The Next Generation , S6E10, "Chain Of Command, Part 1."

Not all Cardassians are evil, but Gul Madred embodies all the worst stories about this aggressive and malevolent culture. More often known simply as Madred, the officer that was put in charge of Picard's interrogation was the total, parallel opposite of the popular captain.

title image characters that just dissappeared

Star Trek: 6 Characters That Just Disappeared

Lacking compassion, courage, or even the slightest bit of empathy, Madred had a rough childhood growing up poor and never got over it. This is how Picard retained some degree of compassion and understanding for this villain, even as he was being brutally tortured.

2 The Borg Queen

Total assimilation of life.

human data and the borg queen

  • First Appearance: Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

Human beings place a high value on individuality, making the conformist Borg especially horrifying. The Borg themselves are bad enough, and when the presence of a queen was confirmed, audiences recognized her as an embodiment of their malevolence.

Her initial appearance was in the TNG movie First Contact, and despite the character's "death" at the end of the movie, it was understood that as long as the Borg existed, she would appear again . The Borg Queen would also appear as an important villain in more recent TV shows from the IP, like Picard and Voyager , sometimes cooperating with the protagonists but always planning evil behind their backs.

1 Khan Noonan Singh

Desires to conquer humanity & kills anyone in his way.

Khan

  • First Appearance: Star Trek: The Original Series , S1E24, "Space Seed."

Another modern human invention was the Augments, or human beings that had been genetically altered for greater strength, intelligence, and survivability, and they weren't any more reliable than the Synths. Khan Noonan Singh is the most famous example of the Augment craze that gripped Earth in the late 20th century, although it was a few decades before the genetically enhanced villain and other humans like him would be referred to as Augments.

The Star Trek: TOS episode that introduced this now iconic character seemed to end on a positive note. When the story was picked up for the movie Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan, we discovered that Kirk's plan to maroon Khan and his crew on what looked like a hospitable planet had gone awry.

Another planet nearby was knocked out of orbit, turning their fertile world into a barren wasteland and killing most of Khan's friends and family. Khan's path of revenge was costly to both the Federation as a whole and James Kirk personally, confronting the Captain of the Enterprise with his worst nightmare, a no-win scenario.

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  1. List of Star Trek films

    Logo for the first Star Trek film, Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). Star Trek is an American science fiction media franchise that started with a television series (simply called Star Trek but now referred to as Star Trek: The Original Series) created by Gene Roddenberry.The series was first broadcast from 1966 to 1969. Since then, the Star Trek canon has expanded to include many other ...

  2. Star Trek Movies in order

    4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) To save Earth from an alien probe, Admiral James T. Kirk and his fugitive crew go back in time to San Francisco in 1986 to retrieve the only beings who can communicate with it: humpback whales. 5.

  3. Star Trek movies in chronological order

    2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. (Image credit: Paramount Pictures) Release date: June 4, 1982. Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Ricardo Montalban. Ask a Star Trek fan what the best Star ...

  4. How to Watch Star Trek in Order: The Complete Series Timeline

    1. Star Trek: Enterprise (2151-2155) Star Trek: Enterprise is the earliest entry on our list as it takes place a hundred years before the adventures of Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the crew of ...

  5. Star Trek

    Star Trek is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon.Since its creation, the franchise has expanded into various films, television series, video games, novels, and comic books, and it has become one of the most recognizable and highest-grossing media franchises ...

  6. Star Trek

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  7. 'Star Trek' Movies in Order: How to Watch Them Chronologically

    2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) Release Date: June 4, 1982. Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Nichelle Nicholas. Extra Recommended Viewing: Similar to the first film, nothing is required to be watched in order to understand the movie. However, if you want to get super nerdy, you can watch "Space ...

  8. Every Star Trek Show And Movie In Chronological Order

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  9. Star Trek (film)

    Star Trek is a 2009 American science fiction action film directed by J. J. Abrams and written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman.It is the 11th film in the Star Trek franchise, and is also a reboot that features the main characters of the original Star Trek television series portrayed by a new cast, as the first in the rebooted film series. The film follows James T. Kirk and Spock (Zachary ...

  10. The Star Trek Franchise

    Star Trek (1966-1969) TV-PG | 50 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi. 8.4. Rate. In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets. Stars: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols. Votes: 90,639.

