romulan ships star trek

The History Of The Romulans, And Their Place In The Star Trek Universe

"Star Trek" is home to countless alien races, but few have as enduring a presence in the franchise as the Romulans. They're the most persistent adversaries of the Federation, so much so that blue-tinted Romulan Ale remains under trade embargo. This hostility makes it all the more ironic that they resemble humanity's first alien allies, the Vulcans , sharing their pointed ears and arched eyebrows.

The in-universe origin of the Romulans is that they were Vulcans, millennia ago. In that distant past, the Vulcans were a warlike people, far from the cold logicians that fans know. That changed when (in Earth's 4th century), the philosopher Surak taught his people to embrace logic and master their emotions. Not all Vulcans accepted Surak's teachings; "Those Who March Beneath The Raptor's Wings" were eventually exiled from Vulcan. These dissident Vulcans settled on the twin planets Romulus and Remus, evolving into the Romulans and personifying a violent path not taken by their Vulcan cousins.

"Star Trek" is big on allegory — the interstellar powers represent the geopolitics of the 20th century. The Federation is the United States of America, a democracy of many member states. As the Federation's most pressing rival, the Klingon Empire is the Soviet Union. The Romulan Star Empire is China, a "sleeping dragon" superpower.

So, why have the Romulans endured as a crucial part of "Star Trek" history — and what does their role in that history look like?

Romulans in the Original Series

The Romulans were created by writer Paul Schneider, debuting in the season 1 episode "Balance of Terror." The episode features the Enterprise reacting to the destruction of outposts along the Romulan Neutral Zone; the culprit is a Romulan ship armed with a cloaking device. The Romulans flee back home while the Enterprise pursues its invisible quarry in a cat-and-mouse game.

This episode established the Romulan Star Empire had fought humanity in a devastating war a century ago. The war ended with a Neutral Zone established between the two parties' territories. Notably, no human had ever seen a Romulan in this time (or at least, no human who survived to tell about it). That means the Enterprise crew is stunned when they discover their adversaries are identical to Vulcans. The Romulans' exact backstory isn't spelled out, but Spock (Leonard Nimoy) speculates they are a Vulcan offshoot who retained his ancestors' warlike ways.

Schneider modeled the Romulans on the Romans; their twin homeworlds are named for the mythical founders of Rome and they employ ranks like "Centurion." Interviewed for "The Captains' Logs" by authors Edward Gross and Mark Altman , Schneider explained: "I came up with the concept of the Romulans which was an extension of the Roman civilization to the point of space travel, and it turned out quite well."

The Romulans' ship, dubbed a "Bird of Prey" due to the hawk painted on its underbelly, also created an association between the Romulans and birds. By "Star Trek: The Next Generation," their imperial insignia had evolved into a stylized raptor. Their ancestors' moniker, "Those Who March Beneath The Raptor's Wings," was probably extrapolated from this connection too by writer André Bormanis (the name first appears in "Star Trek: Enterprise" episode, "Awakening," written by Bormanis).

Further appearances

"Balance of Terror" is one of the most acclaimed episodes of "Star Trek: The Original Series." It was even semi-remade for the season 1 finale of "Strange New Worlds," titled "A Quality of Mercy." The unnamed Romulan Commander (played by Mark Lenard, who would go on to play Spock's father, Sarek) is an especially well-remembered villain, predating Khan Noonien Singh as the first worthy adversary of Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and the Enterprise. Even with his last words, he retains dignity and honor: "I regret that we meet in this way. You and I are of a kind. In a different reality, I could have called you friend."

Despite this dynamite debut, the Romulans made only two more appearances in "The Original Series." They are the antagonists of the season 2 episode "The Deadly Years," about the Enterprise crew succumbing to premature aging. However, only their ships are seen, not the Romulans themselves. They make a second and final onscreen appearance in season 3's "The Enterprise Incident" ( written by the legendary D.C. Fontana ). In this episode, Spock seduces a Romulan commander (Joanne Linville) while Kirk poses as a Romulan officer to steal her ship's cloaking device.

According to "The Art of Star Trek" by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, "Romulans were originally intended to be more of an ongoing threat to the crew of the Enterprise, but the make-up requirements proved too expensive. Klingons were cheaper." Note how, in "Balance of Terror" and "The Enterprise Incident," Romulan extras often wear ear-concealing helmets — an easy way to bypass make-up expenses.

The Romulans had only minor roles in the six theatrical "Star Trek" films featuring the original cast. They were rejected as villains of the third film, "The Search for Spock," again in favor of the Klingons (this is why the Klingons in that film have a cloaked ship called a Bird of Prey).

The Rihannsu

During the 1980s, the Romulans took center-stage in "Rihannsu," a five-novel series written primarily by Diane Duane (Peter Morwood co-authored the second, "The Romulan Way.") Published from 1984 to 2006, the novels invented a culture and language for the Romulans wholesale; they are technically not "Trek" canon but remain acclaimed for their world-building.

"Rihannsu" ("The Declared") is the Romulans' native name for themselves, akin to how German people call their nation "Deutschland," the Japanese call theirs "Nippon," etc. They are driven by "D'era," an expansionist impulse akin to Manifest Destiny, and "Mnhei'sahe" (ruling passion), a complex code of conduct that is foremost a rejection of the Vulcan system of logic.

"Mnhei'sahe" is weighed by one's personal strength and devotion to the Empire. Romulans seek power not for personal benefit per se, but because greater power serves the Empire. Selflessness is an alien concept to the Romulans; do things for the sake of your own Mnhei'sahe and others will benefit in the process. "Mnhei'sahe" spreads its claws even into simple Romulan social interactions, where the ideal outcome is for both parties to depart with their honor intact.

Much of Duane's other additions are inferences based on "Balance of Terror" and "The Enterprise Incident." Akin to Rome, the Romulans are an Oligarchic Republic; a Praetor is elected by the Senate itself, not the people at large. "The Enterprise Incident" showed a Romulan woman with a high military rank. So, "Rihannsu" gave the Romulan society a matriarchial tilt; a Romulan's family lineage is derived from their mother, not their father.

Much of "Rihannsu" is a holdover from the suggestion in "Star Trek: The Original Series" that Romulans were a warrior culture. For instance, their society has a semi-feudal system with a strong emphasis on family affiliation. Canon material would take a different path, showing Romulans as militant but not exactly honorable.

The Next Generation

In "Star Trek: The Next Generation," the Klingons were now good guys (mostly). They also became the go-to warrior race of "Star Trek"; Klingon society took on Viking and Samurai characteristics, where war, personal honor, and feudal affiliation were everything.

The Romulans became less and less the noble Roman-esque adversaries that Schneider had conceived of, with "TNG" instead highlighting their duplicity (with the cloaking devices) and isolationism. Thus, the stereotypical traits of Romulans became paranoia, deception, and xenophobia.

The Romulans were reintroduced in "TNG" season 1 finale, "The Neutral Zone," where it's said they had stayed out of galactic affairs for much of the 24th century. The episode (where several of their colonies are destroyed by the to-be-revealed Borg) awakens them. Creator Gene Roddenberry had initially not wanted to use the Romulans, but poor reception to the Ferengi meant the Federation needed a new adversary. Thus, the Romulans became the most frequent alien antagonist in the series; the Federation and Klingons were united as their enemies. Recurring Romulan villains included Tomalak (Andreas Katsulas) and Sela (Denise Crosby).

The most notable additions to the Romulans in "TNG" included V-shaped forehead ridges (dimorphic evolution from their Vulcan cousins), the D'deridex Class (enormous green warships descended from the Birds-of-Prey from "The Original Series"), and the Tal Shiar, Romulus' secret police.

Romulan highlights in "TNG" include "The Defector" (a Romulan military officer defects to the Federation) and "Reunification" (where Ambassador Spock has begun a push on Romulus for the two peoples to be one again).

The Next Generation (cont'd)

The Romulans weren't as prominent in "Deep Space Nine" as in "The Next Generation," but that series featured them finally uniting with the Federation. While the Federation and Klingons fight a losing war with the expansionist Dominion, the Romulans initially stay on the sidelines.

In the season 6 episode, "In The Pale Moonlight," Captain Sisko (Avery Brooks) and Garak (Andrew Robinson) falsify evidence of the Dominion's plans to invade Romulus and try to sway Senator Vreenak (Stephen McHattie). When their deception is revealed, Garak (with Sisko none the wiser until it's done) pulls a move the Romulans would be proud of: he assassinates Vreenak and frames the Dominion. Thus, the Romulans join the war as allies, and remain so until the series' end.

The Romulans finally got a silver screen spotlight in "Star Trek: Nemesis," the final "TNG" theatrical film. The Romulan Senate is assassinated by a bio-weapon and a new Praetor, Shinzon (Tom Hardy), seizes power. It turns out Shinzon is a failed clone of Picard, the product of an aborted spying operation. The biggest wrinkle "Nemesis" introduces to the Romulans is the Remans. Playing on the pre-established twin planets Romulus and Remus, the grey-skinned Remans are a slave race, toiling as forced laborers and shock troops.

The film skimps on the details of Reman history, so viewers can surmise they evolved on Remus and were subjugated by the Romulans. However, the novel trilogy "Vulcan's Soul" by Josepha Sherman and Susan Shwartz builds on the Remans displaying telepathy like the Vulcans (which the Romulans have always lacked). In this telling, the Remans were Vulcan exiles who refused to give up their telepathy and so were oppressed by the future Romulans; their appearance stems from the poor living conditions on Remus.

Looking to the past

"Star Trek: Enterprise" was a prequel set in the 22nd century, beginning before first contact between humans and Romulans. That event was depicted in the season 2 episode "Minefield," when the Enterprise stumbles into Romulan territory and is disabled by a cloaked minefield. True to canon, only the Romulans' ships are seen in the episode.

The Romulans finally took a larger role in season 4. The three-parter, "The Forge/Awakening/Kir'Shara" was about a Vulcan conspiracy to invade the Andorians. The ending revealed that Vulcan Administrator V'Las (Robert Foxworth) was in league with the Romulans and secretly working towards reunification. A subsequent three-parter, "Babel One/United/The Aenar," featured the Romulans as the explicit villains. A Romulan drone-ship, equipped with a holographic projector and controlled by Admiral Valore (Brian Thompson), attacked ships throughout the Alpha Quadrant to ferment dissent (the story begins with it destroying an Andorian ship while disguised as a Tellarite one, it later destroys a Rigellian freighter while disguised as Enterprise, etc.). However, the attacks only wind up bringing the targeted races together.

"Enterprise" established a firm timeframe for the Earth-Romulan War: 2156 to 2160. Moreover, the war was revealed as the event that brought the Federation together; Humans, Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites united in a military alliance against Romulan expansionism and never broke apart. The Romulans' increased presence in season 4 was building up to the war, but unfortunately, "Enterprise" was canceled before subsequent seasons could depict it. Thus, the Earth-Romulan War remains undepicted onscreen, confined to novels "Beneath The Raptor's Wings" and "To Brave The Storm" (both by Michael A. Martin).

The home world destroyed

Romulans were again the villains of a "Star Trek" film in director JJ Abrams' eponymous reboot. In the year 2387, Romulus and Remus are destroyed when their star goes supernova, shattering the Empire. Spock manages to contain the explosion with the substance Red Matter, opening a wormhole that sends him back in time to the 23rd century. Following him is the Romulan mining vessel the Narada, captained by vengeful Captain Nero (Eric Bana) — his name is another allusion to ancient Rome .

The Narada's presence creates an alternate timeline; Nero and his men destroy Vulcan with Red Matter before being defeated themselves. Nero and the Narada's crew stand out from other Romulans thanks to their shaved heads and tattoos; the admittedly non-canon comic "Star Trek: Countdown" suggests this is part of a mourning ritual. Normally the tattoos would fade, but Nero and his crew burnt them into their skin to ensure they'd never forget the loss of their home.

"Star Trek" returned to the "TNG" era with "Picard" and followed on from this point. It turns out that Starfleet offered to help evacuate Romulus, but after an attack on Mars, reneged on the plan; Picard himself resigned in disgust. The Romulans are far from extinct though. The Empire has collapsed into warring factions, one of which is the Romulan Free State. According to "Star Trek: Discovery," Vulcan/Romulan reunification will have become a reality by the 31st century. The groups remain culturally divided, but they again exist on the same planet, renamed from Vulcan to "Ni'var" (meaning two combined into one).

Romulan worldbuilding

Michael Chabon, showrunner of "Picard" season 1, also shared (via Medium) worldbuilding notes on the Romulans . These presumably influenced his onscreen depiction of them. Chabon writes that the Romulans are such secretive people that there is nothing more intimate to them than the truth; marriages have three participants because there must be third-party verification in everything.

The Romulan government is organized like an espionage network, with multiple competing cells, while Romulans all have four names: the common name (used for familiarity), imperial name (the state-recognized name), open name (for outsiders), and their true name (used only for close intimacy). Chabon suggests that a rumored reason for the Romulans' secrecy is the abundance of camouflaged predators on their adopted homeworld; their cloaked warbirds are modeled on a raptor whose plumage blends into the horizon.

Not all depictions of the Romulans totally align — compare Duane's Rihannsu to Chabon's Romulans. However, they all draw upon "The Original Series" and make inferences from there. "Star Trek" writers and fans aren't much different; they both take canon material and expand on it with some imagination.

"Star Trek" and its spin-offs are streaming on Paramount+.

Who Is Doctor Vellek? TNG Romulan In Star Trek: Discovery Explained

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 1 - "Red Directive"

Dr. Vellek's discovery of Progenitors' technology kicks off a galactic treasure hunt in Star Trek: Discovery season 5.
The Romulan scientist kept the location secure with a paper diary hidden in a puzzle box on his 24th-century ship.
The Progenitors' technology holds the power to create and destroy, potentially changing the galaxy forever.

In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 1, "Red Directive", the USS Discovery's mission takes Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) to an 800-year-old Romulan starship containing the belongings and the remains of a long-dead Romulan scientist named Doctor Vellek (Michael Copeman). Vellek has been entombed in his ship since the 24th century, when Star Trek: The Next Generation takes place. Dr. Vellek's notes contain key information on the galaxy's greatest treasure: a mysterious, ancient, and very powerful artifact that the United Federation of Planets' mysterious Dr. Kovich (David Cronenberg) prioritizes recovering before it falls into the hands of the villainous Moll (Eve Harlow) and L'ak (Elias Toufexis).

In Star Trek: The Next Generation season 6, episode 20, "The Chase", Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) follows in the footsteps of his recently-deceased archeology mentor, Professor Galen (Norman Lloyd), by picking up a trail that Galen had long been pursuing. Picard forms a tenuous alliance with Klingons and Cardassians pursuing the same mysterious goal , discovering clues that lead to the uninhabited planet Vilmor II. Upon arrival, however, Picard, Lt. Commander Worf (Michael Dorn), and Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), along with Klingon and Cardassian representatives, beam down to find a crew of Romulans that have beaten them there. Star Trek: Discovery season 5's premiere reveals more about one of those Romulans, Dr. Vellek.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide

Who was doctor vellek in star trek: tng’s “the chase”, star trek: discovery reveals the romulan doctor vellek's tng connection..

Doctor Vellek is a Romulan scientist with the crew that has already arrived at Vilmor II in Star Trek: The Next Generation's "The Chase" , establishing how Discovery season 5 connects to TNG . Instead of joining in the collaborative effort with the Federation as the Klingons and Cardassians did, the Romulans simply monitored communications as the USS Enterprise traveled from site to site, unveiling clues at each destination that led to the next. Everyone present is equally privy to the information revealed by a hologram of an Ancient Humanoid (Salome Jens) that their race seeded life throughout the galaxy, so all humanoid species share a common ancestor, which Star Trek: Discovery has dubbed the Progenitors.

Dr. Kovich already knows what's been "classified for centuries" when telling Captain Burnham about Vellek's own discovery of the Progenitors' technology.

The Klingons and Cardassians drop the spirit of cooperation that led them to this point, balking at the idea that they're related in any way. But the Romulans, who essentially copied the Federation's homework to arrive at Vilmor II, contact Captain Picard with hope of an alliance between the Romulans and the Federation. This implies Vellek had been in contact with the Federation while leading the search for the Progenitors' technology in the 24th century , because in Discovery 's 32nd century , Dr. Kovich already knows what's been "classified for centuries" when telling Captain Burnham about Vellek's own discovery of the Progenitors' technology.

Why The Progenitors Technology Is Star Trek: Discovery’s Greatest Treasure

"a few thousand years ago, we'd have called them gods.".

The Progenitors' technology is Star Trek: Discovery 's greatest treasure because it holds the answers to scientific and philosophical questions about the nature of life as we know it, and also has the power to create life essentially from scratch. The site of Progenitor technology could explain the ancient humanoids' motives beyond what was revealed in Star Trek: The Next Generation , fundamentally altering societies at their very core. With that kind of information and the power of creation, the user of Progenitor technology could become the most powerful force in the galaxy , especially if the power to create also holds within it the power to destroy.

The Romulan in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 1 , "Red Directive", Dr. Vellek, understood the importance of keeping information about the Progenitors and their technology as secure as possible. Vellek attempted to keep the location of Progenitor technology out of the wrong hands by keeping a paper diary, which can't be hacked, and hiding that book within a Romulan puzzle box, itself within a cloaked vault aboard his 24th-century Romulan ship. Even then, Dr. Vellek's diary isn't the treasure itself, but a clue that kicks off Star Trek: Discovery 's galactic treasure hunt, destined to change the galaxy irrevocably.

Star Trek Discovery season 5 streams Thursdays on Paramount+. Star Trek: The Next Generation is streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

Cast Blu del Barrio, Oded Fehr, Anthony Rapp, Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Wilson Cruz, Eve Harlow, Mary Wiseman, Callum Keith Rennie

Writers Alex Kurtzman

Where To Watch Paramount+

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Cast Michael Dorn, LeVar Burton, Brent Spiner, Wil Wheaton, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden

Writers Jeri Taylor, Michael Piller, Rick Berman, Brannon Braga, Ronald D. Moore

Who Is Doctor Vellek? TNG Romulan In Star Trek: Discovery Explained

Memory Beta, non-canon Star Trek Wiki

A friendly reminder regarding spoilers ! At present the expanded Trek universe is in a period of major upheaval with the continuations of Discovery and Prodigy , the advent of new eras in gaming with the Star Trek Adventures RPG , Star Trek: Infinite and Star Trek Online , as well as other post-57th Anniversary publications such as the ongoing IDW Star Trek comic and spin-off Star Trek: Defiant . Therefore, please be courteous to other users who may not be aware of current developments by using the {{ spoiler }}, {{ spoilers }} OR {{ majorspoiler }} tags when adding new information from sources less than six months old (even if it is minor info). Also, please do not include details in the summary bar when editing pages and do not anticipate making additions relating to sources not yet in release. THANK YOU

Romulan starships

View history

This page contains a list of Romulan starships , displayed in alphabetical order.

1 The Chase
2 Preserver (race)
3 J.P. Hanson

Starship Gallery - Romulans

22nd Century Vessels 23rd Century Bird-of-Prey D'deridex Class Other 24th Century Vessels Post-Nemesis Vessels Reman Vessels

22nd Century Vessels

23rd Century Bird-of-Prey

D'deridex Class

Other 24th Century Vessels

Post-Nemesis Vessels

Reman Vessels

Romulan Ship Classes - from all eras

Appearances of the Romulan Warbird - complete investigation of all shots with the miniatures and the CG model

Warp Drive and Romulan History - how a throwaway line from TOS continues to cause unwarranted confusion

The PDF archive of the Eaglemoss Official Starships Collection is hosted at the Starship Schematics Database . Thanks to John Eaves , Doug Drexler, Kris Olinger , Masaki Taniko , IGN and ST-Bilder.de for some of the pictures!

https://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/scans/romulans1.htm

Last modified: 28 Jan 2024

This website is not endorsed, sponsored or affiliated with CBS Studios Inc. or the Star Trek franchise.

Fleet Yards

Continuing Mission

A Fan Site for the Star Trek Adventures RPG by Modiphius

Expanded Options: Romulans

We’re back today with another set of options to expand your campaign. Today were profiling everyone’s favorite xenophobes: the Romulans.

Romulan Society

Let’s just get this out of the way: this article is not going to give you everything you need to play Romulans. I just don’t have the space and it’s already been covered in many other places. No doubt we’ll have information on the Romulans in the upcoming Beta Quadrant Sourcebook , and there’s information at Memory Alpha and Memory Beta that you can pull from, not to mention a Romulan faction in Star Trek Online . If you can get your hands on previous game’s books, A Fragile Peace details the Romulan Neutral Zone and outlines a campaign there while The Way of D’era is the definitive guide to roleplaying as a Romulan.

So… That’s where you should go for some background info. If you’re feeling really out to sea, here’s a brief overview of Star Trek ‘s Romulans.

Origins: The Romulans used to be Vulcans, long ago when the Vulcan people were warlike and filled with rage. Great teachers came forward to spread philosophies of self-control and mastery of emotion. Not everyone agreed they should control these emotions and some of them left, becoming the Romulans.
Conflict: The Romulans have gone through long periods of self-imposed isolation, establishing Neutral Zones that they enforce with deadly effect. They maintained a long isolation, broken only when the original Enterprise made contact and realized that the mysterious Romulans were related to the Vulcans. They allied with the Klingons and then went back to isolation broken when the Enterprise -D (shocker) made contact with the bigger, deadlier Romulan fleet. At the time of Star Trek Adventures , they have stayed out of all military concerns with the Dominion but might yet ally with the Federation against them.
Government: The Romulans are ruled by a Senate made up of elected officials who are either former military or future military. They’re all about the military. The executive branch is the Praetor who typically wields immense power.
D’era : This is the Romulans’ cultural philosophy, the counterpart to the Vulcan Kolinahr . It stresses obedience, duty, and family strength.
The Tal Shiar : The Romulans are definitely obsessed with military, but they are very different from groups like the Cardassians or Klingons. Their secret police and intelligence bureau, the Tal Shiar , is really good at its job and they much prefer slipping a knife into your back than charging at your front.

