star trek 2000 movies

Star Trek movies in order: Chronological and release

Number One, show me a list of all the Star Trek movies in order — both chronological and release — engage!

• Chronological order
• Prime Timeline

The Original Series movies

The next generation movies.

• Kelvin Timeline
• Release order

Upcoming Star Trek movies

Raise shields, red alert — we’re going to try and put all the Star Trek movies in order. And we do mean try.

When they were focused on the Original Series era, the Star Trek movies were so easy to watch in order — the movies were numbered, everything was nice and simple. Then Picard comes in with his Next Generation buddies and suddenly numbers are out, subtitles are in. And that’s before we get all the time travel shenanigans that gave birth to the Kelvin timeline , an alternative timeline that splits off from the main canon.

It's been a long while since we've had a new Star Trek movie, with the last release — Star Trek Beyond — coming out back in 2016. Over eight years! Voyager got home from the Delta Quadrant in less time than that! Mercifully the drought is nearly over, with the Discovery spin-off movie Star Trek: Section 31 due to launch in early 2025.

So while we wait for Trek's silver screen return, we’re going to break down the various timelines and help you watch the Star Trek movies in either chronological or release order —- the Temporal Prime Directive be damned. Oh and we’re not making any judgements on the quality of the movies here, so head over to our Star Trek movies ranked list if you want to fight about whether the Kirk or Picard era movies are better.

All of the Star Trek movies are available to watch on Paramount+, along with almost all the shows — check our Star Trek streaming guide to find which nebulas the exceptions are hiding in. 

Star Trek movies: Chronological order

Below is the quick version of our list if you just need to check something to win an argument, but it comes with a lot of in-universe time travel-related caveats that we'll explain below.

• Star Trek: The Motion Picture
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
• Star Trek: Generations
• Star Trek: First Contact
• Star Trek: Insurrection
• Star Trek: Nemesis
• Star Trek Into Darkness
• Star Trek Beyond

Star Trek: Prime Timeline

The first thing you need to know about the Star Trek films is that while they travel back and forth in time, they also diverge into two (for now) different timelines. The films of the original crew (well, the first iteration of them, anyway – more on that later) are all in what is known as the Prime Timeline. 

Within the Prime Timeline, the movies are then split between The Original Series movies and The Next Generation movies.

1. Star Trek: The Motion Picture

• Release date: December 8, 1979
• Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley

This is the film that brought the voyages of the U.S.S. Enterprise to the big screen. An energy cloud is making its way toward Earth, destroying everything in its path. Kirk and crew intercept it and discover an ancient NASA probe at the heart of the cloud. Voyager – known as V’ger now – encountered a planet of living machines, learned all it could, and returned home to report its findings, only to find no one who knew how to answer. It’s a slow-paced film, and the costumes are about as 70s as they come, but there’s classic Star Trek at the heart of this film.

2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

• Release date: June 4, 1982
• Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Ricardo Montalban

Ask a Star Trek fan what the best Star Trek movie is and more often than not, you’ll get Khan as your answer. A sequel to the events of the “Space Seed” episode of The Original Series, Khan is a retelling of Moby Dick with Khan throwing reason to the wind as he hunts his nemesis, James T. Kirk. Montalban delivers a pitch-perfect performance, giving us a Khan with charisma and obsession in equal parts.

3. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

• Release date: June 1, 1984

Spock might have died in The Wrath of Khan, but this third entry set up the premise for his return, with the creation of the Genesis planet. Essentially a heist movie in reverse, Search for Spock has the crew defying orders from Starfleet in an attempt to reunite Spock’s consciousness with his newly-rejuvenated body. It’s not a great movie, but it does include two very important events: the rebirth of Spock and the death of Kirk’s son at the hands of the Klingons. That’ll be important a few flicks from now.   

4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

• Release date: November 26, 1986
• Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Catherine Hicks

If Star Trek fans don’t say Khan is the best Star Trek movie, odds are very high they say Voyage Home is. It’s a funny film where the mission isn’t destruction, but creation – or more accurately, repairing the devastating effects of humankind’s ecological short-sightedness. 

A probe arrives at Earth, knocking out the power of everything in its path as it looks for someone to respond to its message (yeah, it happens a lot). This time, however, the intended recipient is the long-extinct blue whale. To save Earth, Kirk and co. go back in time to 1980s San Francisco to snag some blue whales. The eco-messaging isn’t exactly subtle, but it doesn’t get in the way of a highly enjoyable movie.

5. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

• Release date: June 9, 1989

A writers’ strike and Shatner’s directorial skills (or lack thereof) doomed this film before a single scene was shot. The core plot is actually pretty good: Spock’s half-brother hijacks the Enterprise so that he can meet God, which he believes to be… himself. Some Star Trek fans have an odd fondness for this movie, as it showcases the camaraderie of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy when they’re off-duty.

6. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

• Release date: December 6, 1991
• Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Christopher Plummer

Right, so if that Star Trek fan you’ve been talking to doesn’t choose either Khan or Voyage Home as the best Star Trek movie ever, they almost certainly name Undiscovered Country (and if they don’t, they have highly questionable taste, frankly). The Klingon moon of Praxis explodes, putting the entire Klingon race at risk. The Enterprise hosts a diplomatic entourage of Klingons, much to Kirk’s discomfort. 

Remember how Klingons murdered Kirk’s son? Well, he certainly hasn’t forgotten. Kirk’s lingering rage makes him the perfect patsy for the murder of the Klingon Chancellor, sending him and McCoy to a prison planet and setting the stage for war. Christopher Plummer is perfection as a Shakespeare-quoting Klingon general with no taste for peace.

7. Star Trek: Generations

• Release date: November 18, 1994
• Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner

And thus the torch is passed from the crew of The Original Series to that of The Next Generation. It’s a bit of a fumble, to be honest, but they all did their best to get Kirk and Picard into the same film and have it make sense. Malcolm McDowell plays Soran, a scientist who will stop at nothing to control the Nexus, a giant space rainbow that exists outside of space-time. 

Soran lost his family when his home world was destroyed and he wants to re-join them (or at least an illusion of them) in the Nexus. He’s not so much a villain as a tragic figure, but the Nexus makes a meeting between Kirk and Picard possible. Not all that sensible, but possible.

8. Star Trek: First Contact

• Release date: November 22, 1996
• Cast: Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Alice Krige

Okay, no, for real, if your Star Trek pal didn’t pick Khan or Voyage Home or… oh, nevermind. Cueing off the iconic two-part episode “Best of Both Worlds,” in which Picard is assimilated by the Borg, First Contact sees the collective traveling back in time in order to disrupt First Contact, the day Earth’s first foray into space attracted the attention of the Vulcans, kicking off the events that would eventually lead to Starfleet’s victory over the Borg. The Borg Queen torments Picard with visions of the past and tempts Data with humanity, going so far as to give him some human skin. 

The fight with the Borg aboard the Enterprise is thrilling, and the work on the surface to get first contact back on track is fun. Plus, there’s just nothing like Patrick Stewart turning it up to 11 as he lashes out at the enemy that haunts his dreams.

9. Star Trek: Insurrection

• Release date: December 11, 1998
• Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, F. Murray Abraham

Essentially an episode inflated for the big screen, Insurrection is about the Federation conspiring to displace a planet’s population in order to harvest the planet’s unique resource – super healing metaphasic particles. In addition to the rejuvenating natural resource, the Ba’ku also have access to exceptional technology, which they shun in favor of a more simple lifestyle. 

Data malfunctions, the villains are Federation allies (and former Ba’ku!), Picard gets to knock boots with a local – Insurrection is the very definition of “fine.” Chronologically, Insurrection is relevant for rekindling the romance between Riker and Troi, but not much else.

10. Star Trek: Nemesis

• Release date: December 13, 2002
• Cast: Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Tom Hardy

Before he mumbled his way into our hearts as Bane, Tom Hardy was Shinzon, a clone of Picard the Romulans created in an eventually abandoned attempt to infiltrate Starfleet. Shinzon is dying, and all that will save him is a transfusion of Picard’s blood. Unfortunately, Shinzon also happens to be a megalomaniac who happens to want to destroy all life on Earth and maybe a few other planets, too, if he’s feeling saucy. 

Nemesis is notable mostly for killing Data with a noble sacrifice, only to resurrect him moments later in a duplicate body found earlier by the Enterprise crew.

Star Trek: Kelvin Timeline

The last of the Prime Timeline movies failed to impress at the box office, so it was a few years before anyone tried to bring the Enterprise back to the big screen. Rather than lean on any of the TV crews, this new slate of movies would serve as a reboot, welcoming new audiences while honoring long-time fans. Welcome to the Kelvin Timeline. (For all the ins and outs, check out our Star Trek: Kelvin Timeline explained article).

11. Star Trek

• Release date: May 8, 2009
• Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban

Back to the beginning! Star Trek introduces us to James T. Kirk, Spock, and “Bones” McCoy as they meet and join the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Though the plot is a relatively straightforward affair of a Romulan named Nero trying to destroy the Earth. His anger borne out of grief, what matters most is how it all came to be. In the future, Spock – the Prime Timeline version – tries to save Romulus from being destroyed by a supernova, but fails. Both his ship and Nero’s are kicked back in time, setting off a chain of events that diverge from the original, “true” timeline. 

The name “Kelvin” refers to the U.S.S. Kelvin, the ship heroically captained by Kirk’s father, which is destroyed in the opening moments of the movie.

12. Star Trek Into Darkness

• Release date: May 16, 2013
• Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch

The benefit of the Kelvin Timeline is that it not only allows Star Trek to explore canon material – such as Khan (he of the Wrath) – but to do something completely new with it. Khan features heavily in Into Darkness, but he has no beef with Kirk. Instead, a Starfleet Admiral is threatening the lives of Khan’s crew, forcing them to craft weapons of mass destruction. 

Khan inevitably eludes captivity and strikes out against Starfleet, killing Captain Pike (and a bunch of others) in the process. Kirk and company eventually take Khan down, but not before Kirk sacrifices himself to save his crew. Don’t worry, these things don’t last in either Star Trek timeline, as Kirk gets better moments later thanks to *checks notes* Khan's super blood.

13. Star Trek Beyond

• Release date: July 22, 2016
• Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Idris Elba

Beyond leans into the camaraderie of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy now that they’ve had some time together, much to the movie’s benefit. The Enterprise is lured to Altamid under false pretenses, leading to much of the crew being marooned on the planet. The architect of the deception was Krall, who wants an opportunity to return to a galaxy where war is the order of the day. 

Beyond is a significant point in the timeline for two reasons. First, it sadly marked the death of Spock Prime due to the passing of Leonard Nimoy. Second, it culminates in the Enterprise embarking on the five-year-mission that started everything back in 1966.

Star Trek movies: Release order

If you can't be bothered remembering two different orders for the Star Trek movies then we've got good news for you — the release order is identical to the chronological order that we've shown above (accounting for the Kelvin timeline as it's own entity anyway).

Star Trek 4

The full run of Star Trek films currently tops out at 13 entries; the fate of the 14th was hidden within a nebula of conflicting information. “Star Trek 4” was slated for December 22, 2023, but given that filming had yet to begin as of July 2022, it seems inevitable that date will change. Back in February 2022, Paramount that the principal cast would be returning for the fourth installment of the Kelvin timeline, a claim quickly disputed by the agents of those selfsame actors. Awkward.

Soon after, however, Chris Pine eventually signed on the dotted line, and his shipmates reached their own agreements. As of right now, Kirk (Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), McCoy (Karl Urban, assuming he can make it work around filming of The Boys), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Uhura (Zoe Saldaña), and Sulu (John Cho) are all ready to beam up and get filming. Sadly, this will be the first of the Kelvin films to not feature Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov. Yelchin died in an accident at his home in 2016. It’s currently unclear if Chekov will be recast or if a different character will take his place on the bridge of the Enterprise.

Though the Kelvin timeline is often referred to as “J.J. Abrams Trek,” he won’t be directing Star Trek 4; Matt Shakman will take on that responsibility, leaving Abrams to produce. As for what it will be about, that’s anyone’s guess, but Chris Pine told Deadline he hopes this one tells a smaller story that appeals to the core Trek audience. “Let’s make the movie for the people that love this group of people, that love this story, that love Star Trek,” he said. “Let’s make it for them and then, if people want to come to the party, great.” It’s a strategy that makes sense; the disappointment with recent Trek films hasn’t been their content so much as their box office. A Trek film with a smaller scope (and budget) would almost certainly have a very healthy profit margin while also resonating with the fanbase.   

With no new announcements coming from San Diego Comic-Con 2022, it seems that we’ll have to wait for any more insight into the next Star Trek film. Sill, recent comments from Paramount CEO Brian Robbins have us cautiously optimistic: “We’re deep into [Star Trek 4] with J.J. Abrams, and it feels like we’re getting close to the starting line and excited about where we’re going creatively,” he told Variety . 

Still, recent comments from Paramount CEO Brian Robbins have us cautiously optimistic: “We’re deep into [Star Trek 4] with J.J. Abrams, and it feels like we’re getting close to the starting line and excited about where we’re going creatively,” he told Variety.

Since then, there hasn’t been much in the way of updates, which leaves us with the worrying prospect of Star Trek 4 being stuck in development hell. During a 2023 appearance at the 57-Year Mission convention in Las Vegas (reported by TrekMovie ), Zachary Quinto explained that creative differences were the cause of the numerous delays. 

“I think there’s a lot of other stuff, creative things. It’s complicated. The fact that anything good gets made is kind of a miracle. I think it’s about different people having different agendas and ideas about what it will be.“

Star Trek: Section 31

In the meantime, we are getting the Star Trek: Section 31 movie staring Academy Award-winning actress MichelIe Yeoh. She is reprising her role as Emperor Philip Georgiou, her character from Star Trek Discovery (well one of them anyway, mirror universes and all that). This spin-off from the TV series is coming out of warp in early 2025.

