Paramount is officially rebooting one of the greatest sci-fi franchises ever

The Star Trek franchise remains one of the most enduring names in entertainment history. At 14 films and 15 TV series to date, the iconic sci-fi IP has lasted, through many ups and downs, for nearly 60 years. However, it is about to enter into what could be its most exciting era yet, as Paramount Pictures eyes a full-scale cinematic reboot of the star-faring series.

News was revealed at CinemaCon 2026 that Paramount was looking for a full-on reset of the Star Trek IP, which included plans for a brand-new film project. This new standalone adventure will reportedly be unlike anything to have come before it in Trek. Yes, it is exciting for fans that Paramount is still interested in the franchise that has become one of the most beloved in all sci-fi, but this particular reboot does not come without its risks.

Paramount's Star Trek Reboot Plans Revealed

Paramount’s new Star Trek film is still in the early stages of development. However, while the studio didn’t provide many specific details at CinemaCon, early reports do shed light on what fans can expect.

In November 2025, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, the filmmakers behind Game Night and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, were brought on to write, direct, and produce the project. As stated, it won’t be connected to any previous version of the franchise on either the big or small screen and will feature a completely new cast of characters. This means that Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldaña, and the rest of the Kelvin Timeline ensemble won’t be returning.

As for the story and who these characters are going to be, nothing has currently been announced. The wholly original Star Trek film also doesn’t have a release date just yet, but with Paramount CEO David Ellison reportedly prioritizing it as one of the many IPs he wants to get off the ground under his leadership, it could come sooner than expected. Realistically, 2028 is the earliest it could arrive if everything moves smoothly from here.

The Star Trek Reboot Will End the Franchise's Decade-Long Movie Drought

It’s been 10 years since the last film in the franchise, Star Trek Beyond. A large reason for this gap was the slowly decreasing box office returns of the Kelvin Timeline, which began with J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek. The 2009 reboot was a strong beginning, both financially, earning $385 million against its $150 million budget, and critically, still holding the highest Rotten Tomatoes critics' score in the franchise at 94%. However, things gradually shifted after that.

The 2013 follow-up, Star Trek Into Darkness, pushed the franchise to new box office heights with a record $467 million worldwide. But its budget also increased significantly, reportedly landing between $185M and $190M, meaning Abrams’ sequel only narrowly turned a profit. Reception was slightly more divided as well, even if still largely positive overall, with 84% and 89% RT scores.

By the time Star Trek Beyond arrived in 2016, the budget stayed at around $185 million, but the box office dropped to a trilogy-low $343 million worldwide. That reportedly resulted in a financial loss for Paramount Pictures, giving the studio little reason to quickly move ahead with Star Trek 4.

The franchise’s diminishing returns pushed Paramount to explore alternative directions for Star Trek instead. Over the last decade, new film projects were announced from filmmakers including S.J. Clarkson, Noah Hawley, and Matt Shakman. Quentin Tarantino also wrote an R-rated Star Trek script that at one point could have become the tenth and final film of his career, though the project never came to be.

All of these films were planned to either be continuations or spin-offs of the Kelvin timeline or have some sort of connection to the overall franchise. Clarkson’s project would have brought Chris Hemsworth back opposite Chris Pine, reuniting George Kirk with James T. Kirk through time travel. Hawley’s project was rumored to possibly connect to Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation, and an origin film from Andor director Toby Haynes was also placed into development. However, none of these projects ever reached production, meaning that Paramount’s newly announced reboot is the only officially active film after a decade of stalled developments.

The Star Trek Reboot Is a Risky Affair

In 1979, Star Trek: The Motion Picture took the franchise to the big screen, following Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and the rest of the USS Enterprise crew as they try to intercept a large energy cloud heading for Earth. While a box office success, earning $139 million worldwide against its $44 million budget, it received largely negative reviews upon its release, and has since been considered one of the worst films of the franchise, earning a mere 42% audience score on RT.

There are several reasons why most fans dislike The Motion Picture, but perhaps one of the biggest is its pivot from The Original Series. While it included the main cast, it swapped the swashbuckling and action-adventure style of the TV show for a slow-burning and visually massive cinematic event akin to 2001: A Space Odyssey. While this works for many sci-fis, it’s unsuited for a franchise built on philosophy and fast-paced storytelling.

Then came Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, which is widely considered the best. What made Nicholas Meyer’s film work was that it was built-upon the TOS episode“Space Seed” (Season 1, Episode 22), which introduced the titular superhuman and ended with his exile to the lone planet of Ceti Alpha V. Wrath of Khan then developed that story, following his return and quest for vengeance against Kirk, the man he deemed responsible for his fate.

When a franchise moves from TV to the big screen, it’s often rebooted or reimagined. Rarely do the same actors carry over, and even more rarely are more than a few core elements retained. The brilliance of The Wrath of Khan is that while prior knowledge of the episode that introduced him isn’t essential, the connection to that broader story is still there to tie everything together.

It’s the kind of universe-building that the recently announced Star Trek film risks losing, especially since it’s set to be a full reset with a new cast and story unrelated to the TV series or the Kelvin Timeline. What The Wrath of Khan effectively did was give long-time fans the impression that the film matters because of its connection to TOS (beyond the usual Enterprise crew), while also giving new audiences a reason to go back and watch the original show.

As the Original Motion Picture and the eventual failure of The Kelvin Timeline suggest, Star Trek films need a TV foundation to work. The Next Generation movies, which were again mostly successful up until Nemesis, followed a similar path to The Wrath of Khan. They’re continuations of the series, with Generations bridging eras with the return of Captain Kirk, First Contact following on from Picard’s (Patrick Stewart) Borg assimilation in “The Best of Both Worlds” (Season 3, Episode 26), and Insurrection being almost an extended episode with its exploration of important themes.

While the upcoming Paramount reboot could have a lot of potential to revive Star Trek, it runs the risk of repeating past mistakes. Making a standalone feature with a new set of characters and a new story, its possible lack of continuity could alienate long-time fans and come across as a generic sci-fi film outside the franchise. However, whether it makes these mistakes or not is yet to be seen, and hopefully, further developments and announcements will help put minds at ease.