Romulan Characters

The first thing you want to do for your Romulan game is to download Jester’s Romulan species profile for all your players use. Unlike a Federation crew, Romulan vessels tend to be homogenous so it will be up to specific Talents and character creation choices to differentiate the crew. Although it’s not widely seen in the series, Remans also serve onboard Romulan vessels and you can use the species profile below to create those characters as well.

Romulan Ships

Of course, a Romulan crew needs a Romulan ship. Check out the document linked below for six Romulan spaceframes, some new Ship Talents, and a new Mission Profile for sneaky espionage vessels. The spaceframes here come from a variety of places and they might vary from the Romulan vessels you like from novels, miniatures games, The Way of D’era , or Star Trek Online . If you have no preconceptions about Romulan ships aside from the classic Bird-of-Prey and the mean, green D’deridex warbird then this document is probably all you need. If you want to make sure your favorite vessel is represented, check out my guidelines for homebrew spaceframes and assemble your own in mere minutes!

Discover more from Continuing Mission

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

A Complete History of the Romulans in Star Trek

Since The Original Series, the Romulans have been one of Star Trek's most mysterious villains, but who are they and how do they relate to the Vulcans?

Quick Links

The romulans were created to be star trek 'romans', the timeline of the romulan star empire, the romulan cold war and joining forces against the dominion, the destruction of romulus changed star trek timelines.

Some of the most mysterious villains in Star Trek are the Romulans, whose history with Earth dates back to before the time of Star Trek: The Original Series . The Romulans are depicted as an oppressive group with a militant culture and are arguably even less agreeable than the Klingons. Still, they have united in common cause with the Federation in some instances.

When Star Trek: Discovery advanced the timeline by 900-plus years, the Romulan Star Empire was no more. Their home planet, Romulus, was destroyed. Thanks to Spock's efforts to expose their culture to Vulcan logic, the Romulans found a new home on Ni'var, the renamed Vulcan homeworld. In fact, along with their distant, pointy-eared cousins, the Romulans are part of the Federation in the 32nd Century. Romulans went from unseen enemies in Star Trek 's history to cohabitating with humans' first alien friends, but have plenty of story left to tell.

How Gene Roddenberry Lost Control Over the Star Trek Movies

Before Star Trek returned for its second wave of stories, the creation of the Romulans was a point of contention. In a featurette on The Original Series Blu-ray, writer and franchise legend Dorothy Fontana said freelance writer Paul Schneider invented them by taking inspiration from the ancient Roman Empire. Schneider confirmed this in Captain's Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyagers by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman, calling his creation "an extension of the Roman civilization to the point of space travel." This is the impetus for their militaristic society, drive to conquer and fanatical loyalty to the unseen Emperor.

The Romulans appeared twice in Star Trek: The Original Series and weren't fully fleshed out as adversaries until the time of The Next Generation . Originally, they looked just like Vulcans, but makeup supervisor Michael Westmore added forehead ridges and a different hairstyle. The Romulans were considered to be the villains in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , but the production opted for the more popular Klingons. They would have taken the place of the S'ona in Star Trek: Insurrection . However, Patrick Stewart objected to their inclusion thinking fans wanted a fresh villain. Ironically, the opposite was true.

The Romulans also appeared as villains in Star Trek: Nemesis , Star Trek (2009) and in Season 1 of Star Trek: Picard . Because they were originally introduced as an "offshoot" of Vulcans, Leonard Nimoy appeared as Spock on The Next Generation to send the character to make peace with them. His final mission was to reintegrate the Vulcan and Romulan cultures as one society. Star Trek: Discovery revealed he succeeded indirectly by the 32nd Century. While there was an Earth-Romulan war, this story hasn't been told yet, likely because humans never saw their enemies in the flesh.

Star Trek: What's the Story Behind Every Enterprise Design?

In the Star Trek universe, it was discovered that most humanoid life could trace its genetic origins to a single star-faring species billions of years in the past. They traveled the universe colonizing many planets, and both Vulcans and Romulans share traces of this DNA. At some point in Vulcan's history, before the populace adopted the logic-based philosophy of Surak, a group of Vulcans went to the stars and eventually settled on Romulus. These beings became Romulans, and possibly Remans, the pale-skinned, scaled "slave caste" of the Romulan Star Empire, at least through the late 24th Century.

By the 22nd Century, the Romulan Star Empire was known by Vulcans, yet they had no contact with their long-distant cousins. In fact, this connection was lost to history among Vulcans, although Romulans retained that information. On Star Trek: Enterprise the NX-01 encountered a planet surrounded by cloaked mines. They briefly exchanged communications with this unknown race, but never identified them for certain. Later, the Romulans sent spies to Vulcan to attempt reunification, but when Captain Archer and T'Pring discovered Surak's teachings, the plans fell apart.

A long-distance Romulan plot also attempted to foster war in the galaxy via cloaked drones, controlled telepathically. This caused Captain Archer to form an alliance with founding members of the Federation , thereby starting the process of its creation. In 2156, Earth and Romulus went to war. The Vulcans, Andorians and Tellarites united again to defeat them in 2160, whereby the neutral zone was established. The treaty was negotiated via long-distance communication. The Romulans were never seen until the USS Enterprise encountered a cloaked vessel attacking Earth colonies near the edge of the neutral zone.

10 Star Trek Time Travel Stories That Changed Canon

Two years after this encounter, Captain Kirk was ordered to violate the Neutral Zone to steal a cloaking device. He succeeded and captured a Romulan commander as well. Later, in Star Trek: The Animated Series , the Romulans tried to steal the Enterprise, but were defeated. By the late 23rd Century, the Romulan Star Empire had an ambassador at Federation headquarters. He was part of the conspiracy to prevent the Klingon Empire and the Federation from signing the Khitomer Peace Treaty. The Romulans remained isolated until the mid-24th Century.

There was a Cold War between the Empire and the Federation with many incidents amounting to 45 appearances in the second-wave series and films. Notable encounters included the attempted defection of Admiral Alidar Jarok. A Romulan spy impersonated the Vulcan ambassador T'Pel. After a test of a new cloaking device failed, the USS Enterprise-D helped the stranded Romulans. The Enterprise conducted two cover missions on Romulus. First, they were sent to retrieve Spock who had decided to preach Surak's teachings to Romulans. They then sent Deanna Troi to help Vice-Proconsul M'Ret defect to the Federation.

The Romulans still engaged in conflict with the Klingons periodically throughout the 24th Century. They also tried to steal an experimental starship, thwarted by the ship's Emergency Medical Hologram and the EMH from the USS Voyager. The Romulans stayed out of the Dominion War, until Captain Sisko aided Garak in framing the Dominion for the death of one of their ambassadors. They remained allies until the war ended.

Star Trek: Discovery's Kenneth Mitchell Was Heroic On and Off Screen

The film Star Trek: Nemesis took place in 2379, when the Remans rose up against the Romulan masters. A clone of Captain Picard named Shinzon became the new praetor. He brought the USS Enterprise-E to Romulus under the ruse of peace talks, but he needed Picard to heal a medical malady. His plan was to launch a war with the aim of destroying Earth. His defeat led to true diplomatic negotiations, aided by Ambassador Spock. In the 2380s, a cosmic accident destroyed Romulus. Spock and a mining vessel captained by Nero were sent to the past and created an alternate timeline, in which Vulcan was destroyed.

Back in the Prime Timeline, Admiral Picard tried to help refugees from the (now so named) Romulan Free State relocate. The Romulan secret order Zhat Vash used synthetic lifeforms to destroy the Utopia Planitia shipyards and the relocation fleet. Years later, the group attacked two synthetic lifeforms -- "children" of Data -- and a retired Picard helped save them and a planet full of their kind from destruction. A group of Romulans also captured a Borg cube, creating the Borg Reclamation project. The Artifact, as it was called, ended up landing on the planet of synthetics, where they presumably took over the effort.

By the 32nd Century, the Romulans and Vulcans successfully reunified. Vulcan was renamed Ni'var, and while there remained cultural tension, the two cultures lived in relative peace. When a cosmic accident caused all the dilithium crystals to explode, which prevented warp travel and killed countless people, Ni'Var retreated from the Federation. With the help of Captains Michael Burnham and Saru, they agreed to rejoin the union. This means the forthcoming series Starfleet Academy could introduce Romulan cadets.

Star Trek series and films are streaming on Paramount+, save for Star Trek: Prodigy on Netflix and the first ten films currently on Max.

The Star Trek universe encompasses multiple series, each offering a unique lens through which to experience the wonders and perils of space travel. Join Captain Kirk and his crew on the Original Series' voyages of discovery, encounter the utopian vision of the Federation in The Next Generation, or delve into the darker corners of galactic politics in Deep Space Nine. No matter your preference, there's a Star Trek adventure waiting to ignite your imagination.

Romulan playable starship

VisualEditor
View history

Some of the Warbirds available to Romulan Republic players

There is a variety of Romulan playable starships currently available in Star Trek Online . Although Warbirds form the backbone of the Romulan military, there are other ships which behave more like their Federation and Klingon Defense Force counterparts. Romulan players can also fly almost any ship of their respective ally - the Federation or the Klingon Empire . Players of other factions can also fly almost any Romulan starship.

2.1 Temporal Science Vessel
2.2 Temporal Destroyer
2.3 Suliban Flight-Deck Assault Cruiser
2.4 Dewan Allied Pilot Escort
3 Small Craft
4 Romulan Republic-exclusive starships

Warbirds [ | ]

Warbirds – the most iconic of Romulan vessels – have formed the backbone of the Romulan military for centuries. With the destruction of Romulus, these Warbirds have become a lasting symbol of the once mighty empire’s strength – as well as a new home for some of the many refugees in the wake of their planet’s destruction.

To see which rank and profession of Bridge Officers you can have hover your mouse over the icons in the Bridge Officer column of the table. See the shields guide for details on shield capacity.

Non-Warbirds [ | ]

While Warbirds make up the majority of the Romulan fleet, there are several non-Warbird starships available to Romulan captains. Powered by a Matter Anti-Matter Warp Core , these ships behave more like their Federation and Klingon Defense Force counterparts. Generally, these ships lack Singularity abilities and Battle Cloak , but gain access to other abilities, such as Cruiser Command Array .

Temporal Science Vessel [ | ]

Like Starfleet 's Verne -class and Klingon Qul'poH -class , the Sui'Mor -class Temporal Science Vessel (T6) is a Romulan timeship from the 29th century . Vessels of this class have been stolen by the Tholian Assembly and stripped of most of their advanced technology, only to be stolen again by the Ferengi Lobi Crystal Consortium . The Ferengi have been repairing and refitting them for use in modern-day warfare – and then selling them for a modest fee.

This ship is available to Romulan Republic players as a rare drop from the [ Infinity Lock Box ] and comes with the following:

Ship Variant - ROM - Sui'Mor Temporal Science Vessel (T6)

SKIN VARIANT: Sui'Mor -class

Scaling Starship
Enhanced Tipler Cylinder universal console
Out of Time starship trait
Lieutenant Commander Science-Temporal Operative bridge officer seating
a Secondary Deflector slot
built-in Sensor Analysis
built-in Subsystem Targeting
Sui'Mor and R'Mor ship costume variants
Sui'Mor and R'Mor ship materials (UNLOCKS FOR ALL ROMULAN TEMPORAL SHIPS)
Romulan Temporal Bridge

Temporal Destroyer [ | ]

Like Starfleet 's Klein -class and Klingon Chargh'poH -class , the Tal'aura -class Temporal Destroyer (T6) is a Mirror universe version of the Sui'Mor -class Romulan timeship from the 29th century . Vessels of this class have been stolen by the Tholian Assembly and stripped of most of their advanced technology, only to be stolen again by the Ferengi Lobi Crystal Consortium . The Ferengi have been repairing and refitting them for use in modern-day warfare – and then selling them for a modest fee.

SKIN VARIANT: Tal'aura -class

Enhanced Manheim Device universal console
1.21 Terrawatts starship trait
Lieutenant Commander Tactical-Temporal Operative bridge officer seating
Tal'aura and Talvath ship costume variants
Tal'aura and Talvath ship materials (UNLOCKS FOR ALL ROMULAN TEMPORAL SHIPS)
A.R.W. registry name prefix option

Suliban Flight-Deck Assault Cruiser [ | ]

The Suliban Silik Flight-Deck Assault Cruiser (T6) has been built in cooperation with the Suliban . Based on a stealth cruiser utilized by the Suliban Cabal in the 22nd century , the Silik -class combines the latest advances in Romulan Republic technology with traditional Suliban engineering ingenuity.

SKIN VARIANT: Silik -class

I.F.F. Manipulator universal console
Majority/Minority starship trait
Lieutenant Commander Tactical-Command bridge officer seating
a built-in Battle Cloak
built-in Flight-Deck Cruiser commands
2 Hangar Bay slots (equipped with Suliban Veil Fighters )
Silik ship costume & ship material
standard Romulan Warbird interior
S.C.S. registry name prefix option

The Fleet Suliban Silik Flight-Deck Assault Cruiser (T6) is an improved variant obtainable from the player 's Fleet . The ship lacks the Universal Console and 5th Starship Trait, but comes with an additional console slot, increased Hull Hit Points and Shield Strength.

Dewan Allied Pilot Escort [ | ]

Built as part of a joint project between the Federation , Klingon Empire and the Romulan Republic , Dewan pilot starships have been primarily based on technological marvels found within archeological sites on Mol'Rihan , but also incorporate latest technological achievements made by the Andorians and Letheans . Three slightly different ship classes are available, each one adapted for a player of a different career.

Ship Variant - ROM - Dewan Vandros Pilot Escort (T6)

SKIN VARIANT: Vandros -class

Ship Variant - ROM - Dewan Dynnasia Pilot Escort (T6)

SKIN VARIANT: Dynnasia -class

Ship Variant - ROM - Dewan Ikkabar Pilot Escort (T6)

SKIN VARIANT: Ikkabar -class

Commander Tactical/Pilot bridge officer seating
built-in Pilot Maneuvers
Alliance Hypercannon experimental weapon
unlock Dewan Plasma Space Weapons for purchase in the Dilithium Store
Dewan Type 1 and Type 2 ship materials
D.W.S. registry name prefix option

The Vandros -class Pilot Escort (T6) is tactical -oriented. It also comes with the following:

Neurophasic Disruption Field universal console
Promise Of Ferocity starship trait
Vandros ship costume (UNLOCKS FOR ALL DEWAN PILOT ESCORTS)

The Dynnasia -class Pilot Escort (T6) is engineering -oriented. It also comes with the following:

Wing Torpedo Platforms universal console
Painful Memories starship trait
Dynnasia ship costume (UNLOCKS FOR ALL DEWAN PILOT ESCORTS)

The Ikkabar -class Pilot Escort (T6) is science -oriented. It also comes with the following:

Gateway Trap Spawner universal console
Improved Gravity Well starship trait
Ikkabar ship costume (UNLOCKS FOR ALL DEWAN PILOT ESCORTS)

Small Craft [ | ]

Compared to full-sized starships, Small Craft such as shuttlecraft and fighters have significantly less hull, shields, weapons, bridge officers, consoles, and crew. However, these craft have very high maneuverability and turn rate.

Small Craft are automatically used, when a mission requiring the player to be in such a vessel is launched. Alternatively, it is possible to always fly your small craft by selecting it as your "active" ship.

Romulan Republic-exclusive starships [ | ]

Nearly all the starships above are cross-faction, able to be flown by all Starfleet , Klingon Defense Force and Dominion characters. The following starships can be flown only by Romulan Republic captains:

A New Threat in Star Trek Fleet Command: The Gorn Hunter Hostiles

By rebekah 9 April 2024

“We are prey. When they hunt, they are unrelenting. The truth is plenty of people have seen the Gorn. They just don’t live long enough to talk about it.” -La’an Noonian Singh

Commanders,

Brace yourselves–the unrelenting hunters have arrived! With the return of the Strange New Worlds story arc comes their most fearsome enemy. Now for the first time, Commanders ops 40 and above will be able to challenge the Gorn as they appear in Strange New Worlds. Be warned, Commanders; the Gorn are not to be taken lightly!

The warships of the Gorn are constructed of a strange material that is immune to conventional weapons fire. Fortunately, they are vulnerable to isolytic weaponry. To defeat them, you will need to bring a ship or a crew that can deal isolytic damage. Be certain not to neglect isolytic defense, however! The Gorn ships may be vulnerable to isolytic damage, but their own weapons also make use of it!

For defeating these dangerous enemies, you will receive loot that can be used to trade for a variety of exciting rewards! Resources, temporal artifact shards, and shards of officers from the Voyager and Enterprise-E synergy groups can be yours, if you are up for the challenge.

The Gorn can be found in the following new systems:

These hostiles will be your first opponents where the entire fight will be decided by isolytic damage. For easy reference, here are all the things currently in the game that can affect your isolytic damage vs hostiles:

Enterprise-E Picard
Enterprise-E Data
Kathryn Janeway
Prime Isolytic Damage
De-lak DOH! (for Klingon ships)
Baleful Tactics (for Federation ships)
Tan Qalanq’s Edge (for Romulan ships)

Starships tree:

Tachyon Hostile Eruption (requires Monaveen to research)

Fleet Commanders:

Isolytic Intel
Captain Proton’s Blaster
Blade of Tkon
Vidiian Honatta Organ Harvester
Picard’s Ressikin Flute
King M’Benga’s Crown
Riker’s Trombone
Kataan Telescope
Borg Queen’s Remains

We wish you luck out there, commanders.

The Star Trek Team

DON’t miss THESE from AROUND THE GALAXY

War room's warchest rewards tables, update 65: gorn invasion, pt 1, feature highlight: the war room.

Across the Stars: Celebrating First Contact Day and Humanity's Leap into the Galactic Community

Take the conn, download star trek fleet command today.

- AVAILABLE FOR -

STAY INFORMED AND DON’T LOSE YOUR PROGRESS!

Subscribe for exclusive updates on our launches & more! Sync your progress across platforms and devices

Screen Rant

Star trek’s origin movie could be the second to break tradition.

The upcoming Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie could be the next to break a Star Trek movie tradition that only one other film has broken.

Paramount confirmed Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie by director Toby Haynes will release in 2025.
The film may not focus on Starship Enterprise as it's set decades before J.J. Abrams' Star Trek (2009).
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is the only Star Trek movie that isn't set aboard the USS Enterprise.

The upcoming Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie could do something only one other Star Trek movie has done. At Cinema Con 2024, Paramount Studios confirmed the Star Trek origin film that had previously been rumored, and revealed that it was slated for a 2025 release. Not to be confused with Star Trek 4 , the presumed sequel to 2016's Star Trek Beyond , the Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie will take place decades before J.J. Abrams' 2009 Star Trek film . Toby Haynes, who directed Black Mirror's Star Trek- inspired episode, "USS Callister," will direct the film, based on a screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith.

J.J. Abrams will reportedly be a producer on Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie , and the story will be set within the alternate Kelvin timeline established in Abrams' prior Star Trek films. Almost no information has been revealed about the plot or cast of the movie, or exactly where it will fit within the Star Trek timeline. With the resurgence of Star Trek television on Paramount+, the studio seems ready to bring the franchise back to the big screen. One thing nearly every Star Trek film has had in common is that they focus on the adventures of the Starship Enterprise, but Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie could be about another ship entirely.

Every Upcoming Star Trek Movie & TV Show

Star trek’s origin movie may not be about the starship enterprise, star trek iv: the voyage home is the only other trek movie not set on the uss enterprise..

Star Trek 2009 established the alternate Kelvin timeline branched off from Star Trek's Prime timeline in 2233 when the Romulan mining ship Narada emerged from the future. The Captain of the Narada, Nero (Eric Bana), blamed the destruction of Romulus on the Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and the United Federation of Planets. When Nero destroyed the USS Kelvin, whose First Officer was Lt. George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth) , this event altered the future, as well as the life of James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), and created a new timeline. The USS Enterprise that would become Captain Kirk's was not launched until 2258 in this timeline, meaning the Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie might not feature the iconic Starship Enterprise at all.

Noah Hawley's canceled Star Trek movie was reportedly also to feature a different crew and ship besides the USS Enterprise.

Currently, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is the only Star Trek film that does not heavily feature the USS Enterprise, as it had been destroyed in the previous film, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his crew use a commandeered Klingon Bird-of-Prey dubbed the HMS Bounty to travel back in time in The Voyage Home , but the new USS Enterprise-A is commissioned at the end of the film. At this point, the Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie could feature any number of ships that have been referenced in various Star Trek projects, or it could feature a completely new ship and crew. Then again, the next Star Trek theatrical feature film could end up featuring a starship named Enterprise, after all.

Could Captain Archer’s NX-01 Enterprise Appear In Star Trek’s Origin Movie?

How far back in time will the untitled star trek origin movie go.

The success of Star Trek: Picard season 3 made it clear that many viewers love to see returning characters and callbacks to previous Star Trek projects, which could influence the Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie. If the film goes far enough back in the timeline, it could depict the original Enterprise NX-01 commanded by Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula). The NX-01 launched in 2151, paving the way for what would become the United Federation of Planets. It's unclear (and perhaps even unlikely) that the Star Trek origin film would go this far back in time, but with time travel, flashbacks, and alternate timelines, anything is possible.

Admiral Archer and callbacks to Star Trek: Enterprise have been referenced in J.J. Abrams ' Star Trek movies.

Paramount recently revealed that Academy Award-winner Michelle Yeoh's Star Trek: Section 31 film will be set in Star Trek's "lost era" before Star Trek: The Next Generation , and the studio might want to explore other eras within the Trek timeline that have yet to be heavily featured. The Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie could depict the time just before or after Nero arrived from the future, or it could shift its focus to an era that has not even been considered. Either way, it remains to be seen if the Star Trek origin movie will become only the second Trek film that's not about the Starship Enterprise.

Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness, & Star Trek Beyond are available to stream on Paramount+.

The Original Series
The Animated Series
The Next Generation
Deep Space Nine
Strange New Worlds
Lower Decks
Star Trek Movies
TrekCore on Twitter
TrekCore on Facebook

The urgent mission, the briefing for which takes place in the “infinity room” — aka “that white void from in The Matrix ” — is to recover an item from an 800-year-old Romulan science vessel that was found at the edge of the Beta Quadrant, and to do it fast . The mission has Red Directive priority, which you can tell just from the sound of it is serious business, and Kovich (David Cronenberg) is coming along to supervise.

Unfortunately, Discovery is scooped by two scavengers — the human Mol (Eve Harlow) and her mystery-alien counterpart L’ak (Elias Toufexis). Side note, if L’ak’s voice sounds familiar it’s because you’ve played a videogame before — almost any videogame, with Toufexis’ long resume!

Thinking the ship might already have been stripped, L’ak suggests the pair cut their losses and go find somewhere to make themselves comfortable together for the night, but Mol wants to stay the course and L’ak agrees without hesitation. This is the only glimpse we get into the nature of their partnership; before and after, they’re two people in lock-step and on a mission, and even here when they do disagree, it’s quickly resolved. If there is a romantic relationship between these two, it is not a priority.

Discovery soon arrives and sends a small boarding party of its own over to the Romulan vessel. Burnham, Rhys (Patrick Kwok-Choon), and Owosekun (Oyin Oladejo) poke around a bit, at first finding nothing but an open vault and the desiccated corpse of a Romulan wearing a noticeable Next Gen -era uniform. Not too long after, they also find Mol and L’ak, who trap Rhys and Owosekun in forcefield bubbles, removing them from the action before they even get a chance to really be a part of it.

Burnham catches up with Mol and L’ak and tries to talk them into handing over the artifact, but unsurprisingly this doesn’t work — it also contradicts the “shoot to kill” order Kovich gave the away team, though it’s to be expected that Burnham wouldn’t rush to use violence. The two thieves get away to their ship, Burnham gets blown into space, and the episode catches up to where it started: with Burnham surfing a ship through a warp slipstream while Discovery trails close behind.

Then, suddenly, a third ship arrives! The USS Antares , a sleek, four-nacelled beauty that gives echoes of a 32nd-century Stargazer , swoops in between Discovery and Burnham, tractoring the fleeing mystery ship. Her captain, Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie), refuses to let go, even when it’s clear that the Antares is doing more harm than good with its tractor beam.

This sequence is visually gorgeous — the wide shots of all three ships stacked in a close line with the swirls and eddies of the warp stream flowing around them are beautiful — but the action itself is otherwise static and goes on a little too long. The back-and-forth between the two captains serves to establish Rayner’s character as someone who is stubborn, gruff, and has a different command style than Burnham, but for quite a while nothing’s actually happening.

When Rayner finally does back off the mystery ship escapes, as he said it would, but not before it sends out 20 decoy warp signatures. Thankfully, Book (David Ajala) is able to arrive pretty much immediately — the galaxy remains a very small place on Discovery — and using his years of experience as a courier, pinpoint which of the warp signatures is likely to be the correct one. How does he know? Because there’s a dealer on this particular world, Q’Mau, known to specialize in old things.

Turns out the dealer, Fred (J. Adam Brown), specializes in old things because he himself is an old thing… a Soong-type android in the — well, not the flesh, but the bioplast.

I have to say, Fred threw me for a loop! This is not the first time we’ve seen a Soong-type android in the last few years, after the events of Star Trek: Picard , but it’s the first time in recent memory that I can recall seeing one thoroughly Data-like. Fred has different emotional expressivity than Data, and doesn’t have all the same physical mannerisms, but he doesn’t use contractions — and visually he looks more like Data than any of the other androids from Coppelius.

Long story short, I forgot all about the Romulan lockbox for a hot minute because I was sure that this near-Data was the real mystery. I was wrong, of course, as he is quickly killed by Mol and L’ak, but not before he easily opens the puzzle box and speed-reads through the handwritten notebook found inside.

Burnham, Book, and Rayner find Fred’s body and have it beamed aboard Discovery for analysis and then rush to find Mol and L’ak as they make their escape. This leads to an anti-grav sand runner chase through the desert as our three heroes try to catch up with Mol and L’ak’s ship, which is heading for the nearby mountains instead of back into orbit.

As with the earlier ship surfing scene, the action feels like it should be more exciting than it actually is. Part of this is because it’s a long sequence without a lot that breaks it up visually. But it’s also that there’s simply a lot of dialog, both between Discovery and the landing team and between the members of the landing team themselves as they shout at each other over the noise of their dirt bikes.

There’s an argument between Burnham and Rayner about whether to risk a sand avalanche by firing on the mountain to prevent the ship’s escape, which the Antares eventually does without incident. Then there’s the continuation of a conversation between Burnham and Book that started the moment he beamed aboard, one about who froze out whom and the nature of their relationship — and there’s another argument after the fleeing ship deliberately triggers the avalanche that the Antares avoided. Can Discovery stop the avalanche before it wipes out a city of thousands? Only with help from the Antares which Rayner is reluctant to give.

The move they pull to stop the avalanche — both starships slamming saucer-first into the desert and creating a joint shield bubble — which is exciting, unlike the sand chase that preceded it, is so “Uh, can they actually do that??” but also such a spectacle that you have to just sit back and say “Well, I guess in the 32nd century they can” and leave it at that.

Meanwhile, while all this has been going on, Burnham had put Tilly (Mary Wiseman) on the case to hack into Kovich’s files to find out more about the Romulan ship and its long-dead occupant. The cut back to Tilly is, to put it mildly, abrupt. She’s in a set that’s never been seen — generically Federation, but otherwise totally absent of any context clues — and I spent most of this scene simply trying to figure out where the heck she was:

There’s a guy with Tilly and she’s acting nervous and the cutesy music is obnoxiously childlike for a scene between two grown adults who maybe are flirting with each other. Is this where they work? Is it Starfleet Academy? Maybe it’s a classroom. Oh he’s leaving, okay. Maybe this is Tilly’s office. Oh there’s a bed, in the middle of this huge, bright, round room. Are these her quarters? She’s laying on the bed, I guess these are her quarters. Her very sterile, incredibly impersonal quarters half a quadrant away from the immediately previous scene. Got it. Okay what are we doing here again? We’re hacking something. Can we get Tilly a dimmer switch and some decorations and maybe a window while we wait?

Tilly gets caught, but Vance intercedes because he’s tired of being kept in the dark on this mission too, and the two of them look on as the personal log of our dead Romulan, one Dr. Vellek (Michael Copeman) begins to play. It’s too degraded to make out much, but the phrase “…in the shadow of the twin moons…” is clearly audible. Combining this information with the visual record of the notebook as contained in Fred’s positronic brain, Burnham identifies a location – the V’Leen System. But she still doesn’t know what it is Kovich has them chasing, or why.

Finally, realizing Burnham has the final piece of the puzzle, Kovich relents and lets her – and us – in on the secret, and ho boy what a secret it turns out to be!

Dr. Vellek was a member of the Romulan delegation in TNG ’s “The Chase,” the episode that explains why virtually all the aliens in Star Trek look like humans with forehead appliances — a progenitor race seeded the galaxy with genetic material that connects all humanoid life. The new piece for Discovery is that after the events of “The Chase”, Vellek found the location of the progenitors’ technology, which he recorded only in his notebook.

With the star system Burnham identified, Starfleet knows the location too — and now the chase is really on.

OBSERVATION LOUNGE

Season 5’s opening credits have some new imagery, including moons in orbit of a planet, a rotating gear, the “infinity room” access device, Mol and L’ak’s ship, and a field of rotating geometric shapes.
While a new classification of Starfleet mission, the term “Red Directive” is similar to the Omega Directive, overriding normal protocols and taking top priority over all other objectives.
The drinks served at Starfleet Headquarters, called “Tonic 2161,” feature floating stars which taste like Bajoran jumja sticks.
Stamets reports that Starfleet’s attempts to replicate the Spore Drive have come to a close as focus shifts to the new Pathway Drive system. This means Discovery will remain the only starship with the special propulsion system.

Speaking of the Spore Drive, this episode gives us a unique view of a jump, looking out the open cargo bay door while the ship transitions locations. (Close that freaking door, already!)
Shoutout to the Tholian Republic and Breen Imperium for continuing to be a thorn in the Federation’s side even after all these centuries. That’s some impressive staying power.
The Romulan science vessel is designed after the original studio model seen in Next Gen’s “The Next Phase.”
The interior of the Romulan ship is a redress of the Discovery mess hall set.
L’ak’s face has an interesting shimmering or morphing effect for a few seconds when he first removes his helmet aboard the Romulan ship, almost like it’s changing shape or smoothing itself out. I wonder what that’s all about?
Thanks to programmable matter, a standard issue Starfleet phaser can extend into a heavy-duty phaser rifle with a twist of the wrist. Cool!

Vellek wears a passable recreation of the Next Gen- era Romulan military uniform, but where are those crazy shoulder pads?
Burnham is taking saxophone lessons… every captain should have a hobby!
Fred’s serial number is AS-0572Y, with “AS” seeming to refer to Altan Soong.
Like Data in “The Royale,” Fred reads the Romulan book at a lighting-fast pace.
The puzzle box is identified as a tan zhekran , a type of Romulan object introduced in Star Trek: Picard’s “The Impossible Box.”
Along with the box, Mol and L’ak also bring Fred a set of Picard -era isolinear coprocessors, P icard -era Romulan communicator — and most valuable of all, a self-sealing stembolt.
Other props seen in Fred’s lair include and early-season Discovery hand phaser, a Zhat Vash phaser rifle, a Season 1 era Klingon bat’leth, and a Klingon cloaking device like the one from the HMS Bounty.
Kovich notes that the Progenitors designed “life itself,” which not-coincidentally is the title of Discovery’s Season 5 finale.

So what’s in store for this, Discovery ’s final season? Are Mol and L’ak still looking for a buyer, or did they just want Fred for his excellent puzzle-solving skills? The latter, I think. Will Book and Burnham reconcile? Probably! Will Discovery and her allies succeed in saving all life in the galaxy? Surely yes, unless the producers have some very dark plans for the series finale.

It looks like we’re in for a fun ride to find out how it all comes together. “The Chase” provides some huge storytelling opportunities, but as an all-time episode of Star Trek also some pretty big shoes to fill…. but I think Discovery can do it.

(Also, Saru and T’Rina are getting married: cue the heart emojis!)

Our review of the second episode of Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, “Under the Twin Moons,” can be found here — but please keep the discussion below limited to “Red Directive” only!

DSC Season 5
Red Directive
Star Trek: Discovery

History [ ]

Origins [ ].

Spock once theorized that the Vulcans might be descendants of the Arretans . ( TOS : " Return to Tomorrow ") In 2369 , evidence was discovered that several species including the Romulans, and therefore also the Vulcans , trace back to DNA seeded on many planets by ancient humanoids billions of years ago . ( TNG : " The Chase ")

By the late 24th century , some Romulans believed that the story of Ganmadan predated the arrival of the ancestors of the Romulans and Vulcans on Vulcan. ( PIC : " Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2 ")

When Surak's reforms of embracing logical principles and rejecting emotion spread rapidly across Vulcan in the 4th century , a minority rejected Surak's ideals. They were described as " those who march beneath the Raptor's wings ", a symbol later to be used in the Romulan Star Empire, and eventually departed Vulcan after losing a nuclear war called the Time of Awakening . At some point, they settled on twin planets that became known as Romulus and Remus , thereby laying the foundation of the Romulan Star Empire. ( ENT : " Kir'Shara "; TNG : " Gambit, Part I ", " Gambit, Part II "; Star Trek Nemesis )

Relationship with Humans and the Federation [ ]

Romulans were aware of Humanity for some time before Earth knew of them. Infiltrating the highest levels of the Vulcan High Command , the Romulans were impressed and seemingly confused by Humans. Enterprise NX-01 inadvertently encountered a Romulan minefield at one point, officially the first time Humanity became aware of the Romulans. Even after fighting the Earth-Romulan War , it wasn't until the 23rd century that Humans actually made visual contact with Romulans. ( ENT : " Minefield "; TOS : " Balance of Terror ")

After the Treaty of Algeron went into effect, the Romulans retreated into political and social isolation from the Federation. In late 2364 , an unprovoked attack on a Romulan outpost near the Federation Neutral Zone occurred. The Romulans initially suspected the Federation had executed the attack but it was later learned that the Borg may have been responsible. This event marked the end of Romulan political isolationism with the Federation. ( TNG : " The Neutral Zone ")

Relationships with other species [ ]

In keeping with their xenophobic attitudes, the Romulans tend to conquer species rather than form alliances with them, and individual Romulans tend to treat other species with varying degrees of disdain.

That did not prevent them from employing diplomacy when it suited their purposes. Soon after their emergence from a century of isolation in the mid 2260s , they had established at least two embassies with the Federation. One such embassy was a three-way endeavor on the planet Nimbus III , along with the Klingon Empire , and the other was on Earth itself. ( Star Trek V: The Final Frontier ; Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country )

The Romulans allied with the Federation and the Klingons against the Dominion

Klingons and Romulans once shared an alliance for a number of years, beginning in the 2260s . But over the years, a number of unfortunate incidents, including the Khitomer Massacre , led the Klingons to develop a deep-seated hatred for the Romulans, and the Romulans were arguably the species that Klingon society in general despised most of all. ( TOS : " The Enterprise Incident "; TNG : " The Neutral Zone ")

A Cardassian embassy existed on Romulus for a time, and Elim Garak was "employed" there as a " gardener ," suggesting that the two species maintained an active diplomatic relationship. ( DS9 : " Broken Link ") In 2371 , Romulan and Cardassian agents in the Tal Shiar and the Obsidian Order cooperated in an attempted attack on the Dominion . ( DS9 : " Improbable Cause ", " The Die is Cast ") The Romulans had cut ties with the Cardassians by the time they entered into the Dominion War , but precisely when their relationship ended prior to this was unclear.

One common saying among the Romulans was, " Never turn your back on a Breen . " While this statement could be taken as partially humorous and not in itself indicative of hostilities between the two species, the Breen Thot 's apparent condition that the Breen be given Romulus in exchange for their help in the Dominion War suggested there was some degree of unfriendly history between the two. ( DS9 : " By Inferno's Light ", " Strange Bedfellows ")

The species that Romulans seem to dislike most, however, were Vulcans, and this feud goes back many centuries. The two powers once fought in a war that lasted a hundred years which was ignited due to a misunderstanding created by one of Q 's self-destructive stunts . ( VOY : " Death Wish ")

The two species remained distrustful of one another for an incredibly long time, but some Romulans grew tired of this, and a grassroots movement for reunification of the two species was active for a time on Romulus. It was generally assumed that after the split, Romulans and Vulcans were unaware of their common ancestry until the 23rd century . ( ENT : " Kir'Shara "; TOS : " Balance of Terror ")

Catastrophe and betrayal [ ]

The destruction of Romulus

In 2387 , the Romulan sun went supernova . Ambassador Spock attempted to prevent the supernova from striking the planet using red matter , but he was unsuccessful and Romulus was destroyed. A mining vessel , the Narada , survived and was captained by Nero , who exploited the black hole 's creation of a time warp into the past to attack Spock's home planet of Vulcan in revenge and planned to destroy all planets of the Federation so that Romulus could be "free" and possibly conquer everywhere else. The first part of Nero's plan was mostly successful as Vulcan and most of the Vulcan species was destroyed. However, the Narada and its crew were destroyed in the Battle of Earth by the crew of the Enterprise led by the James T. Kirk of the alternate reality . ( Star Trek )

Just prior to the destruction of Romulus, the Romulans reached out to the Federation, which accepted their request for help. Admiral Jean-Luc Picard would lead a fleet of rescue ships to Romulus in an attempt to evacuate as many Romulans as possible but the rescue ships were attacked and destroyed by, what appeared to be at the time , a group of malfunctioning, rogue synthetic life forms during their attack on Mars . This action led Starfleet to withdraw the rescue mission, thus betraying the Romulans in their hour of need. Not wanting to be a spectator in what he viewed as a dereliction of duty and criminal action by Starfleet, Picard gave Starfleet a choice of either accepting his revised plan for the mission, or his resignation, in which Starfleet Command chose the latter. In disgust, he retreated to his vineyard on Earth . ( PIC : " Remembrance ", " The End is the Beginning ")

After the destruction of Romulus, some of the surviving Romulans were politically organized as the Romulan Free State . ( PIC : " Maps and Legends ")

Reunification [ ]

Centuries after Spock's death, the Romulans reunified with the Vulcans and returned to their former home of Vulcan, which was renamed Ni'Var . In the early days, the Qowat Milat were crucial in establishing trust between the two peoples, though their reconciliation remained difficult. After the Burn in the 31st century , the Romulans advocated for remaining in the Federation, though they were overruled. ( DIS : " Unification III ")

Mirror universe [ ]

In the mirror universe , the Romulans appeared to be uninvolved in the conflict between the Terran Rebellion and the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance .

Benjamin Sisko , posing as his mirror universe counterpart , indicated to Jennifer Sisko that he was going to visit the Romulans to see if he could get their support. This was, in reality, a ruse to explain his return to Deep Space 9 . ( DS9 : " Through the Looking Glass ")

Physiology [ ]

Romulans in 2266

Due to their shared ancestry, Vulcans and Romulans possessed very similar physiology . ( DS9 : " Image in the Sand ") In addition, much like being an offshoot from their Vulcan cousins themselves, a race known as the Debrune were an ancient offshoot of the Romulans. ( TNG : " Unification I ", " Gambit, Part I ")

Romulans had pointed ears , eyebrows that were arched and up-swept, varied skin color, and copper -based blood that appeared green when oxygenated in the arteries, or copper or rust-colored when deoxygenated in the veins. ( Star Trek Generations ; PIC : " Absolute Candor ")

Some Romulans had two brow ridges above the bridge of their nose, forming a V-shape on the forehead, while other Romulans lacked these ridges, making them outwardly indistinguishable from Vulcans. Ridges were a trait associated with Northerners . ( PIC : " The End is the Beginning ")

The Romulan heart was gray in color. According to Garak, this fact was " altogether appropriate for such an unimaginative race. " ( DS9 : " Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges ")

Despite their common ancestry, there were also many subtle internal physiological differences between Vulcans and Romulans. Their life signs registered distinctly enough on the scanners of the USS Enterprise in 2268 that officer Pavel Chekov was able to distinguish his crewmate Spock from the crew complement of a Romulan starship, though he did note the difficulty of the task. ( TOS : " The Enterprise Incident ")

The physical differences between Romulans and Vulcans were evidenced in Dr. Beverly Crusher 's failed attempt to treat a Romulan, Patahk , who had suffered advanced synaptic breakdown, with the methods used to treat Vulcans. Describing that, between the two, there were " subtle differences… too many of them. " In fact, it was later determined that the genetic similarities between Romulans and Klingons allowed for the two species to have a compatible ribosome match to effect treatment. ( TNG : " The Enemy ")

The Terothka virus was a disease unique to Romulan physiology. Romulans were also susceptible to Tuvan Syndrome . ( VOY : " Message in a Bottle "; DS9 : " Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges ")

Romulans were known to be inter-fertile with Humans , Klingons , and Vulcans . ( TNG : " The Drumhead ", " Redemption II ", " Birthright, Part II "; PIC : " Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1 ", et al.)