Check out our guide to Everything we know about Star trek Section 31 for more info on the upcoming movie.

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Susan Arendt is a freelance writer, editor, and consultant living in Burleson, TX. She's a huge sci-fi TV and movie buff, and will talk your Vulcan ears off about Star Trek. You can find more of her work at Wired, IGN, Polygon, or look for her on Twitter: @SusanArendt. Be prepared to see too many pictures of her dogs.

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All Star Trek Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

Star Trek (2009) celebrates its 15th anniversary!

We’re boldly ranking the Star Trek movies by Tomatometer, from the original film series (1979’s The Motion Picture to The Undiscovered Country ), into the handoff to films featuring the Next Generation cast ( Generations to Nemesis ), and through to the reboot series (2009’s Trek to Beyond ).

Star Trek (2009) 94%

Star Trek: First Contact (1996) 93%

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) 87%

Star Trek Beyond (2016) 86%

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) 84%

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) 83%

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) 82%

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) 79%

Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) 55%

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) 52%

Star Trek Generations (1994) 48%

Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) 38%

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) 23%

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The Best 'Star Trek' Movies of the 2000s

Rank This Chart

Star Trek https://www.flickchart.com/movie/4B501F71DA 2009 , 127 min.

J.J. Abrams   •    Starring: Chris Pine ,  Zachary Quinto ,  Leonard Nimoy

Action    •    Adventure    •    Based-on-Television

find this movie on ►

Star Trek: Nemesis https://www.flickchart.com/movie/1B6BE051BE 2002 , 116 min.

Stuart Baird   •    Starring: Patrick Stewart ,  LeVar Burton ,  Brent Spiner

Action    •    Based-on-Television    •    Cyborg / Android / Robot

Trekkies 2 https://www.flickchart.com/movie/6CD4CD89E5 2004 , 93 min.

Roger Nygard   •    Starring: Denise Crosby ,  John Billingsley ,  Dominic Keating

Biography    •    Culture and Society    •    Documentary

Star Trek: Of Gods and Men https://www.flickchart.com/movie/2C0380F01F 2007 , 87 min.

Tim Russ   •    Starring: Walter Koenig ,  Nichelle Nichols ,  Garrett Wang

Adventure    •    Science Fiction    •    Space Adventure

The Captain's Summit https://www.flickchart.com/movie/4521ED4162 2009 , 70 min.

Tim King   •    Starring: William Shatner ,  Leonard Nimoy ,  Patrick Stewart

Documentary    •    Media Documentary

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Star Trek (film)

A cataclysm in the 24th century throws two ships back in time to the 23rd century, altering the course of history. With a different life where he never knew his father, James T. Kirk becomes a brilliant yet cynical misfit who is finally convinced to join Starfleet by Captain Christopher Pike in 2255. Three years later, Kirk, Vulcan First Officer Spock, and the young crew of the new USS Enterprise , with guidance from Spock's future self, must figure out a way to work together to prevent the one responsible for the death of Kirk's father, the future Romulan known as Nero, from destroying the Federation in a mad quest for vengeance.

• 1.1 Prologue
• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 2 Log entries
• 3 Memorable quotes
• 4.1 Development
• 4.2 Story and script
• 4.3.2 Props
• 4.3.3 Costumes
• 4.3.4 Makeup
• 4.4.1 Rumors and gossip
• 4.4.2 Shatner controversy
• 4.5.1 Crew notes
• 4.5.2 Secrecy and security
• 4.5.3 Sets and locations
• 4.6.1 Music
• 4.7 Continuity
• 4.8 Deleted and expanded scenes
• 4.9 Apocrypha
• 5.1 Release delay
• 5.2 Premieres
• 5.3 General
• 5.4 Reception
• 5.5 Box office
• 6 Awards and honors
• 8.1 Posters
• 8.2 USB card wallpapers
• 8.3 Websites and viral marketing
• 8.4 Promotional images
• 8.5 Teaser trailer
• 8.6 Theatrical trailers
• 8.7 Super Bowl spot
• 8.8.1 Merchandise gallery
• 9.1.3 Star Trek Avionics
• 9.1.4 Second Unit
• 9.2 Unconfirmed cast and crew
• 9.3 Companies
• 9.4 Uncredited companies
• 9.5 Unconfirmed companies
• 9.7.1 Other references
• 9.7.2 Meta references
• 9.7.3 Unreferenced material
• 9.8 See also
• 9.9 External links

Summary [ ]

Prologue [ ].

The Narada emerges after passing through a black hole

In the year 2233 , the Federation starship USS Kelvin investigates a " lightning storm" near Klingon space , which they soon realize to be a black hole . Suddenly, the massive warship Narada emerges and immediately opens fire on the Kelvin , inflicting heavy damage on the vessel. The Narada ceases fire, and its first officer , Ayel , hails the outmatched Kelvin .

Speaking for its captain , Nero , Ayel demands that the Kelvin 's commanding officer, Richard Robau , come aboard the Narada via shuttlecraft . He states the captain's refusal to do so would be "unwise." Captain Robau agrees and hands command of the ship to his first officer, George Kirk . He orders Kirk to wait fifteen minutes for his signal or else evacuate the ship, telling him he is now captain.

Lieutenant George Kirk aboard the ill-fated USS Kelvin

Upon arriving aboard the Narada , Robau is taken to Nero, while the crew of the Kelvin monitors his life signs . While Nero remains silent, Ayel interrogates him first about a particular ship , which Robau does not recognize, and then about the whereabouts of Ambassador Spock , with whom Robau is also unfamiliar.

Robau reveals the stardate; the Romulans have ended up 150 Earth years in the past. Realizing that they will not get the answers they want out of Robau, he is killed by Nero himself and the Narada recommences its attack on the Kelvin . Kirk orders the Kelvin to return fire but as the situation worsens and he realizes that the damage to the Kelvin is compromising the lives and safety of everyone on board, he orders the crew to proceed to the escape pods and shuttles, including his wife Winona , who is just about to give birth.

Winona Kirk with Jim, moments after his birth

Kirk tries to plot a collision course with the Narada , but the ship's autopilot navigation is offline. The commander comes to the sad realization that he will need to control the Kelvin himself. He orders his wife to leave on the shuttle without him. She protests, but Kirk knows that he has no choice but to stay behind and continue the attack in order to protect his wife and child and the others. On the shuttlecraft, Winona Kirk gives birth to a baby boy.

As the Kelvin destroys the missiles aimed at the shuttles, Kirk can hear his newborn's cries, realizing that he will never meet his son. Just before the Kelvin is about to collide with the Romulan vessel, Kirk asks Winona what they should name their son. She suggests naming him after George's father , but he laughs the suggestion off, saying that "Tiberius" isn't much of a first name. They decide to name him "Jim", after Winona's father . Communication is cut off as the Kelvin smashes into the Narada , temporarily crippling it and giving the shuttles time to escape.

Act One [ ]

" My name is James Tiberius Kirk! "

Approximately ten years later, around the early to mid- 2240s , a young boy is seen racing down the road in an antique Corvette across the open Iowa landscape, blasting 20th century music , while the owner of the car, a man in a relationship with the boy's mother, angrily attempts to get the boy to return the car. The boy undoes the latches holding the convertible roof and it flies off. The boy yells in joy. Soon, a policeman on a flying motorbike chases him, ordering the boy to stop the car. Evading the officer, the boy heads for a quarry and jumps out of the car, moments before it speeds over the edge and crashes on the canyon floor below. The policeman apprehends the boy, who defiantly identifies himself as " James Tiberius Kirk ".

Spock as a child on Vulcan

Around the same time on Vulcan , a young Spock is being tormented by his peers about his mixed heritage. The boys call his father a traitor for marrying a Human "whore". The three have previously failed 34 times to invoke an emotional response in Spock, but this time they take it too far and Spock knocks one of the older boys into a skill dome and beats him in an emotional rage.

He is later gently admonished by his father, Sarek , who is disappointed at his son's lack of emotional control. Spock suggests that his father wants him to be fully Vulcan, and yet Sarek married a Human woman. Sarek coldly replies that it was the logical choice, as his duties as ambassador to Earth required him to understand and observe Human behavior. Sarek then tells his son, " Spock, you are fully capable of deciding your own destiny. The question you face is: which path will you choose? This is something only you can decide. "

Many years later, Spock is conflicted about whether to participate in the kolinahr , the Vulcan ritual aimed at purging all vestigial emotions. He talks to his mother, Amanda Grayson , who tells him that she will always be proud of him, no matter what he decides.

Spock defies the Vulcan elders

Later, Spock stands before a committee on Vulcan. The committee informs him of his acceptance into the Vulcan Science Academy and commends his accomplishments despite his "disadvantage" of being half-Human. In response to yet another underhanded insult to his heritage, Spock declines the offer of admission, stating that he has decided to enter Starfleet Academy instead. The committee expresses shock, as the offer of admission to the Vulcan Science Academy is one that no Vulcan has ever turned down – to which Spock replies that, as he isn't a real Vulcan, that statement is still accurate. Spock thanks the council and with a tinge of anger in his voice, tells the committee to " live long and prosper. "

In 2255 , in a bar in rural Iowa, a young Academy cadet named Uhura meets up with some friends, and while ordering drinks, a brash, intoxicated and arrogant adult James Kirk introduces himself to her and offers to buy her a drink. His attempts at flirting with her are unsuccessful, however, and the situation escalates when three Starfleet recruits led by Hendorff intervene and start a fight during which Kirk, though he holds his own briefly, is badly beaten. Fortunately, Captain Christopher Pike steps in and ends the fight, ordering all cadets inside the bar to step outside.

Pike tries to recruit Kirk in an Iowa bar

Pike himself is very familiar with Kirk's tragic past and the accomplishment of his father, having written his Academy dissertation about the Kelvin . He sits down with him, trying to talk some sense into the rebellious young man, suggesting he join Starfleet. Pike firmly believes that with his aptitude, Kirk can do more with himself than get into bar fights and be "the only genius-level repeat offender in the Midwest." Kirk doesn't want to hear it and balks at the idea of joining Starfleet. Pike ends the conversation with a reminder that Kirk's father saved eight hundred lives in the course of just twelve minutes of command and challenges Kirk to "do better."

Kirk looks on as the Enterprise takes shape

Early the next day, Kirk heads to Riverside Shipyard on his motorcycle , where Starfleet's newest and most advanced ship, USS Enterprise , is under construction. Pike is surprised to see Kirk turn up to join the new recruits. Before boarding the shuttle Bardeen , Kirk gives away his motorcycle and smugly tells Pike that he'll graduate in three years instead of four. On the recruit shuttle, he meets Leonard McCoy – a recently divorced , disgruntled recruit who dismisses Starfleet technology with smug pessimism. The two share a drink as the shuttlecraft leaves for the Academy in San Francisco .

Three years later, the Narada is waiting at an unknown part of space. Nero is called to the bridge by Ayel. Suddenly, a temporal disturbance appears and a small starship flies out of the anomaly. Nero recognizes and welcomes the appearance of Ambassador Spock, and orders the ship to be captured.

Kirk has an encounter with Gaila

Meanwhile, at Starfleet Academy, Kirk is telling McCoy that he is taking the Kobayashi Maru test again the next day, and is certain he will pass it. McCoy is shocked at Kirk's confidence, as no one has ever passed the test, much less repeated it. However, Kirk is convinced that he will nail it and leaves to "study", which for him means an assignation with an Orion cadet named Gaila in her dorm room. Suddenly, Gaila's roommate enters and Kirk is forced to hide under the bed. He is mortified to find that the roommate is Uhura. Undressing down to her underwear, she describes to Gaila decoding Klingon transmissions about 47 battle cruisers destroyed near a prison planet . She hears him breathing however, and eventually discovers him and angrily kicks him out.

"Captain" Kirk in command during the Kobayashi Maru test

The next day, Kirk, McCoy, Uhura, and a few other Starfleet recruits are in the Kobayashi Maru simulation test on Kirk's third attempt. Kirk takes a comically casual approach to the test, including eating an apple . Everything goes as planned when, unexpectedly, the power systems momentarily fail, and then the attacking Klingon ships' shields go down and the ships are promptly destroyed. From above the simulator room, a technician asks how Kirk was able to beat this test. Spock, who is in the observation room, is equally puzzled.

Spock at Kirk's hearing at Starfleet Academy

During an official inquiry, the Starfleet Academy brass, namely Admiral Richard Barnett , informs Kirk that they have received evidence that Kirk entered a subroutine into the computer making it possible for him to win in the simulation, and accuse him of cheating. While Kirk faces his accuser, Spock, and tries to defend himself, the hearing is suddenly interrupted when the committee is informed that the Federation has received a distress call from Vulcan. With the primary fleet occupied in the Laurentian system , Starfleet is forced to commission the Academy cadets and dispatch ships immediately to begin a rescue mission.

Act Two [ ]

Starfleet cadets assemble at Hangar 1 for assignment

Cadets are assigned to ships based on their aptitude, with the most capable cadets assigned to the USS Enterprise , a ship completed so recently that it hasn't even been christened yet. Uhura is originally assigned to the USS Farragut , but complains directly to Spock, citing her numerous commendations and recommendations, insisting she had earned an assignment to the Enterprise .

Spock quickly corrects that oversight. Kirk has been grounded pending a ruling on his inquiry and is not allowed to board the shuttles to join the mission. However, McCoy takes him to the medical bay , where he injects him with a vaccine against Melvaran mud fleas temporarily making him ill so that, as a doctor refusing to abandon his patient, he has an official reason to take him along on the mission.

The Enterprise is ready for her maiden voyage

The Enterprise leaves Starbase 1 for Vulcan, after a slight delay caused by the backup helmsman, Hikaru Sulu , forgetting to disengage the " parking brake " before jumping the Enterprise to warp . Pike orders the Enterprise 's very young navigator , Ensign Pavel Chekov , to make a ship-wide mission broadcast. Chekov announces that the crew's orders are to investigate seismic disturbances and aid in evacuation of the planet if necessary.

