Paramount Moving On from Kelvin Timeline Trek

[ShardWarrior]

"The hope is to have a fresh “Star Trek” movie, though the studio has moved on from the idea of bringing back Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and the rest of the ensemble from the J.J. Abrams reboot."

 

https://blog.trekcore.com/2025/11/paramount-has-moved-on-from-a-star-trek-kelvin-timeline-sequel-film-says-new-variety-report/

 

I cannot say I am surprised.  I do hope there is some serious re-thinking of what to do with the Star Trek franchise now that Skydance is in control.  The last several offerings have been absolutely abysmal in my opinion.  Moving on from the Kelving timeline seems a wise choice, although I will be sad to see that cast go.  Casting for JJ Trek was never the problem in my opinion.  They were all great choices for the roles.  The issue was poorly written scripts and the lack of understanding as to what set Star Trek apart from other science fiction.  The attempt to turn it into a generic sci-fi action popcorn move franchise was not the direction to go in. 

 

Here is to hoping that Trek gets to rest for a while again and come back better than it has.   

[Techwright]

I actually enjoyed the third movie, though the middle one was abysmal.   A true waste of everyone's talents and creating huge plot holes from which they could not recover (teleportation across sectors with pinpoint accuracy?) Much of the first one I liked, but again, it suffered from some pretty juvenile writing when dealing with space physics.  

 

I was actually hoping for a 4th one to improve on the best elements of the 3rd one, and if done today, the timing would have been right for their version of Phase II, which was to have been a TV show in the late 1970s showing the maturing of the characters.  Instead, Paramount turned it into The Motion Picture (but redeemed itself by giving us the trilogy that followed).

 

I do feel the stuff that's come out in the last few years to be inferior, though certain episodes that I've seen break free from the rot.  It's ironic: the same thing that Paramount used in The Motion Picture (glossy effects and higher tech appearance over writing quality) has often, to my perception, been the problem of the new stuff.

 

Also, I'd really, really...and by that I mean really...like it if they'd break free of the Kirk-Spock-McCoy dynamic, especially the Spock family saga.  I did accept that Spock had to be a part of the Captain Pike stories, as it was canon from the original series.  But otherwise, look upwards, writers.  It is literally a massive galaxy.  There's so much more to write about than one family endlessly reinvented.   I'd really like new series and movies that cover new ground, or at least flesh out material that's only been sketched out before.  

[Without_Pause]

49 minutes ago, Techwright said:

Also, I'd really, really...and by that I mean really...like it if they'd break free of the Kirk-Spock-McCoy dynamic, especially the Spock family saga.  I did accept that Spock had to be a part of the Captain Pike stories, as it was canon from the original series.  But otherwise, look upwards, writers.  It is literally a massive galaxy.  There's so much more to write about than one family endlessly reinvented.   I'd really like new series and movies that cover new ground, or at least flesh out material that's only been sketched out before.  

As in take notes from Star Wars and realize there is more to the universe than the Skywalker family.

[WanderingAries]

On 11/5/2025 at 10:22 PM, Techwright said:

I actually enjoyed the third movie, though the middle one was abysmal.   A true waste of everyone's talents and creating huge plot holes from which they could not recover (teleportation across sectors with pinpoint accuracy?) Much of the first one I liked, but again, it suffered from some pretty juvenile writing when dealing with space physics.  

 

I was actually hoping for a 4th one to improve on the best elements of the 3rd one, and if done today, the timing would have been right for their version of Phase II, which was to have been a TV show in the late 1970s showing the maturing of the characters.  Instead, Paramount turned it into The Motion Picture (but redeemed itself by giving us the trilogy that followed).

 

I do feel the stuff that's come out in the last few years to be inferior, though certain episodes that I've seen break free from the rot.  It's ironic: the same thing that Paramount used in The Motion Picture (glossy effects and higher tech appearance over writing quality) has often, to my perception, been the problem of the new stuff.

