star trek khan story

Who is Khan Noonien Singh from Star Trek?

Star Trek is a 60-year saga known for its gorgeous starships and equally gorgeous heroes but Khan Noonien Singh is the series' most important villain.

The galaxy far, far away has Darth Vader, the Emperor, Grand Admiral Thrawn and a host of other iconic baddies. Yet, Star Trek and the galaxy right, right here isn't as focused on individual villains that way. However, if the universe created by Gene Roddenberry has a single, identifiable villain it's a 20th Century human who found himself in the future. Khan Noonien Singh is an important villain in Star Trek , and those who don't already know his story are in for an incredible adventure. The character has a long history in the nearly 60-year-old saga, and he remains important to its past and future.

Originally appearing in the Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1 episode, "Space Seed," the character was conceived as a Viking-style character. Roddenberry, however, wanted to subvert the audience expectations of the 1960s by changing that background. The character was named Khan Noonien Singh, in part because Roddenberry hoped a similarly-named acquaintance from World War II would see it and seek him out. (Alas, he never did.) The character was conceived as an actor of West Asian heritage, but the only actor they could convincingly cast to play the futuristic super man was Ricardo Montalban. In 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness, Benedict Cumberbatch was cast to play Khan Noonien Singh, despite him looking more "Viking" than West Asian. While "Space Seed" is an iconic Star Trek: TOS episode, it wasn't until his return in 1982's Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan written and directed by Nicholas Meyer. Not only did this revitalize the character, but the film reenergized the entire Star Trek franchise after The Motion Picture failed to spark joy in the hearts of Trekkers.

RELATED: This Star Trek: TOS Character Would Fit Perfectly In Strange New Worlds

Who Is Khan Noonien Singh In the Star Trek Canon?

The "Space Seed" episode revealed two things about the Star Trek universe. It revealed the "Eugenics Wars," which involved Khan Noonien Singh. Khan, among others, were genetically engineered to be "perfect" humans. The episode also revealed that as a result of these wars the "records" of that time were mostly lost to Starfleet. Still, Spock told Captain Kirk Kahn ascended into power in 1992 and was defeated in 1996 (30 years from the show's real-world present-day). Khan and 96 of his fellow genetic augments were put into a kind of stasis and sent off into space, where they drifted until the USS Enterprise found the vessel and awakened them. A historian on the Enterprise, Marla McGivers, was charmed by Khan and, almost, helped him take over the ship. Once Kirk and company retook the vessel, he allowed Khan, McGivers and his people to settle on Ceti Alpha V to build a new life for themselves.

In the beginning of The Wrath of Khan , Pavel Chekov (a character not added to The Original Series until Season 2) landed on what they believed was Ceti Alpha VI. They soon found Khan and what remained of his people, because the planet had "shifted" its orbit after a cataclysm. Kahn captured Chekov's ship, the USS Reliant, and used it to take possession of the Genesis Device. Created by Kirk's former partner Carol Marcus and Kirk's son David, it could take a lifeless world and make it teeming with life in hours. Khan wanted to use it as a weapon, but he also wanted to visit vengeance on Kirk. At the end of the film, he's defeated and famously quotes Moby Dick before he uses the Genesis Device to destroy his own ship. "From Hell's heart I stab at thee," he says, "for hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee."

In Strange New Worlds Season 2, Khan's descendant, La'an Noonien Singh , was sent back in time to the early 21st Century to stop a cataclysm. In Star Trek: Voyager , the crew was sent back to 1996, but instead of a Eugenics War-ravaged landscape, they found the dawn of the internet age. This was established as the "fault" of another time-travel accident. When La'an arrived in her past, she encountered Sera, a Romulan agent from the "Temporal Wars." She was sent back to 1992 to kill Khan in order to prevent the Federation and Starfleet from ever existing. Yet, because of the other time-shenanigans, Khan wasn't born until the 21st Century. "Time pushes back," she told La'an, implying that "canon events" aren't just limited to the Spider-Verse.

RELATED: Kevin Feige's Secret Ingredient in the MCU Came From Star Trek's 'Worst' Movie

Why Khan Noonien Singh Is So Important to Star Trek Fans and Storytellers

Khan Noonien Singh remains important to the larger Star Trek story because of what he represents about the universe's past. The Eugenics Wars, now set in the mid-21st Century also coincided with "World War III," the cataclysm from which Star Trek 's ideal future emerged. In Star Trek: First Contact , the crew of the USS Enterprise-E are sent back to ensure that Zefram Cochrane makes the first warp-drive flight, causing the Vulcans to visit Earth. Khan represents the personification of the worst of humanity. Notions of superiority, violence and authoritarianism are the main impediments, Roddenberry believed, to the idyllic future humanity was capable of achieving.

His many returns, from "Space Seed" in Star Trek: The Original Series to The Wrath of Khan are a warning that these human foibles, like Star Wars ' Palpatine , will somehow return if people aren't careful. Yet, Khan didn't just help create the universe in the narrative. After The Motion Picture , fans hoped for a return to the type of storytelling Star Trek: TOS was known for. Nicholas Meyer delivered a film that felt a bit like an episode of the show on a grander scale. Yet, it also kicked off a run of four more movies that helped cement Star Trek as an enduring franchise. Fans were enamored by the film and its sequels. Even when he's not present, he influences the story. Star Trek: Picard Season 3 thematically echoed the "trilogy" that started with The Wrath of Khan through Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home .

Khan is a genetically altered super man who was so cruel, violent and despotic he almost destroyed the planet. Yet, like most real-world villains, the actual Khan was charming, seemingly measured. Ricardo Montalban infused the character with gravitas and even humor, along with his impressive bare chest (which was not a prosthetic in the movie). If the heroes of Star Trek represent the best of humanity, Khan represents the worst of it. Heroes are defined by their villains, and any hero that can take out a guy like Khan Noonien Singh is an impressive one indeed.

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‘KHAAAAN!’: why Wrath of Khan remains the greatest Star Trek movie, 40 years on

A gloriously evil villain, big-screen shocks, mind-control space slugs! The film photon torpedoed everything that went before, leaving a legacy that has yet to be bettered

W hen JJ Abrams began rebooting Star Trek with a fresh cast and crew of the Enterprise in 2009, many hardcore Trekkers complained that the new movies lacked the Apollo-era optimism and vision of space adventure as one giant cosmic morality tale that, in their view, had made the long-running saga stand out from its peers. Gone were slow-paced allegories playing on contemporary western culture, its triumphs and its horrors. In were hectic space battles, time travel, a strange obsession with motorbikes and plenty of fisticuffs.

What many of these critics failed to notice, was that this dichotomy between Star Trek as blockbuster space opera and thinking-man’s sci-fi had been going on for at least three decades before Abrams even got his hand on the Enterprise’s tiller. And to this day, the series’ greatest movie, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, only succeeded because it broke all the rules expected from an episode of Gene Roddenberry’s creation.

The Nicholas Meyer-directed 1982 film, which celebrates 40 years since its UK release this year, was a low budget follow-up to 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture. That film lifted a storyline straight out of the 1960s original series: something about a nefarious energy cloud later revealed as an ancient human space probe refitted by aliens that has subsequently achieved sentience and turned on Earth. The plot was so nebulous that even Spock struggled to work out what was going on. It duly picked up middling reviews and was a box-office disappointment for studio Paramount, largely due to its gargantuan (for the time) $44m shooting budget.

Out went Roddenberry (as producer) and in came Meyer to write and direct the project, with a much more frugal $12m budget. As well as including some juicy sci-fi stylings such as the Genesis terraforming program, Meyer, who knew nothing about Star Trek, spotted early on that the sequel needed an antagonist for William Shatner’s Admiral James T Kirk to face off against if it was to achieve the right level of big screen theatricality. The perfect solution was to bring back Ricardo Montalbán’s Khan Noonien Singh from the 1967 TV episode Space Seed, about a group of dangerous superhumans encountered by the crew of the Enterprise, who are left stranded by Kirk on an uninhabited but fertile planet.

At the time this is intended to be a merciful decision by the captain, an alternative to being sent to a penal colony for their crimes. But of course, we swiftly find out in Wrath of Khan that the supposedly perfect world picked by Kirk turned out to be in an unstable region of space, and that most of Khan’s people ended up dead or starving when a neighbouring planet subsequently exploded. Oops.

Cue a Melvillian battle between the two men as Khan takes out 15 years of frustration on his nemesis. Montalbán chews scenery like it’s an Ikea showroom made out of prime steak, yet crucially never slips too far into the realms of pantomime. The veteran Mexican actor remains a terrifying, vengeful force of nature, rage personified, throughout.

At the end of each episode of the original series, there was usually the sense that the Enterprise could fully reset, with danger averted and normal duties resumed. By contrast, the events of Wrath of Khan are so horrific that they can never be forgotten, and the level of threat seems to have been suddenly upped to warp factor 9.9.

Walter Koenig’s Chekov, along with newcomer Clark Terrell (captain of the USS Reliant) are mind-controlled by Khan using hideous space slugs that are painfully, and bloodily lodged inside their ears! Spock dies of radiation poisoning trying to restart the Enterprise’s warp engine! Khan himself is left to die once again after being summarily outwitted by his supposed inferiors. Where The Motion Picture was mildly intriguing, Wrath of Khan represents blood-pumping, big screen shock tactics on an epic scale.