Romulans lacked the rigorous mental disciplines developed by the followers of Surak. ( TOS : " The Enterprise Incident ")

Society [ ]

In Romulan society, military/political rank influences social standing. Because Romulans were members of a militaristic civilization, who considered defending the Romulan Empire and their own personal honor of foremost importance, military service and its accompanying rank were decisive factors in determining social eminence. ( TOS : " Balance of Terror ") However, while the military played an important role in Romulan society, it was the Romulan Senate that controlled the government. ( Star Trek Nemesis )

Human clone Shinzon, who briefly became Praetor in 2379 after a coup d'etat , on his throne

At one point in history, Romulus was a sovereign nation ruled by an Empress , as indicated by Q . ( VOY : " The Q and the Grey ") By the 23rd century, the highest position of power was held by the Praetor , who presided over the Romulan Senate . ( TOS : " Balance of Terror "; Star Trek Nemesis ) The Praetor headed the Continuing Committee , which was composed of the Empire's most elite individuals, who made decisions of the utmost importance. ( DS9 : " Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges ")

By the 24th century , the government of Romulus was dependent upon the Tal Shiar , the Romulan secret police, to maintain order and stability among both civilians and the military. The Tal Shiar was known for its brutal tactics, which included routine kidnapping, torture, and assassination. Many Romulans feared even expressing dissenting opinions in order to not bring the attention of the Tal Shiar. There were also indications that tension existed between the military and the Tal Shiar. ( TNG : " Face Of The Enemy ")

Ayel, a Romulan miner

Romulan society was based upon a highly structured caste system. Unlike most of the highly evolved species in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants , Romulans still practiced slavery , in this case of the Remans , which they used for slave labor and as shock troops. ( Star Trek Nemesis )

Romulans tended to be highly xenophobic , engaging in extended periods of isolationism , and could be perceived as outright racist to other species, believing themselves to be superior. At least some Romulans believed that, one day, the Romulan Empire would rule the entire galaxy and that Humans would be extinct. ( TNG : " The Neutral Zone ", " Data's Day ", " The Enemy ") According to Miles O'Brien , there was no piece of technology in existence that the Romulans didn't claim they invented before everyone else. ( DS9 : " Explorers ") According to Worf , Romulans tried to claim as territory all that was in their field of vision. ( TNG : " Tin Man ")

Both males and females could command warships, obtain high political positions, and could be members of the Tal Shiar. ( TOS : " The Enterprise Incident "; TNG : " Contagion ", " Face Of The Enemy "; DS9 : " Image in the Sand ")

Culture [ ]

A street in the Krocton Segment on Romulus

The Romulans lacked the rigorous mental disciplines developed by the followers of Surak. Like the Vulcans, the Romulans gave up unrestrained violence as a way of life. However, in the case of the Romulans, this was replaced with a controlled deviousness: as a species, the Romulans were generally thought of as duplicitous, a reputation reinforced by the actions of their government over time. ( TNG : " The Neutral Zone ")

The Romulans saw and valued themselves as a passionate people. They dealt with loss differently from Humans: they loved deeply, and if it ended they honored that love by loving again, more deeply still. ( TNG : " Unification I "; PIC : " The Star Gazer ")

During the 23rd century , Romulans practiced the death penalty on criminals by means both painful and unpleasant. Prior to the presenting of the charges, the Romulans allowed the accused a Right of Statement . ( TOS : " The Enterprise Incident ")

Reluctance to rely on overt hostility generally led the Romulans to play a waiting game with their opponents, attempting to manipulate an adversary into breaking – or appearing to break – an agreement so as to give them a solid justification for striking. ( TNG : " The Defector ", " The Pegasus ")

They were also well-known for fearing disgrace over death. ( TAS : " The Practical Joker ") With this frame of mind, Romulan parents disposed of any newborn carrying birth defects, as the alternative would mean a waste of resources. ( TNG : " The Enemy ")

Romulan custom was to promise males and females to each other from birth. ( PIC : " The Star Gazer ")

The totalitarian nature of Romulan society, in which dissent was often a crime and Romulan security officers masqueraded as citizens, led many Romulans to be extremely paranoid. ( TNG : " Unification I ")

Romulans had three names : one for outsiders, one for family , and a true name for the one they gave their hearts to. ( PIC : " The Impossible Box ")

Traditional Romulan homes had a false front door and their true entrance was located in the back. ( PIC : " The End is the Beginning ")

A common Romulan saying was " jolan tru ", which was used for both "hello" and "goodbye". ( ENT : " United "; TNG : " Unification I ", " Unification II "; PIC : " Absolute Candor ")

Another saying was: " Sab khut hafeth, frazhannempal was qailefeth " ("Seize today, for we know nothing of tomorrow"). ( PIC : " The Star Gazer ")

The path of Zhal Makh meditation is outlined on the floor

The Zhal Makh was a traditional form of meditation practiced by the Romulans and considered taboo to non-Romulans. ( PIC : " The Impossible Box ")

In the 24th century, a dissident movement began to gain momentum, based on the desire to learn about Vulcan and their ideals. The movement's ultimate goal was the reunification of Romulus and Vulcan . Ambassador Spock was deeply involved in this movement. ( TNG : " Unification I ", " Face Of The Enemy ")

Miles O'Brien once played a game of tongo with a Romulan mercenary ( DS9 : " Change of Heart "). In cases of anonymity, they were known for commonly using hired assassins , such as the Flaxians , to conduct their off-world "justice" ( DS9 : " Improbable Cause ").

The deviousness, xenophobia, and practiced duplicity were notably rejected by the Qowat Milat , an order of warrior nuns that were ideologically (and sometimes martially) opposed to the Tal Shiar and the Zhat Vash . They instead practiced the Way of Absolute Candor , i.e. the total communication of emotion without filter between thought and word. They were also open to non-Romulan women being inducted into their ranks. ( PIC : " Absolute Candor "; DIS : " Unification III ")

Foods and beverages [ ]

Jumbo Romulan mollusk
Romulan ale
Romulan whiskey
List of named Romulans
List of unnamed Romulans

Technology [ ]

See main article: Romulan technology

Appendices [ ]

Appearances [ ].

" Minefield " (voice only) (Season 2)
" Kir'Shara " (Season 4)
" Babel One "
" The Aenar "
" Balance of Terror " (Season 1)
" The Deadly Years " (mentioned only) (Season 2)
" The Enterprise Incident " (Season 3)
" The Survivor " (Season 1)
" The Time Trap "
" The Practical Joker " (Season 2)
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
" The Neutral Zone " (Season 1)
" Contagion " (Season 2)
" The Enemy " (Season 3)
" The Defector "
" Tin Man "
" Future Imperfect " ( hologram only) (Season 4)
" Data's Day "
" The Drumhead "
" The Mind's Eye "
" Redemption "
" Redemption II " (Season 5)
" Unification I "
" Unification II "
" The Next Phase "
" Face Of The Enemy " (Season 6)
" Birthright, Part I "
" Birthright, Part II "
" The Chase "
" Timescape "
" The Pegasus " (Season 7)
" All Good Things... "
Star Trek Generations (corpse only)
Star Trek Nemesis
" The Search, Part I " (Season 3)
" The Search, Part II "
" Visionary "
" Improbable Cause "
" The Die is Cast "
" Homefront " (Season 4)
" In Purgatory's Shadow " (Season 5)
" By Inferno's Light "
" In the Pale Moonlight " (Season 6)
" Tears of the Prophets "
" Image in the Sand " (Season 7)
" Shadows and Symbols "
" Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges "
" When It Rains... "
" The Dogs of War "
" What You Leave Behind "
" Eye of the Needle " (Season 1)
" Unity " (Season 3)
" Message in a Bottle " (Season 4)
" Infinite Regress " (flashback nightmare ) (Season 5)
" Flesh and Blood " (hologram only) (Season 7)
" Q2 " (hologram only)
" Remembrance " (Season 1)
" Maps and Legends "
" The End is the Beginning "
" Absolute Candor "
" Stardust City Rag "
" The Impossible Box "
" Nepenthe "
" Broken Pieces "
" Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1 "
" Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2 "
" The Star Gazer " (Season 2)
" Penance "
" Assimilation "
" Watcher "
" Fly Me to the Moon "
" Two of One "
" Monsters "
" Hide and Seek "
" Farewell "
" The Next Generation " (Season 3)
" Imposters " (photo only)
" Veritas " (Season 1)
" Crisis Point 2: Paradoxus " (hologram only) (Season 3)
" I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee " (Season 4)
" Empathological Fallacies "
" The Inner Fight "
" Old Friends, New Planets "
" Unification III " (Season 3)
" All Is Possible " (Season 4)
" The Galactic Barrier "
" A Quality of Mercy " (Season 1)
" Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow " (Season 2)
" Crossroads " (Season 1)
" Masquerade "

Background information [ ]

First television appearances [ ].

The Romulans were conceived by freelance writer Paul Schneider and introduced in the TOS Season 1 episode " Balance of Terror ". Despite Schneider alone being given on-screen credit for the writing of that particular episode, citation for the creator of the Romulans became somewhat muddied as the years went by. In an article from Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 11 (p. 20), Star Trek: The Original Series writing staffer John D.F. Black wrote, " It's been stated so often that the Romulans were created by producer Gene Coon that I find it difficult to keep from walking lockstep with the legend, nodding along with it, in spite of my having been there while the Romulans emerged from the imagination of Paul Schneider. " Another person who was there at the time was D.C. Fontana , who was present when Schneider pitched the episode to Gene Roddenberry . Regarding Schneider's work on the Romulans, Fontana later said, " He defined it; he very much laid out who the Romulans were. Paul doesn't get enough credit for it. " (" Balance of Terror " Starfleet Access , TOS Season 1 Blu-ray ) (Note that Gene Coon was not yet a member of the Star Trek creative staff when "Balance of Terror" was written and produced. Coon joined Norway Corporation (Roddenberry's production company) roughly a month later, starting with " Miri ".)

Paul Schneider modeled the Romulans on the ancient Romans , naming the species' homeworlds after the mythical founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus . " It was a matter of developing a good Romanesque set of admirable antagonists that were worthy of Kirk , " Schneider related. " I came up with the concept of the Romulans which was an extension of the Roman civilization to the point of space travel, and it turned out quite well. " ( Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages , p. 34) D.C. Fontana reckoned that Schneider basing the aliens on the pre-existing Roman civilization was the cause for the writer receiving insufficient credit for creating the Romulans. (" Balance of Terror " Starfleet Access , TOS Season 1 Blu-ray ) Gene Roddenberry, interested in ancient Rome himself, approved of the initial depiction of the Romulan species. " He loved Paul's having endowed the enemy-Romulans with the militaristic character of the ancient Romans, " wrote John D.F. Black and Mary Black . ( Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 11 , p. 19) Roddenberry's original concept of the Romulans, however, was that they represented 1960s' Chinese Communists. ( Star Trek Nemesis hardback ed., p. xx)

The script for "Balance of Terror" originally implied, by describing the Romulan Bird-of-Prey as an Enterprise saucer section attached to a pair of warp nacelles, that the Romulans had somehow stolen starship components from the Federation. (" Balance of Terror " Starfleet Access , TOS Season 1 Blu-ray ) When first introduced in the revised final draft script of "Balance of Terror", the Romulans were described " with ears pointed as Spock's ears are pointed… much like Spock, the Romulans. " A description of them from further in the script stated, " They are Spock-like men, dressed in military tunics with strange emblems. Like Spock, their almond-colored faces are coldly impassive. " The next paragraph in the teleplay referred to "the striking resemblance they have in common with Mister Spock – Vulcanite ears!"

In common with Gene Roddenberry, the Blacks and D.C. Fontana also appreciated Paul Schneider's invention of the Romulans, the Blacks describing them as, " Villains strong enough and clever enough that the audience would be compelled to believe they were capable of the first move that would lead to the destruction of the Federation. " ( Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 11 , p. 20) Fontana enthused, " They were a wonderful, wonderful enemy […] to have, because we could talk about them, people had seen them once, and we didn't know a lot about them. They were wonderfully mysterious. They've always been my favorites, actually – right up there, next to the Vulcans […] Paul did a very good job of, you know, creating this race, ultimately, in the script. " Fontana also cited the Romulans' exoticism, their pointed ears and relation to Vulcans as one element of why she liked the Romulans. (" Balance of Terror " Starfleet Access , TOS Season 1 Blu-ray )

Lots of experience with Vulcan ear and eyebrow prosthetics, as worn by Leonard Nimoy in the role of Spock, stood makeup artist Fred Phillips in good stead for dealing with the Romulans in Star Trek: The Original Series . ( Star Trek: The Original Series Sketchbook , p. 185) However, the makeup was too impractical for the Romulans to be brought back on a regular basis, with the pointed ears especially bringing about several problems. The cost of manufacturing the ears, which were made from latex, was too enormous for multiple actors in any episode and the manpower required to create the ears and apply them for each individual actor would have gone over the budget. The need for costly actor-specific ears was negated via reusable helmets that were worn by the background Romulans. ( Star Trek: Aliens & Artifacts , pp. 41 & 42) " It took a long time for the ears to be put on […] And you have a large number of extras coming in, that have to have these ears put on. It's very expensive, it's time, " commented Denise Okuda . " And so they came up with this ingenious idea of putting helmets on, so you could hide the fact that these actors did not have pointed ears on. " (" Balance of Terror " Starfleet Access , TOS Season 1 Blu-ray ) The Romulan ears were manufactured by Wah Chang , as were the group's helmets. For both, he charged Desilu Productions US$748.80. (This would be more than US$7,000 in 2020s money.) Chang invoiced Desilu for this payment on 26 July 1966 and the price was paid in the following month (on either 10 or 13 August ). ( Star Trek: The Original Series Sketchbook , pp. 240-241)

Following their introduction in the first season, the Romulans indirectly appeared in the second season installment " The Deadly Years ", via recycled footage of the Romulan Bird-of-Prey , and were temporarily planned to appear themselves in the story that became Season 2's " A Piece of the Action ". As such, they were written into the first draft script for the latter of those two episodes, then entitled "Mission Into Chaos". [1]

The Romulans finally made a physical reappearance in the third season outing " The Enterprise Incident ", which had the working title "The Romulan Incident". titles.htm The same episode was an allegorical story that politically based the Romulans on North Koreans. ( Star Trek: The Original Series 365 , p. 277) Applying a pair of the Romulan ear prosthetics during production on "The Enterprise Incident" typically took forty-five minutes. Having portrayed one of the Romulans in that particular episode, Tal actor Jack Donner pronounced, " The Romulans are a great race of people. " ( Star Trek: Communicator issue 137 , p. 53)

Possibility of Star Trek III inclusion [ ]

The Romulans were originally meant to be the villains in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock . In an early story outline that Harve Bennett wrote for the third film, the Romulans discovered that the Genesis Planet had extraordinarily rich dilithium deposits and found Spock's coffin on the planet's surface. Even though they initiated a mining operation, the Romulans encountered trouble with this upon discovering that someone was killing members of the mining team, a mysterious individual who was later discovered to be a regenerated Spock. The story also brought the Romulans in conflict with the Enterprise and its senior officers. Though Kirk realized that the Romulans would become unstoppable if they succeeded with their mining mission, the Romulans were ultimately thwarted by the Starfleet officers, who – having caused the Enterprise to self-destruct to prevent a Romulan boarding party from seizing it – proceeded to capture the Romulan ship for themselves. ( Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 3, Issue 8 , pp. 29-30)

As Harve Bennett subsequently discussed the story with Leonard Nimoy , the Romulans were at the forefront of their thinking. " Our first conversations were about the Romulans versus the Klingons, " Bennett later explained. " I was just looking for a heavy, and in the series – to me – the Romulans seemed to be more dastardly than the Klingons. So it was an error of ignorance. " ( Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 3, Issue 8 , p. 30) Bennett went on to say, " I could have chosen the Romulans, but from my experience seeing all the episodes, I'd never gotten that sense of determination and absolutism that the Klingon episodes have revealed. " ( audio commentary , Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (Special Edition) DVD / Blu-ray ) Moreover, Nimoy persuaded Bennett that the Romulans were less theatrical than the Klingons, so the name of the species that would serve as the movie's villain was switched. The Klingon Bird-of-Prey was intended to have been stolen from the Romulans, but this information was left out of the film. ( The Art of Star Trek , pp. 215, 217 & 219)

Next Generation reappearances [ ]

In the first edition of the Star Trek: The Next Generation Writer'/Directors' Guide , Gene Roddenberry declared that no stories concerning warfare with Romulans would be accepted for the new series. ( The Art of Star Trek , p. 92) However, when Roddenberry was attempting to decide upon a new antagonist for regular use on Star Trek: The Next Generation (while considering that the Klingons would no longer appear as recurring villains), writer D.C. Fontana thought of the Romulans. Fontana later recalled, " I sent him a memo, suggesting 'How about the Romulans?' After all, they hadn't been developed all that much in The Original Series , and they were a glamorous, attractive enemy. " ( Star Trek - Where No One Has Gone Before paperback ed., p. 110) Secure in the knowledge that the TNG viewers had accepted the series as a new version of Star Trek rather than a retread, Roddenberry felt confident enough to bring back the Romulans at the end of the show's first season . ( Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Continuing Mission , p. 66) Roddenberry allowed the Romulans to occasionally feature on the new series from then on, but preferred not to use them as the series' primary villains. ( Star Trek: The Next Generation 365 , p. 036)

The return of the Romulans in the first season TNG episode " The Neutral Zone " was originally discussed as the first of a multi-part story that would have united them with the Federation against the newly discovered Borg . ( Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion (3rd ed., p. 60)) Writing staffer Maurice Hurley , who wrote "The Neutral Zone" and devised the multi-episode arc, intended for the Romulans to engage in a major battle against a Borg scout ship in the second of the three episodes, planned for the show's second season . The conflict would have culminated in the Romulans destroying the Borg vessel but being completely annihilated themselves. The extermination of the Romulan people would have left a mystery for Picard as to how they had managed to defeat the Borg ship before it had wiped them all out. ( Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 1, Issue 23 , pp. 15-16) A Writers Guild strike nixed this plan and the introduction of the Borg had to wait. ( Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion (3rd ed., p. 60)) Nonetheless, the reappearance of the Romulans in "The Neutral Zone" proved the species had lost none of its appeal. ( Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 12 , p. 21)

Marc Alaimo in Romulan makeup and costuming

Patrick Stewart in Romulan makeup

Marina Sirtis in Romulan makeup and costuming

For their appearances on Star Trek: The Next Generation , makeup artist Michael Westmore gave the Romulans V-shaped forehead ridges to "compete" with the Klingon redesign introduced in Star Trek: The Motion Picture . ( The Art of Star Trek , p. 92) The Romulan ridges also developed from efforts to make them look more menacing than how they had appeared before and physically differentiate them from Vulcans. " From the very first moment they appeared on-screen, " Westmore commented, " the viewer had to take them seriously, rather than seeing them as stereotyped villains with pointed ears […] I devised a forehead that had a dip in the center, and then I hollowed out the temple area. We wanted to stay close to their natural forehead, not making them look Neanderthal, but giving them a built-in sullen expression they couldn't get away from. " ( Star Trek: The Next Generation 365 , p. 068)

It was found that this facial feature complemented a change to the typical Romulan hairstyle that Michael Westmore wanted to introduce. He said of the restyled Romulans, " I gave them a little wedge to the center of the hair on their forehead instead of the Vulcans' straight-across bang. " ( Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 12 , p. 26)

Although the Romulan genealogical tie to Vulcans was unspecified by TNG's writers when the Romulans were brought back – with "Balance of Terror" having introduced the species merely as a likely Vulcan offshoot – the opinion of the show's writers regarding the nature of this relationship had changed by the series' fifth season , as had personnel in the TNG writers' room. Writer Ronald D. Moore , who joined the show in its third season , expressed, " I hated the foreheads on the Romulans. The backstory [established in ' Unification '] was that they were basically the same race, yet somehow the Romulans got these different foreheads at some point. " ( Star Trek: The Next Generation 365 , p. 068) However, the redesigned Romulan makeup remained for subsequent Star Trek productions, not only those set in the 24th century but also for when Romulans were featured on Star Trek: Enterprise . The makeup was so extensive that it required the actor's head to be measured during pre-production (at least, it did in the case of Vaughn Armstrong , when preparing to play Telek R'Mor in VOY : " Eye of the Needle "). [2]

Initially, the alternate timeline in " Yesterday's Enterprise " incorporated a Romulan alliance with the Vulcans. Together, they destroyed the Klingons and almost wiped out the Federation. ( Star Trek Monthly issue 24 , p. 28)

In " Tin Man ", the Romulans were at first deliberately written about somewhat sympathetically by the episode's writers, Dennis Putman Bailey and David Bischoff . " We knew it wasn't allowed to use the Romulans as the 'bad guys,' so we found different way to use them, " explained Bailey. " We presented their point of view very clearly and why they felt threatened by the Federation. Interestingly enough, the dialogue about that was cut from the final cut and I think they decided it was okay to use the Romulans as bad guys without justifying it. " ( Star Trek: Communicator issue 102 , p. 16)

Naren Shankar , who wrote the teleplay for " Face Of The Enemy ", thoroughly approved of how the Romulans are shown in that installment, saying, " The Romulans are not demonised […] which I think is very important. " ( Star Trek Monthly issue 17 , p. 22)

Return to films [ ]

For Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , Romulan makeup was designed and fabricated by Richard Snell , though applied by Makeup Supervisor Michael J. Mills . Even though the Romulan facial features on TNG had significantly evolved from those on The Original Series , the Romulans were returned to their earlier form for Star Trek VI . " Basically, this time they had larger, bushier eyebrows and bigger ears, " noted Mills. " We stayed away from the forehead pieces and the radically different ears the new TV series has featured and just went with the original look. " ( Cinefex , no. 49, pp. 42 & 45)

Romulans were one alien race which, prior to the advent of Star Trek: Voyager , had become extremely familiar elements of the Star Trek universe. Deliberately, much less attention was paid to them in Voyager . ( Star Trek: Voyager - A Vision of the Future , pp. 155 & 162)

Romulans were initially intended to show up in a battle sequence near the start of Star Trek Generations . In this conflict, a group of Romulans would have attacked a couple of ensigns aboard the Amargosa observatory but then been ambushed themselves by an away team from the USS Enterprise -D , particularly Worf. Following comments from Jeri Taylor , this was changed to become a scene aboard a holographic simulation of the brig USS Enterprise , with only the aftermath of the battle being shown. ( The Making of the Trek Films , UK ed., p. 150)

The Romulans were originally to have filled the conspiratorial role that the Son'a play in Star Trek: Insurrection . According to writer Michael Piller in his unpublished reference book Fade In: From Idea to Final Draft , the idea of using the Romulans as major villains in the film was inspired by the fact that the species had been a long-standing enemy of the Federation but had never been featured in a Star Trek movie before. Additionally, Piller and Rick Berman imagined that the story might be set against the threat of a new outbreak of hostilities between the two governments. The Romulans went on to be written into the first version of the film's story. ( AOL chat , 1998 )

As told in Fade In: From Idea to Final Draft , Patrick Stewart criticized even the thought of using the Romulans in Insurrection , believing that they wouldn't make a suitable rival for the follow-up to Star Trek: First Contact . On 1 June 1997 , he wrote a letter to Rick Berman in which Stewart stated, " I think what dismays me most about the story is the dredging up of the Romulans – a race already unexciting in TNG – as the bad guys. It is revisionist and backward looking in a most disappointing way. After the Borg – the Romulans? Oh, my. " On 30 June , Michael Piller responded to this letter with one in which he explained, " We have, from the start, intended to re-invent the Romulans because we agree with you. We’ve been talking about a complete overhaul of their look as well as their character. If it means a great deal to you, I’d personally be willing to change it to another race. Do you have any suggestions? " Stewart responded with another letter, which he sent on 7 July and which confirmed that "the Romulan question" was highly important to him. Stewart continued, " I think it is a deadly idea to have even an 'overhauled' Romulan villain. After the Borg Queen it will look as if we just couldn’t come up with any new bad guys. But we must. "