 

Also, I'd really, really...and by that I mean really...like it if they'd break free of the Kirk-Spock-McCoy dynamic, especially the Spock family saga.  I did accept that Spock had to be a part of the Captain Pike stories, as it was canon from the original series.  But otherwise, look upwards, writers.  It is literally a massive galaxy.  There's so much more to write about than one family endlessly reinvented.   I'd really like new series and movies that cover new ground, or at least flesh out material that's only been sketched out before.  

 

Losing Anton (to such a horrible fate) probably put a bit of a crimp on things as well. Now that Syler, I mean Spock is playing doctor on TV, I'm not sure whether he has the time for a film.

[Voltor]

Well I'm not sad to see the Kelvin timeline come to an end.  First and third movies were okay, but the second one with the new version of Khan.......nope. 

 

Also, Shatner did allow himself to be deaged for the OTOY video that shows Kirk's spirit on a quest, worth a watch as it is a tribute to Shatner and especially Nimoy

 

There is talk that some writers for Trek have approached Shatner about the RETURN of Kirk.  Shatner has always been open to returning if it is a Kirk-centric story and not a cameo.  Also I suspect certain financial obligations would have to be met 😉

 

That all being said,  I was never upset that Kirk was killed, it was HOW he was killed and at the time Paramount did realize they could and should have done better. 

 

Well Picard Season 3 ep 6 leaves the door ajar for the RETURN.  The vault that Kirk is in does have a beeping noise that was confirmed as a classic remixed sickbay life monitor......it wouldn't be beeping if he wasn't somehow alive.  The x-ray image is used so they don't need to pay Shatner and to keep the door open for another actor like Paul Wesley for example to play the part.   The showrunner of Picard S3 is one of many that feel that Kirk's demise in Generations was a lousy way to kill him off. 

 

Also next year is supposed to be the 60th anniversary of Trek......great time for the RETURN if they were to do it. 

 

 

[ShardWarrior]

1 hour ago, Voltor said:

Also, Shatner did allow himself to be deaged for the OTOY video that shows Kirk's spirit on a quest, worth a watch as it is a tribute to Shatner and especially Nimoy

 

The work that OTOY has been putting out there has been beautiful.  I think its wonderful they are also doing work to digitally preserve the work from the various Trek productions for posterity.

 

1 hour ago, Voltor said:

Also next year is supposed to be the 60th anniversary of Trek......great time for the RETURN if they were to do it. 

 

As a fully ordained Archbishop in the Church of Shatnerology and graduate of the Shatner School of Toupological Studies, I of course adore Shatner.  With that said, I think its time to move on from the TOS characters and their stories.  I would rather see the Star Trek IP move on and continue the journey with new characters.  

 

What Skydance needs to do is find people who care about the IP and its legacy and start hiring writers who are actually familiar with the property.  

[Voltor]

42 minutes ago, ShardWarrior said:

 

The work that OTOY has been putting out there has been beautiful.  I think its wonderful they are also doing work to digitally preserve the work from the various Trek productions for posterity.

 

 

As a fully ordained Archbishop in the Church of Shatnerology and graduate of the Shatner School of Toupological Studies, I of course adore Shatner.  With that said, I think its time to move on from the TOS characters and their stories.  I would rather see the Star Trek IP move on and continue the journey with new characters.  

 

What Skydance needs to do is find people who care about the IP and its legacy and start hiring writers who are actually familiar with the property.  

 

Then they need to hire the crew that gave us Picard S3,  plenty of franchise respect in that story.

 

Also I am not against moving forward, but the RETURN of Kirk could be a step forward. It is now the 25th century and he would be basically the Buck Rogers of Starfleet, minus the annoying robot sidekick.  They could do a Kirk-centric legacy series where he learns the ways of the modern Federation, also perhaps dealing with his legacy about the Prime Directive.  Love how in an issue of Peter David's Star Trek for DC, Kirk states he never violated the prime directive.  Spock and McCoy respond "Certainly not, flagrantly finessed, broadly interpreted, totally ignored, completely forgot about it, but nope never violated." 