Thirty years later, Abrams tried to recapture its magic with an effective remake, Star Trek Into Darkness. But even with Benedict Cumberbatch as a younger version of Khan (who crucially never got marooned by Kirk in the new timeline, so was really just a boring, big-headed eugenics experiment in human form) most of the original’s bloodthirsty lust for life and death failed to re-manifest.

Into Darkness was once voted hardcore fans’ least favourite Star Trek movie , a nadir for anyone who loved the original series’ more intellectual, cosmic musings. Yet it was all based on a movie that had to destroy everything that went before it, everything that fans expected from a Star Trek episode, just to keep the Enterprise from crashing down to earth for ever.

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How William Shatner's famed 'Wrath of Khan' cry became an instant 'Star Trek' legend

"KHAAAN!" is the cry that shook Earth and space.

William Shatner's  Admiral Kirk  unleashed the bellow at his rival Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán) in 1982's Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,  a moment so profound it earned an instant spot in Star Trek history and popular culture.

Kirk's over-the-top shout-out put an exclamation point (or four) on Star Trek 's second film, sending the nascent film franchise into warp drive.

Fathom Events is bringing a  35th anniversary Wrath of Khan director's cut to theaters on Sept. 10 and 13. Prepare for an onslaught of "Khaaan!" imitations and puns, which amuses Shatner.

He insists that his vocal outburst was just another day at the office.

"Who thinks of those things when you’re making a film? Imagine thinking, 'I’m going to say the name 'Khan,' and years from now people will be talking about it,' " says Shatner, 86. "You'd barely make it through a whisper. It would make you awfully self-conscious."

History has shown that "Khaaan!" still resonates.

"As Shatner himself said, that cry is the most 'I-Khanic' moment in Star Trek history," says Scott Mantz, film critic for Access Hollywood , who interviews Shatner for a pre-movie segment. "If  Wrath of Khan is the Citizen Kane of Star Trek movies, then when Shatner yells 'Khaaan!' is the equivalent of Orson Welles whispering 'Rosebud.' "

The cry caps off the epic standoff between Kirk and Khan, with Khan taunting Kirk before he cripples the Enterprise, leaving Kirk stranded alive on a barren moon, "marooned for all eternity." 

Kirk, who is actually pretending his ship is disabled to lure Khan into a trap, roars in apparent frustration.

"He's an alpha male bellowing his alpha male cry, like I have seen elk do," says Shatner.

Director Nicholas Meyer says he wrote the line himself "in caps with four exclamation points."

"It’s a bit of a cheat," Meyer says. "Kirk has to make Khan believe that this round, and it appears to be a final round, has gone to Khan. He has to act like he is a man who is totally screwed."

Shatner doesn't recall more than a couple of "Khaaan!" takes. 

"I hate to open up that Khan of worms, It was actually a Khan-undrum on how to play it," says Shatner. He pulled the rage, amplified by Meyer's temple-throbbing close-up, from being "totally immersed in the emotion. You cannot fake that. People would recognize it."

The shout was a hit and  Wrath of Khan a box office success, allowing for a future that now spans 13 films. In 2013's  Star Trek   Into Darkness , featuring a new generation  Star Trek cast,  Zachary Quinto 's Spock paid tribute, yelling "Khan!" when Captain Kirk ( Chris Pine ) appears to die at the hands of young Khan ( Benedict Cumberbatch ).

"As I fan, I cringed. I couldn't believe they went there," says Mantz. "They cannot re-create that moment of Wrath of Khan  magic."

Shatner will only say this about that Into Darkness  utterance: "(Quinto) gives a great impression of screaming 'Khan.' " 

Other tributes have been more successful, including an operatic stop-motion animation version seen on Robot Chicken (part of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim late-night programming) with a dramatic Italian cry that Meyer admires.

The original bellower refuses to comment on the parodies.

"I Khan-not do that," says Shatner. "They are not worthy of consideration, really. Especially by me."

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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

• With the assistance of the Enterprise crew, Admiral Kirk must stop an old nemesis, Khan Noonien Singh, from using the life-generating Genesis Device as the ultimate weapon.
• It is the 23rd century. Admiral James T. Kirk is an instructor at Starfleet Academy and feeling old; the prospect of attending his ship, the USS Enterprise--now a training ship--on a two-week cadet cruise does not make him feel any younger. But the training cruise becomes a deadly serious mission when his nemesis Khan Noonien Singh--infamous conqueror from late 20th century Earth--appears after years of exile. Khan later revealed that the planet Ceti Alpha VI exploded, and shifted the orbit of the fifth planet as a Mars-like haven. He begins capturing Project Genesis, a top secret device holding the power of creation itself, and schemes the utter destruction of Kirk. — Gregory A. Sheets <[email protected]>
• It is the 23rd century. The Federation starship USS Enterprise is on routine training maneuvers, and Admiral James T. Kirk seems resigned to the fact that this may well be the last space mission of his career. But Khan Noonien Singh is back. Aided by his exiled band of genetic supermen, Khan--infamous conqueror from late 20th century Earth--has raided Space Station Regula One, stolen a top secret device called Project Genesis, wrested control of another Federation starship, and now schemes to set a most deadly trap for his old enemy Kirk... with the threat of a universal Armageddon! — Robert Lynch <[email protected]>
• In the year 2285, Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) oversees a simulator session of Captain Spock's (Leonard Nimoy) trainees. In the simulation, Lieutenant Saavik commands the star ship USS Enterprise on a rescue mission to save the crew of the damaged ship Kobayashi Maru. When the Enterprise enters the Klingon Neutral Zone to reach the ship it is attacked by Klingon cruisers and critically damaged. The simulation is a no-win scenario designed to test the character of Starfleet officers. Later, Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) joins Kirk on his birthday; seeing Kirk in low spirits, the doctor advises Kirk to get a new command and not grow old behind a desk. Meanwhile, the USS Reliant is on a mission to search for a lifeless planet for testing of the Genesis Device, a technology designed to reorganize matter to create habitable worlds for colonization. Reliant officers Commander Pavel Chekov and Captain Clark Terrell beam down to the surface of a possible candidate planet, which they believe to be Ceti Alpha VI; once there, they are captured by genetically engineered tyrant Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán). The Enterprise discovered Khan's ship adrift in space 15 years previously; Kirk exiled Khan and his fellow supermen from 20th-century Earth to Ceti Alpha V after they attempted to take over the Enterprise. After they were marooned, Ceti Alpha VI exploded, shifting the orbit of Ceti Alpha V and destroying its ecosystem. Khan blames Kirk for the death of his wife and plans revenge. He implants Chekov (Walter Koenig) and Terrell (Paul Winfield) with indigenous creatures that enter the ears of their victims and render them susceptible to mind control and uses the officers to capture the Reliant. Learning of Genesis, Khan attacks space station Regula I where the device is being developed by Kirk's former lover, Dr. Carol Marcus, and their son, David. The Enterprise embarks on a three-week training voyage. Kirk assumes command after the ship receives a distress call from Regula I. En route, the Enterprise is ambushed and crippled by the Reliant, leading to the deaths and injuries of many trainees. Khan hails the Enterprise and offers to spare Kirk's crew if they relinquish all material related to Genesis. Kirk stalls for time and uses the Reliant's prefix code to remotely lower its shields, allowing the Enterprise to counterattack. Khan is forced to retreat and effect repairs, while the Enterprise limps to Regula I. Kirk, McCoy, and Saavik beam to the station and find Terrell and Chekov alive (who feign innocence and say that they did not help Khan. They also tell Kirk that Khan tortured the station crew but could not get hold of Genesis as Dr Marcus and David were nowhere to be found. The data banks were empty as well), along with slaughtered members of Marcus's team. They soon find Carol and David hiding deep inside the Planetoid of Regula. Khan, having used Terrell and Chekov as spies, orders them to kill Kirk; Terrell resists the eel's influence and kills himself while Chekov collapses as the eel leaves his body. Khan then transports Genesis aboard the Reliant. Though Khan believes his foe stranded on Regula I, Kirk and Spock use a coded message to arrange a rendezvous. Kirk directs the Enterprise into the nearby Mutara Nebula; static discharges inside the nebula render shields useless and compromise targeting systems, making the Enterprise and the Reliant evenly matched. Spock notes however that Khan's tactics are two-dimensional, indicating inexperience in space combat, which Kirk then exploits to critically disable the Reliant. Mortally wounded, Khan activates Genesis, which will reorganize all matter in the nebula, including the Enterprise. Though Kirk's crew detects the activation of Genesis and attempts to move out of range, they will not be able to escape the nebula in time due to the ship's damaged warp drive. Spock goes to the engine room to restore the warp drive. When McCoy tries to prevent Spock's entry, as exposure to the high levels of radiation would be fatal, Spock incapacitates the doctor with a Vulcan nerve pinch and performs a mind meld, telling him to "remember". Spock successfully restores power to the warp drive and the Enterprise escapes the explosion, though at the cost of his life. The explosion of Genesis causes the gas in the nebula to reform into a new planet, capable of sustaining life. After being alerted by McCoy, Kirk arrives in the engine room and discovers Spock dying of radiation poisoning. The two share a meaningful exchange in which Spock urges Kirk not to grieve, as his decision to sacrifice his own life to save those of the ship's crew is a logical one, before succumbing to his injuries. A space burial is held in the Enterprise's torpedo room and Spock's coffin is shot into orbit around the new planet. The crew leaves to pick up the Reliant's marooned crew from Ceti Alpha V. Spock's coffin, having soft-landed, rests on the Genesis planet's surface.

