Whereas 2025 appeared like a yr to be excited as soon as extra for upcoming Star Trek reveals and the grand return of one among its biggest sequence, Trekkies had been not too long ago hit with one other intestine punch. Unusual New Worlds will finish with an abbreviated Season 5, and whereas that is nonetheless a methods out, I am unable to assist however be skeptical we’ll ever get that spinoff we have all wished.
Virtually since Unusual New Worlds was introduced, some have speculated that Star Trek would do a mushy reboot of The Authentic Collection, with Paul Wesley’s Kirk taking command of the Enterprise from Captain Pike. Wesley has expressed curiosity in doing this, and given the success of SNW, I figured this spinoff was a foregone conclusion. Now, I am feeling extra skeptical than ever that it will occur given the next causes which might be kind of out of the franchise’s fingers.
Once I first discovered that Star Trek: Unusual New Worlds was ending with Season 5, I wasn’t too stunned. Alex Kurtzman advised CinemaBlend that when Discovery was cancelled on the similar benchmark, the times of a hundred-episode Trek reveals had been over, and getting 5 seasons is taken into account a large success by streaming requirements. Even earlier than it was introduced, I anticipated we would not get greater than 5 seasons of Unusual New Worlds.
What I did not anticipate was the information that SNW Season 5 could be an abbreviated six-episode season. This instantly despatched off alarm bells that this wasn’t the usual sort of deliberate renewal. Co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman confirmed as a lot when talking to Slashfilm in the course of the Tribeca Movie Pageant, the place a choose viewers was in a position to see the premiere of Season 3 upfront. This is what he needed to say concerning the resolution to finish with Season 5:
It simply occurred. The reality is, we now have been, from the start, hoping for a 5 yr mission. And that was the plan, however you additionally need to not put on out your welcome. And the oldsters who decide whether or not or not you put on out your welcome [are the ones] who pay. And so, they gave us this abbreviated fifth season proper on the heels of giving us a fourth season. Nothing stays a secret.
Akiva Goldsman is being diplomatic, however made it clear that the choice to finish Unusual New Worlds was made by the individuals controlling the cash at Paramount+. I do not discover that onerous to consider, contemplating I recall previous conversations by which the showrunners mentioned how seasons do not precisely correlate to the passage of time within the present. Viewers could not assume one season was equal to a yr within the sequence.
That is purely hypothesis on my half, however provided that Season 4 was already effectively into manufacturing, there possible wasn’t sufficient discover given by Paramount+ to carry the present to a conclusive finish. Slightly than go away the viewers hanging, a call was made to supply SNW with an extra half season to wrap up its storytelling. That approach, one of many largest Trek reveals accessible with a Paramount+ subscription would not stay on the platform and not using a correct ending.
That is higher than the coda that Discovery was given, nevertheless it nonetheless appears that whoever is crunching the numbers thought that no matter success SNW had was not sufficient to maintain happening for extra seasons. If that is the case, it feels arduous to consider a by-product could be of a lot curiosity.
Paramount Hasn’t Expressed A lot Curiosity In Persevering with Any Trek Collection Thus Far
In relation to Star Trek on streaming, there would not appear to be a lot curiosity in doing direct spinoffs to a few of the reveals we have seen already. I do not assume there’s any extra proof of that than the truth that we’ve not seen a legacy spinoff of Picard, regardless of the immense success and a spotlight Season 3 acquired for bringing again the forged of The Subsequent Technology. The sequence finale set the stage for a brand new present, however up to now, all we have heard is that Paramount has pitched concepts that stars like Jeri Ryan turned down as a result of she knew it wasn’t what the followers wished.
In fact, followers don’t get the complete story behind why the Picard spinoff is not taking place, although it appeared for a very long time that many within the forged and crew had been supportive of the trouble and keen to make it occur. And but, we nonetheless haven’t any proof {that a} spinoff is within the works, so why ought to we be so optimistic that Unusual New Worlds may get a follow-up?
It is a query I ought to’ve requested myself prior to now, and all it took was the decreased episode rely within the closing season to wake me as much as that actuality. Positive, Star Trek followers would like to see Paul Wesley step in as “Captain” Kirk lastly and set out on new adventures with the TOS bridge crew, however nothing we have seen from Paramount+’s choices with the Trek franchise up to now suggests there’s any probability a by-product will occur.
A New Collection May Be Pricey, At A Time The place Paramount Is Reporting Monetary Struggles
It has been extensively reported within the leisure world that Paramount is going through monetary struggles as of late. The L.A. Occasions reported that the studio not too long ago laid off one other 3.5% of its home workforce following earlier job cuts the prior yr. Paramount is awaiting regulatory approval for its merger with Skydance, in addition to going through a $20 billion lawsuit from President Donald Trump relating to a 60 Minutes interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris.
I feel it is truthful to take a position that whereas Paramount will wish to proceed Star Trek and try to usher in new subscribers and cash, a by-product to Unusual New Worlds will not be prime of thoughts proper now. To begin, the sequence would want to retain key forged members like Paul Wesley, Ethan Peck, Celia Rose Gooding, Babs Olusanmokun, Martin Quinn and everybody else who will ultimately be a part of the TOS crew. Provided that followers anticipate these actors to return as their legacy characters from the prior sequence, the actors would have some leverage in negotiating contracts, which may make a sequence pricey.
As Akiva Goldsman mentioned, the choice is all within the fingers of the individuals who pay to make these reveals occur. I’d wager that somebody up prime has already crunched the numbers and determined it was higher to finish Star Trek: Unusual New Worlds regardless of its crucial acclaim and stable viewership numbers on streaming. If that is not sufficient to maintain a sequence going, I do not really feel bullish a few spinoff taking place. That is all simply hypothesis although, and we’ll finally have to attend and see what plans Paramount has for Star Trek sooner or later.
Star Trek: Unusual New Worlds Season 3 will premiere on Paramount+ Thursday, July seventeenth. Give the earlier two seasons a watch within the meantime and maintain an eye fixed out for every other information that will floor within the coming weeks about what’s up subsequent for the franchise.