Star Trek: Legacy Could Revive Paramount’s Feature Film Plans

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This year has been disappointing for television viewers, as many promising new shows are ending. While the last decade saw a record number of TV shows being made – more than in the previous 60 years – the new leadership at Paramount seems determined to focus on movies instead. This shift away from television is likely to be unsuccessful.

Currently, no live-action Star Trek shows or movies are being filmed. Paramount previously had a successful run of Star Trek thanks to a talented team of creators and actors. Now, as they attempt to revive the film series, one potential show, Star Trek: Legacy, could be key to their success.

Star Trek: Legacy Could Help Paramount’s Feature Film Plans for the Universe

Many movie studios spend excessive amounts of money on their big-budget franchises. But with Star Trek: Legacy, the transition from television to film could be much faster than the usual 7 to 10 years. The series could introduce new characters through a season or a series of streaming episodes, allowing fans to become familiar with them before they appear in a movie.

The new developments aren’t necessarily positive. While Alex Kurtzman and Secret Hideout have greatly expanded the Star Trek universe on television, many film scripts – a dozen or more – never made it past the planning stages. Creating a Star Trek movie is already challenging, and starting completely over might not be the best approach, according to some at Paramount. Even Star Wars is now relying on characters first introduced in its TV series for its upcoming films.

You know, the idea for Star Trek: Legacy actually came from Terry Matalas, the guy who ran Picard. It was basically his dream project – what he’d love to do with Star Trek if he had free rein. Honestly, if Paramount is smart, they’ll let him produce it. He really made Picard shine, and he worked wonders with a limited budget on 12 Monkeys – he’s great at getting the most out of what he’s got. I’m picturing Legacy as a kind of proving ground for Paramount, a place where they can develop the ideas for their next big Star Trek movie trilogy – or even more! It feels like the start of something really big for the franchise.

It’s true that a new series wouldn’t have the years it took for The Original Series to gain a dedicated fanbase. Likewise, it wouldn’t have the benefit of the seven seasons The Next Generation crew enjoyed before their movies were released. However, television could be a great way to introduce viewers – who are now used to doing extra research about movies – to the new stories and ideas Paramount has for Gene Roddenberry’s universe.

Star Trek Stalled at the Movies, Because TV Is What Sustains It

Even though some people focus on physical media like Criterion releases, streaming shows can be just as visually impressive. For example, each season of Strange New Worlds feels like ten weekly movies – and one season even included a musical episode! Similarly, the third season of Picard was essentially a three-part movie series presented as a single season.

As a huge Star Trek fan, I really think Star Trek: Legacy has the potential to be something special – the kind of show that feels like a movie and introduces characters and storylines big enough to justify their own films. Because Star Trek loves playing with time travel, they can really explore any period they want. I can easily see a character or a world they establish on the show becoming a successful, relatively low-budget feature film down the line.

As a huge movie fan, I keep hearing studio heads blame the disappointing box office numbers on people being ‘confused’ about streaming. Honestly, I think that’s way off. It’s about money! Everything costs so much more these days, and going to the movies is no exception. When you add up tickets for a family of four, plus popcorn and drinks, you’re looking at a serious expense. For that same amount, you could easily get subscriptions to all the major streaming services – even the ones without ads! – and still have money left over for snacks at home.

Star Trek: Beyond didn’t perform as well as expected at the box office, likely due to its high production costs. However, Star Trek has always been made with a TV-style focus on keeping costs down, which has been both a strength and a weakness. It’s worth noting that the most recent Star Trek film before ‘Beyond,’ despite not being well-received, was the only one made in the preceding decade.

Even before Michelle Yeoh’s Oscar win, people were talking about a potential spin-off series centered around her character, Philippa Georgiou. However, without Yeoh, the character simply wouldn’t exist. The proposed series, called Legacy, would be set roughly the same amount of time after the events of The Next Generation as has passed in real life. While new characters could attract viewers, the possibility of bringing back familiar faces for their own standalone movies is also being considered.

Star Trek Movies Have to Appeal to More Than Just the Trekkies

Despite a troubled production and a very high budget, the first Star Trek movie was ultimately successful. Later, Harve Bennett, Ralph Winter, and Nicholas Meyer collaborated to create a series of more affordable films. By approaching production with a style similar to the original television series, they made some of the most financially successful Star Trek movies ever.

Despite a relatively modest budget, the most recent season of Picard was its most visually stunning and exciting. Star Trek: Legacy could likely achieve the same kind of cost-effective success, potentially benefiting any future films based on the show.

The future of this new series is wide open. Star Trek: Legacy has the potential to tell stories with both brand new characters and beloved figures from any point in Star Trek history. Imagine the Enterprise-G appearing in the same timeline as Discovery, or even a surprising visit to the alternate Kelvin Timeline during the era of The Next Generation.

Each new episode could feature a character that launches a larger story arc. These episodes could be self-contained adventures, or contribute to an ongoing plot, similar to the original Star Trek films. Recent movies like Barbie and Oppenheimer have shown that films don’t need to be traditional blockbusters to become major events, and Star Trek: Legacy has the potential to do the same.

The current Star Trek series looks so much like a movie that it might actually hurt its chances of doing well in theaters. Spending more money on a bigger cinematic look wouldn’t make a huge difference – it would likely only improve things like camera angles or where things are filmed. Star Trek has already shown it doesn’t need a massive budget to be successful, unlike some other movies from the 21st century.

For me, a truly great movie boils down to clever direction, characters you genuinely care about, and, above all, a compelling story. That’s what I felt while watching Legacy, and it genuinely feels like it could be the start of something huge – a whole new film series, even. It reminded me of what Bennett, Meyer, and their team achieved back in ’82 – sometimes the best way forward is by really leaning into what came before.

Season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is scheduled to premiere in July 2026 and will be available to stream on Paramount+, alongside all other Star Trek series and movies.

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2026-05-02 14:38