After hearing Chekov's announcement, Kirk suddenly realizes that the "lightning storm" is exactly the same occurrence the Kelvin encountered two decades earlier. Realizing that they are running straight into a trap, Kirk rushes through the ship to Uhura despite suffering a bad reaction to the vaccine McCoy gave him. Despite his initial difficulty to communicate coherently, he finally manages to ask her about the Klingon distress call she had deciphered earlier and she confirms that the attackers were Romulan.

The massive Narada looms over the Enterprise above Vulcan

At Vulcan, the Narada has lowered a drilling platform, which is boring into the planet. Ayel notifies Nero that seven Starfleet vessels are approaching. Kirk rushes to the bridge to inform Captain Pike. Pike and Spock, though initially quite skeptical, are convinced after Uhura confirms Kirk's suspicion. As they disengage warp drive, the Enterprise finds itself in a debris field of the other seven Starfleet ships which arrived shortly before they did and were promptly destroyed by Nero.

At the direction of Pike, Sulu is able to navigate his way through the debris with minimal damage. As they clear the debris, they come upon the Narada , drilling above Vulcan's atmosphere . The Narada attacks the Enterprise , which takes heavy damage. But just as they are about to fire again, Nero realizes which ship he is firing at and orders a cease-fire.

" Hi, Christopher. I'm Nero. "

He hails the Enterprise and casually identifies himself. Pike, seeing a Romulan, accuses him of an act of war and offers to reach a settlement, but Nero states he stands apart from the Romulan Star Empire . He openly greets a confused Spock, and orders Pike to come aboard via shuttlecraft. Pike asks if there are any advanced hand-to-hand combat -trained officers on the bridge, and gathers Sulu, Spock, and Kirk for the away mission.

Pike promotes Spock to captain and puts him in charge of the Enterprise . He also commissions Kirk as first officer , much to Spock's chagrin. Pike outlines his plan to do two things at once: on the shuttle en route to the Narada he will drop Kirk, Sulu, and Chief Engineer Olson into an orbital skydive . They will land on Narada 's drill platform and disable it in order to contact Starfleet, since the drill has disabled communications and transporter capabilities.

Sulu sword-fights on the Romulan drill platform

Pike pilots his shuttle toward the Narada, dropping Olson, Kirk and Sulu en route. The three begin their rapid descent to the drill's platform, Olson in the lead. Olson foolheartedly waits too long to deploy his parachute and it catches on the edge of the platform, swinging him under it and directly into the beam, killing him. Kirk lands on the platform and engages the first Romulan guard he finds. Sulu, his chute damaged by disruptor fire, is able to land alive and uses a retractable sword to cut his chute lines, the canopy threatening to drag him under. After brief hand-to-hand, Sulu kills both guards. Since Olson had been carrying the explosive charges they planned to use on the drill, they seize the guards' disruptor rifles and open fire, disabling the beam.

A Narada crewman reports the drill's incapacitation, but tells Nero that the beam reached Vulcan's core before going offline. Nero orders the launch of the " red matter ", which is dropped from the ship down the hole and explodes at the planet's core. Chekov discovers what the "red matter" is doing: creating a black hole in the middle of the planet. Vulcan will be destroyed in a matter of minutes. Spock leaps up from his chair, ordering the Enterprise to signal an evacuation of the entire planet, while he himself hurries to the transporter room to beam down and evacuate the Vulcan Council , which includes his parents.

Spock attempts to save the Vulcan elders and his parents

Kirk signals the Enterprise to beam him and Sulu back at the same the moment when Nero orders the Narada to retract the drill and leave orbit. The jolt topples Sulu off the drill platform without a chute. Kirk leaps from the platform into a controlled dive and grabs Sulu before releasing his own chute. Unfortunately, the drag is too powerful and Kirk's harness tears loose. Kirk frantically signals the Enterprise to beam them up, but the transport chief cannot lock on to them while they are moving too fast. Chekov, however, can, and rushes to the transporter room, creating a pinpoint beam that snatches Kirk and Sulu aboard mere moments before they hit the surface.

Uhura comforts Spock after the loss of Vulcan and his mother

Right after Kirk and Sulu are beamed back aboard, Spock tells Kirk that he is beaming down to save the Vulcan Council , which includes Spock's parents. Kirk tries to stop him, but he ignores Kirk and orders the transporter chief to beam him down immediately. The council members were taking refuge in the katric ark , a chamber within Mount Seleya , which they could not simply beam through.

Two of the elders in the council are killed by falling rocks and statues, but Spock is able to get five of them outside, including his parents. As the transporter is about to pick them up, the ledge his mother is standing on collapses and she falls to her death before she can be beamed up. As they re-materialize on board the Enterprise , Spock stands on the transporter pad in shock, having lost his mother. The Enterprise crew retreats and watches in horror as Vulcan implodes into oblivion.

The beginning of the end for Vulcan

Kirk, Sulu, and the few Vulcans who were able to be brought aboard the Enterprise are brought to sickbay for treatment. Soon after, Spock leaves the bridge, and he is followed into the turbolift by Uhura who tries to comfort him.

Captain Pike held captive aboard the Narada

Nero asks Pike for the security codes to defense systems around Earth , but Pike refuses to give them to him, disgusted by Nero's act of genocide on Vulcan. Nero speaks about how the Narada , in his time, was a mining ship, and he was laboring to support his wife, who was expecting his child, before they were killed when Romulus was destroyed.

He placed blame on the Federation for doing nothing, and accused Spock of betraying them, promising himself retribution. Pike pleads that Romulus still exists, but Nero only knows that his world – the Romulus of the future – was destroyed, and he intends to destroy every world of the Federation, starting with Earth, so that others will know his pain. Forcing a Centaurian slug down Pike's throat, which will help coerce Pike to give out the security codes, Nero orders the Narada to continue to Earth.

" Whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. "

On the bridge of the Enterprise , Spock reasons that the Narada must have traveled back in time from the future. He states that they must regroup with the fleet, but Kirk says that in order to stop Nero they must go after him first. This culminates in an argument which ends in Spock ordering Kirk's removal from the bridge. When Kirk physically protests, Spock incapacitates Kirk with a Vulcan nerve pinch , orders him placed in an escape pod and jettisons him off the ship. Kirk awakens to find himself on the snow-covered world of Delta Vega , another planet in Vulcan's system. Picking up his gear, Kirk heads for the Starfleet station fourteen kilometers away.

Kirk is marooned on Delta Vega

He is chased down by a " drakoulias " which is in turn attacked by an even larger insectoid animal . It chases Kirk into a cave, and when it finally attaches a tendril to catch him, trying to consume him, it is spooked off by an elderly Vulcan man wielding a lit torch. Before he can thank his savior, the old man, who had recognized Kirk on sight, reveals himself to be Spock, Kirk's old friend, but the latter is skeptical – until the former identifies Nero as Pike's captor. Spock melds with Kirk so that he can understand why he is here.

Spock and Kirk share a mind meld

Spock explains that 129 years in the future, in the year 2387 , an impending supernova threatened to destroy the home worlds of the Romulan Star Empire and, potentially, the rest of the galaxy as well. Spock developed a stockpile of "red matter", a substance that can be ignited to form a singularity .

However, the star exploded while he was en route, and Romulus was destroyed. Spock launched the red matter from his ship, the Jellyfish , to prevent further damage. Immediately, Spock was confronted by a surviving Romulan mining vessel, the Narada , captained by Nero. Spock tried to escape, but the resultant black hole captured both the Jellyfish and the Narada , creating a disturbance in the space-time continuum sending both ships into the past.

A vision of the destruction of Romulus in the 24th century

The Narada exited over one hundred and fifty years in the past, where it confronted the Kelvin . Spock's ship entered moments later, but what appeared seconds to him was twenty-five years to Nero and the Narada . He explains that Nero captured his ship, but kept him alive, marooning him on Delta Vega, so that he could witness the destruction of his own home planet, Vulcan, just as he had to witness the destruction of Romulus.

Kirk explains he was left on the planet by the Spock he knows, who is currently in command of the Enterprise . The elder Spock is surprised, knowing that Kirk should be in command of the ship. It is then that Spock realizes that when Nero exited the black hole and confronted the Kelvin , he altered history and created an alternate reality , which changed everything, especially Kirk's life. Kirk asks Spock whether his father lived in the original timeline. Spock confirms that George Kirk proudly saw his son take command of the Enterprise , and often spoke of him as his inspiration to join Starfleet. Spock leads Kirk to the Starfleet base.

" Do you realize how completely unacceptable this is? "

Kirk and the elder Spock are met by a short alien officer, Keenser , who leads them inside, where they meet this timeline's Montgomery Scott . A transporter genius, Scott was "exiled" to Delta Vega after beaming Admiral Archer 's prized beagle to an unknown location during a failed experiment in " transwarp beaming ". Spock informs Kirk that he must relieve the Vulcan's younger self of command by provoking him and showing everyone that Spock is too personally and emotionally compromised to lead the mission and captain the ship.

Kirk saves Scotty from drowning

Giving Scott the formula for "transwarp beaming" – an operation originally devised by the Scott he knew – Spock, who had responded to Kirk's suggestion that he was now "cheating" by recalling the " old friend " who had taught him how to cheat, sends Kirk and Scott back to the Enterprise . Not too long after they are transported to the Enterprise (Scott had materialized in a water tank and nearly drowned), the two are spotted and eventually captured by security personnel – led by Hendorff, the very cadet who had started the bar brawl which led to Kirk joining Starfleet.

Spock attacks Kirk

They are taken to the bridge where an astounded Spock attempts to find out how the two were able to transport on board the ship while it was in warp. Kirk refuses to answer and recommends Scott do the same, and then proceeds to ask why Spock doesn't feel any anger or have any emotion over the destruction of his planet and the murder of his mother. Kirk continues to provoke him and Spock finally snaps lunging for Kirk, ruthlessly beating and strangling him to the point of nearly killing him, before Sarek begs Spock to stop. Realizing how far he has gone, Spock relieves himself of duty and leaves the bridge. Kirk assumes command and orders an immediate pursuit of the Narada .

Act Three [ ]

The Enterprise crew regards Spock when he returns to the bridge

Following his outburst, Spock returns to the transporter room, where Sarek tries to get Spock to open up to him. Spock admits to feeling conflicted and feels a rage he cannot control towards Nero over the death of his mother. Sarek offers that his mother would have said not to bother controlling it, and, recalling what he had said years before after another outburst of his son's Human side, sadly admits to his son that he married Amanda because he loved her.

Meanwhile, on the bridge, Chekov figures out a plan to get the Enterprise close to the Narada without them noticing: they can follow the Narada and stop at Titan 's orbit, remaining undetected by hiding in its magnetic field. Soon after, a cooled-off Spock returns to the bridge, confirms the logic of Chekov's plan, and offers to beam over to the Narada to get the "black hole device" and save Earth, the only home he has left. Kirk says he will go as well, to rescue Pike. Spock mentions regulations against the captain and first officer going on such a mission, but chooses not to debate the point knowing Kirk will ignore his argument. Kirk quips that they are finally getting to know each other and gives Spock a friendly slap on the shoulder.

The Enterprise rises from Titan's atmosphere

At Earth, the Narada had arrived, readying its drilling rig over San Francisco. Warping into Titan's atmosphere, the Enterprise remains undetected by the Narada . Before stepping onto the transporter pad, Kirk calls the bridge, telling Sulu that, if he believes the Enterprise can destroy the Narada , even if Kirk, Spock, and Pike are still aboard, he should not hesitate to take the opportunity. Sulu reluctantly acknowledges Kirk's order.

Before they beam over, Uhura kisses Spock and tells him that he better come back. In his reply, he calls her "Nyota." Overhearing, Kirk asks Spock if that's the first name he had tried and failed to learn since the first time he met her; Spock coyly cuts him off, stating his refusal to comment on the matter. Right after they are beamed aboard, the Narada begins to drill its hole near the Golden Gate Bridge , cutting the ship off from the Enterprise and disabling transporter functions.

The Narada drills into San Francisco Bay

Scotty beams Kirk and Spock to a portion of the ship he believes is cargo storage, but it turns out to be a heavily occupied portion of the ship. After a brief firefight, Spock uncovers the location of the black hole device and Captain Pike by melding with an stunned Romulan. When they board the Jellyfish , it recognizes Spock as its captain (at which Kirk sarcastically expresses surprise), and the Vulcan finally figures out what is going on, as the ship's computer confirms its origin stardate as 2387, constructed by the Vulcan Science Academy.

Spock confronts Kirk about withholding information from him, but Kirk dodges the question by asking Spock if he can fly the spacecraft, a question he is fairly confident Kirk already knows the answer to. For the first time, Spock calls Kirk, "Jim" and informs him that their chances of success are grim by citing his calculation of their odds, but Kirk assures him that their plan will work.

Kirk leaps away from Ayel on the Narada

Spock commandeers the Jellyfish and blasts out of the Narada . Spock uses the ships guns to destroy the drill's tether, plunging the platform into San Francisco Bay. Kirk runs into more trouble as he finds the Romulans' "bridge", where Nero and Ayel are waiting. Kirk is confronted by Nero, who has recognized him from Earth's history, and after a brief scuffle, Nero pins Kirk and tells him that, while he was a decorated officer and went on to captain the starship Enterprise , that was another life, and that he plans to deprive him of the same life his father once had.

Before he can finish Kirk off, however, Nero is informed that the Jellyfish has been stolen and the drill has been destroyed. Furious above all else, Nero storms off, leaving Kirk to Ayel while he plans to kill Spock. Ayel promptly grabs Kirk by the throat and lifts him in the air, surprised at how "weak" Humans appear to be. Seeing his prey attempting to talk, Ayel offers Kirk the chance to say something – and the Human replies that he is in possession of the Romulan's disruptor pistol . Kirk fires and kills Ayel as he plunges into the depths of the Romulan vessel. He then heads off to rescue Pike.