 

OR else have Kirk come back and save the galaxy from evil and perish in a heroes pyrotechnic death that he should have gotten, Preferably the last duty of a Captain, goingdown with the ship.  Fighting all the way of course.

[ShardWarrior]

1 hour ago, Voltor said:

Then they need to hire the crew that gave us Picard S3,  plenty of franchise respect in that story.

 

No thank you.  I would prefer a return to form for an optimistic, hopeful view of the future, not dark, doom and gloom from Picard. 

 

1 hour ago, Voltor said:

Also I am not against moving forward, but the RETURN of Kirk could be a step forward.

 

I adore Shatner and the character of Kirk, however as each post TOS series has shown, there are more characters out there other than the TOS crew to grow the Trek universe.  There are a lot of stories to tell. 

I just hope Kurtzman is shown the door.   

[WanderingAries]

10 hours ago, ShardWarrior said:

 

No thank you.  I would prefer a return to form for an optimistic, hopeful view of the future, not dark, doom and gloom from Picard. 

 

 

I adore Shatner and the character of Kirk, however as each post TOS series has shown, there are more characters out there other than the TOS crew to grow the Trek universe.  There are a lot of stories to tell. 

I just hope Kurtzman is shown the door.   

 

I would have preferred that the seasons of Picard actually talked to each other (as it were) considering one season totally ignored the existence of the other.

[Triumphant]

I'd like to see a new ship and crew, moving forward in the timeline from TNG/VOY/DS9/24th century era, with a focus on carrying out the original exploration/boldly going concept of the universe.  I'd also like to see a series that is more than 8 or 10 episodes per season, but those days are almost certainly dead and gone, I suppose.

[ShardWarrior]

2 hours ago, Triumphant said:

I'd like to see a new ship and crew, moving forward in the timeline from TNG/VOY/DS9/24th century era, with a focus on carrying out the original exploration/boldly going concept of the universe.  I'd also like to see a series that is more than 8 or 10 episodes per season, but those days are almost certainly dead and gone, I suppose.

 

I agree on both counts.  One lesson I hope the new management learns is to do more with less.  Focus more on the story and character development rather than the visual spectacle.  That is a big part of what made TNG/DS9/VOY/ENT successful.  The stories need to be character driven, not VFX driven.  

[Techwright]

On 11/7/2025 at 9:23 AM, Voltor said:

Well I'm not sad to see the Kelvin timeline come to an end.  First and third movies were okay, but the second one with the new version of Khan.......nope. 

 

...

 

That all being said,  I was never upset that Kirk was killed, it was HOW he was killed and at the time Paramount did realize they could and should have done better. 

 

...  The showrunner of Picard S3 is one of many that feel that Kirk's demise in Generations was a lousy way to kill him off. 

 

Also next year is supposed to be the 60th anniversary of Trek......great time for the RETURN if they were to do it. 

 

 

 

Second movie had a host of problems, some of them huge, franchise breaking mistakes (the precision teleporting across the quadrant being a glaring one), but they could have put a lot of problems about Khan to rest by just inserting one line when Khan tells the Enterprise crew a bit about how he was treated by the rogue admiral : " I was surgically altered to prevent people from recognizing me."  Seriously.  Trek has a well-established history of radical plastic surgery for undercover operations, and when you consider that Khan in their universe should be almost as recognized as a member of the Nazi leadership of WWII, the idea of altering him so that he can carry out the admiral's orders makes a lot of sense, and explains why he's a pale Brit.

 

I wasn't upset that Kirk was killed, and I wouldn't have been upset at dying by crushing injuries, but what lessened the death, in my opinion, is that the species he saved was only talked about.  The audience was never given an emotional connection to them.  They were just facts spouted.  Had they inserted even a minute of alien society and families living beautifully, it would have resonated with the audience that even that specific means of death was worth the sacrifice to save hundreds of thousands.

