Fans of the nearly 60-year-old Star Trek franchise are getting more disappointing news following Paramount’s cancellation of the Kelvin Timeline. While plans for a new Star Trek movie are in the works, fans of the first and third Kelvin Universe films may be disappointed come January.
J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek (2009) and Justin Lin’s Star Trek Beyond (2016) are set to leave Netflix on Jan. 1, 2026, meaning fans will have less than a month if they want to watch these movies on the platform. Star Trek boasts a “certified fresh” 94% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. Beyond is also certified fresh with an 86% critic score.
Both movies had massive budgets, with 2009’s Star Trek coming in at a budget of $150 million and Beyond with a budget of $185 million. However, both movies managed to make their marks with impressive box office totals. Star Trek earned more than $385 million worldwide, while Beyond took in more than $343.4 million globally. The films, along with 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness, starred Chris Pine in the role of Captain James T. Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy, Simon Pegg as Scotty, John Cho as Sulu, and Anton Yelchin as Chekov.
In early November, Paramount essentially killed off any chance for a Kelvin timeline reboot, meaning the long-in-development Star Trek 4 won’t be happening. In a report from Variety, which analyzed the first 100 days of Paramount’s new chief, David Ellison, stated of the future of Trek at Paramount, “The hope is to have a fresh Star Trek movie, though the studio has moved on from the idea of bringing back Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and the rest of the ensemble from the J.J. Abrams reboot.”
Paramount Isn’t Done with Star Trek Yet
Paramount
Thus, Paramount seemingly has abandoned all hope for any future Kelvin movies with Chris Pine’s Enterprise crew. However, instead of another Kelvin movie, Paramount is moving forward with the Star Trek franchise on the big screen. On Nov. 14, Paramount Pictures announced that a new feature film is in development from writers Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves). According to Deadline, Goldstein and Daley’s pitch to Paramount is a “completely new take in the Star Trek universe.” That means the story won’t be connected to anything that’s come out of the world of Trek, and it will feature a cast of new characters.
Paramount, ahead of the 2016 release of Beyond, announced a fourth Kelvin movie, which would reunite the cast. However, plans quickly stalled as the cast balked at the studio’s offer of a smaller payday and stating that the previous movies were underwhelming at the box office. In the years since, several attempts have come and gone as far as making a fourth Trek movie, with even Quentin Tarantino saying he’d throw his hat in the ring.
For now, fans have until Jan. 1, 2026, to watch Star Trek and Star Trek: Beyond as the two movies will leave Netflix on that date.
Release Date
May 8, 2009
Runtime
127 Minutes
Director
J.J. Abrams
Writers
Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Gene Roddenberry
Release Date
July 22, 2016
Runtime
122 minutes
Director
Justin Lin