The change to the newly invented Son'a was made "because nobody liked the idea of using the Romulans, ever," said Michael Piller. ( The Secrets of Star Trek: Insurrection , p. 14) Regarding the prospect of including the Romulans, Piller clarified, " No-one here felt a great deal of enthusiasm for that decision. " ( AOL chat , 1998 ) However, Eric A. Stillwell , who contributed to the making of Insurrection as a production associate and script coordinator, believed that the Romulans should have been used, saying, " I think this would have had a greater dramatic impact than introducing an entirely new group of bad guys. " He also noted about the exclusion of the Romulans, " I think that was a mistake. " [3] (X)

One of the first concepts in the writing of Star Trek Nemesis was to centrally feature the Romulans. A primary advocate for this choice of villain was writer John Logan – a big fan of the species and "the lethal machinations" characteristic of the group. " For a writer, the malicious subtlety of the Romulans, " remarked Logan, " offers great opportunities; the cleverness and formality of their language must suggest that they are simultaneously a deadly political foe and a noble, ancient race. Besides, I had just finished working on Gladiator and was in a classical frame of mind. The serpentine rhythms of the language we created for the Roman Empire in that movie were good practice for writing the august and treacherous Romulans. " ( Star Trek Nemesis hardback ed., pp. xvii-xviii) Logan also enthused, " I was delighted with the chance to get to play with the Romulans, and I don't think they've quite been explored enough […] For me the Communist Chinese is a really interesting world that was never fully explored, certainly in the movies, and not even as much as I would have liked in the series, except for individual episodes. I've always found that sort of Byzantine structure of Chinese Communism very interesting and very provocative, and lethal in a way I never found the Klingons. There is so much duplicity and mendacity and cleverness in the way the Romulans move through their world with very strategic chess moves. And also they are an old and ancient race, like the Vulcans, so they have gravitas to them, which I find very interesting. " ( Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 2 , pp. 11-12)

John Logan doubting that the Romulans would mine dilithium for themselves was a strong influence on the creation of the Remans . " It seemed obvious to me, " he said, " that the Romulans would subjugate some other race to dig dilithium for them. Much too messy for our pristine and elegant Romulans. " As an homage to Gene Roddenberry's original conception of the Romulans as Chinese Communists, Logan and the other writers of Nemesis made all the Romulan and Reman names in the film of ancient Chinese descent. ( Star Trek Nemesis hardback ed., p. xx)

Although the Remans are clearly the main villainous species in Nemesis , Rick Berman was repeatedly reported as stating, in an interview on a UPN station local to Los Angeles, that the Romulans would be the major villain in the film. [4] (X) [5] (X) In Star Trek: Communicator issue 131 , he clarified, " What I said was that we would be seeing the Romulans in this movie, which we are, but I did not necessarily say that they were going to be our main villains. " [6] (X) In Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 1, Issue 23 (p. 10), he further hinted about the Romulans, " They are part of the villainy, but not in the way that some might think! "

Eric Stillwell was puzzled upon hearing a rumor that the Romulans might be involved in Nemesis at all. He later commented, " I thought [that] was odd after we were asked to remove the Romulans from the original story in Insurrection . " [7] (X)

Before the release of Nemesis , Rick Berman additionally remarked, " I'm sure you can expect a fresh, updated look for the Romulans […] I think there will be some surprises as to what the Romulans will look like. " [8] (X) As it was, the Romulan designs used in the film were much as they had been in the preceding series. These similarities not only included their makeup but also stemmed to the production design of their ships, with Production Designer Herman Zimmerman saying, " The Romulans have been kind of an art deco culture and that's what you see [in Nemesis ], echoes of 1930s geometry in architecture, just turned sideways. " [9] (X)

Applying the Romulan prosthetics for Nemesis regularly took four hours. " I had a forehead prosthetic that they stuck to my head, " reported Donatra actress Dina Meyer . " The morning make-up routine consisted of me going into hair and getting my head wrapped – they make your hair all pin-curled and they put your head in a wig cap, so all your hair is pulled off your face. Then you go to the make-up trailer, where they attach the prosthetic forehead and prosthetic ear tips and then they pile on the make-up. They need a spatula to put it on, it's so thick. " ( Star Trek Monthly issue 100 , p. 23)

Further television appearances [ ]

Because "Balance of Terror" had established Starfleet's first confirmed visual contact with the Romulans as being in 2266 , it was somewhat difficult for them to appear on Enterprise , that prequel series primarily being set in the 2150s . The show's producers wanted to include Romulans in the series, despite the risk of contaminating Star Trek canon, ever since the series began. ( Star Trek: Communicator issue 135 , p. 23)

Some initial consideration was given to making unnamed aliens in ENT : " Silent Enemy " actually be Romulans. André Bormanis , a writing staffer who wrote that episode, explained, " I wondered whether they might be Romulans until we decided to do a CGI alien effect [for the aliens themselves]. I think the technology of their ship, though, was too sophisticated for Romulans in this era, so that argued against making them Romulans too. " [10] (X)

The interest in seeing the Romulans on the series of Enterprise continued, however. " We have major continuity issues with them, " observed Executive Producer Brannon Braga , at the end of the show's first season . " We would very much like to do Romulans, but a) we don't know quite how yet, and b) since the new movie [ Star Trek Nemesis ] deals with Romulans, we want to give them some breathing room. We'll do them eventually, but not right away. " ( Star Trek: Communicator issue 139 , p. 29) Intense speculation regarding whether the Romulans would appear in the series was stirred up at the end of Season 1. ( Star Trek: Communicator issue 145 , p. 24)

In fact, just prior to the release of Star Trek Nemesis , the Romulans seemed to have disappeared. At the time, John Logan rhetorically asked, " Why isn't anyone using them? " Reflected Jack Donner, " To a great deal they have been ignored. They haven't paid that much attention to them [in recent series]. There have certainly been episodes that dealt with Romulans, but nothing like the Klingons, Cardassians , and Ferengi . " ( Star Trek: Communicator issue 137 , pp. 46 & 53)

In Star Trek: Communicator issue 137 (p. 85), Rick Berman predicted, " I would […] not be surprised that, within the next six to twelve months, we will have our first run-in with Romulans […] I […] think we will undoubtedly be running into Romulans at some point. " However, Berman made these statements without the writing staff of Enterprise having discussed the species appearing on the series nor the art department doing any design work related to the Romulans. [11] (X) [12] (X) Responding to the news, André Bormanis remarked, " If that's the case, I'm looking forward to it. " [13] (X)

One possibility, considered at around the end of the first season, was whether John Logan would be able to write the script for the Romulans' appearance on Enterprise , which then began to be a likely option for the show's second season . " Yeah, he would love to do that, and we would love to give him that chance, " announced Rick Berman. " It's all going to have to do with his time – he has three huge movies that he is working on now. We'll see what happens. " In the same interview, Berman went on to outrightly dismiss the chance that Romulans could show up in the first season. ( Star Trek: Communicator issue 138 , p. 20)

Despite the second season installment " Minefield " initially excluding the Romulans and its premise being a story set entirely on the hull of Enterprise , the plot evolved to include the Romulans. " The idea that the attacking aliens would be Romulans came out a little later, during the story break process, " Brannon Braga recollected. " We needed to be true to continuity and this was a way to do it. " ( Star Trek: Communicator issue 145 , p. 24) Braga was happy that this portrayal of the Romulans seemed to come at an appropriate time, commenting, " I think it's cool that on Star Trek Nemesis you can see the Romulans of Picard's time, and at the same time you're seeing the early encounters with them on Enterprise ; there's great synergy there. " ( Star Trek Monthly issue 99 , p. 8)

At a convention in Minneapolis held on the second weekend of July 2002 , Connor Trinneer conceded that, although he did not know any specifics about the Romulans making a return appearance on Enterprise , such an appearance was very possible, saying he "wouldn't be surprised" by it, at all. [14] (X) It was merely days later, on Tuesday 16 July 2002 , that Brannon Braga finally announced the upcoming Season 2 Romulan episode, hinting, " I think I can say without getting into too much trouble that very early in the season we will have our first brush with the Romulans. … Capt. Archer will have a very lethal brush with the Romulans early on. " [15] (X) On several occasions, Braga also tried to give assurances that the continuity with the Romulans was "airtight." [16] (X) [17] (X)

Despite featuring heavily in "Minefield", Malcolm Reed actor Dominic Keating revealed to fans, " I have NO idea who they are! " [18] (X)

Prior to the initial airing of Enterprise 's season 2 finale " The Expanse ", many fans at first incorrectly speculated that the Romulans were responsible for the attack on Earth depicted in that episode – thought to be the initial volley in the Romulans' previously established war with Earth – and would be the focus of the series' third season , rather than the multi-species Xindi . Brannon Braga was of the opinion that, had the Romulans indeed been used, they would have become "old" and less satisfying during the relatively lengthy course of the third season arc. He also stated that this did not exempt the species from appearing in that season, in which they nevertheless ultimately did not feature. ( Star Trek: Communicator issue 145 , p. 32)

The Earth-Romulan War was, however, intended to be explored in the fifth season of Star Trek: Enterprise and the film Star Trek: The Beginning , neither of which were produced. Brannon Braga and Manny Coto considered making " Future Guy " a Romulan, while Michael Sussman intended on revealing T'Pol's father was a Romulan agent. ( Information provided by Michael Sussman )

The Romulans would have had a grander future had the animated series Star Trek: Final Frontier been produced instead of the film Star Trek : set in the 2460s , a war caused by Omega particle detonations (which was not actually the Romulans' fault) permitted them to conquer Qo'noS , destroy Andoria , and force the Vulcans to leave the Federation to negotiate reunification .

Depiction in 2009 film [ ]

During development of the 2009 film Star Trek , the writers of the movie's script, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci , chose the Romulans as the villains because the film was a continuation of Spock's story from "Unification". [19] J.J. Abrams said, " What was interesting to me was that it wasn't the Klingons. That's what you expect and it was fun to use the Romulans the way we did, " referring to their premature appearance in Kirk's life being a clear marker of divergence from the prime reality. " Part of the fact is that they hadn't seen them for so many years, so that it immediately breaks, for anyone who knows, the rules of Trek to start the movie and have Romulans crossing paths with Starfleet. " [20] Orci and Kurtzman focused more on writing the Romulans in later drafts of the screenplay. ( Star Trek Magazine issue 146 , p. 27)

Romulan prosthetics for the film Star Trek were at first arranged to be the purview of Proteus FX Makeup Effects Supervisor Barney Burman . " I did some early designs for the Romulans in my shop, but when my workload became too heavy, I hired Joel Harlow to come in and handle them. We all decided it would be best if Joel took over the task of creating the Romulans on set close to [Director] J.J. [Abrams] so he could see and direct their progress each day. We set up a makeup trailer for the Romulans, and Joel hired a crew of people to work on that and just did a fantastic job. " ( Star Trek Magazine issue 155 , p. 57) This makeup crew, called Joel Harlow Designs , sculpted and designed Romulan ear and forehead prosthetics. A total of forty main Romulan characters were created to appear in the movie, a process that started with lifecasts for each actor. ( Star Trek - The Art of the Film , p. 37) Harlow himself remembered, " J.J. did not want to see any hair lace in the wig applications, so we made the entire forehead and eyebrows as one piece, with hair punched into the silicone before application. I wanted to give the Romulans an animal look, so we widened their nose bridge and did some interesting stuff with their brows – but nothing so extreme that you couldn't believe they were real. " ( Cinefex , No. 118, pp. 46 & 47) After the individual prosthetic pieces were crafted and prepared for filming, Harlow's team also applied the prosthetics. The Romulan makeup designs from the same film incorporated tattoos that were made to look tribal. ( Star Trek - The Art of the Film , p. 37)

Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci admitted that, even in the alternate reality , not all Romulans are necessarily bald. ( Star Trek Magazine issue 149 , p. 13) In reality, baldness of Nero and his crew was used to set the Romulans apart, physically, from the Vulcans in the movie, due to both species having slanted eyebrows and pointed ears. ( Star Trek Magazine issue 155 , p. 57)

Casting Director April Webster was at first very puzzled as to how to cast the Romulans in the film. " I had no idea what we were going to do with the Romulans, " she conceded. However, an influence on overcoming this challenge was the fact that the rest of the movie's cast incorporated a wide variety of people, with different skin colors and ages. Webster continued about the Romulans, " We just made a list of the most interesting actors we could think of who could match up and hold their own in a scene with [ Nero actor] Eric Bana . " ( Star Trek Magazine issue 144 , p. 30)

There were subtle alterations made to the Romulan prosthetics (at least for the Nero character) before filming, making it easier to perform on long shooting days. Eric Bana stated, " The prosthetics only underwent very minor changes, just for comfort and actability. Sometimes you make a really tiny change with the prosthetic, or the glue, or where it's attached, and it can really make a difference to your ability to convey expression. We had a few goes at that in pre-production to get that right. " By the time a week of filming had gone by, Bana found the new Romulan facial appearance "began to look completely normal to me, and regular humans started to look weird!" ( Star Trek Magazine issue 146 , p. 24) On the other hand, according to Star Trek Magazine issue 146 (p. 24), the Romulans on set seemed distinctly intimidating.

Discovery and Picard [ ]

The Romulans have been purposely excluded from featuring in Star Trek: Discovery . Showrunner Aaron Harberts explained, " 'Romulan' is a dirty word in our writers' room right now, because of where we are in the timeline. We don't talk about the Romulans […] The sparks fly when the writers bring up the Romulans. " ( AT : " O Discovery, Where Art Thou? ")

When Neville Page designed the Romulan makeup for Star Trek: Picard , he decided to use a variety of forehead appliances, some with more prominent ridges and others with a more human appearance, closer to the look of the Romulans in Star Trek: The Original Series . ( TRR : " Maps and Legends ")

After Picard season 1 aired, showrunner Michael Chabon published a blog post on Medium, outlining the history and culture for the Romulan people he devised for the show. [21]

Reception and trivia [ ]

The Romulans proved extremely popular among Star Trek fans . " When my episode first aired, " remarked Jack Donner, regarding " The Enterprise Incident ", " I got a letter from a fan named Lori Carlson in Denver, Colo. She was the president of the Leonard Nimoy/Vulcan club there, but she wrote to me and said that the club was switching their interests around. And now there are Romulan fan clubs all over the place – in Michigan, and Bakersfield, California, to name just a few. " ( Star Trek: Communicator issue 137 , p. 53) The Romulans had become fan favorites by the end of TNG's first season. ( Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Continuing Mission , p. 66)

Star Trek novels scribe Susan Schwartz also approved of the Romulans. " I personally like the combination of raw intellect and harnessed ferocity, with all that history underlying it, " she explained. " With the Romulans, I like the plotting, too, and the honor and the irony. I've always liked them, from the time I saw Marc Lenard's face in 'Balance of Terror' and realized what they were swiping from. " [22] (X)

A group of Romulans appeared in a 1995 television commercial for a Christmas ornament of the Romulan Warbird, made by Hallmark . Makeup for these Romulans was provided by Michael Westmore 's makeup team. ( Star Trek Monthly issue 9 , p. 50)

Apocrypha [ ]

Much of the Romulans' origins are explored in the Rihannsu pentalogy by Diane Duane , and the later Vulcan's Soul trilogy by Josepha Sherman and Susan Schwartz . Duane's novels established that the exodus from Vulcan was led by S'task, a former disciple of Surak , a detail which Sherman and Schwartz followed.

In Duane's novel The Romulan Way , Vulcan society becomes polarized by their first encounter with an alien species – Orion pirates attempting to invade their world. S'task, a Vulcan poet and former disciple of Surak, argues in favor of strength, while Surak's increasingly popular beliefs favor pacifism and logic. To avert civil war between the two factions, S'task leads his followers on a mass migration. As part of their exodus, they intentionally invent a new culture and a new language. They refer to themselves as the Rihannsu , which means "the Declared," in their new language. Likewise, they named their new homeworlds ch'Rihan ("of the Declared") and ch'Havran ("of the Travelers"); the names Romulus and Remus were pinned on their worlds by the Federation exploration vessel that first entered their star system – according to Duane, those Rihannsu who learned about the names used for them by the Federation were puzzled, more than anything else, by the myth from which the names originated (twin brothers being raised and suckled by a wolf ).

In the Vulcan's Soul trilogy, the Romulans' ancestors left Vulcan as a contingency plan approved by Surak, should the wars on Vulcan have completely destroyed their civilization. The eagle emblem was inspired by a huge bird native to Romulus that clutched eggs in its talons.

Duane also depicted the Romulans as being extinct in the mirror universe novel Dark Mirror , as they chose to commit mass suicide rather than become subjects of the Terran Empire following the Battle of Cheron .

According to the novel Uncertain Logic , the Rihannsu called themselves Rom'ielln during the Romulan-Vulcan War to conceal their true identity from the Vulcans. It is implied that this name became the source of the word "Romulan".

The comic book Star Trek: Countdown and the video game Star Trek Online depict the lead up and the aftermath of Romulus' destruction, primarily caused by the Romulan Senate ignoring Spock's warnings about the supernova , which originated from the star of the Hobus system, and the Vulcan Science Council 's refusal to lend them red matter . In spite of this, Federation-Romulan relations had been improving and Romulan citizens had become less xenophobic, as indicated in the ending of Star Trek Nemesis . After the supernova, Federation aid is either welcomed or met with suspicion and even hostility, while the Klingon Empire seizes the opportunity to conquer Romulan territory. Despite continuing in-fighting between the survivors, a new capital called Rihan is established on Rator III . The Romulans are playable characters in the 2013 Online expansion pack Legacy of Romulus . The playable Romulans and Remans are members of a splinter Republican faction on New Romulus led by D'Tan . It is eventually revealed that the supernova was not a natural occurrence, but was a deliberate act of genocide by rogue elements of the Tal Shiar at the behest of the Iconians , the game's primary villains until the conclusion of Season 10.

Romulan religious beliefs vary in non-canon sources.

The Way of D'era sourcebook states the Romulans believe in the Way of D'era. Tellus, an enemy of Surak, taught that the inhabitants of Vorta Vor – the mythological world mentioned in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier – had visited the Vulcans and inspired them to become the supreme rulers of the galaxy. This explains the superiority complex and their hatred for Vulcans, whom they see as traitors.
In Duane's Rihannsu series, the Romulan religion is animistic, born out of the apparently innocuous comment, made by one philosopher aboard the ships outbound from Vulcan, that "things notice" – i.e., that lost objects remain lost as long as you are looking for them, then reappear as soon as you stop looking. From this observation grew an entire theological colloquy, and eventually a religion based on worship of the classical elements of fire, air, water, earth and the "Archelement" which oversees the others.
In Killing Time , they worship a demon called Bettatan'ru.
The Countdown / Nero story portrays the Romulans as polytheistic.

There are also various, conflicting explanations for the Romulans' lack of telepathic ability:

In Duane's My Enemy, My Ally , Spock explains that the Romulans left Vulcan before the mental disciplines of Vulcan were fully developed, and genetic drift has caused them to lose any latent ability they might have;
This is contradicted in Duane's sequel The Romulan Way , which explains that a number of trained telepaths accompanied the Rihannsu ships leaving Vulcan, but eventually died as a result of having to use their psionic abilities to propel the ships from one star system to another; because it required a group of telepaths to train new adepts, the Rihannsu's telepaths died at a faster rate than they could be replaced; according to this novel, Vulcans in the 23rd century believe that the Romulans still possess the raw potential to produce telepaths, but will never do so without hands-on instruction from Vulcan adepts;
In the novel Sarek by A.C. Crispin , the Romulans kidnap a group of Vulcans, several decades before the Khitomer Conference , and interbreed with them, producing telepathically sensitive hybrids .
According to the Vulcan's Soul trilogy, the Romulans rejected the telepathy of the Vulcans and slaughtered or enslaved the telepaths among themselves during their exodus from Vulcan: these telepaths became the Remans . This explains why no Romulan displays telepathic skills in canon, while some Remans, such as Shinzon 's Reman Viceroy , do.
In Nero , the titular character takes a drug that enables him to meditate, and to develop the skills to communicate telepathically, without mind melding.

The Way of D'era explains that the Romulans lack the physical strength of the Vulcans because they no longer live on a harsh environment. Killing Time shows Romulans slightly adverse to the effects of pon farr .

The alternate reality Romulans themselves debut in the two-part "Vulcan's Vengeance" story from IDW Publishing 's Star Trek: Ongoing comic book series. It is stated the Senate approved of Nero's actions. A group of Vulcans led by Sarek infiltrate Romulus and attempt to avenge their homeworld by detonating red matter recovered from Vulcan. Spock convinces his father the plot is a mistake, and prevents the detonation. He and his fellow crew members are allowed to return as a "fair exchange" while the Senate keeps the red matter. They also gain the Narada 's schematics. Later in the series, Section 31 allies with the Romulans to start a war with the Klingons, in a successful ploy to regain the last piece of red matter.

External links [ ]

Romulan at StarTrek.com
Romulan at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Romulan at Wikipedia
3 Ancient humanoid

April 12, 2024 | BREAKING: ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Renewed For Season 4; ‘Lower Decks’ To End With Season 5
April 12, 2024 | Interview: Wilson Cruz On How “Jinaal” Sets Up The Rest Of The Season For Culber On ‘Star Trek: Discovery’
April 12, 2024 | Podcast: All Access Goes To Trill With ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ For “Jinaal”
April 11, 2024 | Paramount Pictures Officially Confirms Star Trek Origin Movie For Its Upcoming Film Slate
April 11, 2024 | Recap/Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Tries Too Many Connections In “Jinaal”

Paramount Pictures Officially Confirms Star Trek Origin Movie For Its Upcoming Film Slate

| April 11, 2024 | By: Anthony Pascale 181 comments so far

Today, the road to the next Star Trek feature film took a small but significant step towards becoming reality.