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40 years later, Star Trek will finally solve a classic Khan mystery

What happened on Ceti Alpha V after the Enterprise left?

Khan is back! After several years of speculation and rumor , a prequel series all about the Star Trek villain's exile on Ceti Alpha V is finally happening. But the format might not be what fans expected. Here’s what to know about what to expect from the Wrath of Khan prequel series, and how it's poised to answer a burning Trekkie question four decades in the making.

On Star Trek Day 2022, Nicholas Meyer — director of The Wrath of Khan and The Undiscovered Country , and consulting producer on Discovery Season 1 — made a surprise announcement: The infamous Star Trek supervillain Khan Noonien Singh will finally get his own series. But it will happen in the form of a limited-run scripted podcast.

According to Paramount:

“The scripted podcast will examine what happened in the years after Captain Kirk left Khan on the untamed world of Ceti Alpha V and tells the story of Khan and his followers prior to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. ”

What does this all mean? Let’s dive in.

Khan: Ceti Alpha V timeline, explained

In between the Star Trek episode “Space Seed,” and the return of Khan in The Wrath of Khan , 18 years pass. So in theory, the new Khan series will explore the time between 2267 and 2285. The large question the series will answer is: what exactly happened during that time ?

But that question also leads to several other smaller questions fans have had for years. Such as:

• When did Khan’s wife pass away?
• Where did his younger followers come from?
• Why didn’t Starfleet send another ship to check on Khan?
• How could the Reliant have confused Ceti Alpha VI for Ceti Alpha V?
• How did Khan get that sweet necklace? (Okay maybe this question doesn’t need to be answered.)

Nicholas Meyer onstage for “Star Trek Day,” announcing Star Trek: Khan.

Star Trek: Khan , explained

According to Paramount, the series will be produced by Alex Kurtzman, Aaron Baiers, Trevor Roth, and Rod Roddenberry . However, sole writing credit seems to be going to Nicholas Meyer, the visionary behind The Wrath of Khan . Back when rumors of a Khan miniseries first started circulating in 2017, Meyer wrote to Inverse jokingly saying “I khannot possibly comment” on the existence of the concept, which pretty much confirmed it was in development. But now, what’s great is that it seems that Meyer will get to write what is basically a radio play entirely on his own.

As Star Trek producer Alex Kurtzman put it:

“Nick made the definitive ‘Trek’ movie when he made ‘Wrath,’ and we’ve all been standing in its shadow since. Forty years have offered him a lot of perspective on these extraordinary characters and the way they’ve impacted generations of fans. Now he’s come up with something as surprising, gripping and emotional as the original, and it’s a real honor to be able to let him tell the next chapter in this story exactly the way he wants to.”

Star Trek has never done this before. An in-canon scripted podcast is officially a new venture for the franchise. Although the official Trek podcast, The Pod Directive — hosted by Tawny Newsome and Paul F. Tompkins — has been around since 2020, a scripted fictional podcast is bold new territory for the final frontier.

Do we know the Star Trek: Khan release date and cast?

Khan in “Space Seed.”

So, when do we get to hear Khaaaaaan? Well, right now, there’s no release date. The Pod Directive will return in early 2023, but we’re just going to have to wait a little longer for Khan . There’s also no voice cast, yet. Ricardo Montalbán, who played Khan in “Space Seed” and The Wrath , passed away in 2009. Benedict Cumberbatch played the alternate Khan in 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness , but it feels unlikely he’d voice the character for this project.

At this point, we don’t know. But when it comes to Khan, Trek fans can wait. It’s already been 40 years. What’s a few more months?

This article was originally published on Sep. 8, 2022

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How 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan' Is the Franchise's Most Human Story

From the different leadership styles to dealing with fatherhood and loss, 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan' is the franchise's most human story.

The Big Picture

• The Wrath of Khan exemplifies the best of Star Trek with its perfect mix of action, suspense, emotion, and humor.
• The passing of time is the real villain of the film, as the Enterprise crew must reckon with their past to define their legacy.
• The death of Spock is a heartbreaking moment that represents the sacrifices made to preserve the future and deepens Kirk's humanity.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is the Citizen Kane of Trek films. Few Trekkies would argue that it is the best film in the entire franchise. While the saga has been uneven, The Wrath of Khan exemplifies the best of what Trek can be. It features just the right mix of action, suspense, emotion, and humor that made The Original Series so beloved in the first place. Of course, The Wrath of Khan is best known for its titular villain, played memorably by Ricardo Montalbán . However, the real villain of the 1982 sequel isn’t Khan himself. It’s the passing of time. The Wrath of Khan was released over a decade after The Original Series was taken off-air. The Enterprise crew had grown and evolved. Campy misadventures were a fun premise for a television show, but if Star Trek was to survive as a movie franchise, it needed to start taking itself more seriously.

1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture didn’t acknowledge the jump forward in the timeline. By the end of the film, Kirk ( William Shatner ), Spock ( Leonard Nimoy ), and the rest of the crew were already back to their old ways. When Nicholas Meyer was brought in by Paramount Pictures to direct the sequel, he realized that Trek worked best when it focused on its humanity. Meyer referred to Star Trek as a “ human allegory in space format .” The Enterprise crew are forced to reckon with their past to define their legacy.

Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan

With the assistance of the Enterprise crew, Admiral Kirk must stop an old nemesis, Khan Noonien Singh, from using the life-generating Genesis Device as the ultimate weapon.

'The Wrath of Khan' Complicates the Differences Between Kirk and Khan

Like Trek itself, Kirk has matured since the days when he was dealing with Tribbles . Now a Starfleet Admiral, Kirk spends his birthday alone, left to contemplate the direction that his life is headed. Kirk had brawled with aliens, fought in space battles, and traveled across the universe, but here he’s dealing with a very relatable midlife crisis. After everything that he has done, what has Kirk’s life amounted to? This was Meyer’s way of both honoring and deepening the text of The Original Series . Kirk’s past comes to literally haunt him when his old nemesis, Khan Noonien Singh, returns to seek vengeance.

When Khan first appeared in The Original Series episode “Space Seed,” he suffered the same fate as most of Trek ’s “villains-of-the-week.” After his genocidal campaign is thwarted by the crew of the Enterprise , Khan is exiled into deep space. The show rarely explored the aftermath of these sorts of conflicts. Defeating Khan was just another “win” for Kirk to put on his record. However, Meyer recognized that the situation was more complex. Khan was too dangerous to be left to his own devices, and Kirk’s solution to the problem didn’t surface until 15 years later. During his imprisonment on Alpha Ceta V, Khan is left to think about just one thing: revenge.

The human conflict that has always driven Star Trek is the clash between logic and emotion. Kirk generally relies on his instincts, whereas Spock approaches things logically. This theme is brought up early on in The Wrath of Khan when Spock coaches his students through a “no-win scenario.” Although it’s a lesson that they need to understand to graduate from Starfleet, it's one that Kirk has yet to learn for himself. When he finds himself outmatched by Khan’s vessel Reliant , Kirk is placed in a situation where he has to accept that some sacrifices are necessary.

Kirk puts himself in harm’s way in defiance of Khan. What makes Kirk and Khan's relationship so human is how they differ as leaders. Khan believes in supremacy, but Kirk is defined by his empathy. It's the fundamental clash between fascism and the optimism that Star Trek has always had about the future. Khan clings to the past, but Kirk realizes that leadership is about learning from his mistakes. Kirk has to admit his faults to his ex-lover, Carol Marcus ( Bibi Besch ), and his son, David ( Meritt Buttrick ). When McCoy jokes about Kirk’s completion of the Kobayashi Maru scenario at Starfleet Academy, Kirk reveals to David that he cheated on the test. He never has to go through that “no-win scenario.” It was Meyer’s way of showing that Kirk’s confidence and charisma are built on a somewhat shaky premise.

'Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan' Deepens the Humanity of These Characters

The Wrath of Khan continues to explore Kirk’s human faults by developing the relationship between Carol and David. Although this was Carol’s first appearance in Star Trek canon, she was one of Kirk’s many romantic flings in his youth. He never would have thought about reconnecting with her before, but as an older man, Kirk realizes that he denied himself the chance to have a normal family. The Enterprise crew has always been his family, and as he soon learns, they won’t be there forever.

The death of Spock was more than just a shocking moment meant to stir up controversy. It represented conceits that would have to be made to preserve the future that Gene Roddenberry had intended. Kirk’s tearful farewell to Spock isn’t heartbreaking just because we’re watching a beloved character die. It showed that there are some things that we can never return to. Even when Kirk tells McCoy that he feels “young” at the very end, he has now accepted the burden of fatherhood. It’s only after Spock’s death that Kirk can become the type of man that David can confidently say he is proud of.

This was something that the other Star Trek films never focused on. Spock could be resurrected, Kirk could return to being a captain, and peace could be bridged with the Klingons. The characters never had to experience the same consequences. Although The Wrath of Khan ends with the same signature sign-off, it's after the characters mourn the loss of the crewmate that Kirk referred to as “the most human.”

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is now available to stream on Max in the U.S.

Watch on Max

Fans loved Ricardo Montalbán's iconic "Star Trek" character, Khan Noonien Singh, and his deep impact on the franchise. Khan's last words before his demise were profound.

Khan, reminiscent of Captain Ahab from "Moby-Dick," uttered, "From Hell's heart [...] I stab at thee. For hate's sake, I spit my last breath [...] at thee."

In "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," Admiral Kirk is relentlessly pursued by Khan, mirroring Ahab's quest against the white whale. His farewell transcends mere surface parallels.