Kirk and Spock discuss Nero's fate

On the bridge, Nero hails Spock, declaring that he should have killed him when he had the chance. In reply, Spock taunts Nero by "ordering" him to surrender. Nero orders the Jellyfish destroyed, even though the ship still has "red matter" on it; with his plan for revenge ruined, now he only wants to kill Spock. The Jellyfish evades the missiles, then goes into warp, with Nero and the Narada in hot pursuit, leaving Earth behind.

When the ships drop out of warp, the Jellyfish turns to intercept and collide with the Narada , seeking to ignite the red matter and create a hole that will envelop both ships. Nero panics and orders all weapons fired, but the Enterprise arrives on the scene and destroys the missiles with a fierce volley of its phasers , allowing Spock to carry through with his plan to ram the Narada .

Inside the Narada , Kirk finds Pike, alive but injured due to his earlier torture. Pike is quite surprised, but Kirk reminds him of his previous order to "come and get me". When two Romulan soldiers walk in and find Kirk, effectively defenseless while freeing Pike from the chamber, the captain returns the favor, grabbing the gun on Kirk's belt and killing the intruders before his rescuer even realizes what happened. Scott successfully beams back Kirk, Pike, and Spock, right before the Jellyfish collides with the Narada .

The Narada is pulled into a black hole and obliterated

The explosion of the Jellyfish ignites the entire stockpile of "red matter" on board, creating a black hole, which begins to swallow the Narada . To Spock's surprise, Kirk offers to rescue the surviving crew, arguing that this might improve long-term relations between the Romulans and the Federation, a compassionate and "logical" outcome.

Spock, mindful that Nero is the man who destroyed his planet and murdered his mother, coolly suggests that they dispense with logic in this case. Their debate is ended when Nero, belligerent to the last, says he prefers to die in agony than accept help from them. Kirk obliges and orders Sulu to fire all weapons, blowing the ship apart with phasers and photon torpedoes .

Escaping the black hole

The Narada is finally destroyed, but the gravitational pull of the black hole begins tugging on the Enterprise , keeping it from escaping, even with its engines running at warp speed. The pressure is heavily damaging the ship as Kirk orders Scott to get them out of there at all cost. Scott ejects the Enterprise 's multiple warp cores and detonates them near the black hole, propelling the Enterprise to safety on the resultant shockwave.

Back on Earth, the elder Spock meets with his younger counterpart, who presumed the former to be his/their father. Young Spock is confused as to why his older self didn't simply come with Kirk and explain the situation. The older Spock states that he implied there may be universe-destroying paradoxes if Kirk told him the truth so that they would have to rely on each other, thus ensuring "a friendship that will define you both, in ways you can not yet realize."

Spock salutes his older self from the Prime timeline

Young Spock asks if he was making a gambit; older Spock states that he made "an act of faith" to his old friend, which he hopes that he will show again in the future. However, younger Spock expresses his decision to resign from Starfleet to help rebuild the Vulcan race; older Spock points out that he can be in two places at once. He also advises his younger self, in this case, to put aside logic and do what feels right. The older Spock then raises his hand in the familiar Vulcan salute , and, feeling it would be inappropriate to say "live long and prosper" to himself, simply wishes his younger self "good luck."

Spock Prime watches Kirk's promotion ceremony

Kirk is commended by Starfleet Command , promoted to captain, and given permanent command of the Enterprise . He relieves Pike, who has been promoted to admiral and is now recovering in a wheelchair . A proud Pike shakes his successor's hand and notes that his father, too, would be very proud of Kirk.

As the older Spock leaves to help the remaining Vulcans establish a colony , Kirk, now dressed in the gold uniform of a captain, walks on to the Enterprise bridge. After he tells McCoy to "buckle up", and receives assurances from Uhura, Sulu, Chekov, and Scott (who has barely finished talking to Kirk when he finds Keenser – now a member of his engineering staff – having climbed atop a console and orders him down) that their sections are ready to depart, the younger Spock returns to the Enterprise and asks Captain Kirk if he can be his first officer, offering to provide "character references". Kirk says it would be his honor.

Captain James T. Kirk officially takes command of the Enterprise

The Enterprise departs for deep space

As the Enterprise begins its journey, the voice of the elder Spock intones the famous motto that other starships named Enterprise have voyaged forward from:

Log entries [ ]

• " Acting Captain's Log , Stardate 2258.42. We have had no word from Captain Pike. I therefore classified him as a hostage of the war criminal known as Nero. Nero, who has destroyed my home planet and most of its six billion inhabitants. While the essence of our culture has been saved in the elders who now reside upon this ship, I estimate that no more than ten thousand [Vulcans] have survived. I am now a member of an endangered species. "
• " Stardate 2258.42… four uh, four, whatever. Acting Captain Spock has marooned me on Delta Vega, in what I believe is a violation of Security Protocol 49.09 governing the treatment of prisoners on board a starship. "

Memorable quotes [ ]

" Citizen, what is your name? " " My name is James Tiberius Kirk. "

" I must decline. " " No Vulcan has ever declined admission to this academy ! " " Then, as I am half Human, your record remains untarnished. "

" I'm impressed. For a moment there, I thought you were just a dumb hick who only had sex with farm animals. " " Well… not only. "

" Oh relax, cupcake – it was a joke. " " Hey, farmboy! Maybe you can't count, but there are four of us and one of you! " " So get some more guys, and then it'll be an even fight. "

" You know, your father was captain of a starship for twelve minutes. He saved eight hundred lives, including your mother's – and yours. I dare you to do better. "

" Space is disease and danger, wrapped in darkness and silence. " " Well, I hate to break it to you, but Starfleet operates in space." " Yeah, well, I got nowhere else to go. The ex-wife got the whole damn planet in the divorce – all I got left is my bones. "

" I don't believe in no-win scenarios. "

" Who was that pointy-eared bastard? " " I don't know – but I like him. "

" You call this a favor?! " " Yeah, you owe me one. "

" No, I'm assigned to the Enterprise . " " … Yes, I believe you are. "

" Is the parking brake on? "

" The complexity of Human pranks escapes me. " " It's not a prank, Spock. And I'm not the captain – you are. "

" Move, move, move! I can do that! I can do that! "

" I am now a member of an endangered species. "

" Dammit, man! I'm a doctor, not a physicist! Are you actually suggesting they're from the future?! "

" If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains – however improbable – must be the truth. "

" I have been, and always shall be, your friend. "

" I don't know you. " " I… am Spock. " "Bullshit."

" Are you out of your Vulcan mind? Are you making a logical choice sending Kirk away? Probably. But the right one? You know, back home we have a saying: If you're gonna ride in the Kentucky Derby, you don't leave your prize stallion in the stable. " " A curious metaphor, doctor, as a stallion must first be broken before it can reach its potential. "

" Dr. Puri, report. " " It's McCoy. Dr. Puri was on deck six. He's dead. " " Then you have just inherited his duties as chief medical officer. " " Yeah, tell me something I don`t know! "

" Green-blooded hobgoblin! "

" Are you from the future? " " Yeah, he is – I'm not. " " Well that's brilliant! Do they still have sandwiches there? "

" So, the Enterprise has had its maiden voyage, has it? She is one well-endowed lady! I'd like to get my hands on her ample nacelles, if you'll pardon the engineering parlance. "

" You know, coming back in time, changing history… that's cheating. " " A trick I learned from an old friend . "

" Come with me… Cupcake!"

" Are you afraid or aren't you? " " I will not allow you to lecture me on the merits of emotion. " " Then why don't you stop me? "

" I like this ship! You know, it's exciting! "

" Well, congratulations, Jim – now we've got no captain and no goddamn first officer to replace him! " " Yeah, we do. " " What?! " " Pike made him first officer. " " You gotta to be kidding me! "

" I sure hope you know what you're doing… captain." " So do I. "

" My mother was Human – which makes Earth the only home I have left. "

" I would cite regulation, but I know you will simply ignore it. " " See? We are getting to know each other! "

" So her first name's Nyota? " " I have no comment on the matter. "

" You'll be able to fly this thing, right? " " Something tells me I already have. "

" James T. Kirk was considered to be a great man. He went on to captain the USS Enterprise , but that was another life. A life I will deprive you of, just like I did your father! "

" You can't even speak… What? " " I got your gun! "

" What're you doing here? " " Just following orders. "

" It's logic, Spock – I thought you'd like that. " " No, not really. Not this time. "

" I would rather suffer the end of Romulus a thousand times. I would rather die in agony than accept assistance from you. " " You got it. Arm phasers – fire everything we've got. "

" Thrusters on full. "

" Bones! Buckle up! "

" Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise . Her ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new lifeforms and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before. "

Background information [ ]

Development [ ].

The first poster , designed by J.J. Abrams

Development on Star Trek began in 2005 when Paramount contacted Roberto Orci (who was working with J.J. Abrams and Alex Kurtzman on the studio's Mission: Impossible III at the time), asking for ideas on how to revive the franchise. [1] Former Star Trek franchise head Rick Berman , though, shortly before he was let go from Paramount, has credited Abrams with presenting the idea of revisiting Star Trek to the studio when the latter was signed for a five-movie deal in early 2006 . ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 129 )

Daily Variety reported, on 20 April 2006 , that an eleventh Star Trek film was being developed by J.J. Abrams, having the story revolve around the iconic characters of James T. Kirk and Spock during their days at Starfleet Academy . [2] Several days later, Abrams confirmed some parts of the report while denouncing others, stating that the announcement was an unofficial leak and was "not entirely accurate." He also stated that, while he was given the option to direct the film, he had not decided to do so at that time. [3] [4] (X) Abrams declined to accept the director's position until the script was complete and he was sure he was the man for the job. He worked with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci on the story throughout 2006 and early 2007 and finally signed on to direct on 23 February 2007 , when he also publicly announced his decision to direct the film. Abrams was convinced to do so by his wife, Katie McGrath, who felt the film had strong female characters, and by acclaimed director Steven Spielberg , who was a friend of Abrams and was impressed by the script. [5] According to The Wrap , before Abrams signed up to direct the film, Paramount offered the position to Sam Raimi , the director of the Evil Dead and Spider-Man films. [6]

Fans got an official look at the movie's direction when Paramount released a poster for the new film on 22 July 2006 : the teaser bore the Enterprise crew uniform insignia from the original series, against a background half command gold and half science blue . It hinted at a film to be set in the 23rd century which might feature the Enterprise itself. The poster was designed by the film's director/producer, J.J. Abrams. [7]

The film was greenlit in late February, at which time pre-production officially began. [8] Paramount issued a press release on 27 February 2007 , which confirmed that production was under way, with Abrams directing, for a target premiere date of 25 December 2008 . [9] (X)

By 3 May 2007 , some of the art department – still being filled by Production Designer Scott Chambliss – were already working, mostly from home; offices on the Paramount lot weren't finished before mid-May. [10] [11]

Sound stage set construction began in September. Most design work was complete by 12 October 2007 . The budget was estimated between US$120 to $150 million, higher than any prior Star Trek film. [12]

Story and script [ ]

The original treatment for the film (the initial story outline) was completed in August. By the 24th of that month, writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman had begun working on a first draft of the screenplay, which was completed by 12 December 2006. [13] A second final draft was complete by 8 October 2007. [14] [15] In total, the script took approximately four months to write. The final script was about 128 pages long. [16]

In an interview posted 8 March 2007 , the writers stated that the "intended title" for the film was always simply Star Trek , without any colons or subtitles. [17] This was to encourage newcomers that they didn't have to watch any other film before it. [18]

This is the first Star Trek movie since Star Trek Generations to feature characters from the original series and to feature scenes set in the 23rd century . It is also the first in the film series to be set before the other films.

Co-writer Alex Kurtzman said the script draws inspiration from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . He and Roberto Orci hoped to recapture the spirit of The Wrath of Khan for this particular film. [19] Other inspirations for the film include the novels Prime Directive and Spock's World , as well as the TOS episode " Balance of Terror ", the TNG episode " Yesterday's Enterprise ", [20] , and the TAS episode " Yesteryear ". ( citation needed • edit )

The writers said that their goal was for the film to appeal not just to Trek fans, but to new audiences as well. [21] [22] They hoped to bring the feel of the original Star Wars trilogy into the movie, since Abrams has often said he's more a fan of Star Wars than Star Trek . [23]

Scenes featuring Kirk's former CO , Garrovick , and Kirk's service under Garrovick aboard the USS Farragut are not in the film as first reported. These elements, which were included in early drafts of the script, were removed in rewrites. [24] The character of Carol Marcus was also included in early drafts of the script, but she did not make it into the shooting script, either. [25]

Rumors that the film's story involved the Guardian of Forever from the classic episode " The City on the Edge of Forever " prompted the episode's writer, Harlan Ellison , to demand compensation if elements from his story were used in the film. [26] [27] The rumors ultimately turned out to be false. The script does, however, reference several elements from the original series episode " Journey to Babel " among these Spock's mother recalling when he was taunted by Vulcan boys during his youth, Sarek's recollection of how Spock turned down appointment to the Vulcan Science Academy, and Spock's conversation with Sarek at the end of the episode discussing why Sarek married Amanda (Sarek replying " At the time it seemed the logical thing to do ").

