Star Trek: Unusual New Worlds is in full swing streaming week to week on the 2025 TV schedule, and for the primary time in months, it feels just like the franchise is again in a spot the place I used to be used to seeing it. Maybe that is why I had my guard down at San Diego Comedian-Con, able to find out about what new issues have been on the way in which, and hopefully get a glimpse at what the longer term holds.
We, after all, did be taught some issues about what is going on to be obtainable for the Star Trek franchise with our Paramount+ subscription sooner or later, nevertheless it wasn’t till lately that it hit me there was one other takeaway I utterly ignored on the time. This 12 months feels totally different from earlier years, and it is as a result of we do not have a ton to sit up for on the Trek entrance. For causes readers would possibly guess, I’ve some issues about that.
Star Trek Ended San Diego Comedian-Con With out Any Bulletins About New Reveals Or Updates On Its Motion pictures
I solely simply received round to reflecting on my time at San Diego Comedian-Con, particularly Star Trek‘s Corridor H panel. For many who would possibly’ve missed the most important headlines from that, we discovered that there can be a “puppet episode” in Unusual New Worlds Season 4, we heard a trailer for the Khan podcast collection, and the official trailer for Starfleet Academy dropped.
Do not get me flawed, I am thrilled concerning the upcoming Star Trek reveals, nevertheless it’s extra applicable to say “present.” Unusual New Worlds formally has an ending date, so actually, we’re simply ready on the premiere of Starfleet Academy. For the primary time in a few years, there aren’t a number of Trek reveals within the works, or not less than that we all know of.
Star Trek Las Vegas Featured Tales From Stars About Pitched Reveals That By no means Got here To Be
Star Trek Las Vegas is not sometimes identified for earth-shattering reveals about reveals on the way in which, however this 12 months did yield just a few surprises. Picard showrunner Terry Matalas revealed he wrote a manuscript for what his follow-up collection can be, and Scott Bakula revealed he even pitched an Enterprise follow-up to Paramount. Tawny Newsome additionally mentioned she’s completed writing her live-action comedy collection, which we have heard a bit about lately, and that she’s ready to listen to from Paramount about it.
The frequent thread amongst all of those is that they don’t seem to be at present in improvement and are nonetheless simply pitches awaiting Paramount’s curiosity. I believe it is secure to say the times of pitching to streamers and getting a collection order nearly instantly are lengthy gone. But it surely’s additionally laborious to not discover we’re not seeing as a lot exercise within the franchise, and it would not really feel like a coincidence given one main occasion on the horizon.
Why 2026 May Sign A Altering Of The Guard For The Franchise
There’s some particular warning to how Paramount is continuing with Star Trek, and there are doubtless just a few causes for that throughout the board. We’re all conscious of the merger with Skydance, which was held up for fairly some time attributable to an ongoing lawsuit with President Donald Trump. The merger prevented cash from flowing, so it simply made sense that new reveals weren’t being introduced.
Then, because the merger was nearing completion, The Late Present with Stephen Colbert was canceled. There was an allegation that the cancellation was made as a means of constructing amends to the President of the US, as Colbert has continuously poked enjoyable at him and his insurance policies in his programming. It is all speculative, after all, and one would possibly argue that South Park being regularly antagonistic towards the President, all while being underneath the Paramount umbrella, might buck that narrative.
Nonetheless, it is laborious to marvel what this might imply for Star Trek. This franchise is rooted in IDIC (Infinite Variety Infinite Mixtures). When Skydance introduced it might stop all DEI initiatives in place at Paramount, one can not help however fear about how necessary selling range can be to these in cost sooner or later. Franchise veteran Robert Picardo has mentioned he is not frightened concerning the franchise altering its roots underneath new possession, however can he make that decision?
Then there’s the elephant within the room that Alex Kurtzman’s contract with CBS Studios is about to run out in 2026. His contract was prolonged again in 2021, however there are just a few months left in 2025, and we’ve not heard whether or not he’ll nonetheless be the particular person overseeing Star Trek.
The truth that we have heard nothing about new initiatives and nothing about Kurtzman’s contract being renewed has me questioning if Star Trek will quickly be guided underneath new management. This has occurred earlier than, however as a fan who has seen extra exercise within the franchise the previous ten years than we have seen in fairly some time, I am unable to assist however be nervous concerning the change. Why would Paramount and Skydance wish to transfer away from an individual who has helped the franchise flourish with recent new reveals?
Skydance’s CEO Has A Historical past With Star Trek
It’s value noting that Skydance CEO David Ellison has a historical past with Star Trek. The web promotes him as a fan of the franchise, and Skydance was a producer on the Kelvin motion pictures Into Darkness and Past. Simon Pegg lately mentioned that Ellison is a fan of that franchise, and it sounds as if he is invested in serving to the fourth installment lastly occur (by way of TrekMovie.com).
That is nice for the Kelvin movies, and I’d find it irresistible if Ellison might make occur what Paramount has been unable to do for practically a decade in getting a fourth film off the bottom. It would not converse to his plans for tv, nevertheless, and I’d argue that as entertaining because the Kelvin motion pictures are, they skew extra towards prioritizing motion and journey than any ethical message or scientific discovery.
We do not know what it means to listen to that Ellison is a Star Trek fan, nor what which means for the franchise at giant. The optimist in me desires to consider that this implies Star Trek will proceed because it has for the previous decade, and we’ll get much more reveals to get pleasure from and discuss for years to come back. Do I do know that is going to occur? Definitely not, and that is what has me so frightened concerning the vital adjustments that could possibly be coming to my favourite franchise.
Here is hoping for some solutions on Star Trek within the coming months. Till then, we’ve got new episodes of Unusual New Worlds on Paramount+ airing Thursdays, so be sure you tune in and luxuriate in what has been an incredible season to this point.