 

And this is the point where I pull in the end of Star Trek: Nemesis.  Data's passing had so little passion to it.  Despite the urgency, it should have, at least in a small way, communicated his growth: his Pinoccio-like path over the years to become "human".   "Goodbye" is all we got.  At least, "Au revoir mon capitaine", using the French to communicate warmth to Picard.  "Au revoir mon ami" would have been even better, dropping the rank and embracing the created family element in that last moment.

 

I'm not really engaged in the idea of bringing Kirk back.  It would have to be very well written, and they'd need the right actor if Kirk was rejuvenated.   And bringing in Shatner is a gamble.  The man's a "hoss", but he's 94.  Death or something like stroke could claim him before a production was fully done.

 

5 hours ago, Triumphant said:

I'd like to see a new ship and crew, moving forward in the timeline from TNG/VOY/DS9/24th century era, with a focus on carrying out the original exploration/boldly going concept of the universe.  I'd also like to see a series that is more than 8 or 10 episodes per season, but those days are almost certainly dead and gone, I suppose.

 

2 hours ago, ShardWarrior said:

 

I agree on both counts.  One lesson I hope the new management learns is to do more with less.  Focus more on the story and character development rather than the visual spectacle.  That is a big part of what made TNG/DS9/VOY/ENT successful.  The stories need to be character driven, not VFX driven.  

 

I'm a bit on the fence about including Voyager in that list.  So much potential, so many times they chose the weak writing path.  I do admit there were some spectacular episodes, well worth seeing.

 

There's an old story of mine where I accurately predicted DS9 and Voyager before they were even know to the general public.  (I also predicted Enterprise, but only in the general sense that they'd turn to the past for the next series.  I had no idea they'd throw the Trek trio into the mix, changing only the role for the emotive Southerner to an engineer, and the Vulcan getting in touch with the emotional elements of their nature into a female.) I point out this story in hopes I can get lighting to strike again (probably not). 

 

I'd like to see a reverse of Voyager:  a series that mirrors the settling of the Old West, starting in the civilized worlds  and moving deep into the Alpha or Beta quadrants, especially those areas Voyager would have had to cross had it not found a shortcut.  It is my understanding that though they share the same quadrants with the Federation, Romulans, and Klingons, there's still large, unexplored areas.   For this show, have not one ship, but a squad of ships supporting each other.  For example: a pair of combat ships, a science/medical ship, and a ship specializing in exploration.  They carve the trail, and like the explorers of old, they return to explain what they found, then provide escort for settler and trading ships moving out into the deeper quadrant.  Once a colony or two are started, the Federation plants a Deep Space station, basically the equivalent of the fort or stockade of the American west:  allowing refueling, defense, and shorter return trips for the squad of explorers.  If I got a very full wish, I'd like to see them take a page from Star Trek Online, and make the exploration and settlement a joint effort between the Federation and Romulan survivors of their home system's destruction.  The dynamic of learning to get along and even appreciate each other would echo the Maquis of Voyager, or the Romulans at the Picard vinyards.   And there's always the possibility that one of the Romulans is a Tal Shiar plant and one of the Feds is a Section 31 plant.   Such a show could also solidify the use of the Barclay long-range communication technique shown in Voyager.  It should still be imperfect, as it's quite a reach in technology, but a bit more clear or stable than when we last saw it.  And it might still be used to send holo-personnel between squad and station.  That way, if you lost a key member when far from home, you have a chance of a holo-crewmember filling in until the squad could return for restaffing, that is, assuming the technology doesn't fail in transit.  It is still a developing tech after all.  Oh, and trading ships can bring the Ferengi into the storyline.

[ShardWarrior]

29 minutes ago, Techwright said:

I'm a bit on the fence about including Voyager in that list.  So much potential, so many times they chose the weak writing path.  I do admit there were some spectacular episodes, well worth seeing.

 

I certainly would not disagree that Voyager had some stinkers for episodes.  I think it safe to say each of them had their less than spectacular episodes.  I included Voyager myself because if there is one thing that the modern (meaning Discovery, Picard and SNW) Trek series have proven is that the worst of Voyager and Enterprise did not suck so bad after all.  I guess we did not realize at the time that we had not seen the bottom of the barrel yet.