Paramount makes it official

Earlier this year, it was reported that Paramount Pictures was developing a new Star Trek feature film in parallel development to the “Star Trek 4” sequel to 2016’s Star Trek Beyond . Today the studio made the reports official as they announced their slate of films for 2025 and 2026, an official list which includes what Paramount is now calling “Untitled Star Trek Origin Story.” The studio also confirms the previously reported details: The film is “set decades before the original 2009 Star Trek film.” Toby Haynes ( Andor , Black Mirror “USS Callister”) is directing based on a screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith ( The Lego Batman Movie ), with J.J. Abrams returning as producer.

The Star Trek movie was just one of many the studio confirmed as part of their 2025/2026 slate at their CinemaCon presentation today. Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins led the studio’s presentation at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. This is the first time Star Trek has been part of the studio’s annual CinemaCon event since Robbins took over in 2021.

The “Star Trek 4” sequel to Beyond was not part of today’s CinemaCon presentation, presumably because with the recent hiring of a new screenwriter , that film would not be ready for theaters by 2026. It has also been reported that the origin story movie is set to start filming by the end of the year. There are no details yet on the plot, specific time setting, or cast. If Paramount can move fast enough they could get the origin movie into theaters by 2026—in time for Star Trek’s 60th anniversary.

Find more news and analysis on upcoming Star Trek feature films .

Star Trek 4

‘Star Trek 4’ Removed From Paramount Picture’s Release Calendar

Kelvin Universe , Star Trek 4

Paramount Studio Chief: ‘Star Trek 4’ Close To Starting Line; Says Audiences Want More Kelvin Crew

Hawley Trek

Noah Hawley Laments Paramount Halting His “Really Fun” Star Trek Movie Just Before Production

Star Trek Universe TV , Upcoming movies

Star Trek Universe TV Head Alex Kurtzman Says Line Between Movies And Television Is “Gone”

Fool me once … ( also I want a movie but until someone gets a set built I’m not holding my breath )

I’m not pre-ordering my tickets…..

You would need a title and a premiere date to order tickets. This film has neither.

I’d wait to believe it until you actually see a movie trailer for it. Noah Hawley was in the casting stage when they cancelled his Trek movie. They might have even started on the sets.

The film is on Noah’s IMDB Credits list…

Yep. I heard ferries exist too!

Car ferries?

Even now, it potentially doesn’t matter. They could pull a Zaslav and shelve the film after it was all but released.

I won’t believe it until my butt is in the theater seat and the film starts playing.

We don’t need the origin story. We have it already. It was called “Enterprise”.

I didn’t realize there was such a large interest in a Star Trek origin movie. It’s their money to burn.

I still believe this is their way of rebooting the “prime” universe from the beginning and remaking it in a new image. I see no other point of doing an origin movie. First Contact and Star trek: Enterprise were origin enough IMO.

I don’t quite get it either. We already got that with First Contact and Enterprise. What else is there that could interest the general public.

Yeah, and for me, the period between First Contact and Enterprise just doesn’t seem that exciting. The period between Enterprise and the Nero incursion would be more interesting, I guess.

They wrote that the origin film would be “set decades before the original 2009 Star Trek film”. That film (in-universe) is set in 2233 (Nero incursion) and 2258 (main plot) respectively. So “decades before” would be after Enterprise, probably after the formation of the Federation, most probably before the Nero incursion, maybe around the turn of the century.

It’s just odd they are calling it an “origin” movie if it happens after Enterprise.

I’m curious what they mean by “origin”. The origin of Starfleet would be before Enterprise and the origin of the Federation would be after.

Also, the origin of Star Trek would have to be before the events of First Contact.

…assuming there is a concern about canon whatsoever, of course.

Many assumptions to be made at this point for sure.

Assuming this announcement doesn’t get added to the pile of previous unmade-movie announcements.

They’re calling it an origin movie to appeal to newcomers and casual fans.

Maybe we’ll see the founding of the Federation?

We already saw that in the infamous final episode of Enterprise. If they revisit that, they’d have to include the NX-01 crew and do a *lot* of deaging. 😉

They could show the first year of the Federation or something.

The obvious way to go is just do the Romulan war which leads into the founding of the Federation and what Enterprise was supposed to do.

That’s really the only thing fans actually want to see in terms of a prequel story.

Which was already scripted for Berman nearly 20 years ago by the band of brothers screenwriter.

Yep. I heard that’s what they were considering doing until the Kelvin movie got greenlit instead.

Overall the Kelvin movie was probably the better choice in terms of box office but I probably would’ve preferred the Romulan war idea because it did sound more original and different.

For how little Trek lore has fleshed out that imaginary bit of history, do we really need to be putting some detail to how we went from post-apocalyptic hellhole to utopian paradise in fifty years? Maybe some enterprising human stole a replicator off a Vulcan ship and reverse engineered it? Seeing the sausage being made may not be a great on screen adventure…

Eastern Europe isn’t the best example – while they’ve done okay extricating themselves from the communist wasteland, it was (and is) without its setbacks.

that’s what makes me so crazy. Discovery was the chance to reboot the “prime” universe but they have stubbornly stuck to this quisling versio

Not only that, they already did a Star Trek origin movie. Star TRek 2009. But sure lets put more money in it, have it fail, and then blame the box office on why we will never get more trek. Thats a great idea!

First off do we even know what they mean by “origin”?

Could be about the founding of the federation, the Romulan War, or the early days of starfleet pre-Enterprise.

It may have nothing to do with Kirk and Spock, the Enterprise, might not be any kind of reboot or reset.

My gut says it’s set in the Kelvin timeline and it takes place post USS Kelvin but pre-2009 Trek. And I’m fine with that.

They already said it will be based in the prime universe, not the Kelvin. I don’t know why they framed that press release that way but I guess since the Kelvin movies are the current movies they wanted to make clear to people this movie is before all of that I guess.

And obviously will have nothing to do with Kirk and Spock because it will be before they were even born.

These announcements feel like Groundhog Day, don’t they? Maybe that’s the story they should tell.

A feature length version of Cause and Effect…

I’m guessing Romulan Star Empire Wars era setting.

Yeah, maybe it’s the concept Rick Berman pitched: a Romulan War film where the NX-01 is off vacationing at Risa.

How about Star Trek: Federation . Founding of the Federation, which is immediately followed by a crisis requiring the urgent launch of USS Federation (NCC-01). Scott Bakula has a cameo appearance as President Archer.

Here we go! :D

Star Trek Origins: The Future Begins

Yeah but it’s not as exciting when we literally have a thousand years of that future now.

This is why prequels bore so many people when we already know so much about the future it’s setting up.

At least with the Kelvin movies they were smart to not make it a traditional prequel and people still hated those too.

I will never understand the obsession of going backwards when you have a fanbase that is constantly begging to go forward and prequels don’t attract new fans at all because they are made for oddly old fans in mind. You only cared about how Anakin became Vader in the prequels if you watched the OT.

We really know almost nothing (in canon) about the entire century that elapses between Enterprise and Discovery , though. I would have preferred Kelvin Movie 4 or even a post-TNG original movie (maybe with Patrick Stewart making a cameo) but I could get behind a canon treatment about the first years of the Federation.

If it’s really something good or interesting fine. If it’s just ‘this is how the Federation was formed” we already got that already.

Now if it’s the Romulan war or something then that’s at least something people can get excited about. But yeah we already know how it ends so maybe that won’t be it either.

I just can’t really get to excited about a prequel movie.

Yeah, I think the Romulan war would be a great premise for a movie, BUT according to TOS the battles were fought with “primitive atomic weapons and in primitive space vessels which allowed no quarter, no captives, nor was there even ship-to-ship visual communication; therefore, no human, Romulan or ally has ever seen the other.”

In other words canon would have to be completely ignored – we all know Enterprise completely disregarded the TOS take of the war as the NX-01 had visual comms, phase cannons and photonic torpedoes. If the story is a good one, I am totally good with ignoring canon, but of course others are not.

Yeah that’s always the issue with the Romulan War thing, it’s really hard to make a compelling story about it when you are fighting it without directly engaging the enemy.

That said I’m 100% convinced they will just ignore that and do what they want or just find an excuse to change ot. Look at SNW, this the show that has shown the Gorn years before they were supposed to be seen and completely changed Khan’s original timeline using TCW as the reason..

Discovery had an entire Klingon War when that didn’t remotely exist in canon.

So yeah it probably won’t matter that much end of the day. They will just make what they want and then will use some excuse to do it. That’s been the case since Enterprise as you said.

So, it would be set after Enterprise and before the Kelvin fiasco. Awesome.

Probably the Romulan Wars. And with no Enterprise. Not excited

If only I could insert the Will Farrel “I don’t believe you!” GIF.

Whatever this turns out to be, hopefully it will be interesting. More likely it will turn out to be just another dead Trek movie project.

So many of these stories do seem to go absolutely nowhere! However, I am not as negative about an origin story as some fans are. At this point, I am more neutral on the movie. I can see that under the right circumstances it could be quite interesting. Although prequels can be a tough sell to Star Trek fans. Ultimately the fact that’s a movie could work in its favor though. Less storylines to produce over the years might help keep the story focused! Though I am not sure it would be a box office draw.

I’ll believe it when I’ve seen it in theaters, listened to TrekMovie’s review, and have the blu-ray on my shelf 4 months later.

Where to place the Blu-ray tho?

Before ST09 or after Beyond? …or.. Before TOS?

They go in order of release, for me. But could this be the first Trek film I don’t purchase on disc? Time may tell…

It’s an origin story taking place in the prime universe so it will go either before or after Enterprise basically.

I’ll believe it when it actually happens. Also, Seth Grahame-Smith is not a good writer, so that doesn’t bode well.

My thoughts exactly.

I liked the book Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, but not the movie.

I absolutely loved the Lego Batman movie, though. If he is able to incorporate Trek lore with as much care as he did for Batman, it could turn out to be a very good movie after all.

I’ll believe it when I’m sat i theatre turning off my phone with my Star Trek Origins screensaver and eating popcorn out my STO popcorn bucket (the lid in shape of the Starfleet A insignia )

He co wrote The Flash right? I really liked that , I could imagine something similar happening with Nero as happened with Zod in that (going back to 1st film via timetravel)

This is what’s over at Box Office Mojo: Untitled Star Trek: Beyond Sequel (????)

Grain of salt, anyone?

There are apparently two movies planned. Origin and Trek 4…

Actually there are three now including one that we all thought was DOA two minutes after it was announced.

Three movies in development from a studio who has cancelled four of them for 8 years now. And this will be the fourth new script for the next Kelvin movie.

That’s why everyone is very very confident this one is happening for sure. 🙄

The only thing we can take to the bank is we will see Section 31, starring Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh!!

Pretty much.

And a studio that is broke and in debt with junk status. None of these will likely be made or just the super cheapy origin movie if they can keep the budget low.

I’m pretty sure you got your facts wrong.

Sigh. Why do the powers that be always want to go backward in the ST timeline and do origin stories and such?

Lack of confidence in new ideas and to make it as cheaply as possible, are two things that come to mind right away.

It’s simple. They don’t want all that trek nerd baggage. They want a movie anyone would go to see and understand.

How’s that working for them?

You don’t get it.

I don’t get it either? It’s not like the prequel stuff has been huge home runs or big money makers.

The Star Wars prequels made a lot of money. That’s what Paramount still looks at, even though they have yet to duplicate that financial success.

Yes but that’s STAR WARS! It’s going to make a lot of money period. And those prequels came out when it was just the OT and nothing else for literally decades. There was a lot of hype just returning to those stories.

This is not the same thing, especially when we already had so many prequels in Trek now and with mixed results. That said I’m not saying it can’t be successful but I don’t see any huge hype around it either because most fans just seem to want to go forward and not backwards.

All the negativity over this ‘announcement’ is well deserved. Just make a fcking movie already Paramount, Jesus.

But I suspect IF this one is real it’s probably a much cheaper movie being new actors and maybe something with a lot less explosions and FX. I suspect it will probably be around $100 million.

It’s certainly doesn’t sound like something they are pushing to make a billion dollars or anything. Only people who cares about a prequel will be mostly old fans and even they aren’t exactly excited about yet another prequel judging by all the reactions so far. Maybe they will attract an A list star or a well respected one to bring more hype to it.

But same time I been pushing to just do something NEW with new characters and setting forever now. Stop trouting out Kirk and Picard, take a real chance with the franchise for a change. I was hoping it would be Post Nemesis but I should be happy I finally got half of what I wanted lol.

But I’ll believe it when I see it. I have literally been saying this line for six years now and I’m really tired of saying it. 🙄

Yup, exactly. Assuming it even happens, the premise sounds weak. Not surprised.

Yep. Unless it’s something truly mind blowing it’s not going to elicit a lot of excitement. Sure we’ll all go lol but I don’t see this thing having any real pull beyond the true believers.

It probably got the greenlight because its really cheap and it’s becoming embarrassing how long this franchise has languished.

I really only go to movie theaters to see Trek films (much prefer the comforts of home to see movies), so yup I’ll be going, good or bad. And yes, it is really pathetic the way this franchise has been treated on the big screen for the past 20 years. Disgraceful.

Ummm… what premise?? The only thing we know is that it is an origin movie. Nothing else. There IS no premise yet…

I think he means just another origin story itself feels a bit tired. But yes we don’t specifically know what that means yet but anything before TOS at this point just doesn’t really get a lot of fans all that hot and bother.

Whatever it ends up being it’s just filling in to more history we already know.

I get it. But no matter what era they make a movie in, there will be complaints. We have done prequels – some fans hate that. We have done same era as TNGish – fans complained. Likewise, we have had a show set in the future (soon to be another) – fans complained. There aren’t many options left.

Before TOS: Enterprise, JJ movies, Discovery, SNW just after TNG era: Picard, Prodigy, Lower Decks Future: Discovery, Starfleet Academy

Do they just make things in the era of TNG, DS9 and Voyager? No matter what is produced, there will always be a fan base that is unhappy.

I’m going to start reporting you now. One guy got the boot for being an obsessive troll and like you was already banned before anyway.

Leave me alone from this point on. I mean it.

What a total disappointment. I wanted to see the Kelvin crew return. It’s going to be 10 years between films.

Please be Kirk and Spock at least.

Check the first paragraph of the article out again. This one is presumably being developed ‘in parallel’ to the Kelvin crew sequel.

Recast Kirk and Spock, I presume?

I wouldn’t be surprised if the main character is Kirk’s great grandfather, Tiberius something or other.

And not surprised there was no announcement of the next JJ verse movie. I predicted a few weeks ago that one wouldn’t get made by 2026 or the 60th anniversary. Frankly I don’t even know why they are even bothering with it anymore? Whenever it’s supposed to come out it’s already going to be the last one and over 10 years since the last one came out.

What’s even the point? They are clearly moving on from it.

As far as the origin movie why not just make it for the 60th anniversary? Why rush it? It’s already been nearly a decade, what’s one more year at this point and you can Marley it better in an anniversary year.

Its the reverse of ST 6, here we getting the prequel movie instead of the final cast film (for the anniversary)

Someone on another board said we are probably getting the sequel to First Contact so it would make sense to have it for the 6Oth anniversary 30 years apart lol.

“[S]et decades before the original 2009 Star Trek film?”

Gimme Archer & T’Pol, or else…

Neither actor has any interest in returning to Star Trek, so that won’t happen.

No, no no. You’ve got it all wrong. It’s a story about a little design firm vying for the chance to design the Enterprise. It’s a story about a plucky band of mechanical engineers and physicists who come together to do the best pitch of their lives in a bidding war with three other firms. So, an origin story…from a certain point of view. ;)

I would watch,THAT!

I would write that!

I would direct that! (If I was Christopher Nolan)

No, I want Nolan doing ThePrisoner! He’s already got a script from the guy who wrote 12 Monkeys and the best stuff in Blade Runner, from over a decade back.

You probably meant it as a joke, but I’m also intrigued by this idea :D

Charlie Kaufmann does star trek.

Sure, you can store anti-matter in a glass jar. What could possibly go wrong?

Y’know, I know this is said partly in jest, but I wouldn’t mind that kind of movie if it was sort of a space race / WWII / Cold War drama, kind of a mix of Oppenheimer and The Right Stuff.

There’s a geo (spatio?) political angle (firm up the borders of the Federation, mitigate threats, and establish new allies while keeping up the exploration / first contact initiatives), the pressure on the engineering team to deliver groundbreaking new tech (and probably the cost of failed experiments, accidents, etc.), and then recruiting and training a new kind of crew – a starship crew (as Captain Merrick described them in ‘Bread and Circuses’.)

In essence, the origin of Starfleet as we know it – the first long-duration missions, the best of the best crewmembers, cross-trained, multidisciplinary, and for the first time, widely multi-species, etc.

Glad you all like. Paramount, you can send the check to: bmar, care of….

I’m thinking there’s going to be peace in the Middle East and nuclear fusion power is going to be a reality before they ever get back to the theaters.

Once upon a time I enjoyed Star Trek. Since the Nu Trek era began. I havent enjoyed any of the story arcs. They are just too aweful. There is a multitude of reasons why throught the web. Strange New Worlds S1 corrected course, however S2 not so. There are forces at work at Paramount. They are hell bent to destroy Star Trek. If Kurtzman and crew are in charge of the new movie. Get ready for more fantasy drama nonsense, and less plausable sci-fi.

Same here. I can’t get into NuTrek much at all. It feels like a shell of the golden era. For me that will always be 1966-2005.

But if others like it and getting new fans I’m very happy for them.

Same here. I’ve found a few gems in SNW S1, PIC S3, and S1 of Prodigy, but otherwise have been very disappointed in “NuTrek.” Of course I wish the franchise the best, but so far it’s been more misses than hits for me.

Yes I truly love Picard season 3! The best thing to come out of NuTrek so far. I don’t hate SNW but it railroads canon too much for my taste but it does feel like Star Trek again.

I haven’t seen Prodigy yet but I plan to watch it when season 2 begins and will watch season 1 before that one. Everyone kept saying it’s for kids and I’m far from a kid these days lol. But others here convinced me it’s a show for adults too so will give it a go

Wow, hell-bent on destroying Trek. Hell-bent, you say!! Just a tough melodramatic, are you?

Really don’t care about prequels and just want to keep going forward. Why not a movie in the 25th or 26th century with new crew and characters?

I may care more if Archer is involved or something. But I suspect this movie will bomb like the last one did. Only fans cares about prequels. New fans won’t care at all.

At least it’s in the prime universe again I guess.

But 25th or 26th century would still be a prequel to Discovery’s 32nd century :D

That doesn’t bother me because we don’t know anything about those time periods. We already know plenty about everything before TOS because it’s all been said or told now

Yeah I said this to another member the other day discussing any post Picard stories and that it will be completely new stories in a period we don’t know so it’s not the same thing. When you’re doing something like a TOS prequel you only have so much room and while it can certainly be interesting and creative it basically just like filling in to more stuff we already know.

That said the Section 31 movie time period is at least more interesting because it covers a much wider time period and they can be a lot more freer with the technology, etc so looking forward to that at least.

Yes I will admit although I’m not a big fan of the Space Nazi the time period of the movie intrigues me more. I always been curious of this period and the lead up to TNG, mostly because we know very little about it.

Discovery (in my view) kind of ruined everything in the Trek timelime. Just my opinion. Anyone who wants to just forget it happened, I’m in. Kidding, not kidding.

Agreed! I also don’t think it will be allegorical science fiction or be anything thought provoking. It will be a fast paced action adventure story that’s empty of depth and soul. Modern Star Trek is more interested in spectacle than compelling stories.

I’d guess that it means “origin of the TOS crew,” but that’s kind of weird, because we saw that in 2009.

Maybe this time they’ll start when they’re toddlers. (I kid, but not really). :)

They are going to re-do ‘A night in Sickbay’ like they did with Wrath of Khan/Into Darkness. It’ll be the same but different…..

Could this be their way of doing a George Kirk movie?

I would want to watch that, colour me intrigued…

“set decades before the original 2009 Star Trek film.”

Original 2009 Sta Trek film Sounds so wrong.

there is only two star trek origin stories i want to see the formation of the federation and it’s first few years if they have to adapt the rise of the federation novels for the movie and the origins of the borg they could adapt the plot ffor thet from the star trek destiny novels for a movie

Spot on, on both points!

2025? I hope it works out…

First we hear we are getting a Star Fleet Space Academy series that no one wants. The idea was mentioned in the 1980’s and shot down by fans. Now a retake on a Star Trek Origins films. Is any one currently running the Star Trek franchise in TV/streaming or film even listening to what the fans both old and new are saying?

It would seem not, sadly. How about establishing the time period between TUC and TNG, there’s a literal ton of stories to tell there? How the possibilities for storytelling within the franchise have been squandered over the years makes me frustrated, and frankly confused. SO many missed opportunities.

The upcoming section 31 movie will be set during that time frame as we know a young Rachel Garrett who later in life will be the captain of the enterprise c and defend the Klingon colony of narendra 3 will be in the movie maybe we will get to see the ent-b also again

Pointless movie as no audience will come see it at best it will make half its budget back. I mean they spent $250M on the 2009 movie and it showed on screen….you already know they are not spending that level otherwise it would be a Kelvin cast sequel!

I believe they spent just under 160 mil on the 09 (not counting the interest payments for holding the finished film for six months to get a summer release, or prints/advertising.) You’re probably thinking of BEYOND with the 250 number.

I still can’t see the money on screen in the 09, shooting in the damn brewery was Corman-level cheap.

The Numbers have the 09 costs 140 and BO Mojo sez 150, so yeah, way under the 250m you mention.

Can the ethos of Trek be distilled by JJ? Bob orci was bad for trek.

Kurtzman seemed to fall into trap w/discovery season 1.

Season 2, Picard, Lower Decks and SNW definitely sealed my thinking that Trek was in right hands.

Is section 31 and Rachel Garrett the right pivot for Trek? I thought 24th/25th century had plenty of stories to still tell.

Enterprise C, and possibly Tasha Yar/Sela after the events of Yesterday’s Enterprise! This should reboot TNG/Picard if ST: Legacy doesn’t happen.