Khan's unwillingness to retreat and his thirst for revenge mirrors the captain's ill-fated pursuit of Moby-Dick. Both characters, fueled by hatred, were ultimately unfulfilled.

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Published Jul 15, 2013

Khan Revealed in Mini-Series

IDW Publishing, on Wednesday, will kick off a five-issue miniseries – titled STAR TREK: Khan – revealing the back story of the enigmatic Star Trek Into Darkness villain. The saga will follow Khan Noonien Singh from his earliest days through his rise to power during the Eugenics Wars, building to his escape from Earth aboard the Botany Bay and his pivotal interactions with Admiral Marcus and Section 31.

“Much like the way the Star Trek: Countdown comic book and our follow-up Nero miniseries helped flesh out that character after the first Star Trek movie,” says Chris Ryall, IDW’s Chief Creative Officer and Editor-in-Chief, “Khan will add dimension and depth to this new iteration of one of the most classic villains in all of Star Trek lore.”

STAR TREK: Khan #1 is written by Mike Johnson and overseen by STID co-writer and co-producer Roberto Orci. Claudia Balboni is handling the art, while Paul Shipper has rendered the cover. KHAN #1 runs 32 pages and will cost $3.99.

For additional details, contact your local comic book retailer or visit www.comicshoplocator.com to find a store near you. And keep an eye on StarTrek.com for further news about IDW's upcoming Star Trek comic books.

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Khan’s Origin Story

The Star Trek: Khan comic debuts this week, and writer Mike Johnson explained what fans can expect in the six-issue story of the genetic superman.

Writing a comic book story about Khan was a way to show more about the character. “…in terms of the comic, Bob Orci has always talked about the comics being an opportunity to expand the world and show things we didn’t have time to show in the movie,” said Johnson. “And it sort of became a natural idea that we would eventually do the Khan origin in a comic, so over the last year, we kind of knew it was coming.”

The two main Star Trek canon sources regarding Khan were used to get ideas for the story. “Canon is what you see on film, either on TV or in movies, so we’re taking Space Seed , the original episode, and The Wrath Of Khan , and mining whatever facts about Khan’s origin that we can,” said Johnson. “So things like we know millions of peopled died in the Eugenics Wars. We know that in Space Seed they talk about Khan being the best of tyrants, that he ruled with…how do I put this? He wasn’t a cruel ruler. There’s this famous line where in the episode they say he didn’t start wars until he was attacked. So it’s that sort of taking little things and extrapolating, ‘Well, what does that mean?’, like someone else attacked him first and then the war started? CBS and Paramount have given us a lot of freedom in terms of how that’s going to work out, and what’s great is that it’s the first time we’re going to see this visually. There have been novels and things that have explored Khan’s back-story but this is the first time we’ll actually see it visualized in the comic, which is pretty cool.”

The dates in the comic story may or may not match the 1990s dates given in canon Star Trek . “I can’t tell you what we’re doing with the dates until the comic comes out, because I don’t want to spoil it – it’s actually a really big part of the story,” said Johnson. “But we are putting fixed dates on things, like month and day in the opening pages – I can’t tell you how with that, but I can tell you 20th century. It’s a great question because it is an ongoing debate about when Star Trek breaks off and becomes a different timeline. Because we’re getting close to World War III, which is different than the Eugenics wars. In the Trek timeline, World War III happens not too long from now.”

Readers can look forward to Admiral Marcus and other familiar Trek characters. “Kirk and Spock show up,” said Johnson. “There will be an explanation for something that we saw on Qo’noS, that I can’t really explain or reveal. The first half of it is the past before the Botany Bay, and the second half is really all the scenes that were happening alongside what we saw in the movie. So, leading up to him going to the hospital and telling the guy that he can save his daughter. So we’re going to show all those things; we’re going to see more of the inner workings of Section 31; we’re going to see the Botany Bay; we’re going to see how they found it; we’re going to see why he was woken up; and why they decided to give him the name John Harrison. It’s gonna fill in some nice…I don’t want to call them holes. It’s just you only have so much you can do in two hours. And just for fans of the movie, it’ll give them more, hopefully.”

Star Trek: Khan will debut on October 16.

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32 thoughts on “ khan’s origin story ”.

I wonder if they’ll explain how Khan became a pasty white british guy… 😛

Temporal Cold War 😉

Section 31 security protocols. What else is needed?

They probably will. I’m willing to bet that Khan was surgically altered so that he wouldn’t arouse suspicion.

Khan? I see a slender effeminate guy in a black turtleneck, but no Khan.

Kahn. The absolute evidence that JJ-Trek is not in fact some spin-off of the real Star Trek timeline, but a badly made re-boot existing in it’s own bubble. es, I know Lenard Nemoy is in these films, but so what? The man can play a Spock that isn’t THE Spock as it turns out. I’d say character and story (or lack of) trump his appearance. It still hurts my head how JJ fans can argue any other way on this one. It just doesn’t add up guys!

Yeah, I decided pretty much the same thing after Trek ’09. The real Spock, who at that point in his life knows of at least half a dozen different methods of traveling through time — who not only SUGGESTED time travel as the way to save Earth from the Whale Probe, but did the computations for it IN HIS FREAKIN’ HEAD — would never have just sat around in a timeline in which his home planet was pulverized down to the last grain of sand, shrugged his shoulders and said “well, that’s the way it goes”.

The old guy we see in the JJverse movies is clearly a Spock from some neighboring parallel universe, and “Khan” very obviously is. There’s canon precedent for such a theory (TNG’s “Parallels”) and no on-screen evidence to disprove it in this case, and the sheer carelessness of JJ and Co. in adhering to their own “rules” about what this alternate universe is supposed to be — they clearly don’t give a shit — only serves to reinforce it.

Nimoy is a class act, remember – he turned down a large paycheck for Generations because he felt the Spock character was ill-served in that movie. He wouldn’t just appear as Spock for the money as he clearly has artistic integrity.

“When someone comes along like he has done and picks it up and elevates it, we should be grateful. So when J.J. calls me, I take the call.” – Leonard Nimoy

In that case, it’s Nimoy who’s from a parallel universe….

Read Greg Cox’s excellent trilogy on the Eugenics Wars for a story that fits canon and history pretty well. All I can say is, I hope they’ve read it before embarking on this story.

I dunno, perhaps an explanation? Just saying “security protocols” explains as little as just saying “national security” today.

..would explain a lot of things. We do know that Enterprise is in the history of the JJverse… and hopefully not in that of the prime continuity. The timeline’s been already bent almost beyond recognition by that point so why the hell not? Addendum: Why are we all doing the lazy-assed writers’ jobs for them? Two or three lines could save so much shouting.

Should be interesting

I’ll put it more plainly: why would 31 be suicidal enough as an organization to let Khan Singh run around wearing his own original face and physique, if they got their paws on him first and deemed him useful?

There! That’s a simple explanation that would have been all of what, one, maybe two lines of dialogue. You’re one up on the writers now.

If he’s such a class act, why did he do these films? “Class Act,” Please! I’d have agreed before JJ-Trek.

Nemoy did an amazing job with the Spock character, and I have nothing but respect for what he did from 1966 to 1991 with that character. But I can’t see much of the Spock he himself established in these JJ Abrams films. He doesn’t really act like Spock. I keep passing it off as Nemoy is getting senile mostly because I don’t want to loose respect for him. But man, I’m really at a loss here so far as he fits into the JJ-verse.

I’m not buying that explanation.

Don’t hold your breath. *sigh*

Nimoy did the films because he rightly (in some people’s opinion) believed that JJ Abrams is a good film maker. In Leonard Nimoy’s opinion, JJ has elevated the franchise – this is borne out by the generally favourable reviews and high box office takings.

Now it’s fine to dislike the Abrams films, just as it’s my right to rate the TNG movies as the worst Trek films in the franchise. To state as you do that he’s senile is a bit much though, to question his mental state based on the fact that you disliked a film he was in is bonkers. If we take that logic and run with it then Adam Sandler must be brain dead! (because I dislike his output).

Mr Abrams is a creative director/producer. Lost, Fringe, Trek – all this is a proof that he knows what he is doing and can create box office and ratings success. You didnt like the movie – fine. But at least give credit to Mr Abrams and his team for ressurecting the Trek franchise after Nemesis and Enterprise buried it.

It belatedly occurs to me that they could have actually used that to enhance his backstory, and present him as even more dangerous. Capsule history, possibly a photo resembling his original appearance (but NOT Ricardo), and pointing out that he was so notorious that if he were recognized, the Federation council would start with hanging the lot and then proceed on to harsher punishments. Doing so would have also negated the need for a LIFELINE CALL TO OL’ SPOCK, which was a dickslap in the face of the entire new cast.

Nimoy did the films because he wanted to maintain good relations with JJ because of his recurring role on Fringe.

To be fair, it’s most only us that even think about continuity. The creators are of course aware, but explaining something like that is low on the priority list.

To each his own, but I don’t feel Abrams is as good a film makers as you are making him out to be. I had that opinion long before he crapped on Star Trek. The difference with JJ-Trek and Enterprise and Nemesis was the later was at least *Star Trek*. Did they have their issues? Sure, but at least they were Star Trek. Plus, Enterprise was starting to finally get good. I have no faith that that will ever be the case with JJ-Trek.

And probably so that he alone from the original group of actors had the final “say” on Star Trek. You want to know why Shatner and the rest have not been in these films, because it turns out Nimoy had the biggest ego the whole time!