  11. Star Trek (2009)

    Star Trek: Directed by J.J. Abrams. With Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana. The brash James T. Kirk tries to live up to his father's legacy with Mr. Spock keeping him in check as a vengeful Romulan from the future creates black holes to destroy the Federation one planet at a time.

  12. Every Star Trek Movie Ranked

    Every Star Trek Movie Ranked. 1 of 13. 13. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. After two films directed by Nimoy, Shatner stepped up for Star Trek V, but it was a troubled production, beset by ...

  13. Every Star Trek Movie In Chronological Order

    After the blockbuster success of Star Wars in 1977, Paramount refashioned a planned TV series revival titled Star Trek: Phase II into a feature film: 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Star Trek officially became a movie franchise. Since the 1970s, every decade up to the 2020s thus far has seen a Star Trek movie produced.

  14. Star Trek Franchise Box Office History

    Star Trek: The Original Series began nearly 50 years ago and created a TV and movie franchise that is still going on. The franchise has had its share of low points, but the 2009 reboot, Star Trek , revitalized the franchise at the box office.

  15. All Star Trek Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

    Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)87%. #4. Critics Consensus: Considered by many fans to be the best of the Star Trek movies, Khan features a strong plot, increased tension, and a sharp supporting performance from Ricardo Montalban. Synopsis: As Adm. James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Capt. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) monitor trainees at ...

  16. Best 'Star Trek' Movies and TV Shows, Ranked

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  17. All The Star Trek Movies, Ranked

    7. Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (1984) Similar to Star Trek: Insurrection, The Search For Spock had the insurmountable challenge of following up the greatest movie to date. Perhaps even ...

  18. Franchise: Star Trek

    Franchise: Star Trek. Rank Release Lifetime Gross Max Theaters Opening Open Th Release Date Distributor ... Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. 2022 Re-release. $794,943: 967: $454,868: 967: Sep 4, 2022:

  19. Star Trek: The Motion Picture

    Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film directed by Robert Wise and based on the television series Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry, who also served as its producer.It is the first installment in the Star Trek film series, and stars the cast of the original television series.In the film, set in the 2270s, a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud known ...

  20. Star Trek (film franchise)

    Star Trek is the cinematic branch of the Star Trek media franchise it began in 1979 with Star Trek: The Motion Picture and had 5 sequels, forming a six film saga. In 1994 William Shatner played a supporting role in Star Trek Generations, symbolically passing the torch to Patrick Stewart, the Captain of the Next Generation to takeover the film franchise. It was followed by three sequels, First ...

  21. Chris Pine's Star Trek Movies Explained

    There are three Star Trek movies starring Chris Pine.Star Trek (2009) is an introduction to the new cinematic series, as Pine's James Kirk and Zachary Quinto's Mr. Spock come together to save the day despite their fiercely clashing philosophies, with Leonard Nimoy's Ambassador Spock passing the proverbial torch to his younger self.Star Trek: Into Darkness sees Starfleet take extraordinary ...

  22. Quentin Tarantino's Star Trek Movie, Explained

    After Justin Lin's 2016 entry "Star Trek Beyond" underwhelmed at the box office with less than $400 million worldwide, Paramount put a pause on the film franchise as it figured out what to ...

  23. 8 Star Trek Things To Look Forward To In 2024

    Star Trek has a big 2024 planned with three TV series, a new Star Trek movie, podcasts, and numerous conventions to celebrate the franchise.

  24. Remembering Kenneth Mitchell, 1974

    StarTrek.com is deeply saddened to report the passing of Kenneth Alexander Mitchell, who played the Klingons Kol, Kol-Sha, and Tenavik, as well as Aurellio, on Star Trek: Discovery.In addition, he voiced several voice characters in an episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks.Mitchell passed away at age 49 on February 24, 2024.

  25. Star Trek: Deanna Troi's 16 Best Quotes from the Franchise

    Star Trek: First Contact (1996) The Borg, a cybernetic army controlled by a manipulative Queen, are among the franchise's most formidable opponents, abducting people from various species to ...

  26. List of Star Trek television series

    The Original Series logo. Star Trek is an American media franchise based on the science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry.The first television series, simply called Star Trek and now referred to as The Original Series, debuted in 1966 and aired for three seasons on NBC.The Star Trek canon includes eight live-action television series, three animated series and one short-form ...

  27. Star Trek: The Most Evil Characters In The Franchise

    The Star Trek universe has a whole volume of evil characters that fans of every show and movie love to hate. Some of these bad guys were so memorable that the writers and creators of modern Star ...