Lower Decks makes me laugh Picard made me cry (good) SNW made me feel like Kurtzman should be trusted 💯

Great. Abrams ruined Star Wars and he’s finishing of Star Trek.

JJ had a planed out story plot for what he wanted to happen in the sequels but rian johnson chose to deviate from what jj had payed out so when jj returned for episode 9 he had to try and make the best of it and make his original story plot work but with the changes Johnson had made altering it so he had to come up with another evil sith mastermind and chose palpatine and he did course correct Rey’s lineage though it was different from who he had initially planned it to be and with Carrie fishers untimely passing he had to rewrite more and he had Luke show up as a force ghost to help rey when she returned to ach-to as apparently he was never going to have Luke die until the the final battle

I hope it has nudity

….and “Invincible” level action. It’ll be a hard R Quinton Tarentino could love.

Yes, we are on the same page.

CinemaCon basically works like a network upfront. You see clips and hear a lot of announcements. When there’s no cast or start date for announced projects, there’s maybe a 50/50 chance that the project will actually move forward (I was with a former employer for over 8 years and we announced a lot of stuff that generated a lot of buzz but then never materialized).

I think Brian Robbins will be gone within the next 12 months and if Robbins is pushed out this film is dead in the water.

This is probably the right answer.

I have next to no faith this will actually happen but they only have themselves to blame lol.

I remember a former poster kept saying ‘well this a new regime ‘ they aren’t the old guys’. Uh huh. It just shows end of the day they might be different but they still answer to the same shareholders and they know another Trek film is risky. Maybe this will finally get beyond a script this time but no one will be convinced until they start shooting the thing.

Rehashing old fandom letter campaign complaints from 40 years ago, don’t equate to the modern sci-fi fan, let alone the majority of Star Trek fans of 2024. The majority of complaints in the article comments are that there isn’t enough new future timeline Star Trek, so why would people NOT want a Star Fleet Academy series – new stories, new characters, new ships, new alien species/planets etc? An Origin movie is a vague enough description that it’s probably likely that the fandom can’t come anywhere close to a correct theory on when in the Trek timeline, this movie could be set.

I agreed with a commenter earlier, a George Kirk prequel movie would satisfy a lot of the fans, and hopefully generate enough interest for new and casual Star Trek moviegoers to warrant their going to a cinema complex. As to want the hardcore Star Trek fandom really want? There is too much dissent and bitter recriminations gone by, for any serious agreement by the fandom of their requirements, to stick for any longer than the next Trek major media article to be issued. And even if a majority agreement could be achieved – then we have the Mount Everest of EP Alex Kurtzman / Secret Hideout control of Trek production, to climb. A movie or series could have a billion-dollar budget, stellar A-list cast and crew, critical media acclaim for the story / screenplay. A favourable release timing and viral marketing, but fall at the last hurdle – the box office, due to the mountain of hate piled up against Paramount, Kurzman and his associates.

Now, as to the overall custodianship of the Trek franchise and its operation as a business, in general by Paramount, and its contracted creatives? Well, that’s a whole Hollywood chapter in itself. And is any of that even relevant in the long term, with the behind-the-scenes Harry Potter Wizard chess moves that are going on at the studio ownership, and network controlling interest levels? Apologies for the extended and extensive reply.

The first thing to do in order make a successful Star Trek movie is to ignore Star Trek fans.

God, please, no origin stories.

Star Trek: The Beginning, Part 1 — A Final Frontier Origin Story

Star Trek has always been a production dealing with many human issues pushing open the veils of awkwardness, embarrassment, and unaddressed behaviors that represent our culture planet wide. Thank You Star Trek. The one thing Paramount+ did that was just totally in bad taste was cancel Prodigy, bunch of morons.

Every fan’s preferences are different, but over the years I’ve ended up streamlining various ‘franchises’ I enjoy to my own liking when it comes to a re-watch – and these days my own limited Star Trek ‘canon’ purely consists of kicking things off with ‘The Cage’ pilot storyline….followed by my specific favourite TOS episodes in ‘production order’ (starting with ‘Where No Man Has Gone Before’, and skipping ‘The Menagerie’ two-part storyline)….followed by all the TOS movie storylines….and ending the Kirk crew’s adventures with ‘The Undiscovered Country’ as my preferred send-off for them all….then skip the antics of the ‘Generations’ movie, and instead continue on with my specific favourite TNG episodes (starting with the ‘Encounter At Farpoint’ introduction to Picard and his crew)….and then conclude the entire thing with the ‘First Contact’ movie’s storyline – which covers the development of ‘warp drive’, bringing everything full circle, and giving me all the ‘origin’ specifics I need..

All other ‘Trek-related shows and movies since then remain firmly on my ‘one-watch-only’ list, but I’m more than content with what I’ve outlined above.

I don’t know if I’ll ever get a ‘Star Trek’ movie which goes much deeper than glossy ‘pew-pew’ action and explosions in the future, but I remain hopeful.there might be a storyline that I really like again.

In the meantime, for my latest ‘alien contact’ fix, I’ve just finished up enjoying the excellent ‘Three-Body’ show’s inventive storyline and characters – the subtitled, 30-episode one produced by Tencent, which is currently available on YouTube and Amazon Prime (not the muddled 8-episode ‘3 Body Problem’ version by Netflix) – So much so, that I’m intending to buy the actual trilogy of books by the Chinese author, as I can’t wait for the next season to be made to find out what happens next. Some big ideas to come by all accounts, and I’m there for a bit more of that. .

The Netflix series is Superior

You’re welcome to your own preference of course.

But I far preferred the slow burn of the mystery and character build-ups in the Tencent version compared to the condensed and altered Netflix adaption. I just happen to find it a more satisfying and riveting version overall – and I will always prefer the way the ‘Judgment Day’ tanker got ‘nano-spliced’ in the Tencent version. Such an awesome sequence from start to finish!

Anyway, if the Netflix version actually gets a second season, I’ll certainly check it out too….but I am definitely looking forward to the next season of the Tencent show, which has been greenlit already.

The Tencent version is just boring to me and you can feel the Party’s hands all over it. Glad you liked it though.

we don’t need origin stories for everything! in media res is the way to go – almost always – TOS just dumps you right in the middle of events without even the clunky intros of TNG Encounter at Farpoint.

If this movie does well will IT get an origin story? We’re going to end up at the pool of goo at the dawn of humankind waiting for Picard and Q to show up…

im happy with any good trek news… even if they made a direct sequel to the final frontier… but how many origin stories do we need? i’d be happy if someone forged a path forward and created new things…

So this one is set in the five-minute period between Enterprise and Discovery? Or the as-yet unexplored time between April 5th 2063 and Enterprise where it’s “stone knives and bear skins” and no Trek tech to speak of? Enterprise was the prequel! How’d that one work out?

If the movie is made ,I will judge it then.

I wanted the 4th Kelvin, do they know who their audience is? Nobody i know, Star Trek fan or general audience bothered to go see Beyond. It was like Nemesis all over again. The trailer was terrible, the movie was kind of meh to be honest. So in the intervening years since the 2009 somewhere they lost the audience. Star Trek 2009 was an event movie, and 2015 Force Awakens was as well. Good job letting JJ go to Disney so Star Trek died as a film series.

I’m guessing the fourth movie is still too costly to risk making another one at least right now.

Someone threw out an an interesting theory on the last thread discussing this for the 47th time that they suggested Paramount have no plans to actually make another Kelvin movie but just as a rouse for the next company that buys the studio.

It really makes sense at this point, they can dangle the idea the movie is in ‘development’ and then when someone actually buys it they can just decide to make it or cancel it.

I mean it doesn’t sound crazy considering where we are. It’s a movie that is working with their fourth new writer but there is still no director or even a starting date of any kind within the the next two years.

Them you have this origin movie that was just announced a few months ago and that’s already scheduled to come out next year. My guess is it will probably cost half of what another Kelvin movie would be. But yeah who knows if that will get made either, but it has a better chance than a Kelvin movie.

I can’t name anyone who actually wants an origin movie. By the way, didn’t we get that one with First Contact already anyway?

It’s not up to you or anyone you pretend to know.

Another prequel? This is getting ridiculous now. Remember when Star Trek used to go forwards? Enough already!

Kurtzman said he didn’t have the authority to greenlight legacy. I wonder if that will be like Bennet’s academy years and never happen.

18 months is not enough time for a movie of this size unless this is ready to shoot in july.

The JJ-verse is an aberration no one is particularly a fan of. There is no one who wants to how that mess started. It’s done nothing but foul everything that went before, leaving ST-ENT, of all things, as the only remaining official classic canon. Bugger that.

I need Star Trek that is hopeful, aspirational, and inspirational. 15 yrs later neither Bad Robot or Secret Hideout has done anything close to that. Sec 31 and Starfleet Academy aren’t anything viewers want. I wish they’d just stop.

lol,if you say so…

EXCLUSIVE: Former Anonymous writer of Trek 4 shares his experience

Interviewer: Hello, we are here today to talk to a former writer for the very very very (like really very) long delayed fourth Kelvin movie. With the announcement of a prequel movie being released instead and yet ANOTHER new set of writers for the next Kelvin movie, we reached out to the only person who returned our calls; a former writer from the 2023 project.

To give us an honest insight into his experience he wishes to remain anonymous. For the sake of this interview he will be simply referred to as ‘GotohellParamount’. Thank you for meeting with me today.”

GotohellParamount’: “You’re welcome.”

Interviewer: “It sounds like your experience working on the last movie didn’t end too well. How is your relationship with the studio today?”

GotohellParamount: “Bleep them in their bleeping bleepholes. I hope they all die from bleeping Ebola.”

Interviewer: ‘That’s some pretty colorful metaphors. Can I ask what happened?”

GotohellParamount: “Their bleeps that’s what. We spent a year working on that movie. We lost the director to go work for Marvel because these bleepholes kept bleeping us around. I got so frustrated I finally texted the Head Studio Guy and said ‘will you people stop bleeping around!? Get off your bleeps and let’s make a movie already!!’

Three weeks went by and I finally got a response from them. It simply read ‘K’. Bleepholes!!! By the way you’re not going to ‘bleep’ any of these words out are you?”

Interviewer: “Um…of course not. Can you tell us a little about what the movie was about?”

GotohellParamount: “The gist was a huge black ship comes from the 25th century to the 23rd century wiping out solar systems in the Federation. It was a new villain who wanted…wait for it…vengeance. That bleep was going to be bleeping awesome!!”

Interviewer: “So who was going to be the villain?”

GotohellParamount: “That’s the greatest part of it all. He was going to call himself…you ready: Kaos. JJ Abrams himself came up with that name. But then the true reveal was that he was indeed Kirk’s great great great great great great great great great great grandson from the future and came to stop Kirk from destroying his planet so he had to destroy the Federation first. We were even thinking Chris Pine can play both parts but Paramount was worried he would demand twice the salary.”

Interviewer: “I interviewed Chris Pine a few months ago and he was hoping there would be more scenes of him riding another motorcycle. Did you include that in the script?”

GotohellParamount: “Do you remember the ending of Mission Impossible 2 with the motorcycle duel? Pretty much the same ending with our movie with Kirk versus his evil grandson; except it was going to take place either on Romulus or in San Francisco. We were still figuring it out. There was even talk of it happening on a lava planet… but that would’ve ballooned the budget.

Interviewer: “Sounds very exciting. How was he going to wipe out the solar systems?”

GotohellParamount: “The ship he was on had the power to destroy stars by breaking down their fusion reactions. The FX was going to be bleeping sick.”

Interviewer: “Wait so the ship was a…Star destroyer?”

GotohellParamount: “Yep but to get around copyright issues JJ wanted to call it a Destroyer of Stars. The man is a bleeping genius I tell you.”

Interviewer: “It’s definitely a name.”

GotohellParamount: “We were so proud of the script. We gave it to JJ to read it. After he put it down, he took off his glasses put his hand on my shoulders and said ‘this is the most original Star Trek story I’ve ever read and I’ve read three of them.’ You have no idea how much that meant coming from such a visionary like him.”

Interviewer: “I’m sure you were. Was there any casting possibilities before it was shut down?”

GotohellParamount: “Was there?? We reached out to some incredible actors! Robert Downey Jr, Florence Pugh, Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy and Matt Damon. We wanted him to actually play Kirk’s evil grandson.

Interviewer: “Wait… weren’t all of them in Oppenheimer?’

GotohellParamount: “(Hard shrug)! I don’t know I haven’t seen it yet. Unfortunately Matt Damon’s agent was the only one who bothered to call us back. Apparently he always wanted to work with John Cho. Go figure? Too late now unfortunately.”

Interviewer: “Well that’s all the time we have. Thank you for your incredible and honest insight. Any thoughts on the new movie announcement or the chances either one will actually get made?”

GotohellParamount: (Laughs for three minutes). That’s it.”

Interviewer: “Thank you.’

I laugh every.single.time! 😂

Well done per usual.

Nice. Don’t forget to throw the Beastie Boys in there someplace…wouldn’t be a Kelvin film without them…

This was indeed hilarious! 😂

I love how you parody JJ Abrams. He doesn’t seem to have an original bone in his body looking at both his Star Trek and Star Wars movies.

Another prequel? Why can’t they come up with new material?

More to Explore
Series & Movies

Published Apr 5, 2024

RECAP | Star Trek: Discovery 501 - 'Red Directive'

There's never a dull moment for the U.S.S. Discovery!

SPOILER WARNING: This article contains story details and plot points for Star Trek: Discovery.

Graphic illustration of Captain Michael Burnham riding a racer vehicle in 'Red Directive'

StarTrek.com

The fifth and final season of Star Trek: Discovery opens with " Red Directive, " where Captain Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery are sent to retrieve a mysterious artifact hidden inside a 800-year-old Romulan vessel – but find that they’re not the only ones on the hunt. Meanwhile, Saru is offered the position of a lifetime.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Section Banner - Personnel

Michael Burnham
Hugh Culber
Paul Stamets
Sylvia Tilly
Laira Rillak
Charles Vance
Christopher
Joann Owosekun
Keyla Detmer
Cleveland "Book" Booker

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Section Banner - Locations

Federation Headquarters
U.S.S. Discovery -A
U.S.S. Antares

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Section Banner - Event Log

As a vessel traverses the stars at high warp, Captain Michael Burnham experiences exhilaration as she clings to its hull in her environmental suit. The captain quips that there’s "never a dull moment" and proceeds to use her phaser in a bid to knock out the starship's engines. Burnham notes that they need to retrieve an item taken from a vault over the comm channel. As her suit advises her that warp bubble stability is declining rapidly, the captain remarks that this is not what she expected to happen when the night started…

"Red Directive"

Four hours earlier, Burnham joyfully converses with Ensign Adira Tal, Lt. Sylvia Tilly, Commander Paul Stamets, and Dr. Hugh Culber at Federation Headquarters, where Cadet Ross introduces them to Tonic 2161 — the official cocktail of the millennium celebration. Though the Federation was founded in 2161, the Burn prevented any widespread festivities when the holiday actually occurred decades before in 3161. Paired with a blue liquid, the beverage’s "floaty bits" — which taste like Bajoran jumja sticks — honor the Federation flag and its starry features.

The captain offers a smile, stating that it’s good to see that the Federation is back and at peace. Stamets nevertheless comes off as melancholic, and Culber discloses that the astromycologist just found out that Starfleet is shuttering the spore drive program. Paul expresses trepidation over his new title of "Scientific Luminary," adding that the Federation’s new Pathway Drive "won out" as the propulsion system of the future. Adira chimes in, remarking that this means the U.S.S. Discovery -A will always be one-of-a-kind, but Stamets replies with skepticism, believing his legacy was destroyed along with Cleveland "Book" Booker’s ship.

Certain he would have figured out the spore drive's navigator problem one day, the scientist emphasizes the potential for rolling out the technology to the whole fleet. His friends exchange concerned glances, but Captain Burnham then assures him that they will all find a new purpose and raises a glass in a toast to change. An aide informs Burnham that her presence has been requested by Federation President Laira Rillak, leaving Stamets to chastise himself for mentioning Book as the captain departs. While Tilly assures him that Burnham has not even talked about Book in months, Culber applies his psychiatric expertise and highlights the significant difference between locking something away and moving on. Tilly notices a fellow officer and goes to visit him, and the rest of the group disperses to "mingle."

On the dance floor, Captain Saru chats softly with Ni'Var's President T'Rina, who recognizes that the Kelpien has news and playfully wonders if she'll be "forced" to mind meld with him in order to learn what has transpired. President Rillak would like Saru to serve as a Federation Ambassador to a coalition of smaller worlds, ensuring that their needs are addressed as the Federation continues to expand. T'Rina appreciates the government’s effort to avoid repeating its past mistakes and observes that the planets’ locations could leave them open to influences from the Tholian Republic or the Breen Imperium.

Saru cites the Federation's need to remain unified, but the post would require that he resign his Starfleet commission. However, as an ambassador, he would be based at Federation HQ, in close proximity to T'Rina and her own duties. Ni'Var's president interrupts her dance partner, stating that — despite their deep love for one another — it is only logical that their relationship not factor into Saru's decision, an observation which seems to unsettle the Kelpien.

Across the room, Admiral Charles Vance approaches Captain Burnham and hands her an infinity-shaped device. The two retreat to a secure location — a featureless, all-white area known as the Infinity Room — and rendezvous with Dr. Kovich, who acknowledges the facility’s over-the-top theatricality. Turning to Burnham, Vance explains that an 800-year old science vessel was just found at the edge of the Beta Quadrant. Discovery needs to jump there immediately, but Kovich will only say that the ship contains "something vital to the security of the Federation." Burnham begins to object, but Kovich silences any disagreement when he reveals that the mission is a Red Directive.

Saru beams into Discovery 's Bridge and receives status reports from Lt. Christopher, Lt. Linus, Lt. Commander Joann Owosekun, Lt. Naya, Lt. Commander Gen Rhys, and Lt. Commander Keyla Detmer. Burnham and Kovich transport aboard and share that the crew will be going on a Red Directive classified mission. Their target? A 24th Century Romulan science vessel that will most certainly attract the attention of scavengers and other nefarious characters. A second Starfleet ship is already en route, but Discovery will arrive first — or so they believe…

Across the quadrant, two helmeted figures pillage the derelict Romulan starship, ultimately removing their protective gear and taking in the ship’s breathable atmosphere. The female — Moll — comments that the U.S.S. Antares is on its way, and her male cohort L’ak sees a second Starfleet ship on their scanners. L’ak believes this means that the Romulan cargo must be "extra shiny," but he suggests they call it a day and enjoy a holodeck for two. Moll asks if L’ak wants "the pebbles or the mountain," convincing her partner to stay the course.

Discovery enters scanning range, and Owosekun detects two lifeforms on the Romulan ship — at least until their lifesigns suddenly vanish. Burnham gathers Owosekun and Rhys for the away team, but Kovich offers some disturbing insight — setting weapons to stun might not be enough, so they are authorized to use lethal force. Shock covers Burnham's face, and Kovich orders her to successfully complete the mission by any means necessary.

The three Starfleet officers beam over to the Romulan vessel's darkened corridors with phasers drawn and begin searching for the trespassers. Aerosolized water droplets notify them that the intruders had not been gone long, and Burnham advises Rhys and Owosekun to keep their phasers on stun. The trio continue on and locate an 800-year old Romulan corpse and an uncloaked — and empty — vault. Realizing the scavengers must be close, the Starfleet officers spin around and open fire. Moll and L'ak materialize in front of them, managing to capture Rhys and Owosekun in containment fields and making their escape.

Captain Burnham pursues, converting her weapon into a phaser rifle and exchanging volleys with her opponents. Moll and L'ak step forward, holding the prize they acquired from the vault and tossing an explosive charge toward the captain. As the intruders beam away, Burnham is tossed through an opening and into space. Fortunately, her programmable matter EV suit automatically activates, and the captain jets toward the outline of Moll and L'ak's ship. Burnham magnetizes her suit as the craft enters warp.

As Burnham works to sabotage the engines, the U.S.S. Antares follows and grabs the ship with a tractor beam. Captain Rayner signals Burnham, who notices the warp bubble has started to collapse and urges the U.S.S. Antares to release its hold on the fleeing vessel. Operating on Burn-era tech and lacking a state-of-the-art Pathway Drive, Rayner knows the Antares can’t pull the enemy craft out of warp. Having previously encountered Moll and L'ak, Rayner is hesitant to let them elude him

Checking in from Discovery 's center seat, Saru informs Burnham — who doesn’t want to miss her upcoming saxophone lesson — that Owosekun and Rhys are being treated in Sickbay. Detmer pilots the Crossfield -class vessel into position and Lt. Gallo prepares to transport the captain to safety. The ride is bumpy, but Kovich resolves to remain on the Bridge until the mission is completed. Burnham repeats her warning to Rayner, advising that the breakup of Moll's ship would also destroy the Antares . Believing that every mission is personal, Rayner pushes back on Burnham's own record, but he eventually concedes.

The three starships, as well as Captain Burnham, drop out of warp. The intruders' vessel spouts numerous probes, and they all leap to warp on different courses. Burnham is beamed right to Discovery 's Bridge, barely able to catch her breath before Rayner's hologram appears to discuss what he describes as the "cherry that they just dropped on our shit sundae." Appearing with a stern face and pointed ears, Rayner states that the probes left behind 20 warp signatures, meaning it will take days to determine which course Moll and L'ak actually took. Kovich voices his displeasure, but Burnham admits she knows someone who can help them find the thieves.

Discovery jumps to a ringed planet, and its captain nervously strolls into the shuttlebay to greet Cleveland "Book" Booker, who beams in and requests permission to come aboard. The somewhat awkward reunion shifts into Discovery 's corridors, where Burnham announces her suspicion that Moll and L'ak used to be couriers. The Federation is expanding and most of the old networks are closed, but Burnham hopes Book's experience, expertise, and insight can assist them in determining the correct warp signature. The two acknowledge that it has been a while since they spoke, and Burnham commends him for the work he has done with the refugees who were affected by the Dark Matter Anomaly. Book is eager to "make things right" in the wake of stealing the experimental spore drive for his own ship.