That would sure explain why none of Kirk’s crew in Star Trek: Into Darkness really seemed to have heard of him, or at least had a very muted reaction if they had.

“JJ is a terrific director, and he gives you a great ride,” Shatner declared. “He knows how to make the movie large with the special effects and everything. And that’s going to be wonderful.”

He continued: “It’s going to be wonderful for both franchises. He certainly has enlivened Star Trek. I’m looking forward to seeing what he’s going to do because he’s going to do something different, that’s for sure.”

– William Shatner.

That’s Nimoy and Shatner who clearly respect JJ as a film-maker. They dont think he ‘crapped’ on Star Trek – neither do Paramount – who have made a ton of money and most importantly, neither do the majority of the audience- who have rated the film highly.

I agree with you that Enterprise was getting better, but it was too little – too late. And that finale – ughh.

“Mr Abrams is a creative director/producer.”

More like uncreative director/producer. He’s a good businessman, though (knowing how to sell his product, even if it’s junk) and a skilful magician (creating the appearance of something having quality despite the complete opposite – lens flares & special effects come to mind, which, in Abrams’ case, play a crucial role in camouflaging all the deficiencies of a movie and distracting the audience). I have to give him credit for that.

“He knows how to make the movie large with the special effects and everything.”

Yeah, I’m sure that’s pretty much the only thing he knows.

Star Trek, however, is not an action franchise, it’s primarily a science-fiction franchise.

“A second of me alone in that movie is infinitely more preferable than an hour of me with someone else from Trek cast”, was probably what Nimoy was thinking. And voila, before you know it, he took the deal. But, as Oswald also mentioned, you also have to take the Fringe factor into the account.

If he’s so uncreative, why did the powers that be reward him with resurrecting Star Trek (mission accomplished by the way). Mission Impossible (again – mission accomplished) and Star Wars.

I’ll tell you why. It’s because the man makes a product that appeals to vast numbers of people and is – in general – critically lauded and commercially successful.

You might not like him, you may disagree with his decisions – but the fact is that Abrams is a critical and commerical success story whose output will likely define the cinematic and televisual SF output for at least the next decade with Star Wars and Star Trek.

Having read all of the above, I am still not interested in this comic book series. I’ll wait for the next Star Trek Khan sequel coming in 2015, read the spoilers and skip the movie.

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| April 11, 2024 | By: Anthony Pascale 240 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.

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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.

That’s something, the Romulan War. That’s a big event, it could have action and you probably can just invent your own characters.

Couldn’t they just carry on from the end instead of squeezing more new shows in between what we already have?

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!

That was really a Kirk and Spock origin story. There’s a century of Federation/Starfleet before them that we know almost nothing about. Plenty of room for a good one-off story. Maybe a story 20-ish years before Discovery , with Captain April and Lt. Commander Pike? Could have a young Sarek, too.

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.

I agree. I’m not really interested in a ST origin film either, for the reasons you stated. I think, if they were to do one, it has to have some good hook. Say something like Kirk before Enterprise, or Robert April’s time on the Enterprise as its first captain, but I think that’s been pretty much done with Strange New Worlds.

Maybe Picard on the Stargazer before TNG?

Otherwise, you’ll be getting something with a cast of characters that you’ve never heard off, or, if you have, it’s been a line in an episode.

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.

Exactly! Very well put!! I just wish someone from TPTB would listen already!

Think about it prequels are easy to make because most of the writing is done for you. You don’t have to come up with where these characters will go.

Only if they are old characters though. But this sounds like Enterprise and not SNW and it will be all new characters.

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.

My thoughts exactly as well.

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.

Most people seem to really want the Legacy show though. I think for the majority of fans they may not agree with everything but there is definitely a sense they rather go forwards than backwards and why 4 of the 5 shows are post Nemesis shows.

And if you gave the option between a Legacy movie or this prequel idea, it wouldn’t be close.

I just don’t think making a prequel movie is the best idea out there. And I don’t think new audiences will remotely care one way or the other.

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.

I’ve only heard Bakula say that about Quantum Leap , not Enterprise . And this is a feature film, a lot harder for an actor to turn down. I agree with his decision to ignore the QL reboot (that series didn’t capture the heart and soul of the original at all) but if Paramount approached him with “we want you to play President Archer for a few scenes in this movie” I doubt he’d say no.

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.

I did indeed like it. A lot. I hadn’t read the books as I said, so didn’t know what to expect. Having read up on a few things since watching both shows, it seems that that there’s plenty of others that much prefer the slower build-up of the Tencent version too.

While it doesn’t include the likes of the brutal Netflix show’s opening, the hardship that the main female character endured was covered sufficiently for me throughout the show, and I’m just glad that I got to know her story by watching this version first.

And I sure didn’t miss the amount of unnecessary swearing that the Netflix version included either, which gave the Tencent version additional points. I don’t appreciate it my ‘Star Trek’ viewing, and I didn’t need it in the telling of this memorable sci-fi tale either.

And just to add, that even better for me is the fact that there’s now been a 26-episode ‘Anniversary Edition’ version of the Tencent show released, which has been re-edited by the director.

It seemingly cuts down on some ‘filler’ run-time that was added for the sake of the show’s producers initially, so that things will follow the original book’s contents even more closely now, and improve on the pacing of the show overall. I’m very pleased about that.

Whats so bad about swearing? The human race has been swearing since language was invented and we’ll be swearing 10,000 years from now.

Again, it’s just a personal preference thing.

There’s plenty of hard-edged movies and shows that contain wall-to-wall swearing which I can watch if I’m in the mood for them. But other times I’m equally inclined to watch something with less harsh language throughout.

I really disliked the F-bombs which the ‘Picard’ show included for instance, and didn’t think the ‘Star Trek’ franchise was the better for it. And I doubt that I would have enjoyed the Tencent ‘Three-Body’ adaption any better if it had contained bad language too.

Anyway, back to this supposed ‘Star Trek origin movie. I’d like to think it won’t be littered with F-bombs either.

PG13 are allowed 1 f bomb (like Guardians 3 I finally saw other night). And Trek is very comfortable to f bombs in Picard etc so safe to say we’ll be getting Treks first movie f bomb next film :)

Data said “Oh $hit” in Generations.

Which was very mild compared to what we heard in ‘Picard” Not that I would wish to show my younger family members the ‘Picard’ show anyway, considering it turned out to be so dire overall.

However, Data’s reaction was hilarious in that scene’s context I recall. Just a pity the rest of the movie was such a dud, and not part of my own ‘Star Trek’ canon anymore.

I’ll always wonder what the Tarantino script would have given us….

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.

Ikr, Beyond totally killed interest the series , the Fast Furious teaser trailer was bad, the second trailer gave away the twist, the audience (who cared about that stuff) knew JJ had crossed over to SW (which gave the behemoth of SW7 even more publicity, making ST feel less an event), there was no hook for fans or even general moviegoers like there was for ST09/ID (like if Shatner had returned or the Borg being the villain again) and nothing ‘big’ happening in the canon like the previous ones (Orcis ST3 had the timeline under threat of being wiped out, which would’ve been a huge deal) the eventual movie was kind of meh as you say and was just abit nerdy and Insurrection looking (like it was for hard core fans only).

At the time i had some friends (some who were casual Trek fans, and some even disliked Trek) who thought 09/ID were awesome and they didn’t even bother to see Beyond bc of the trailers and the general vibe (its like it felt like abit of a turkey, like other big sequels/remakes that summer, Ghostbusters, Independence Day 2 etc, )

I actually agree with all of this and I personally think Beyond was the best of the three.

But you’re right, there was really no hook for the movie and that first trailer was just awful. It almost kept me away from watching it.

But the biggest problem is the new fans just lost interest by then. I always bring up the fact I had three friends who had never seen Star Trek before went to go see the first film and generally loved it. I thought it was truly bad but fine for a brainless action movie.

But by the time Beyond showed up all three had zero interest in the franchise by that point. They just stopped caring. I remember asking one of them that saw the first two movies in the theater if he planned to watch Beyond and his response was no because now Star Wars was back and he rather just watch that. And he thought it looked boring.

That’s the entire problem trying to get new fans onboard and a lot of them were like my friends who just saw these movies as another summer action movie but nothing beyond that. They never cared about the franchise itself and so it was very easy to move on when the next shiny toy showed up.

That’s exactly why I don’t see another one doing all that well because to newbies it’s still Star Trek and it’s not cool enough to fully get into and will probably bomb again unless the budget is just super low.

I watched Guardians Vol 3 the other night on dvd and it (and previous 2) kind of felt the same as Beyond abit , the look, the vibe, the action, set pieces, the humour, the rock songs etc . so really with Guardians (that Beyond tried to ape), along with the return of SW, Trek 3 had no chance with casual movie goers who would just consider it Guardians/SW lite , (between the generational event of SW7 and the next GOTG vol 2) .. Even more reason to have gone with Orci’s more ‘star trek’ version of ST3 featuring Shatner

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…

Haha correct. How I let that one slide you got me. Having an off day I guess!

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.

Lol nope! I still remember watching Honest Trailer for Star Trek Into Dumbness and they even showed how much that movie copied the first one lol.

The fact both movies ended back at San Francisco when your series takes place in the freaking galaxy should tell you everything wrong with these movies.

that actually sounds like a legit potential Kelvin ST4 – Kirks evil great great grandson Kaos (Matt Damon) comes back to 23rd century to kill Kirk in his big star destroyer (sorry ‘destroyer of stars’) ship! Brilliant!!