According to Roberto Orci, the most difficult characters to write for were the film's villain (Nero) and James T. Kirk. [28] One resource which Orci and Kurtzman utilized during the entire writing process was this website, Memory Alpha . The writers also occasionally referenced Memory Alpha during the film's production. [29]

Even though this film takes place in an alternate timeline , Orci has stated that any canon changes made in this timeline will not affect the former timeline, arguing that the scientific theory of quantum mechanics permits the existence of parallel timelines and universes, invoking the thousands of Enterprise s from various universes seen in TNG : " Parallels " to back up this theory. He also believes that this theory allows for the continuance of a timeline even after a change is effected and an alternate timeline is created. In addition, he argues that, although the timeline has changed, the true nature of the characters does not change and that Kirk and company are the same people they are in the original timeline. [30]

The film's production was designed by Scott Chambliss. Ryan Church was the primary designer of the USS Enterprise and other starships, while Trek veteran John Eaves designed the various shuttlecraft . Excepting the Industrial Light & Magic staffers, who had previously worked on the Star Trek franchise and were still in the employment of the company at the time, Eaves was the only regular production staffer who had worked on Star Trek productions, set in the prime universe, to be officially hired and credited for the re-imagined movie as conceptual illustrator (though there were a few uncredited others such as Graphic Designer Geoffrey Mandel ). While Abrams steered clear from hiring any former Star Trek staffers in order to be as unencumbered as possible for his take on the franchise, he was aware that some consistency needed to be observed, or as Chambliss has put it, " I brought John in because he knew the story and lore, what should and shouldn't be done. The ships in the Starfleet Armada to go to Vulcan were influenced by John's knowledge. " ( Star Trek - The Art of the Film , p. 58)

J.J. Abrams stated the difficulty of depicting the future was that much of modern technology was inspired by the original series, making it seem outdated. As such, the production design had to be consistent with the television series while also feeling more advanced than the real world technology developed after it. [31] Specifically, he felt that the original series had a "kitschy quality" to it which had to be abandoned for the sake of realism. [32]

According to production designer Scott Chambliss, redesigning the Enterprise and especially the main bridge began with laying out a framework of ground rules: the sets had to reflect the optimism of the original series, while also having a real functionality to them. " There was a strong, sleek, modernist vision at play in the 1960s when the television series began, " says Chambliss. " That was something we wanted to infuse in our look. " As such, the Enterprise draws inspiration from the work of Pierre Cardin and the sets from the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey . ( Production notes )

Chambliss maintained the layout of the bridge from the original series, but added more consoles and glass data displays to increase its functionality and make it more "busy." He also altered it aesthetically, with brighter lights and colors. The main viewscreen was turned into a window that could have images projected on it to make the space environment palpable. The bridge set was built on gimbals so the ship's rocking motions when it was attacked or when it accelerated to warp were more realistic. More railings were added to the bridge set to make it appear safer. [33] [34]

The Romulan ship, the Narada , was designed as purely practical with visible mechanics, as the Romulans were on a very specific mission, unlike the Enterprise crew, who give a respectable presentation on behalf of the Federation. [35] In designing the Narada , Chambliss was heavily influenced by the architecture of Antoni Gaudí , who created buildings that appeared to be inside out: by making the ship's exposed wires appear like bones or ligaments, it would create a foreboding atmosphere. The ship's interior was made of six pieces that could be rearranged to create a different room, thus allowing the production to utilize a single stage for the set. ( Production notes )

Different art directors were responsible for the sets of each ship: Dennis Bradford was responsible for the Federation starship sets (the Enterprise and the Kelvin ); Gary Kosko handled all the Vulcan-related sets; and Curt Beech oversaw the shuttlecraft sets. They were all supervised by Keith P. Cunningham , who ensured everything was organized and running properly. ( Production notes )

The props seen on the original Star Trek series were redesigned, as well, including the communicator , the tricorder , and the phaser . All props were the responsibility of property master Russell Bobbitt .

Bobbitt collaborated with engineers at Nokia to redesign the original communicator, creating a US$50,000 prototype. For the tricorder, Bobbitt brought the original prop to the set, but the actors found it too large to carry when filming action scenes. Bobbitt then approached technical advisor Doug Brody , who redesigned a smaller version of the prop. [36] The phaser props maintained the basic shape of the original props, but were designed with spring-triggered barrels that revolve and glow blue and red as the setting switches from "stun" to "kill".

A tribble can be seen in the film, sitting in a cage on Scott's desk in the Delta Vega outpost . [37] The production made use of the Aptera Typ-1 , a prototype electric vehicle. The Aptera was used on location at the CSUN campus, which was standing in as part of Starfleet Academy. [38] [39] [40]

Costumes [ ]

Abrams selected Michael Kaplan to design the costumes because Kaplan had not seen any of the films, meaning he would approach the costumes with a new angle. For Abrams, " The costumes were a microcosm of the entire project, which was how to take something that's kind of silly and make it feel real. But how do you make legitimate those near-primary color costumes? " [41]

Kaplan used the Star Trek Encyclopedia to get a sense of the evolution of the Starfleet uniforms and to look for repeated motifs. ( Production notes ) For the Enterprise uniforms, Kaplan followed color coding used on the original series. The uniforms were comprised of dark gray (almost black) undershirts and pants and colored overshirts showing each crew member's position. Kaplan wanted the shirts to be more sophisticated than the originals and decided to have the Starfleet emblem patterned on them. [42]

When designing the uniforms for the crew of the USS Kelvin , Kaplan drew inspiration from the retro-futuristic designs of 1940s and 1950s science fiction films. For the Romulans on the Narada , Kaplan wanted worn and rugged clothes because of their mining backgrounds. He found some aged, greasy-looking fabrics at a flea market, and commissioned the makers of the clothes (who were based in Bali) to create his designs using their fabrics. For the Vulcans, Kaplan designed costumes which shared the eloquent and austere qualities of the Vulcans themselves, while creating a new, corseted shape for the Vulcan women. ( Production notes )

The Vulcan and Romulan makeup was created by Joel Harlow , while Barney Burman designed and created the prosthetic makeup for other alien characters. Mindy Hall was the head of the makeup department. Both digital and physical makeup was used for aliens.

Burman and his team had to rush to create many of the aliens. Originally, the majority of the aliens were to feature in one scene towards the end of filming. However, Abrams deemed the scene too similar to the cantina sequence in Star Wars and decided to pepper aliens throughout the entire film, requiring Burman and his crew to design the aliens earlier than anticipated. [43]

The Romulan characters in the film were all bald to better distinguish them from the Vulcans, and their heads and faces are covered with tattoos. They lack the forehead ridges that were seen on Star Trek: Enterprise and in the TNG -era series and films. The Romulan actors spent two and a half to four hours getting their makeup done; the actors had three prosthetics applied to their ears and foreheads, while Eric Bana had a fourth prosthetic for the bite mark on his ear that extends to the back of his character's head. [44] [45]

Casting [ ]

This is the first of any Star Trek production to re-cast the regular characters of a Trek series and both William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were given consultation rights for the recasting of their roles. [46] Casting for the film began as early as October 2006 . [47]

The only actors to participate in both this film and the first Star Trek film, Star Trek: The Motion Picture , were Majel Barrett and Leonard Nimoy . In The Motion Picture , Barrett played Dr. Christine Chapel and she voiced the Enterprise computer in Star Trek , while in both films, Nimoy played Spock.

Star Trek has Leonard Nimoy portraying his iconic role of Spock for the first time since 1991 . He came out of retirement to assume the role, having given up acting in favor of photography in 2000. He later gave three explicit reasons for doing this project: the fact that it is Star Trek , his admiration for Abrams, and an "essential" and "interesting Spock role". [48] Abrams has stated that the casting of Nimoy is "critical if we're going to look at reintroducing these characters", noting that, to make this a "great film", it must "both please the fans and those who have never seen Star Trek … having Leonard in the film shows that this film exists in a continuum of Trek history, as opposed to an absolute, page 1 reinvention." [49]

The first actor cast in the new film was Heroes star Zachary Quinto , who plays the younger Spock. His casting, and that of Nimoy, was officially announced at San Diego's Comic-Con International on 26 July 2007 . Quinto also signed up to play Spock in any potential sequels to this film. [50] The last recast member of the original series crew to sign on was Karl Urban as Leonard McCoy. [51] Rehearsals were held week of 19 October 2007. [52]

On 10 December 2008, Variety announced that Majel Barrett-Roddenberry reprised her role as the voice of the Enterprise computer. [53] [54] This announcement came just eight days before Barrett's death at the age of 76.

April Webster and Alyssa Weisberg oversaw the casting of the principal actors. Hollywood Operating System (Hollywood OS) and Headquarters Casting (HQC) were the agencies working in conjunction to hire extras for the film. They held an open casting call for extras on 10 November 2007, an event which hundreds attended, numbers that haven't been seen since Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979. [55]

In November 2009, Wil Wheaton , who played Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation , confirmed that he provided the voice for the minor Romulan characters who spoke in the movie. His dialogue was altered to make him sound different each time, with one exception: the Romulan towards the end of the film who tries to warn Nero about igniting the red matter aboard Spock's ship had Wheaton's normal voice. [56] [57]

Rumors and gossip [ ]

As the buzz around the film was building and word spread that the characters of the original Star Trek series were to be recast, rumors as to who would play the younger versions of these iconic characters also arose while a number of actors reportedly expressed interest in participating in the film.

• J.J. Abrams' childhood friend Greg Grunberg expressed interest in playing a Klingon, Scott, or a Vulcan. [58] [59] [60] [61] [62] Although he was to have appeared in the film, Grunberg bowed out to star in, produce, and co-write another film. [63] However, he did visit the set of this movie while it was in production. ( Empire , issue 287, p. 79) Grunberg also managed to acquire a role in the film during post-production, as the voice of James Kirk's step-father.
• Actor Matt Damon was rumored as Captain Kirk, even soliciting William Shatner's aid in signing him up. [64] Damon himself denied having been approached for the role, [65] although he later told Sci-fi Wire that he would be interested in playing a young Captain Kirk if the script met with his satisfaction. [66] In March 2007, Kurtzman, although not confirming that Damon will play Kirk, stated that he was " the hugest Matt Damon fan. If he became [Kirk], great. " [67] In a subsequent interview with IGN, Damon stated that the filmmakers were looking for someone younger than Damon (who in 2007, was merely two years older than William Shatner was in 1966). [68] In an interview with Entertainment Tonight , J.J. Abrams said he had approached Damon to play Kirk's father, but ultimately it didn't work out. [69]
• Mike Vogel was a contender for the role of Kirk before the role went to Chris Pine. [70] [71]
• Actors Ryan Gosling and Sam Rockwell also showed interest in portraying Jim Kirk. [72] [73]
• Adrien Brody was rumored to be in talks to play Spock. Brody later confirmed that he had indeed had a discussion with J.J. Abrams about the role. [74] [75]
• Oscar-nominated actor Gary Sinise ( Forrest Gump , CSI: NY ) was rumored to be in talks to play the role of Dr. McCoy. [76] Sinise subsequently denied the rumor. [77]
• During a short phone interview with J.J. Abrams on his show, The Colbert Report , Stephen Colbert jokingly expressed that he felt he was perfect for the role of Dr. McCoy.
• Alias star Kevin Weisman expressed interest in portraying Scott. [78]
• Scottish actor James McAvoy was rumored as being sought to play Scott, which McAvoy's publicist subsequently denied. [79] [80]
• Scottish actors Greg Hemphill and Martin Compston were also reportedly up for the role of Scott. [81] [82]
• Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise guest actor and Lost star Daniel Dae Kim was named as a contender for the role of Sulu . [83]
• Heroes actor James Kyson Lee expressed interest in playing Sulu. [84]
• Sources reported that Academy Award-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman may have a role in the film, possibly as a doctor (but not "Bones" McCoy). [85]
• There was a rumor that the new James Bond, Daniel Craig , was interested in a role. [86]
• Actress Jennifer Garner , who starred in Abrams' Alias television series, said she would "absolutely" sign up to appear in Star Trek if she were asked. [87] Garner later expressed interest in showing up as a Klingon, even if it was just a quick walk-on role. [88]
• Abrams thought it would "be awesome" if he were able to cast his Felicity and Mission: Impossible III actress Keri Russell as a Klingon. [89] Russell later told IESB that she had indeed been in talks for a role in Star Trek but that she and Abrams had decided not to go through with it. [90]
• Actress Sydney Tamiia Poitier auditioned for a role in the film, [91] possibly Uhura. [92]
• Ben Affleck was rumored to have been approached for a role in the film. [93]
• Abrams' Mission: Impossible III star and producer, Tom Cruise , was frequently rumored to have a cameo in the film. He was even rumored to be appearing in the film as Captain Christopher Pike. Both Cruise and his publicist have denied any involvement in the film. [94] [95] [96] [97] [98] [99] [100] [101]
• It was reported that Paramount was attempting to sign up Oscar-winner Russell Crowe to play the film's villain. [102] Crowe said he was "apparently" up for the role, but that he had yet to read anything and could not make a decision until he did. [103] Eric Bana ultimately won the role.
• Actor Josh Lucas was being considered for the role of Pike, although he was never the leading candidate. [104] [105] The role ultimately went to Bruce Greenwood .
• Starburst Magazine reported, in its 356th issue, that George Takei would be appearing in the film, reprising his role as Sulu in "a flash forward sequence" opposite Leonard Nimoy. This was later found to be incorrect. [106] (X) [107]
• Star Trek: Enterprise star Dominic Keating auditioned for the role of Jim Kirk's stepfather, but he did not get the part. [108]
• TOS actress Nichelle Nichols stated that she and J.J. Abrams discussed the possibility of Nichols making an appearance in the new film, perhaps as the grandmother of Uhura (the character she originated on TOS). Due to the writers' strike, however, her inclusion into the script was not possible. [109]
• While filming the Star Trek:New Voyages fan film "World Enough and Time" as old Sulu, George Takei met the actor playing TOS-era Sulu, John Lim, and was impressed to the point that he thought Lim would do a good job in the 2009 film. [110]

Shatner controversy [ ]

Yet another actor who expressed interest in a role was William Shatner himself. [111] In an interview with Time magazine, Shatner claimed to have been approached by Abrams for a role in Star Trek . [112] Shatner even reported several times his belief that Abrams was planning for both him and Leonard Nimoy to appear in the film, although they would have to be meaningful roles. [113] [114]

Shatner learned he did not have a role in the film while discussing the script with Leonard Nimoy over the phone. [115] According to Nimoy, although Shatner did not have a role the film, Shatner was not "furious" about it as some reported. [116] The film's writers stated their wish for Shatner to be a part of the film's shoot, and the filmmakers were looking for a way to include Shatner in the film. [117] [118] [119] [120] It was implied by Nimoy that the reason Shatner did not have a role in the script was due to the events of Star Trek Generations , which featured the death of Captain Kirk. [121] This suggested that Nimoy's scenes as Spock might have taken place in the 24th century . As it turned out, the backstory for the movie did indeed start in the late 24th century in the year 2387 . Kirk's appearance and subsequent death in the 24th century occurred in the year 2371 , sixteen years prior. While Shatner could theoretically have appeared as a James T. Kirk circa 2387 (as depicted in the "Shatnerverse" novels), it would have been confusing to the audience that might only know of his last screen adventure and not the subsequent ones in the novels since the novels are not canon.