Burnham and Book confer with Saru, Kovich, Vance, and Rayner in the Ready Room, where the Antares ' captain briefs them on what is known about Moll — a human — and L'ak, a member of an unknown species. The duo, who showed up in the sector approximately two years ago, procured a tan zhekran — a traditional Romulan puzzle box — from the science ship. Kovich claims he is not at liberty to share details about the item and shifts the conversation to Book's detective skills. Factoring in the need to avoid Federation territory and the few fencers who would have interest in a 24th Century haul, Book determines that Moll and L'ak are headed to meet with a broker named Fred — just "Fred" — on Q’Mau. Vance orders Burnham and Rayner to investigate, insisting that they try working together.

The officers begin to walk out, but Saru stays behind to speak with Captain Burnham in private. Noting that a tan zhekran can contain almost anything, including a weapon or a pathogen, the captain is concerned that Kovich won't even tell her the name of the Romulan scientist who owned it. Saru slyly suggests that someone outside of Discovery 's chain of command with access to different databases might be able to assist. Burnham responds with a joyous smile, her expression turning serious as she remembers Saru could soon be leaving for another post.

Back at Federation HQ, Lt. Tilly enters her quarters in the midst of an energetic chat with Lt. Jax. Lamenting over a cadet who refuses to leave the lab during the Academy's Simulation Week, Tilly outlines collaboration's importance to Starfleet's future and — very briefly — ponders whether she could crash every cadet onto an ice moon in order to teach them that lesson. Tilly attributes her talkativeness to the champagne served at the after party, and the two officers exchange flirtatious gazes.

Tilly and Jax — who both love walking and talking — share a clumsy goodbye that nevertheless elicits a smirk from the Academy instructor. Now alone, Tilly orders up a coffee from the replicator. The respite is short-lived, as an incoming communication from Captain Burnham provides another boost to Tilly's energy reserves. Theorizing that Tilly must have had some Andorian champagne, Burnham adopts her "serious voice" and asks Tilly for her help. Always available for her friends, Tilly gleefully responds, "Whatever it is, I’m in."

Discovery arrives at Q’Mau, where Burnham and Book beam down to a small settlement that is surrounded by a desert landscape and rocky outcroppings. Book remarks that it feels like their old courier days, and Burnham asks about Grudge — the Queen is great, she says, "Hi." They disagree about who should have made more of an effort to contact the other, but Rayner's arrival disperses the mounting tension.

Elsewhere in the marketplace, Moll and L'ak are scanned and welcomed into Fred's establishment. Fred, who has the distinctive appearance of a synthetic lifeform, maintains a friendly demeanor, though his guards supply the room with an air of hostility. Fred notices Moll and L'ak's "togetherness," spiritedly contrasting the bilabial nasal of "Moll" with the voiceless velar plosive of "L'ak." The thieves present Fred with their recent finds — isolinear coprocessors, vintage PADDS and tricorders, self-sealing stem bolts, and the mysterious puzzle box.

Intrigued, Fred mentions that he hasn’t encountered such an item in 622.7 years. He unlocks the box by shifting its features into a new configuration, revealing a handwritten diary. The android skims the text, happily offering Moll and L'ak three bars of latinum for the entire lot. The duo replies with a laugh, unsatisfied with the price. Fred refuses to return their items, prompting the pair to burst into hand-to-hand combat with his guards. Moll is struck by an energy blast from the synth’s weapon, and — though her wound is not fatal — L'ak launches into a violent frenzy that results in Fred’s demise.

Book, Burnham, and Rayner locate Fred's lair soon after and confiscate the synth's body so that Discovery can scan his memory. Rayner hurriedly sets off on his own, but Book and Burnham remain to plot their next move. As they realize that Moll and L'ak must have cloaked their ship outside the settlement, Dr. Culber observes Fred's corpse in Sickbay. The android is an old model — dozens of generations before the tech used for Gray’s body — marked with the serial number "AS0572Y." Stamets deduces that the "AS" was intended to honor Altan Soong*, marveling at the 24th Century scientist’s legacy. The astromycologist needs wires to interface with Fred's memory drive, quipping that — luckily — Culber had married a packrat.

Down on the planet's surface, Moll and L'ak speed by Rayner on sand runners — swift transports used by locals to navigate the terrain. Thanks to their patience and foresight, Burnham and Book had anticipated the chase and already rented three of the vehicles. Rayner isn't impressed by Burnham's "strategic advantages," leaving Discovery 's captain to tell Book that she hasn’t disliked someone this much in 930 years.

Meanwhile, at Federation HQ, two security officers burst into Tilly's quarters as the lieutenant prepares to break the shifting fractal encryption which safeguards a secure Federation database. Vance marches in and intervenes, who astonishingly agrees that Captain Burnham deserves to know why her crew is risking their lives for an 800-year old Romulan ship. The admiral says that it is a "shame" he didn't get to stop Tilly in time and allows her to unlock the file. A shaky holo-recording manifests, depicting Doctor Vellek* — the Romulan whose body they had found. The Romulan scientist warns that his knowledge of an ancient technology beyond all comprehension — hidden in the "shadow of twin moons" — must not be lost or fall into the wrong hands.

On Q’Mau, the Starfleet officers close in on Moll and L'ak, but Rayner ventures ahead once again. Book teases Burnham by claiming that Rayner reminds him of another captain he knows, but the situation intensifies once the thieves reach their starship. Moll and L'ak set course for a nearby mountain's tunnel system so as to avoid detection by Discovery and Antares , and sensors detect an explosive charge in one of the tunnel's entrances. Aware that their foes planned ahead to distract their pursuers with an avalanche. According to Saru, Zora estimates there to be a 30% chance that the disaster would decimate the settlement.

Captain Rayner proposes an unorthodox plan — detonate the charge themselves and block Moll and L'ak's escape route. Burnham disagrees, yet her counterpart insists that she is letting stats get in the way of strategy — though possible, an avalanche is unlikely. As Rayner orders Antares to lock phasers on target, Burnham contends that they are on a non-Federation planet and undertaking a classified mission, but Rayner follows through with his plan. Phaser beams strike down from orbit and seal the tunnel, yet Saru confirms that scans show the mountainside remains stable… at least until Moll and L'ak launch a photon torpedo that sends the rattled cliff into a freefall.

Burnham, Book, and Rayner flee from the rising debris cloud on their sand runners, but Zora announces that the avalanche is reaching speeds of 200 kilometers per hour — there is not enough time to evacuate the local encampment. In Engineering, Stamets and Adira run through several solutions, ultimately landing on the idea of combining Discovery and Antares ' shields to serve as a "brake" for the avalanche. Will it work? Stamets thinks — no, hopes — it will work, finally deciding, "Let’s go with 'hope.'"

Captain Saru starts to organize the maneuver, but Rayner does not want Antares to leave orbit and lose track of Moll and L'ak. Burnham emphasizes that the safety of the civilians in the avalanche's path is now their primary mission, and Rayner relents. Discovery and Antares burst through the atmosphere in a tight formation, fusing their shields together and burying their forward saucers into the planet's desert. The avalanche ripples against the energy barrier, but the starships triumphantly hold the line and inspire cheers from the settlement. The relief is lost on Rayner, who watches as Moll and L'ak escape to warp.

Rayner beams back to the Antares , giving Burnham and Book a moment to enjoy each other's company and confess that they both should have called one another. Still bruised from the ordeal, Burnham takes her admission a step further and reveals that she's not sure how to be around him anymore. Book considers the statement, countering that some things are hard to move past. The heart-to-heart is interrupted by a transmission from Tilly, who tells the captain that she has "wild" answers to her pressing questions.

The Discovery -A employs its spore drive to return to Federation Headquarters, where Captain Saru resolves to have his own private conversation with his partner. T'Rina expresses concern over rumors of Saru's eventful mission. The Kelpien reflects on the danger the civilians had faced and recalls something Tilly had once told him — "life is just a blink." Saru struggles to elaborate, aware that fear had constrained him from embracing love while dealing with the cullings of his youth.***

Had he been endangered by the avalanche, Saru would only have been able to think of T'Rina, therefore their relationship must be factored in as he considers his future. T'Rina is his home, his family, and so much more, and he intends to accept the ambassadorship to be alongside her — always. T’Rina welcomes the news, pleasantly surprising Saru when she proposes they "codify" their bond through marriage.

On Discovery , Captain Burnham enters Sickbay to get an update on Fred from Culber and Stamets. They downloaded the last 15 teraquads of data from his ocular processing unit, giving them an extended look at the pages of Vellek's diary. A handwritten diagram depicting the Vileen system's "twin moons" catches the captain's attention, sending her on a mission to meet Kovich on a holographic representation of a barren planetary surface. Kovich admires her tenacity but claims this Red Directive has been classified for centuries. His threat to pass the assignment to another team doesn't phase Burnham, who knows she holds the key to their target's location.

On the surface of Vilmor II, a Progenitor disrupts an argument between the Enterprise away team, the Cardassians, Klingon, and Romulans in 'The Chase'

"The Chase"

Kovich lets out a sheepish grin, aware that Tilly and Vance played key parts in briefing the captain. He discontinues the holo, and — as the two stand in his office — he recounts the details. As one of the greatest scientists of his day, Dr. Vellek, was present when a Starfleet captain — Jean-Luc Picard — found a message left by a race of ancient beings — referred to as the "Progenitors" — who created every humanoid species in the galaxy.** Vellek discovered the technology that the Progenitors used to design life itself, but its location was lost when he disappeared 800 years ago.

Now, either Moll and L'ak know where this powerful find is or the diary is the first piece of the puzzle. Starfleet must track down this technology to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. Burnham divulges that Lyrek, a planet situated in an outer sector of the Beta Quadrant within the Vileen system, has three moons — two of which move in perfect sync. Pleased, Kovich proclaims that the greatest treasure in the known galaxy is out there, lightheartedly asking the captain what she’s waiting for. Burnham flashes a smile and replies, "Let’s fly."

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Section Banner - Canon Connections

* " Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1 " — The dealer in Q'Mau, Fred, is a Soong-inspired synthetic possessed a memory drive that had a serial number with an attribution to Altan Soong. The self-described "mad scientist" is the son of Noonien Soong , the creator of Soong-type androids. Altan Soong would continue his work despite the Federation's ban on synths. His work (and Dr. Maddox's research), known as the Soong Method, on transferring sentience into an artificial golem body was what helped create Gray Tal's new synthetic body's design in "Anomaly."

** " The Chase " — This Star Trek: The Next Generation adventure was where Captain Jean-Luc Picard found himself in a race with the Cardassians, Klingons, and Romulans to solve a four billion year old genetic puzzle. The Romulan Dr. Vellek, one of the greatest scientists of his day, was among those present when Picard discovered a message left by a race of ancient beings known as Progenitors, who created life as we know it — every humanoid species in the galaxy.

*** " An Obol for Charon " — Following Saru's survival of Vahar'ai , he discovered that the maturation process didn't signal death. It was in fact a biological event in the Kelpien's evolution that removed their suppression of fear. Concerned with their own survival, the Ba'ul who lived on Kaminar with Kelpiens exploited their binary nature to oppress the later group.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Section Banner - Log Credits

Written by Michelle Paradise
Directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Section Banner - Notes

"Red Directive" features a dedication:

For JP, with love.

Get Updates By Email

Jay Stobie (he/him) is a freelance writer, author, and consultant who has contributed articles to StarTrek.com, Star Trek Explorer, and Star Trek Magazine, as well as to Star Wars Insider and StarWars.com. Learn more about Jay by visiting JayStobie.com or finding him on Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms at @StobiesGalaxy.

Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4 are streaming exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., the UK, Canada, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and Austria. Seasons 2 and 3 also are available on the Pluto TV “Star Trek” channel in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. The series streams on Super Drama in Japan, TVNZ in New Zealand, and SkyShowtime in Spain, Portugal, Poland, The Nordics, The Netherlands, and Central and Eastern Europe and also airs on Cosmote TV in Greece. The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

Graphic illustration of Guardian Xi performing the zhian'tara Trill ritual on Kalzara Bix and Hugh Culber in 'Jinaal'

IMAGES

romulan ships
Romulan / Romulans
Discovery (NX-262) (The Romulan Wars)
Cryptic Releases Details of Beautiful New Romulan Temporal Ships
Romulan Warbird (24th century)
Romulan Valdore Class (Full Breakdown/Analysis)

VIDEO

Star Trek Legacy Episode 3
We have recovered one survivor of a crashed Romulan vessel on the surface of Galorndon Core
The Federation Has Better Ships
Star Trek Universe: Issue 10: Romulan Warbird. Model Review By Eaglemoss/Hero Collector
Why are these Romulan ships so Weird?
THE ROMULAN WAR: Stormbird-class battleship

COMMENTS

Category:Romulan starship classes
List of starships employed by the Romulan Star Empire or the Romulan Free State. Romulan ship classes at Ex Astris Scientia Star Trek Ships: Expanded - Romulan Star Empire at The STArchive
D'deridex class
The D'deridex-class, alternately known as the B-type warbird, or warbird class starship, was one of the largest and most powerful mainstays of the Romulan Star Empire. It served as the backbone of the Romulan fleet during the latter half of the 24th century. The uncloaking of a warbird of this type in 2364, during an encounter with the USS Enterprise-D on the edge of the Neutral Zone, signaled ...
Romulan
Contagion" was the first episode in the Star Trek franchise in which the Romulan ship was given a name, in this case the Haakona. In the third-season episode "The Enemy," written by David Kemper and Michael Piller and first screened in November 1989, the Enterprise-D is depicted rescuing a crashed Romulan ship.
Ex Astris Scientia
The Valdore is a large Romulan ship type of the late 2370s. The class name is unknown. Gallery: Romulan Starships: Known ships Valdore : Annotations. The Valdore type is the design of two Romulan Warbirds in the Bassen Rift in "Star Trek: Nemesis", of which the one commanded by Commander Donatra was verbally identified as "Valdore".
Tracing The History of STAR TREK's Romulan Empire
Jan 23 2020 • 12:28 PM. Although the casual fan might think of Klingons as the biggest bad in the Star Trek galaxy, long before they reared their bumpy heads the main adversary of the Federation ...
The Romulans: Federation Foes and Sometimes Their Darkest ...
Over Star Trek's many decades, the development of rival civilizations that spar with the Federation have been a key aspect of the franchise's ever-increasing complexity. ... On the ship, the rescued Romulan is dying, and can only be saved if Worf donates tissue to him. Worf, whose parents died in a Romulan attack, has no interest in doing so. ...
The History Of The Romulans, And Their Place In The Star Trek ...
The Empire has collapsed into warring factions, one of which is the Romulan Free State. According to "Star Trek: Discovery," Vulcan/Romulan reunification will have become a reality by the 31st ...
Inside the Romulan Warbird Valdore
The pinnacle of Romulan starship evolution in the late 24th Century, the Romulan Warbird Valdore was a sleek, powerful and intimidating hunter that would keep their already-mighty fleet a force to be reckoned with. Ironically, who would figure that two of these ships would help save the Romulan Star Empire, as well as one of their most hated enemies, the Federation?
Category:Romulan starship classes
A friendly reminder regarding spoilers!At present the expanded Trek universe is in a period of major upheaval with the continuations of Discovery and Prodigy, the advent of new eras in gaming with the Star Trek Adventures RPG, Star Trek: Infinite and Star Trek Online, as well as other post-57th Anniversary publications such as the ongoing IDW Star Trek comic and spin-off Star Trek: Defiant.
Who Is Doctor Vellek? TNG Romulan In Star Trek: Discovery Explained
The Romulan in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 1, "Red Directive", Dr. Vellek, understood the importance of keeping information about the Progenitors and their technology as secure as possible.
Romulan starships
Romulan Star Empire starships. Unnamed Romulan starships Romulan starship classes Star Trek Ships: Expanded - Romulan Star Empire at The STArchive
Romulan starships
This page contains a list of Romulan starships, displayed in alphabetical order. Starships by state. Starships of the Federation. Starships of the Klingon Empire. Starships of the Romulan Star Empire. Starships of the Cardassian Union. Starships of the Ferengi Alliance. Starships of the Breen Confederacy. Starships of the Borg Collective.
Ex Astris Scientia
See Also. Romulan Ship Classes - from all eras . Appearances of the Romulan Warbird - complete investigation of all shots with the miniatures and the CG model. Warp Drive and Romulan History - how a throwaway line from TOS continues to cause unwarranted confusion. Credits. The PDF archive of the Eaglemoss Official Starships Collection is hosted at the Starship Schematics Database.
Expanded Options: Romulans
Check out the document linked below for six Romulan spaceframes, some new Ship Talents, and a new Mission Profile for sneaky espionage vessels. The spaceframes here come from a variety of places and they might vary from the Romulan vessels you like from novels, miniatures games, The Way of D'era, or Star Trek Online.
Scimitar
The damaged Scimitar deploys its cascading biogenic pulse weapon. " She's a predator. - Jean-Luc Picard, 2379 ( Star Trek Nemesis) The Scimitar was a massive, heavily-armed Reman warbird. It was constructed under the command of Shinzon as part of a secret plot to overthrow the Romulan Senate, defeat the United Federation of Planets, and ...
The Empire's Most Influential Romulans, Ranked
The Federation's complicated relationship with the Romulan Star Empire changes frequently, between eras open hostility and espionage, to periods of diplomatic detente and tenuous alliances. ... Valdore employed deceptive drones to attack starships and stoke distrust among the humans, Andorians, Tellarites, Vulcans, and Rigelians that resided ...
What Is the History of the Romulans in Star Trek?
By the 22nd Century, the Romulan Star Empire was known by Vulcans, yet they had no contact with their long-distant cousins. In fact, this connection was lost to history among Vulcans, although Romulans retained that information. On Star Trek: Enterprise the NX-01 encountered a planet surrounded by cloaked mines.
Romulan playable starship
There is a variety of Romulan playable starships currently available in Star Trek Online. Although Warbirds form the backbone of the Romulan military, there are other ships which behave more like their Federation and Klingon Defense Force counterparts. Romulan players can also fly almost any ship of their respective ally - the Federation or the Klingon Empire. Players of other factions can ...
Star Trek Shipyard
Star Trek Shipyard is your ultimate resource for exploring the incredible starships that have graced the vast expanse of the Star Trek universe. ... The Imperial Romulan Warbird, formally known as a D'deridex-class vessel, or B-type Warbird, was a heavy cruiser. ...
Narada
The Narada was a Romulan mining vessel that was in service in the late 24th century. In 2387, the Narada was commanded by Nero; his second-in-command was Ayel. Following the destruction of Romulus by the supernova of the Romulan sun in 2387, Nero took the Narada to intercept Ambassador Spock, who was attempting to create an artificial black hole which would consume the star before it destroyed ...
A New Threat in Star Trek Fleet Command: The Gorn Hunter Hostiles
Tan Qalanq's Edge (for Romulan ships) Starships tree: Tachyon Hostile Eruption (requires Monaveen to research) Fleet Commanders: Sloan: Isolytic Intel; Artifacts: Captain Proton's Blaster; ... The Star Trek Team. DON't miss THESE from AROUND THE GALAXY News 9 April 2024. Update 65: Gorn Invasion, Pt 1 . News 8 April 2024.
The Romulan Temporal Ships
The Romulan Temporal Ships. By Star Trek Online. Star Trek Online. is excited to announce that, as of today's maintenance, we have added the brand-new Romulan Temporal Ships to the game. The R'Mor Temporal Science Vessel is available for Romulan Republic players to win as the grand prize in the Temporal Lock Box, and the Mirror Universe ...
Star Trek's Origin Movie Could Be The Second To Break Tradition
Star Trek 2009 established the alternate Kelvin timeline branched off from Star Trek's Prime timeline in 2233 when the Romulan mining ship Narada emerged from the future.The Captain of the Narada, Nero (Eric Bana), blamed the destruction of Romulus on the Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and the United Federation of Planets.
Romulan drone ship
Star Trek. The Romulan drone ship was an advanced experimental starship described as a marauder and developed by the Romulans in the 2150s. At the time, this ship class was identified as a marauder ship by Starfleet. At least two prototypes of the vessel were built. The ship itself was a modified Romulan...
STAR TREK: DISCOVERY Premiere Review
It's been two years since "Coming Home" brought Star Trek: Discovery Season 4 to a close, and this Season 5 premiere wastes no time getting back to the action. Strap in, the chase is on! "Red Directive," written by Michelle Paradise and directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi, opens in medias res with Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) surfing an unknown ship whose warp bubble is ...
Official Starships Reveals Delta Flyer And Romulan Drone Ship
Part 39 features a 22nd-century Romulan drone-ship, designed to be a remotely controlled attack vessel taking orders directly from Romulus. Its multispectral emitter allowed it to mimic other ships - including the Enterprise NX-01 - and disrupt a major political alliance in the Enterprise episode "Babel One.". The Official Starships Collection is available in selected retailers and by ...
Romulan
The Romulans were a humanoid race from the planet Romulus. The Romulans were biological cousins of Vulcans, descended from those who rejected Surak's reforms during the Time of Awakening. By the 24th century, the Romulan Star Empire was one of the major powers in the galaxy. After a supernova destroyed the Romulan sun, the Romulan Free State became the official government. Eventually, the ...
Paramount Pictures Officially Confirms Star Trek Origin Movie For Its
They wrote that the origin film would be "set decades before the original 2009 Star Trek film". That film (in-universe) is set in 2233 (Nero incursion) and 2258 (main plot) respectively.
RECAP
The fifth and final season of Star Trek: Discovery opens with "Red Directive," where Captain Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery are sent to retrieve a mysterious artifact hidden inside a 800-year-old Romulan vessel - but find that they're not the only ones on the hunt. Meanwhile, Saru is offered the position of a lifetime.