That’s the insane part, this idea could actually pass for a Kelvin movie lol.

Thank you! 😁

Coming out of my lurker mode to say this is brilliant. I laughed my bleep off!

So glad you enjoyed it my friend! 😄

I bleeping love making them lol.

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

Star Trek: Discovery Finally Gave Us A Closer Look At The Franchise's Most Mysterious Villain

Warning: This article contains spoilers for the latest episode of "Star Trek: Discovery."

"Star Trek" might represent an idealistic vision of a bolder and brighter future, but the last few seasons of "Discovery" have proven that there will always be bad guys with a penchant for muddying up those ambitions in unexpected ways -- even in the 32nd Century. While the Borg, Romulans, and the warlord Khan often have a stranglehold on the title of "Best 'Trek' villains," one alien species in particular has remained shrouded in mystery for decades. First mentioned in foreboding whispers in "The Next Generation" and finally seen in the flesh (well, so to speak) in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," the Breen have played a significant role throughout the franchise in the years since ... yet Trekkies still had to wait until now to actually see what lies underneath their distinctive helmets.

The advantage of never showing us a Breen's face, as it turns out, is that "Discovery" was able to hide one in plain sight all along.

So far, the addition of scavengers Moll (Eve Harlow) and L'ak (Elias Toufexis) has felt like a shoe waiting to drop. The close-knit pair continue to frustrate Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the rest of the Discovery crew (nowhere more dramatically than in last week's time-traveling bottle episode ), remaining one step ahead of our heroes in their quest to recover whatever Progenitor technological treasure hides at the end of this galaxy-spanning rainbow. About midway through episode 5, titled "Mirrors," the writers unleashed their big twist. L'ak, thus far considered an unknown type of extraterrestrial, actually reveals himself as a Breen. Or, rather, an emotional Moll lets this information slip by accident during a particularly fraught moment. In the process, "Trek" finally unmasked its most enigmatic aliens.

Read more: Every Star Trek Show And Movie In Chronological Order

Putting On A Brave Face (Or Two)

In the span of one episode, "Discovery" officially made "Star Trek" history.

Long treated as a mystery that left everything up to our own imaginations, the Breen reveal puts a specific face to what had previously only been a name ... actually, make that two faces. While Moll and L'ak come to a tense faceoff with Burnham and Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) on board the mirror-universe version of the USS Enterprise while trapped in multidimensional space (it's a long story), the writers treat this as the perfect opportunity to delve into the scavengers' shared past. In a series of flashbacks, we find out that L'ak was part of the Breen royal family and disgraced by his powerful Primarch uncle. Hoping to earn his way back to his people's good graces, all his plans are upended by a torrid romance with then-courier Moll. With their backs against the wall and nowhere else to turn, the lovers choose their own path altogether and, along the way, L'ak reveals his most private aspect of himself: his Breen face.

Of course, the episode adds another twist and introduces the concept of the Breen having two  faces -- a solid, corporeal form they can present to others if they so choose, and a more translucent one. (Really, it can only be described as  squishier. ) In fact, this creepy and altogether unique visage symbolizes a much more meaningful difference, as we learn when L'ak's uncle calls his chosen face an "insult to your heritage." Apparently, most Breen have moved beyond this "weak" form and consider this some sort of societal faux pas. In just a few minutes, we discover more about Breen culture than we've ever known before.

New episodes of "Star Trek: Discovery" stream every Thursday on Paramount+.

Read the original article on SlashFilm

• USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) personnel
• USS Farragut (NCC-1647) personnel

La'an Noonien-Singh

• View history

Lieutenant La'an Noonien-Singh was a female Human Starfleet officer who lived during the 23rd century . ( SNW : " Strange New Worlds ")

• 1 Early life
• 2.1 Starfleet Academy
• 2.2 USS Enterprise
• 2.3 Finding Oriana's parents and stopping the Broken Circle
• 2.4 Return to Enterprise
• 2.5 Time-travel to Toronto
• 3 Alternate timeline
• 4 Personality and abilities
• 5.1 Joseph M'Benga
• 5.2 Una Chin-Riley
• 6 Key dates
• 7.1 Appearances
• 7.2 Background information
• 7.3 External link

Early life [ ]

La'an Noonien-Singh was born December 8, 2228 on Alpha I to Sa'an and Ronu Noonien-Singh . She also had a brother named Manu . ( SNW : " Strange New Worlds ") La'an and her family were descendants of Khan Noonien Singh , the Augment tyrant who once ruled a quarter of Earth 's population during the Eugenics Wars . She made herself something of an expert on Khan when she was a child, but also suffered bullying from other children due to her infamous family name , being called " Augment " and " monster ", among other things. ( SNW : " Ghosts of Illyria ") She carried her family’s augmentations and worried because of them, she might become dangerous. ( SNW : " Ad Astra per Aspera ")

Young La'an

As a child, Noonien-Singh lived aboard the colony ship SS Puget Sound , which was attacked by the Gorn . The population of the colony ship was captured and placed on a Gorn planetary nursery , where the entire population of the ship except La'an were subsequently either eaten alive or had their bodies slit open and used as breeding sacks. During that time, her brother Manu would sacrifice himself so she could live.

La'an, the sole survivor , was then sent into space on a " raft " as part of a ritual . She was eventually rescued by the crew of the USS Martin Luther King Jr. , including Ensign Una Chin-Riley . ( SNW : " Strange New Worlds ", " Memento Mori ")

Starfleet career [ ]

Starfleet academy [ ].

Chin-Riley sponsored La'an Noonien-Singh's application and she was able to attend Starfleet Academy where she graduated at the top of her class. Following her commission as a Starfleet officer, she was promoted each subsequent year during her tenure in Starfleet. ( SNW : " Ad Astra per Aspera ")

USS Enterprise [ ]

In 2259 , Lieutenant Noonien-Singh was assigned to the USS Enterprise as acting first officer following Chin-Riley's disappearance. She didn't tell Captain Pike she knew Una, fearing he wouldn't accept her for the mission. He nonetheless offered her a position on his ship after Una's rescue and La'an became permanent chief of security of the Enterprise . ( SNW : " Strange New Worlds ")

Like most of the crew, La'an was infected with the light virus , in her case to the point of nearly causing a warp core breach as La'an attempted to throw herself into the ship's warp core . When Commander Una Chin-Riley saved her life, La'an was exposed to chimeric antibodies from Una which allowed Nurse Christine Chapel to develop a cure to the virus. After learning that her friend was hiding her status as an Illyrian , La'an expressed frustration that Una hadn't told her as La'an had shared her frustrations and past history of being bullied and ostracized as an Augment and a descendant of Khan Noonien Singh with her. However, the two made up with Una pointing out that, unlike La'an, her status made Una being a part of Starfleet illegal and something that she had no choice but to hide or to risk facing prison time if it ever came out. ( SNW : " Ghosts of Illyria ")

During a routine supply mission to a colony, La'an was the first to realize they had ran into a trap by the Gorn . Enterprise was subsequently ambushed by Gorn ships and forced to hide in a gas giant which was being sucked into a nearby black hole . La'an was made acting first officer again, and she advised Captain Pike on the severity of the threat posed by the Gorn. La'an asked Spock to perform a mind meld on her and relive her time on the breeding planet. This helped her remember the code of the light signals Gorn ships used to communicate with each other. La'an was able to employ this knowledge to destroy one of the Gorn ships. ( SNW : " Memento Mori ")

La'an was also hesitant to wear a commemoration pin of the Puget Sound for Starfleet Remembrance Day because she didn't want to remember the painful memories of her childhood, leaving the past in the past. After the encounter with the Gorn, she changed her mind. ( SNW : " Memento Mori ")

When an alien consciousness from the Jonisian Nebula brought the fairy tale The Kingdom of Elysian to life on the Enterprise , La'an was used for the character of Princess Thalia . La'an didn't remember the events after the ship was returned to normal. ( SNW : " The Elysian Kingdom ")

Later, La'an came face to face with the Gorn again, when she was part of a mission to the USS Peregrine , which had made a crash landing on Valeo Beta V after they brought someone on board who was infected with Gorn eggs that hatched and hunted the crew and then the Enterprise 's landing party. She managed to keep her anger in check and help her comrades to survive the encounter. Then, she requested a leave of absence to help a survivor, a young girl named Oriana , find her family. Captain Pike granted her request and asked her to return afterwards, no matter how long it took. ( SNW : " All Those Who Wander ")

Finding Oriana's parents and stopping the Broken Circle [ ]

La'an found Oriana's parents on Cajitar IV , a dilithium mining planet shared by the Federation and the Klingon Empire . By this time, La'an had been on voluntary leave for months and Admiral Robert April expressed doubt over whether or not she ever intended to return. However, La'an discovered an anti-Federation plot by the Broken Circle , a cabal of former Federation and Klingon soldiers who sought to reignite the Federation-Klingon War . La'an sent a distress call to the Enterprise with the command crew under acting captain Spock stealing the ship to help her after April refused to give them permission to investigate. With the help of the Enterprise , La’an was able to help stop the plot and prevent a further war.

Return to Enterprise [ ]

With Oriana safe, La'an returned to her duties aboard Enterprise . ( SNW : " The Broken Circle ")

La'an appeared at Una Chin-Riley's court-martial as a character witness, with her stating her belief that without Una, she would not only not be in Starfleet, but not be alive at all. ( SNW : " Ad Astra per Aspera ")

Time-travel to Toronto [ ]

In her capacity as chief of security, La'an was required to intercede in personal arguments aboard Enterprise , as well as deal with noise complaints and inspections of personal property, to the chagrin of her colleagues.