In an interview with then-executive producer Stratton Leopold , the Savannah Morning News stated that "studio executives still hope to convince William Shatner to suit up as Captain Kirk one more time. " [122] This contradicted previous reports stating that Shatner was the one attempting to convince Abrams and crew to find a way to put him in the movie. It is possible that the Savannah report was merely mistaken or that the line was taken out of context.

The fact that Nimoy had a role in the film and Shatner did not, disappointed Shatner. The fact also caused an uproar from some fans on forums and discussion boards. Shatner explained in later interviews that the writers had been looking for ways to include Kirk in the story, but couldn't find a way to do it without compromising the script or making his appearance feel "forced".

In an interview with IGN , J.J. Abrams finally put an end to the rumors by stating that William Shatner was not in the movie at all and Leonard Nimoy is the only actor from the original series who was. [123]

In another interview with AMC , Abrams admitted there was a scene written for Shatner, but he and the writers decided not to use it because "it didn't feel right" and they still had to respect canon. In addition, Shatner was vocal in his unwillingness to be involved unless he had a substantial role in the film. [124] Abrams called the omitted scene a "flashback", although co-writer Roberto Orci later stated that wasn't a technically accurate term. [125]

Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman eventually said that Shatner's scene was in the movie and then was written out in a later draft. It would have been at the very end of the movie when Spock Prime meets the younger Spock and speaks to him about the long and enduring friendship that Spock and Kirk needed to form. Spock Prime would have said " Don't take my word for it " and produced a small holographic device that would have projected a message from the elder Kirk. [126]

Production [ ]

A moment from the filming of this movie

Principal photography began 7 November 2007 [127] and wrapped 141 shoot days later on 27 March 2008 . Second unit and VFX plate shots continued until 17 April 2008 , under the direction of Visual Effects Supervisor Roger Guyett . Since it was the principal photography that had been reportedly scheduled to wrap in April, writer and executive producer Roberto Orci stated:

Shooting was once set to start summer 2007 [129] before the filmmakers made clear it could actually begin in April. [130] Shooting would have started on 5 November but was postponed two days. [131]

This was the first film in the Star Trek franchise which Paramount Pictures made in collaboration with a production partner, let alone two ( Bad Robot Productions and Spyglass Entertainment ). This was also the first Star Trek project which writer/director Rick Berman has not been involved with in over twenty years, and the first Trek film since Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country made without his involvement. In addition, this was the first film since Star Trek Generations that the soundtrack was not composed by Jerry Goldsmith , who passed away in 2004 .

Crew notes [ ]

Many of the crew members whom Abrams selected to work on this film are those he had worked with in the past, most notably writers/executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, producer Damon Lindelof , executive producer Bryan Burk , composer Michael Giacchino , cinematographer Dan Mindel , production designer Scott Chambliss , editors Maryann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey , and casting directors April Webster and Alyssa Weisberg .

Stratton Leopold , a collaborator of Abrams' on Mission: Impossible III , was initially unit production manager and an executive producer for the film. [132] Before filming began, however, Leopold left the production and was replaced as executive producer by Jeffrey Chernov [133] and as unit production manager by David Witz . [134]

Originally, Vic Armstrong was to coordinate the stunts for Star Trek . He was looking forward to working with Abrams again, having served as stunt coordinator on Mission: Impossible III (2006), but Joey Box was ultimately given the job. (source: Vic Armstrong)

The first three months of shooting on Star Trek took place during the 2007 writers' strike . None of the filmmakers could make any changes to the film's script during the strike period, meaning the common practice of revising the script during production was not possible. Although Abrams complained about not being able to add new dialogue, the strike for the most part did not affect the film's production. Since it was one of the studio's "high priority" films, Paramount strove to help it despite the writing stoppage. [135] [136] Writers Kurtzman and Orci were able to stay on set without strikebreaking as they were also executive producers on the film. While they could not change any lines themselves, they could "make funny eyes and faces at the actors whenever they had a problem with the line and sort of nod when they had something better." [137]

Secrecy and security [ ]

Security on the set was very tight in order to keep aspects of the production a secret from the general public. Cast and crew members on location were not allowed to leave the set for cigarette breaks, [138] and actors could not walk in public in their costume – they were driven to and from set in golf carts, hidden behind black canvas. [139] Some actors, including Jennifer Morrison and Sonita Henry , were only given the part of the script containing their scenes, which they had to return at the end of the day. [140] [141] The script was also protected with members of the main cast, including Simon Pegg , who had to read the script with a security guard nearby. [142]

During its production process, the film was codenamed "Corporate Headquarters". [143] This was the official fake title chosen by Bad Robot, although various other fake titles were also used throughout the production. Each of the Key Assistant Location Managers was allowed to choose an additional fake title for paperwork, permits, and signage in an effort to thwart paparazzi and to protect the secrecy of the movie: Kathy McCurdy named the movie "Untitled Walter Lace Project" after her grandfather; Rob Swenson used "Christa & Christan's Big Adventure" after his twin step-daughters; Scott Trimble used "The Ernest Castelhun Chronicles" after his great-granduncle who drowned in beer at the Anheuser-Busch factory in 1937; and Steve Woroniecki named it "Untitled Blake Allen Project" after his son.

TOS stars Nichelle Nichols and Walter Koenig , TNG star Jonathan Frakes , and veteran Trek writer and producer Ronald D. Moore were among the few who were permitted to visit the Star Trek set. Other celebrities who visited the set include Tom Cruise , Ben Stiller , Harrison Ford , Michelle Monaghan , and Steven Spielberg . Ford dropped by the set during the last week of shooting; Spielberg was on set during filming on the Enterprise and assisted Abrams with the action of one of the scenes. [144] [145] (Abrams states that Koenig came when filming the space dive – since Pine and Cho had actually been standing on a mirror on top of a building, Koenig thought the film would be a flop.)

The wrap party was held on 18 April 2008 at Hangar 8 at the Santa Monica Airport between 7:00 pm and midnight. The invitation featured the note, " Please note that due to heightened security, you must R.S.V.P. in order to have your name placed on the guest list. Your photo I.D. will be required at the entrance. " (Source: Jon Donahue via Facebook)

Sets and locations [ ]

The production used a total of eleven sound stages. [146] Most filming took place on the studio lot, specifically on stages 8 , 9 , 11 , 14 , 15 , and 18 . These are stages where Star Trek has filmed in the past. Plans also reportedly included use of a Universal Studios stage for "planetary" shots needing more room, [147] but that location was never used.

A source told TrekMovie.com that more ship interiors were created for this film than any other Trek film. There was also a minimal amount of redressing used. [148]

Abrams has stated that his goal with this film is to make Star Trek "real." As such, he used live sets and location shooting rather than green- and blue-screen sets wherever possible. [149] The first days of shooting occurred on location in a Long Beach building. [150] California's Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park was used for a birthing scene involving a number of Vulcans. Vasquez Rocks has appeared in past Trek shoots, including the original series episode " Arena ". [151] )

Approximately four weeks out of the twenty weeks of shooting took place on the bridge of the USS Enterprise . [152] The last day of shooting on the set of the Enterprise bridge was 25 January 2008 . Scenes filmed included the intended final scene of the movie. During filming on that day, TrekMovie.com hosted a live chat in which J.J. Abrams, other crewmembers, and some of the cast answered fan-submitted questions from the bridge set. A transcript of this chat included a brief glimpse of the set – the first such on-set image – showing Abrams using his laptop at one of the stations. [153]

In addition to the bridge, other areas aboard the Enterprise seen in the movie are sickbay , crew quarters , corridors , engineering , and the transporter room . All of these sets were built at Paramount Studios, with the exception of engineering, which was done on a redressed industrial location. [154] That location was later revealed to be the Budweiser beer plant in Van Nuys, California. (Production notes at StarTrekMovie.com )

The bridge of the USS Kelvin reflects an earlier design than the Enterprise and is described as "a lot busier." This bridge set was redressed for use as the mock-up starship bridge in a scene depicting the Kobayashi Maru scenario . [155] Other areas we see on the Kelvin include sickbay, engineering, and some corridors. The Romulan ship, the Narada , utilizes an interior design that is different from previously seen Romulan ships and is described as "surreal." Scenes were also filmed on sets built to represent a medical shuttle and a transport shuttle. [156]

Some scenes were shot in a large Orange County hangar. Production later returned to Long Beach for scenes at its city hall. Filming there wrapped on 14 December 2007 , with several city staffers invited to the shoot, all of whom signed nondisclosure pacts. [157] [158]

During the week of 18 March 2008 , parts of the film were shot at California State University, Northridge (CSUN), with the university's Oviatt Library standing in as the lower levels of Starfleet Academy. Although blue screens were placed on the sides of the lawn, light fixtures were modified, and banners sporting the Starfleet emblem were hung on streetlights, little else was modified for the film. [159] Although it never appeared in the film, the lobby of the library was dressed with NASA and other space-related images and the main doors were emblazoned with the Starfleet emblem. There was also a "futuristic kiosk" placed in the lawn. Photos of the filming at CSUN feature dozens of extras dressed in red cadet uniforms (as well as some in more militaristic gray uniforms) as well as a futuristic-looking, functional vehicle called the Aptera . [160]

Also in March 2008, filming took place at the Pastoria Energy Facility to the east of Interstate 5 at the bottom of "the grapevine," a stretch of Interstate 5 that drops out of the mountains north of Lebec, California, and south of Bakersfield. This location served as the Riverside Shipyards where the starship Enterprise was being constructed. This is where James T. Kirk rode his motorcycle into the shipyards, gave his bike to a shipyard worker, and boarded the shuttle headed to Starfleet Academy.

Four of the filmmakers, including production designer Scott Chambliss , first assistant director Tommy Gormley , then executive producer Stratton Leopold , and eventual second unit director Roger Guyett , scouted locations in Iceland during early Summer 2007. Despite some reports, J.J. Abrams never actually visited Iceland himself. Companies such as Pegasus-Panarctica Pictures (run by Snorri Þórisson), Sagafilm (Kjartan Thor Thordarson), Labrador (Pétur Hafsteinn Bjarnason), and Truenorth Productions (Leifur B. Dagfinnsson) vied for the opportunity to provide local production services. This would have been the first time a Star Trek movie was filmed outside of the United States. The plan was that two weeks of filming would take place there during Spring 2008, but, as it turned out, no filming whatsoever was ever done in Iceland. A location scout was also sent to British Columbia, Canada, but, in the end, the movie was filmed entirely in the United States. [161] [162] [163]

Many of the scenes featuring interior locations on Vulcan were filmed at the SkyRose Chapel in Whittier, California. These included the conversation between young Spock and Sarek, as well as Spock's confrontation with the Vulcan committee. [164] [165]

In early April, some second unit work took place on location in Bakersfield, California, which stood in for Iowa (the birthplace of James T. Kirk). While shooting in Bakersfield – near Highway 119 – on 8 April 2008 , an automobile accident occurred in front of the set in which a car being driven by the location's site manager (a local official in charge of the site) crashed head-on into a truck. A passenger in the car and the driver of the truck were injured but survived, and the crash did not disrupt filming. [166] [167]

Post-production [ ]

Industrial Light & Magic provided the special visual effects for the film. This was the company's seventh film project for the Star Trek franchise, the last being 1996's Star Trek: First Contact . Santa Barbara Studios did the VFX for Star Trek: Insurrection and Digital Domain provided the effects for Star Trek Nemesis . Visual Effects Supervisor Roger Guyett anticipated that Star Trek would use about 1,000 visual effects shots, [168] though the number had increased to over 1,300 by August. [169]

The first cut of the film was completed in July 2008. This cut was screened for studio executives at Paramount Pictures sometime in the last week of July and received a very positive response. [170]

Post-production on Star Trek was completed on 23 December 2008 . The film spent just under nine months in the post-production process, the second longest in the franchise behind Star Trek: The Motion Picture . The final step in the process was sound editing, provided by Academy Award-winning sound designer Ben Burtt (best known for his work on the Star Wars films) and supervising sound editor Mark Stoeckinger . [171]

The film's score was written by Academy Award-winning composer Michael Giacchino . He created a new version of the original theme by Alexander Courage in the score, along with new themes he created for the film. The original theme made a comeback for the ending credits. Giacchino admitted personal pressure in scoring the film, stating " I grew up listening to all of that great [ Trek ] music, and that's part of what inspired me to do what I'm doing… You just go in scared. You just hope you do your best. It's one of those things where the film will tell me what to do. " [172] [173] [174]

Finding a new musical direction for Star Trek proved challenging. " I wrote maybe 20 or so versions of the main theme and all of them sounded like Star Trek music – like big space opera music. And every time JJ and I would sit and listen to it JJ would say 'it just doesn't sound like our movie.' " Lindelof suggested Giacchino concentrate more on Kirk and Spock's friendship, and the main theme, specifically the Kirk/ Enterprise theme came out of that. Spock's theme developed out of a variation of the main theme that the producers liked. [175]

The score was recorded at the Sony Pictures Scoring Stage in Culver City, California. The scoring session was comprised of a 107-piece orchestra and forty-person choir. Giacchino composed new themes for the film, some of which were stylistically created as subtle homages to past Star Trek composers, Jerry Goldsmith and James Horner . An erhu was used to create Spock's theme; the same instrument was used for the Romulans, except in their case, the sound was processed and distorted. Several members of the music department wore clothing resembling Starfleet uniforms during the scoring session. [176] The score was released by Varèse Sarabande Records on 5 May 2009 .

