The Future of ‘Star Trek’: From ‘Starfleet Academy’ to New Movies and Michelle Yeoh, How the 58-Year-Old Franchise Is Planning for the Next Generation of Fans
While Paramount Pictures redoubles its efforts to get a “Star Trek” feature into theaters, Kurtzman and his production company Secret Hideout are pushing the boundaries of what “Star Trek” can look like on the small screen. Michelle Yeoh just wrapped filming the first “Star Trek” TV movie, “Section 31,” a spy thriller that the Oscar winner characterizes as “‘Mission: Impossible’ in space.” And this summer, the first “Star Trek” YA series, “Starfleet Academy,” will start production on the largest single set ever created for “Star Trek” on TV.
A few minutes later, dozens of extras in all manner of outlandish eveningwear file into the club, several of them made up as classic “Star Trek” aliens that fans might be surprised to see in this kind of swanky establishment. But I’m far more distracted by a different discovery: Georgiou is standing with a young Rachel Garrett (Kacey Rohl), a character first introduced on “Next Generation” as the older fearless captain of the USS Enterprise-C.
If that means nothing to you, don’t worry: The enormity of the revelation that Garrett is being brought back is meant only for fans. If you don’t know who the character is, you’re not missing anything.
“It was always my goal to deliver an entertaining experience that is true to the universe but appeals to newcomers,” says screenwriter Craig Sweeny. “I wanted a low barrier of entry so that anybody could enjoy it.”
Nevertheless, including Garretton the show is exactly the kind of gasp-worthy detail meant to flood “Star Trek” fans with geeky good feeling.
Should “Section 31” prove successful, Yeoh says she’s game for a sequel. And Kurtzman is already eyeing more opportunities for TV movies, including a possible follow-up to “Picard.”
The studio still intends to make what it’s dubbed the “final chapter” for the Pine-Quinto-Saldaña cast, and Steve Yockey (“The Flight Attendant”) is writing a new draft of the script. Even further along is another prospective “Star Trek” film written by Seth Grahame-Smith (“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”) and to be directed by Toby Haynes (“Andor,” “Black Mirror: USS Callister”) that studio insiders say is on track to start preproduction by the end of the year. That project will serve as an origin story of sorts for the main timeline of the entire franchise. In both cases, the studio is said to be focused on rightsizing the budgets to fit within the clear box office ceiling for “Star Trek” feature films.
A lot more at the link -
https://variety.com/2024/tv/features/st ... 235952301/