While on her routine security rounds, La'an encountered a grey-suited man who had been shot, with a bullet rather than a phaser. He warned of an attack in the past, and handed her a device, and told her to "get to the bridge" before he died and vanished. Upon reaching the bridge, La'an was stunned to find a different captain in the chair, who identified himself as James T. Kirk , captain of the UEF Enterprise . She surmises with Kirk that the attack in the past has created an alternate timeline and erased her own, and needs to prevent this attack in order to restore 'her reality'. When Kirk tries to confiscate the device he accidentally activates it, transporting them both to Toronto in the year 2022 .

Realizing that this must be the time and location of the attack in question, La'an and Kirk acquire period clothing, currency and food to aid their survival. They witness the explosion of the Lake Ontario Bridge ; as they both remember this from their own versions of history, they realize this cannot be the attack they are to prevent. La'an recognizes the charring of a piece of wreckage as being that of a photonic bomb , a weapon at least a century beyond the technology of this time. They befriend Sera , a conspiracy theorist who has nonetheless stumbled on more evidence than she has realized, including a photo depicting a Romulan Bird-of-Prey , pointing to Romulan involvement in slowing or preventing Human advancement into space. Kirk remembers the destruction of a cold fusion reactor in Toronto at this time, which wipes out the city in his timeline.

Needing a way to detect this reactor and find it before the Romulans, La'an remembers an earlier conversation with Pelia and heads to Vermont , where she currently resides. Together they improvise a tritium detector using an old diver's wristatch , whose uncovered face would glow when near the reactor. They find the building where the reactor was being housed, the Noonien-Singh Institute for Cultural Advancement , and La'an was able to gain access to the building by her DNA . They are surprised by Sera at gunpoint, who reveals herself as an undercover Romulan agent with a mission to destroy the reactor. When they refuse to take Sera into the building, she fatally shoots Kirk and takes La'an hostage.

With security alerted, Sera improvises a new plan: to kill a young Khan Noonien Singh , one of several children kept at the institute, as a way of preventing Humanity's eventual enlightenment. La'an overpowered Sera despite being at a disadvantage in strength and speed, and cannot resist entering Khan's room to check on him, coming face-to-face with her own tyrannical ancestor. She assures the young Khan that he was where he needed to be, coming to terms with her own lineage and its role in Human history. Doing so allows La'an to return to her own timeline aboard Enterprise , where she was warned by another Department of Temporal Investigations agent not to discuss her experiences with anyone.

During these events La'an formed an emotional attachment to Kirk, culminating in the two sharing a kiss in the past. Following her mission, La'an contrived a reason to contact the James T. Kirk of her timeline, who was still a lieutenant on the USS Farragut , breaking down in tears thereafter. ( SNW : " Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow ")

Alternate timeline [ ]

Commander La'an Noonien-Singh in an alternate timeline

In an alternate timeline created after Christopher Pike prevented the death of several Starfleet cadets and his own exposure to delta radiation , La'an would transfer from the Operations division to the Command division and reached the rank of Commander by 2266 . She was assigned to the USS Farragut under the command of Captain James T. Kirk . ( SNW : " A Quality of Mercy ")

Personality and abilities [ ]

La'an had a spotless Starfleet record, although she had trouble working in teams and found other people "challenging". ( SNW : " Strange New Worlds ")

La'an was a fan of Enterprise NX-01 ; at one point, she noted that she " loves the grapplers " on the ship. ( SNW : " Those Old Scientists ")

She was used to enduring pain and maintaining her composure when in pain. She actually preferred not to be sedated and remain fully aware even during a very painful gene therapy. ( SNW : " Strange New Worlds ", " Children of the Comet ")

La'an preferred work and her duties over recreational activities, even in her spare time. She had the reputation to be someone "where fun goes to die" with her shipmates. She herself credited her painful childhood for not enjoying childish activities. ( SNW : " Spock Amok ")

She was a strict teacher when it came to tactical and combat training, especially with cadets . La'an's "Lessons of Security" included the following:

• Lesson 1: "A Rigelian tiger pounces with no warning."
• Lesson 2: "There are no breaks in security because threats never take breaks."
• Lesson 3: "Let your tricorder do the investigating."
• Lesson 6: "Know when to bend the rules."
• Lesson 7: "Leave no stone unturned."

Lesson 7 required Cadets to look under Mugatan breathing stones to reinforce the lesson, a rather unpleasant task. ( SNW : " Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach ")

La'an's hand-to-hand combat experience made her a valuable member of away teams to less advanced civilizations where Starfleet technology was not to be used. ( SNW : " Among the Lotus Eaters ")

Relationships [ ]

Joseph m'benga [ ].

La'an and Dr. Joseph M'Benga conducted regular sparring matches, training in hand-to-hand combat . As M'Benga was former Starfleet special forces and La'an was the security chief, it was a way for them to both practice their skills and blow off steam. Joseph saw that La'an was troubled by something, and tried to reach her, not as her doctor, but as her sparring partner. ( SNW : " Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow ")

Una Chin-Riley [ ]

La'an first met Una when she was rescued by the USS Martin Luther King Jr. on which Una served as an Ensign. Una was involved in La'an's rescue, helped her recover from the incident, and inspired her to join Starfleet . La'an occasionally called Una "Chief". ( SNW : " Strange New Worlds ") When La'an was infected by the light virus , her anger towards augments came to the forefront when she realized Una was genetically engineered. Una later made amends, apologized for keeping secrets from her and the two continued their friendship. ( SNW : " Ghosts of Illyria ", " Ad Astra per Aspera ")

Key dates [ ]

• 2228 : Born on December 8 to Ronu and Sa'an Noonien-Singh on Alpha I
• Assigned to the USS Enterprise as acting first officer , then later offered permanent position as chief of security
• Takes a leave of absence from Starfleet to find Oriana 's family
• Returns to active duty aboard the Enterprise
• Participates in Una Chin-Riley's court-martial

Appendices [ ]

Appearances [ ].

• " Strange New Worlds "
• " Children of the Comet "
• " Ghosts of Illyria "
• " Memento Mori "
• " Spock Amok "
• " Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach "
• " The Serene Squall "
• " The Elysian Kingdom "
• " All Those Who Wander "
• " A Quality of Mercy "
• " The Broken Circle "
• " Ad Astra per Aspera "
• " Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow "
• " Among the Lotus Eaters "
• " Charades "
• " Lost in Translation "
• " Those Old Scientists "
• " Under the Cloak of War "
• " Subspace Rhapsody "
• " Hegemony "

Background information [ ]

La'an Noonien-Singh was played by Christina Chong . Ava Cheung played La'an as a child in SNW : " Memento Mori " and " All Those Who Wander ".

External link [ ]

• La'an Noonien-Singh at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• 3 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

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7 best Star Trek villains, ranked

Thanks to its more than 50 years of continued existence, Star Trek   has produced just a lot of stuff. That stuff includes several great TV shows, more than a few outstanding movies, and perhaps most importantly of all, some genuinely great villains.

4. The Klingons

3. the borg queen, 2. gul dhukat.

Because Trek has always concerned itself with the politics of the stories it tells, the series has also introduced some genuinely nuanced bad guys. There are plenty of great villains of the week, to be sure, but there are also legendary villains who have made their way onto this list. These are the seven best Star Trek villains, ranked.

Say what you will about  Star Trek Into Darkness , but J.J. Abrams’ first Star Trek effort was a rousing success. Among its many feats was its introduction of a totally new villain in the form of Nero, a vengeful Romulan who blames Spock for not preventing the death of his family.

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Eric Bana’s performance in the role is transformative, but what really sells the whole endeavor is the sense of grandeur and scale that’s on display. Nero is filled with rage, and it’s that rage that has driven him to where he is now.

We’ve had plenty of great villains from across the many Trek shows, but Deep Space Nine ’s Weyoun was among the most beloved, in part because he was an ideal foil to the show’s cast. As the mouthpiece for the Dominion and a Vorta himself, Weyoun always delivered his message with a smile, but that rarely meant that he actually had the best of intentions.

In fact, Weyoun was in many ways your typical slimey politician, and that was undoubtedly a huge part of what made him so appealing to fans of  Deep Space Nine every time he was killed off and then inevitably returned to the show.

An omnipotent being that is a reminder of how far  Star Trek  characters can come, Q was first introduced as an ominous presence but became something much sillier as he became more familiar to Star Trek fans.

It was Q’s actions that ultimately resulted in the introduction of the Borgs to the universe, and he was also the one who charged Picard with the crimes of humanity. In spite of his power, Q is ultimately not the worst perpetrator of evil in the world of Star Trek, even though he certainly could have been.

In many ways the primordial Star Trek villain, the Klingons have shown up in a number of different villainous guises over the course of the franchise’s long and storied history. In the show’s original configuration, they existed as a foil to the Federation — the USSR to the Federation’s America.

Of course, Trek never expressed any idea quite that simply, and the Klingons were always humanized, even as they often opposed what the Federation was doing. You understood that they had their reasons, even if you weren’t always supposed to be sympathetic to them.

The Borg, in general, is a major menace to the crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation . Operating as a hive mind with the goal of assimilating all other living things into them, part of the point of the Borg was that they were everywhere and nowhere.