Continuity [ ]

• This is the second movie, the first being Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , to begin on James T. Kirk's birthday, in this case the actual day of his birth.
• Aspects of Spock's life, like Sarek explaining his marriage to Amanda as "the logical thing to do", young Spock being bullied by Vulcan kids for having a Human mother, and later turning down the Vulcan Science Academy to Sarek's disappointment, were first mentioned in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode " Journey to Babel " and the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode " Yesteryear ".
• Hikaru Sulu reveals that his advanced combat training is in fencing . Sulu was first seen fencing in the original series episode " The Naked Time ". Abrams later states he thought it a good idea to turn out that Sulu was in fact "a ninja". ( Star Trek DVD commentary)
• Delta Vega in the film is a reference to an unrelated planet from the TOS episode " Where No Man Has Gone Before ". In an interview with TrekMovie.com, writer Roberto Orci said, " We moved the planet to suit our purposes. The familiarity of the name seemed more important as an Easter egg, than a new name with no importance. " [177]
• When Kirk and McCoy first see the Enterprise in space the scene resembles the scene from Star Trek: The Motion Picture when the Enterprise refit is shown for the first time or the similar scene in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home with the new USS Enterprise -A . This was the general idea in Abrams' view. ( Star Trek DVD commentary)
• When the cadets are assigned to the various ships prior to the destruction of Vulcan , one cadet, Fugeman , is assigned to Regula I , a station seen prominently in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan .
• There is an established relationship between Spock and Uhura in this film. There have previously been hints of flirtation between the two characters. In " Charlie X ", Uhura sings a teasing song about Spock while he plays accompanying music on the Vulcan lyre , eliciting a rare smile from him. In " The Man Trap ", Uhura makes an attempt to get Spock to flirt with her, asking him to tell her she's an "… attractive young lady." The famous interracial kiss was originally to be between Uhura and Spock. [178] However, according to scriptwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, they only noticed these moments after coming up with the relationship for the film. [179]
• At the end of the film, Admiral Christopher Pike is in a wheelchair . This is an allusion to Fleet Captain Christopher Pike from the original timeline who was crippled by delta radiation when a baffle plate had ruptured and then confined to an advanced wheelchair. [180] However, unlike in the Original Series , Pike isn't scarred or mute and in the next film is seen walking without the wheelchair, albeit with a cane .
• Nero's statement that the Federation had done nothing as Romulus was destroyed by the supernova makes it look as though the Federation simply held still while their (former) enemies faced destruction. However, Jean-Luc Picard 's statements in PIC : " Remembrance " elaborate on that and make Nero's anger much more understandable: In fact, the Federation had initially agreed to mount a large-scale evacuation to help the Romulans who were threatened by the supernova, but deliberately chose to abandon it.
• The sequence where Nero forces the Centaurian slug down Captain Pike's throat is a tribute to the Ceti eel sequence from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , even including similar dialogue. [181]
• While taking the Kobayashi Maru test, Kirk's comic nonchalance extends to him casually munching on an apple as the Klingons attack. In the Genesis cave in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , Kirk eats an apple while explaining to Saavik how he beat the Kobayashi Maru test. (In the DVD commentary on the film, it is noted that this was a coincidence.)
• Dr. McCoy refers to Spock as a "green-blooded hobgoblin." In " Bread and Circuses ", McCoy referred to Spock as a "pointed-ear hobgoblin." McCoy also frequently referred to Spock as "green-blooded" throughout the classic series and the films.
• Spock Prime tells Kirk " I have been, and always shall be, your friend ", which were his dying words to an older Kirk in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , and, recalling that conversation, his first words after his fal-tor-pan in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock .
• In order to bring Kirk aboard the Enterprise as a patient, McCoy injects a vaccine to protect against viral infection from Melvaran mud fleas . The fleas were previously mentioned in " Canamar ".
• On Delta Vega, Montgomery Scott mentions that he had used "Admiral Archer's prized beagle" to test his long-distance transporter theories, though the beagle had yet to turn up as of his meeting with Kirk and Spock Prime (which he speculated led to his "exile"). Writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci have confirmed that this Admiral Archer was indeed Jonathan Archer . [182] [183] Jonathan Archer would be 145 years old at the time of Scotty's exile, but Humans are long-lived in Star Trek ; Orci noted the appearance of Leonard McCoy in " Encounter at Farpoint ". However, it is unlikely that Porthos would still be alive at that time. J.J. Abrams intends the dog to reappear upon his leaving the Star Trek films. ( Star Trek DVD commentary)
• When Nero discovers Spock commandeering the Jellyfish , he yells, "SPOOOOOCK!" This is likely a nod to the scene in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan where Kirk yells Khan's name in a similar fashion.
• When the younger Spock approaches the pilot's seat in the Jellyfish , the location's design is that of the IDIC , a symbol of the Vulcan people. Also, in reaction to the ship's controls, Spock says " Fascinating… "
• Chief Engineer Olson , who dies almost instantly on an away mission, is conspicuously dressed in a red space jump suit, a nod to the original series phenomenon of a hitherto unknown ensign dressed in red always being the first to die in any away mission. ( Star Trek Special Edition DVD ) Greg Ellis , who played Olson, had previously appeared on Star Trek , in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine finale " What You Leave Behind ", as Ekoor , one of the few Cardassians to survive the Dominion massacre.
• Uhura orders a Klabnian fire tea , three Budweiser Classics , two Cardassian sunrises , a Slusho , and a Jack Daniel's at the Shipyard Bar . J.J. Abrams has previously used Slusho in the film Cloverfield and the television series Alias . Uhura's drink order is the first reference to the Cardassians in a Star Trek production set in the 23rd century. The Cardassians debuted in the 24th century Star Trek: The Next Generation episode " The Wounded ", and were mentioned in the 22nd century Star Trek: Enterprise by the Organians in " Observer Effect " and one was seen at a repair station Enterprise NX-01 visited in " Dead Stop ". The mention of Budweiser is a nod to the shooting location for engineering – a Budweiser plant.
• As Kirk climbs out of the shuttle on Delta Vega, his backpack reads "NCC-1701-D." The USS Enterprise -D , commanded by Captain Picard , had this registry number.
• At one point, Doctor McCoy tells Kirk that " A little suffering is good for the soul. " In " The Corbomite Maneuver " Kirk asks McCoy " Aren't you the one who always says a little suffering is good for the soul? " and McCoy dryly replies " I never say that ".
• McCoy has a beard in civilian life, just as he did in Star Trek: The Motion Picture .
• While trying to decipher the origins of Nero and his ship and crew, Spock says " Once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. " In Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , Spock says the same thing while investigating the mysteries surrounding Chancellor Gorkon 's assassination . The line ultimately derives from the Sherlock Holmes stories and novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle , and was also quoted by Data in " Data's Day ".
• When Kirk first meets Scott on Delta Vega, a tribble can be seen and heard on his desk.
• Kirk emotionally compromises Spock in order to gain command of the Enterprise as he did in " This Side of Paradise ".
• At the end of the film, right after Spock Prime says " To boldly go where no man has gone before… ", the Enterprise goes into warp, similar to the Star Trek: The Next Generation series opening sequence.
• This is the last Star Trek film to use the 2002-2012 Paramount Pictures logo.

Deleted and expanded scenes [ ]

Several scenes appear in the shooting script that are absent from the theatrical release. [184] Some have appeared on the Star Trek DVD releases.

• A scene prior to the film's opening sequence shows Spock's birth and a conversation between Amanda Grayson and Sarek.
• When the Narada is disabled by the Kelvin 's attack, several Klingon warbirds decloak and surround Nero's ship.
• Preceding his joyride in a Corvette, scenes establish the child James T. Kirk residing with his older brother George and their uncle Frank while Winona Kirk is away. James is forced to wash the Corvette (which had in fact belonged to their late father) in a subsequent scene when, upon opening the visor above the drivers' seat, the keys fall into his lap, and he decides to steal it.

The unfinished Narada surrounded by Klingon ships in a deleted scene

• Several scenes establish that Nero and his crew were taken to Rura Penthe and had been held there for several years. It is suggested that Nero formulated his plan for destroying the Federation while imprisoned. Klingons – as all are masked, it is unclear whether or not they bear the effects of the augment virus – interrogate Nero (at one point, having realized he was from the future, theorized that he likely knows about Federation defenses, and that they might be able to work together) and torture him with a Centaurian slug (in the hopes of getting red matter technology for themselves), a tactic Nero uses later in the film. Nero attempts to endure the torture by focusing on memories of his wife. A later scene shows Nero escaping the prison planet to resume his plan (the scene used in the trailer where Nero says " The wait is over " comes as he frees Ayel). Interviews with J.J. Abrams and the Star Trek DVD commentary indicates that they didn't want to address whether the Klingons in this film would look like they did in the original series, affected by the augment virus, or appear with forehead ridges as they did in the films and subsequent series although the helmets have the ridges on them, which is a nod toward the later look of the Klingons. Two images from this plot line were in fact included in the final film – the last shot of the Centaurian slug sequence, looking straight down at Nero, was used to show Nero aboard the Narada when Ayel comes in and informs him that the Jellyfish is about to emerge from the black hole, while the image of a shirtless Nero at work on Rura Penthe appears during Spock Prime's mind-meld with Kirk.
• The Gaila/Uhura dorm room scene and Kobayashi Maru scenario is slightly expanded to show how Kirk reprogrammed the test. After Kirk responded to " I love you " with " That's so weird ", he explains that it's because he has written her a note, its contents too hard to say in person, that he needs her to open at precisely 3 pm the next day. At the appointed time, Gaila – a technician on the test – opens the letter, which reads " Gaila – I'm sorry. Jim ", before downloading a virus which reprograms the scenario. (In the DVD commentary it was stated that this is why Gaila has her arms crossed during the entirety of Kirk's subsequent hearing.) Another scene includes Kirk running into and attempting to apologize to an Orion woman within the Enterprise corridors that he thought was Gaila.
• In one scene, Ayel expresses the Narada crew's desire to return to Romulus following the destruction of Vulcan and suggests to Nero that the plan for destroying the Federation be abandoned. Nero declines the suggestion and kills Ayel for displaying signs of mutiny. This is noted as being a significant difference from the theatrical release, since Ayel is involved in the film's final scenes.
• As Spock Prime leaves the hangar following the conversation with his younger self, he passes Sarek, whose bewildered look (similar to the one his son had upon apparently seeing Kirk aboard the Enterprise ) is captured by the cameras.

Apocrypha [ ]

The novelization of Star Trek , written by Alan Dean Foster , shows several expanded sequences including some deleted scenes. In the novel, Winona is given an inhibitor that would help delay the birth of James until the Kelvin 's return to Earth. However, the impacts to the ship by the Narada 's attack cause her to go into early labor. For the scenes where she's off-planet, Kirk's Uncle Frank from a deleted scene and his step-father from the final cut are merged, as "Frank" is, in fact, his step-father. In several instances after Kirk is commissioned by Captain Pike, Kirk is referred to as "Lieutenant Kirk." The novel also further details Nero's motivations for attacking the Federation.

After the elder Spock is informed by young Kirk that Chekov, Sulu, and Uhura all serving aboard the Enterprise – at this point not even bothering to ask if McCoy is as well – he suggests that their meeting on Delta Vega and various other coincidences regarding the Enterprise crew are the result of the timeline attempting to mend itself – as for the one person not yet aboard the ship, Spock had been well aware of Scotty's presence at the outpost, but had deliberately kept his distance, until the arrival of Kirk made it absolutely clear that their being on the same world was no accident. After the young Spock resigns command and leaves the bridge, Uhura and Sulu demand to know how Kirk got aboard the Enterprise ; Kirk reveals to the bridge crew about the future Spock and what he told Kirk about Nero and how the past had been changed in an attempt to gain their trust. Kirk also tells them about how they cannot tell their Spock about the elder Spock's presence and the bridge crew agrees not to do so. At the end of the book, when the elder Spock speaks to his younger counterpart (who, upon hearing how his older self convinced Kirk to keep his secret, suggests that the would-be paradoxes were not outright impossible, but the displacement would have to have taken place far earlier for there to be any concern), the young Spock asks Spock Prime if he might call on him occasionally for advice and Spock Prime agrees, saying " Who better to consult with you than yourself? " The first mission under Kirk also includes a new passenger: Archer's dog rematerializes in the Enterprise 's transporter room just as the ship warps away from the Solar System.

The novel also makes a number of small quotes and passing mentions regarding certain figures and connecting the main characters to their prime selves:

• During the skill dome sequence, young Spock identifies the authors of a piece of 20th century Earth music as John Lennon and Paul McCartney , on whom Orci and Kurtzman based the Kirk-Spock relationship.
• Running for his life on Delta Vega, Kirk mutters under his breath that the drakoulias resembles the "bastard offspring" of a polar bear and a gorilla, the two Earth animals which the monster was modeled after.
• Noting Kirk's unfamiliarity with Regulation 619, Spock admits that he had forgotten how unimportant such things had been to "his" Kirk.
• During the bridge discussion after Kirk takes command, Sulu mentions having a doctorate in astrophysics , the field of study his counterpart was in during his first Trek appearance, " Where No Man Has Gone Before ".
• In the midst of their battle with the Narada crew – largely a fistfight rather than a firefight – Kirk, noting that Spock displayed great logic even in combat (defeating the strongest Romulans first before moving on to the weaker ones until there were none left), concludes that he must play a "mean game" of three-dimensional chess , which Spock was in fact so skilled at that he would use the game to save Kirk's career .
• The transport of Kirk, Spock, and Pike from the Narada back to the Enterprise , shown almost entirely from inside the transporter room and implied to be more difficult than the film suggests, is viewed by McCoy and Uhura, allowing a mention of the doctor's well-known feelings toward the device .

