This has been a big year for Star Trek. 2025 sees the franchise in transition as it heads into its 60th year with potentially large changes coming across the board. So as the year winds down, let’s take a look at the biggest news from 2025, based on engagement here at TrekMovie.com and on our social channels, as well as across media and fandom.
1. A new movie with a “new take”
It’s been nine long years without a new Star Trek movie. 2025 brought updates on both a possible origin story and a Beyond sequel, but then news broke that Paramount had shut down development on both—and hired Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (of Spider-Man: Homecoming and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves) to develop an entirely new, original Star Trek film. Fans may feel jaded after all the stops and starts, but the move indicates a clear shift in direction and, significantly, a changing of the guard. Getting Star Trek back on the big screen is officially “absolutely a priority” for the new Paramount, which is why it’s our top story of the year.
2. Skydance takes over… and they have big plans
The top story (and others) are a direct result of Paramount changing ownership. The $8 billion deal for David Ellison’s Skydance to take over dragged out over the first half of 2025, even getting political. In August, the newly dubbed “Paramount, a Skydance Corporation” quickly began making big moves with a new management team and a big fan of Star Trek in charge of scripted streaming. The corporate intrigue ramped up when Paramount tried to thwart Netflix and buy Warner Bros. Discovery with a hostile takeover, extending this drama into 2026. Star Trek has already been impacted by this corporate shakeup and we haven’t seen the end of it.
3. Strange New Worlds wrapping up
Even before Star Trek: Discovery ended in 2024, Strange New Worlds had already stepped in as the flagship Trek series for Paramount+. But before the third season debuted this summer, Paramount announced they were ending the series. Paramount planned to wrap up after season 4, but were talked into paying for the shortened, six-episode fifth season. In the meantime, season 3 failed to achieve the critical and ratings success of the previous two, but the showrunners have vowed that the fourth season will be better—and there’ll be a whole episode with puppets. We don’t know when season 4 and 5 will arrive, but the finale wrapped production over the weekend and it was announced that Dr. McCoy and Sulu are joining the crew for its final mission.
The cast’s final time on the bridge (Chris Fisher/Threads)
4. LEGO in… little guys out
2025 saw the world’s biggest toy company launching the their first Trek product: the LEGO Star Trek: U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D, which sold out fast on Black Friday. That was just the biggest thing for Star Trek merch in 2025, which also brought rereleases of popular ship models and news of of the first Magic: The Gathering deck coming next year. But as the year closed, we saw at least two smaller companies (Hero Within and Retrospect Studios) announcing they could no longer afford the Star Trek license. This give and take in the world of Star Trek products is part of the ripple effect of the Skydance takeover.
Star Trek’s first LEGO set
5. Everyone has a TV pitch
One of the biggest stories of the year TrekMovie broke was that Enterprise’s Scott Bakula was plotting a return to the franchise with the help of writer/producer Mike Sussman. Together, they had pitched Star Trek: United, a show about Jonathan Archer as President of the Federation. Sussman wasn’t alone; he got in line with Terry Matalas’ Star Trek: Legacy spin-off of Picard, and Strange New Worlds showrunners’ spin-off Star Trek: Year One. On the animated side, Aaron Waltke has a pitch, as does his former Prodigy writers room pal Jennifer Muro. And this year, Tawny Newsome finished developing her workplace comedy and Jeri Ryan revealed she had been pitched a Captain Seven show that wasn’t Legacy. There’s so much pitching going on, we did a whole podcast to sort it out. Nothing has a green light, but the new chiefs at Paramount have plenty of choices for Trek TV if they want to pursue an idea that’s already been developed.
Paul Wesley as James T. Kirk of the Paramount+ original series STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS. Photo Cr: Marni Grossman/Paramount+
6. Academy revealed
The one new TV show we know is coming is Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, debuting January 15th. Up until this year, we didn’t know much beyond big casting announcements about Holly Hunter, Paul Giamatti, and Robert Picardo. But around SDCC over the summer, Paramount lifted the veil and over the last few months we have learned much about the characters, the look, and the world of this new show. With the exception of one poster, early concerns about the show being a YA drama in space have been mostly alleviated, with interviews, images, trailers, and a clip revealing a Star Trek show set in the 32nd century with a diverse cast on a mission to rebuild the Federation with a new generation. A second season was also announced this year, and is close to wrapping up in Toronto.
The USS Athena from Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (Parmount+)
7. Trek tries new formats… and one stands out
2025 saw Star Trek expand into new areas, kicking off in January with Section 31, the first (and likely last) streaming movie for the franchise. Star Trek: Scouts, a web series from Nick Jr. aimed at preschoolers, launched in the fall, but with little buzz and falling viewing numbers on YouTube, this too may be a one-off. What seems to have broken through was the first scripted podcast, Star Trek: Khan. Transformed from a TV miniseries created by Nick Meyer about Khan’s exile on Ceti Alpha V, the fascinating audio series got a lot of attention, and not just because it saw the return of George Takei as Sulu and Tim Russ as Tuvok. The fully produced series starring Naveen Andrews as Khan added some fascinating elements to Trek canon, potentially paving the way for a whole new way to Trek.
Announcement art for Star Trek: Khan
8. There be games here!
Things have been pretty slow in Star Trek games recently; 2023’s Star Trek: Resurgence was the last significant new title. Some mobile games and Star Trek Online continue chugging along, but it’s been 25 years since we got standout titles like Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force. However, this year had a few surprises, starting with Star Trek: Infection, a survival horror game set around Deep Space Nine. Things got even more exciting with the announcement of Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown, a story-driven survival game that puts you in command of the USS Voyager where you make all the key decisions, including whether or not to save Tuvix. A demo for the Voyager game is already available, and it’s exciting that Trekkies will be able to fire up their game machines again in 2026.
You decide if Tuvix lives in Across the Unkown
9. Prodigy vanishes… with its head held high
2024 brought with it much hope when Netflix rescued the animated series Star Trek: Prodigy, streaming a second season that pleased fans and critics alike. Despite scoring two Emmy nominations, a third season never came. The streaming giant also chose not to renew the license for the first two seasons, which didn’t go over well with Emmy-nominee and star Kate Mulgrew, who, like many fans, is “furious” the show is disappearing from streaming next week. Oh and while we are on the subject of cancelled animated Star Trek shows, 2025 also saw Lower Decks pick up a Hugo Award. Let’s hope Skydance takes note and we see quality animated Trek return soon.
Prodigy lives on in physical media
10. Comics dominate Trek fiction
Star Trek novels have been a constant for decades, but they too have slowed down; only three new titles came from Pocket Books in 2025. It’s a different story when it comes to comic books from IDW. Their award-winning Star Trek and Defiant ongoing series wrapped up earlier in the year with the big “Lore War” crossover event. They then went on a roll, releasing a variety of miniseries with Star Trek: Red Shirts, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Seeds of Salvation, and Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming. The adventures of the USS Cerritos live on in the second year of the Star Trek: Lower Decks comic, and their interactive graphic novel Star Trek: Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way also won a Hugo Award. IDW ends the year with the hit new ongoing series Star Trek: The Last Starship, which brings a resurrected James T. Kirk into the era of The Burn in the 31st century. If you’re looking for new Star Trek stories, you may want to check out your local comic shop.
Cover C for first issue of The Last Starship
Well that’s it four our top stories of 2025. What stood out for you in 2025? Let us know in the comments below.
Keep up with news about the Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com.