That’s why many were so worried by the introduction of the Borg Queen, but they didn’t have any reason for concern. The Borg Queen totally works, in large part thanks to Alice Krige’s memorable, sensual performance in the central role.

Gul Dukat was the best version of the authoritarian mode of Star Trekvillain. A character so villainous and tyrannical that you wanted nothing more than his ultimate defeat, even if you also found him compelling.

A Cardassian war criminal who ruled over Bajor as a complete totalitarian, what made Dukat so remarkable was that you could understand that his actions were heinous, even as you found yourself drawn into his world. Many argue that Gul Dhukat is the finest villain Star Trek has ever produced, and we think that’s pretty close to being on the money.

A name memorably screamed not once but twice in Star Trek movies , Khan is most remembered today for killing Spock in  The Wrath of Khan , widely regarded as the best of the  Trek  movies for a reason.

Although Khan was just a villain-of-the-week in the original series, in Wrath of Khan , he is elevated to a devious mastermind, capable of taking down and outsmarting even Kirk, Spock, and their crew. Ricardo Montalbán’s performance made the role one of the most important in the history of the franchise. As for Benedict Cumberbatch’s reprisal of the character? Well, the less said about that, the better.

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It may be spring, but it's also alien invasion season on Netflix. And while 3 Body Problem deals with that premise in a very high-concept way, it's been unseated from the top of the list of Netflix's most popular shows by a new South Korean series called Parasyte: The Grey.

Parasyte: The Grey is based on the popular manga by Hitoshi Iwaaki, which has previously been adapted as an anime series and two live-action movies in Japan. But you don't need to know anything about those to enjoy Parasyte: The Grey. This is a separate story that features its own characters, and it's clearly catching on with fans around the world. That's why we're sharing three reasons why you should watch Parasyte: The Grey on Netflix. It's the story of a girl and her alien

There may be no franchise in history more beloved than Star Wars. While not everyone considers themselves a fan, there are plenty of people who do, even if no one can agree on which movies are actually good. What we can hopefully all agree on, though, is that a great Star Wars parody is almost as good as the real thing.

Because the franchise is so beloved by so many, there have been tons of great parodies over the years. We've pulled together a list of seven of the best parodies in the history of Star Wars, ranked from pretty good to undeniably great. 7. Hardware Wars Hardware Wars: The Original Star Wars Parody 1978

Star Wars: The Acolyte aims to be one of the more unique additions to the Star Wars universe. This upcoming series will give audiences their first look into the world of the Jedi during the age of the High Republic. Specifically, it will follow the Jedi near the end of this era as they investigate a string of crimes that will have them uncover evil forces brewing in the shadows.

Due to the open-ended nature of this piece of Star Wars history, fans can only imagine what The Acolyte will add to the franchise. But until it premieres, here's hoping the show will feature these five things in its first season. The Jedi-Sith War

Kirstie Alley Casually Laughed About Her Parents Being Dressed As A “Black Girl” And “Ku Klux Klan Member” In The Car Crash That Killed Her Mom, And People Are In Genuine Shock

“This has just been rocking me since I watched it this morning like nothing could have prepared me actually,” one person tweeted in response to the viral video.

BuzzFeed Staff

It’s not often that something doing the rounds on X, formerly known as Twitter, receives a pretty universal reaction from other users, but a resurfaced interview with the late actor Kirstie Alley has done exactly that.

The clip was from a 1996 interview on NBC’s Barbara Walters Special and showed Kirstie — then 45 — open up about her mom Lillian Alley’s tragic death.

Lillian was just 59 years old when she died in a car crash in 1981, with Kirstie’s father, Robert Alley, suffering serious injuries in the collision. 

In the interview, Kirstie explained that she had only recently moved to Los Angeles when the accident happened and was preparing for the final audition for her role of Lt. Saavik in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan when her sister Colette called to tell her that their parents had been in a fatal crash. 

Kirstie then recalled the conversation that she had with her sister in the hospital waiting room in a clip that X user Kristi Yamaguccimane posted this week alongside the caption: “I could give you 1,000 tries to guess how Kirstie Alley’s parents were dressed when they died in a car accident and you wouldn’t get it right.”

In the video, Kirstie says: “I got there, we were all sitting in the waiting room and we were sobbing. And as I’m crying, my sister’s here and I wasn’t looking at her, but I said: ‘Where were they going?’ and she said: ‘To a Halloween party.’”

“And I said: ‘What were they dressed as?’ — why would you ask this! — and she said: ‘ The Odd Couple ,’” Kirstie continues, referencing a 1968 movie. “And I said: ‘Oh,’ and I’m thinking: What Odd Couple? Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon? ”

“‘Well, what were their costumes exactly?’ and she said: ‘Mom was a Black girl and Dad was a Ku Klux Klan member,’” Kirstie then reveals, bursting into laughter. “I was laughing, and the whole family — I guess they heard this conversation — and we all started laughing, and it was the greatest tribute we could give my mother.”

Needless to say, social media users have been left totally shocked by the clip, with the original tweet instantly going viral. At the time of writing, it has been viewed almost eight million times and has racked up thousands of likes and retweets.

This has just been rocking me since I watched it this morning like nothing could have prepared me actually https://t.co/x2sKBzWeVc — Bolu Babalola is technically on leave 🍯&🌶 (@BeeBabs) April 24, 2024

One popular quote-tweet reads : “This has just been rocking me since I watched it this morning like nothing could have prepared me actually.” Somebody else wrote : “I’m honestly in shock fhdjdjcjxkdj now what on EARTH.”

One more picked up on the final detail of the anecdote, tweeting : “‘It was the greatest tribute you could give my mother’ WHATTTT.”

Kirstie previously recalled this story in her 2005 memoir, How To Lose Your Ass and Regain Your Life , where she also added: “I wish sometimes that the woman that killed my mother that night... had known about my mother's costume, because maybe she, too, would know that my mother was a pretty funny person.”

Kirstie died from colon cancer in 2022, aged 71. She was best known for her Golden Globe and Emmy-winning performance in the iconic sitcom Cheers,  as well as movies like Look Who’s Talking and Drop Dead Gorgeous . 

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Star trek: discovery’s progenitor technology is far more powerful than wrath of khan’s genesis device.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is hunting for the Progenitors' life-giving technology, which has more power than Wrath of Khan's Genesis Device.

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5

• Star Trek: Discovery season 5 features a treasure hunt for the powerful Progenitors' technology.
• The Progenitors' technology can create life, modify ecosystems, and possibly reanimate dead organisms.
• The Progenitors' technology is more dangerous and diverse than the Genesis Device from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 centers on a treasure hunt for the Progenitors' technology, which sounds even more powerful and dangerous than the Genesis Device in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . Project Genesis was the 23rd-century brainchild of Dr. Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch) and David Marcus (Merritt Butrick), her son with Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner). Genesis was intended to address overpopulation and food shortage in the galaxy, but it was turned into a dreadful weapon by Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban).

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is a sequel to the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "The Chase," which explained why so many species in Star Trek 's galaxy are humanoid. The answer: Ancient humanoids seeded countless worlds billions of years ago, creating numerous species in their image. In Star Trek: Discovery season 5's 32nd century, the ancient humanoids are called the Progenitors, and their technology, hidden since the 24th century, must now be found by the USS Discovery before it falls into the hands of Moll (Eve Harlow) and L'ak (Elias Toufexis), who will sell the Progenitors power to create life to the highest bidder.

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Star trek: discovery’s progenitor technology powers & dangers explained, the progenitors' treasure can do more than create life.

What the Progenitors' treasure actually looks like and where it is hidden are yet to be discovered, but Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) gave a breakdown of what the ancient technology can do in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 3 , "Jinaal." The implications of the Progenitors' technology are vast . As Stamets explained to Lt. Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) and Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie):

The technology… It could have incredible applications. One could use it to design new lifeforms, accelerate evolution, modify ecosystems. And if it can create life, then, in theory, it might even be possible to reanimate dead organisms… It could make even the spore drive discovery inconsequential by comparison.

The Progenitors couldn't just seed the oceans of planets to create humanoids in their image, but they could also redesign entire worlds. It's remarkable, then, that the ancient humanoids died out because the Progenitors were essentially like gods. Perhaps they warred upon and used their own technology on themselves, annihilating their species. In turn, this would explain why they left behind the message seen in Star Trek: The Next Generation 's "The Chase" and access to their technology, so that they could live on through the many species they created.

Why Star Trek: Discovery’s Progenitor Tech Is More Dangerous Than Wrath Of Khan’s Genesis Device

It's much more than Genesis.

The Progenitors' technology sounds very similar to the Genesis Device in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan in its implications. Star Trek II' s Genesis Device could bring a dead world to life, creating entire ecosystems and flora. The energies of the Genesis Planet also resurrected Spock (Leonard Nimoy), accelerating his rebirth to adulthood. Genesis' danger was that its matrix would replace existing life with its own , which made it a potential weapon of genocide.

The Genesis Device was seen again in Star Trek: Picard season 3, and a black market Ferengi Genesis Device was stolen and detonated in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4.

However, the Progenitors' technology sounds more precise and more diverse than the Genesis Device. Genesis was meant to bring dead planets back to life with its set matrix but not necessarily create humanoid or other species. Project Genesis was primarily designed to create Class M planets for humanoid habitation . In contrast, it sounds like the Progenitors could create - and destroy - anything they desired with their technology, which is why it can't fall into the wrong hands in Star Trek: Discovery season 5.

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery season 5 stream Thursdays on Paramount+