Star Trek Should Spend Less Time Looking Backward And Avoid Star Wars-ification

The Star Trek universe is set to explore an era not yet seen on film, with Simon Kinberg (Star Wars: Rebels) producing and Toby Haynes (Andor) directing a new movie set before Star Trek: Enterprise (2151). This news raises some concerns about the direction of Star Trek, though there are also promising signs.

The Prequel Paradox

This announcement continues a trend in modern Star Trek: the frequent focus on prequels rather than moving the timeline forward. Since the conclusion of Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Nemesis, we've seen a pattern of projects set in earlier eras - from Enterprise to the Kelvin timeline films, Discovery, and Strange New Worlds, and now this new film. While Strange New Worlds, and by proxy the season of Discovery that introduced the recast characters it features, has proven that prequels can excel when properly executed, it stands as more exception than rule. Strange New Worlds being an exception deserves its own post. Maybe later...

The franchise's greatest strengths historically came from pushing forward, showing humanity's continued evolution and the Federation's ongoing development. Each series traditionally moved us further into the future, from The Original Series to The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager. This forward momentum wasn't just about chronology - it represented Star Trek's fundamental optimism about humanity's potential for growth and progress.

The Star Wars Factor

The "Star Wars-ification" of Star Trek has been a growing concern of mine since at least the Kelvin timeline films, though it's fair to acknowledge that many Trek films, even before the Kelvin era, carried more of an action-adventure style than their television counterparts. Still, the shift toward more action-adventure focused storytelling that is common with Star Wars, while commercially successful, has often come at the expense of the philosophical exploration and societal commentary that defined classic Trek. A moment that really encapsulated that idea for me was the opening sequence of Star Trek Into Darkness, which felt more reminiscent of Star Wars' spectacle-driven approach than Trek's traditionally more contemplative style.

This trend is visible even in animated projects like Star Trek: Prodigy which, despite its charm, bears similarities to Star Wars: The Clone Wars in both style and tone. While these elements might appeal to newer audiences, they risk diluting what makes Star Trek unique.

Though less of a Star Wars influence, departure from Trek's roots has continued in series like Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Discovery, which broke from traditional Trek formulas in concerning ways - adopting darker, moodier tones, abandoning the concept of a primary setting with a consistent crew anchored by a captain to their command, and moving away from the classic episode structure that explored different crew members' perspectives through focused storytelling. Something that thankfully Strange New Worlds is getting right.

The Challenge Ahead

The chosen era itself holds fascinating potential. The period between First Contact and Enterprise represents humanity's first steps into interstellar society - a time of technological development, cultural adjustment, and political evolution. Some potential storylines include:

• The complex early relationship between humans and Vulcans
• Earth's first encounters with other major species
• The development of crucial technologies, solving physical and mental health problems, and bringing humanity into its post-scarcity paradigm
• The social and political changes on Earth as humanity adapts to its new reality

However, the success of this film will depend not just on the story it tells, but on how it tells it. Will it maintain Star Trek's traditional focus on ethical dilemmas, scientific curiosity, and social commentary? Or will it further push the franchise toward the action-adventure genre that has characterized many recent productions?

Looking Forward (or Backward?)

What Trek needs isn't necessarily another prequel series, regardless of its setting. The franchise's strength has always been in showing us possible futures, not just filling in historical gaps.

While there's nothing inherently wrong with exploring Star Trek's past, the persistent reluctance to move the timeline forward is concerning. Instead, we see major tonal and style shifts that attempt to keep up with perceived prestige TV trends, while simultaneously avoiding the challenge of creating new future lore - a choice that suggests both creative timidity and a lack of awareness of what makes Star Trek the greatest sci-fi franchise ever.

In older Trek, we had those gaps filled through time travel and references in dialogue to past events we'd not seen yet. I think this persistent effort to fill in the past lore with those moments in history yet to be filmed used as the primary setting has been met with little love from longtime fans. The argument can be made that they made new fans, but I've yet to talk to anybody personally or read any online commentary to suggest the Kelvin films made new fans. If anything, I've found that people who gravitate to Star Wars, Marvel, and blockbusters in general, found those films likeable and basically stopped there. So, great job, you made Star Trek movies for Star Wars fans, they liked them, and, for the most part, didn't dive much deeper than that.

The Broader Context

This development comes at a time when Star Trek's identity seems increasingly in flux under current leadership. While some recent productions have found success, others have struggled to balance modernization with maintaining the franchise's core principles. The involvement of creators who also work on Star Wars projects raises valid concerns about maintaining Star Trek's unique identity.

There are also encouraging signs here: Haynes previously directed the Star Trek-inspired Black Mirror episode "USS Callister," demonstrating his understanding of classic Star Trek, while his work on Andor showed his ability to create a more intricate story that breaks from typical Star Wars conventions. It's also worth noting that Kinberg's upcoming Star Wars projects won't begin until after this Trek film is completed.

As we look toward this new project, the hope is that Haynes and Kinberg can find a way to tell a compelling story while remaining true to Star Trek's essential nature. Hayne's past work shows promise in this regard, but the franchise still doesn't need to emulate Star Wars or any other property - it needs to remember what made it special in the first place. And it doesn't need to move backwards - it needs to move forwards.