Foster initially refused to do the novelization. The producers flew him to Hollywood to meet with them, the cast, and the director. After having many conversations, Foster accepted the project, rushed to meet deadlines, and had the novel ready for a December 2008 release. Star Trek writers Howard Weinstein and Robert Greenberger mentioned this at the 2009 FarPoint Convention. The novelization also appears to have been written with either a first draft or very early version of the script. Many sequences and dialogues are out of order, missing, or otherwise inconsistent with the film.

Release [ ]

Release delay [ ].

At the time production began, Star Trek was set for a worldwide theatrical release on 25 December 2008 . Later, Paramount was reportedly considering bumping up the film's release date one or two days or moving it to 19 December 2008. [185] On 13 February 2008 , however, Variety magazine reported that the film's release would be put back, from 2008 to 8 May 2009 , in order to take advantage of the summer movie season. [186]

Around the time the delay was announced, a Paramount spokesperson stressed that the change in release date had nothing to do with the film's production or its script. The spokesman stated that the decision was all about box-office potential and the spokesman said that Star Trek is in the same league as such past summer blockbusters as Spider-Man , Shrek , Transformers , and the Star Wars prequels. [187] (X) Paramount vice chairman Rob Moore revealed to Entertainment Weekly that another reason the movie was pushed back was so they could "educate people that this is a whole new franchise." [188]

Premieres [ ]

The gala world premiere of Star Trek took place on 7 April 2009 at the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia. The film's cast and crew were in attendance. [189] This was followed by a number of additional premiere events around the world – Austria; Belgium; France; Germany; Japan; Korea; the Netherlands; New Zealand; Russia; Spain; London, UK: 20 April 2009 [190] ; Los Angeles, USA.

A few hours prior to the official premiere in Sydney, fans in Austin, Texas were given a surprise screening of the film. The event had been announced as a ten-minute preview following a showing of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , hosted by writers Roberto Orci , Alex Kurtzman , and Damon Lindelof . However, after two minutes the film of The Wrath of Khan appeared to melt. Orci, Kurtzman, and Lindelof proceeded to vamp for a few minutes but were interrupted by a surprise appearance of Leonard Nimoy , who asked the audience if they would like to watch the new film instead. [191]

The official American premiere was held at the famous Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood on 30 April 2009 . Attending the event were J.J. Abrams, most of the film crew, and nearly the entire cast. [192]

General [ ]

Although the United States release date was set for 8 May 2009 , advance screenings of the film began at 7 pm on 7 May 2009 . [193] However, the first worldwide release was in France, Belgium, and the French-speaking parts of Switzerland on 6 May 2009 . [194]

For the first time, a Star Trek film was released in IMAX as well as conventional theaters. Although the film was not shot with IMAX cameras, the film was able to be converted to the 70 mm IMAX format. This was the first Trek project since the abandoned Star Trek: IMAX to be considered for the medium. [195] [196]

Star Trek , released in May 2009, was the first Star Trek film released in the summer months since 1989's Star Trek V: The Final Frontier .

Reception [ ]

Star Trek has received nearly universal acclaim from film critics. Star Trek currently has a 95% "certified fresh" rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 278 reviews, with an average critic's rating of 8.1 on a scale of 10. [197] Based on the findings of Rotten Tomatoes, Star Trek is currently the second-best reviewed mainstream film of 2009, after Up . [198] On the review aggregator website Metacritic, Star Trek has a metascore of 83 out of 100, based on 37 critics' reviews. [199]

Based on listings tracked by Metacritic, twenty-three critics from twelve different publications ranked Star Trek as one of the ten best films of 2009. Among the publications whose critics praised Star Trek as such were Boston Globe , Empire Magazine , The Hollywood Reporter , Miami Herald , New York Daily News , The New Yorker , and the Washington Post . [200]

Bryan Burk recalled, " In general with Star Trek , a lot of people came out saying they really liked it and it wasn't what they thought it was going to be. For me, that was the biggest win. " ( SFX , issue 270, p. 71)

Despite the praise, some reviews criticized the lack of a classical Star Trek allegory. In Empire 's 4/5 review, Colin Kennedy noted the themes " primarily relate to the nature of friendship and teamwork, which is all very well, […] but in a time when the United States is engaged in two wars, the failure to even acknowledge the issues arising from space imperialism and the Prime Directive is to flinch from battle. Harsher critics may even deem it a dereliction of duty. " [201]

In a 2013 article about J.J. Abrams, Empire characterized the introduction of Kirk in this film as a prime example of how Abrams juxtaposes the everyday with the extraordinary to create "relatable spectacle," tonally similar to Steven Spielberg's film-making. ( Empire , issue 287, p. 77) In 2014, Empire readers ranked Star Trek at #188 in a poll to determine the 301 greatest movies of all time. [202]

In a 2016 interview, Brannon Braga commented, " I thought Star Trek was fantastic. It was beautifully directed and took Trek to a whole other level in terms of action. They had quadruple the budget when we did ours. But the casting was perfect and it was almost an impossible task. " Braga also prefers this film to Star Trek Into Darkness . ( SFX , issue 270, p. 68)

Jonathan Frakes is disappointed that, despite visiting the set of this film, he wasn't permitted to participate in the making of it. Nonetheless, he approved of this movie. ( SFX , issue 270, p. 63)

Box office [ ]

Star Trek topped the North American box office in its opening weekend, grossing US$75.2 million from Friday through Sunday. It also earned an estimated US$4 million from its Thursday night advance screenings, for a total of US$79.2 million over its first three and a quarter days. [203] It marked the highest opening weekend box office gross of any film in the franchise, surpassing Star Trek: First Contact 's opening weekend of US$30.7 million (approximately US$50 million when adjusted for inflation). [204] Star Trek had the sixth highest opening weekend of 2009, following The Twilight Saga: New Moon , Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen , X-Men Origins: Wolverine , Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince , and Avatar . [205]

Included in Star Trek 's opening weekend gross was US$8.5 million from 138 IMAX venues, setting a new weekend record for IMAX. It surpassed the previous benchmark set by The Dark Knight , which earned US$6.3 million from IMAX screenings in its first weekend. ( Star Trek 's IMAX record was subsequently beaten by Avatar .) In addition, Star Trek yielded the most-attended start ever for a movie debuting in the second weekend of May, topping 1996's Twister . [206] Star Trek also managed to top many overseas box office charts in its first weekend, grossing US$35.5 million from 54 international markets. [207]

Star Trek ended its domestic theatrical run on 1 October 2009 with a total gross of US$257,730,019, making it the seventh highest grossing film of 2009 in North America. [208] It was the year's highest-grossing film in the United States from Wednesday, 27 May, though Saturday, 27 June, a total of 31 days, after which it was overtaken by Disney/Pixar's Up (which, coincidentally, was also composed by Michael Giacchino ). Star Trek has also done good business internationally, earning more from foreign markets than any previous Star Trek films (with the possible exception of Star Trek: The Motion Picture ). Star Trek 's international gross is US$127,950,428, bringing its total worldwide gross to US$385,680,447. [209]

Awards and honors [ ]

Star Trek is the first film of the franchise to have won an Academy Award , the Academy Award for Best Achievement in Makeup. It also received three more Academy Award nominations. The National Board of Review named Star Trek one of the Ten Best Films of 2009.

Star Trek received the following awards and honors:

On 30 March 2009, it was announced that Paramount was moving forward with a sequel to Star Trek . Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman have again been hired to write the screenplay, along with the first film's producer, Damon Lindelof. J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk will again be producing via Bad Robot, along with Orci and Kurtzman. [210]

At his panel during the Supernova Convention, Perth 2009 in Australia, Karl Urban unofficially announced that he had seen a work in progress version of the script for a sequel, expected in 2011, or later.

Advertising and marketing [ ]

Posters [ ].

As of July 2008 , Paramount has distributed several teaser posters at various conventions to promote awareness and hype about the film. The first, as stated above, was released on 22 July 2007 (see early discussion and speculation above). A second teaser poster for the new film was introduced at the Comic-Con International in San Diego, California, on 27 July 2007 . This poster features a white background with the words Star Trek written in the TOS-style font and comprised of a star field backdrop seen throughout the original television series.

In August 2007 , a third teaser poster, this one containing the title inside the arrowhead-shaped Starfleet insignia , was created especially for distribution to the attendees at the Las Vegas Star Trek Convention. As with the second teaser poster, the Vegas poster features the film's release date hyped as "Stardate 12.25.08".

A fourth teaser poster was given away to attendees at the San Francisco Wondercon on the weekend of 24 February 2008 , sporting the new official logo, the tagline "Under Construction", and a date of "Summer 2009".

Four teaser posters, each featuring an image of a cast member from the film ( Eric Bana , Zoe Saldana , Chris Pine , and Zachary Quinto ), were distributed at the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con from 24 through 27 July 2008. When combined, the four posters form the delta shield emblem of the USS Enterprise (and later of all Starfleet). There is also a single one-sheet version of the poster available via mail order from Comic-Con in conjunction with the Intel Corporation . [211] Four similar posters featuring John Cho , Simon Pegg , Anton Yelchin , and Karl Urban were distributed at the Official Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas the following month. [212]

On 10 November 2008, Paramount released the first teaser posters for the films designed for display in theaters, one featuring Pine as Kirk and the other featuring Quinto as Spock. Both posters were black and white, bearing nothing else save for the release date, the official site address, the production company logos for Paramount and Bad Robot, and the Starfleet delta shield emblem. [213]

A cardboard standup promoting the film was also made for display in theaters. The standup consists of the title in large cut-out letters, with each letter featuring the face of a different character from the film (Kirk on the "S", Nero on the "K", etc.) The title is placed upon a dais which contains the tagline ("The Future Begins"), the release date, and an orbital view of Earth. [214]

On 26 March 2009, European posters for Star Trek were posted online. [215] A day later, the US poster for the film was also revealed on MySpace Movies. The poster features the USS Enterprise within a warp effect against a white background, with the tagline "The future begins." [216]

USB card wallpapers [ ]

A set of nine exclusive wallpapers were released on Star Trek -themed USB cards, with three images per card.

Websites and viral marketing [ ]

The mysterious corridor that appears briefly on NCC-1701.com

A promotional website dedicated to the new film went live at 8:05pm EST on 16 January 2008 and can be found at paramount.com/startrek . The site introduced the new official logo for the film, which was also seen in the teaser trailer. [217] Paramount also set up a page for the movie on the social-networking website Facebook where fans may congregate. [218] [219]

Following the launch of the film's teaser trailer, the official website contained a hidden link to NCC-1701.com , a viral promotional site supposedly containing "surveillance footage" of the Enterprise under construction. The site features four screens, each for a different "surveillance camera", but only three are active at a time. The inactive camera, however, will sometimes come online and, for a brief instant, reveal an image of a dark corridor. [220] The corridor actually belonged to the USS Kelvin , seen very briefly during George Kirk's brief command of the ship.

Originally located on a subdomain of Paramount.com, the official site moved on 19 February 2008 , its address becoming StarTrekMovie.com . On 18 July 2008 , the site was updated with wallpapers and icons depicting the images from the Comic-Con Star Trek posters in addition to an overall redesign of the site. [221]

Promotional images [ ]

The first official promotional images from the film were released on 15 October 2008 , at six separate movie websites. The images showed Pine, Quinto, Urban, Pegg, Saldana, and Yelchin in costume on the Enterprise bridge; Quinto and Pine; Bana in makeup as Nero; Pine on an icy planet; the USS Kelvin engaged in combat; and a view of the Enterprise bridge. [222]

On 16 October 2008 , TrekMovie.com released two new images, another of the Kelvin in action, and one of Cho in his role as Sulu. [223]

Yet another load of images were released on 17 October 2008 , when Entertainment Weekly put up more promotional pictures of Pine, Quinto, Cho, Bana, and Pine and Urban. [224]

Teaser trailer [ ]

A first look at the new USS Enterprise

The film's teaser trailer was completed by 30 November 2007. [225] It debuted in theaters on 18 January 2008 , attached to Paramount's Cloverfield which, like Star Trek , is produced by J.J. Abrams. [226]

On 21 January 2008 , the teaser was made available for viewing at the official site and at Yahoo! Movies . Empire Online uploaded the United Kingdom's version of the teaser that same day. Paramount made the teaser available on a wider basis on 22 January. [227]

The teaser trailer features a glimpse of the remodeled USS Enterprise as it is being constructed, with the construction taking place in a drydock on Earth. Several sound bites recorded during the space race of the 1960s can be heard in the background leading up to a new recording of Leonard Nimoy reciting the famous line, " Space… the final frontier. " The opening notes of the original Star Trek series theme music begin playing during Nimoy's voiceover and the unveiling of the Enterprise 's saucer section , followed by the sound effect of the original series transporter as the lines "Under Construction" and "Christmas 2008" appear on-screen.

The teaser was shot in October, prior to the start of principal photography on the film. It was filmed on Paramount Stage 25 and also used a part of the Paramount back lot. Half of the stage was enveloped by greenscreen and greenfloor for the insertion of CGI effects, and a giant greenscreen was utilized in the back lot. The shoot involved real welding and the handling of actual welding equipment, so experienced welders were required.

The first welder seen in the teaser was played by Anthony Vitale . Vitale's scene was shot by the film's director, J.J. Abrams. This is unusual since scenes for trailers are generally directed by assistant directors. The rest of the teaser was directed by First Assistant Director Tommy Gormley , however. [228]

According to co-writer Roberto Orci, the message of the teaser is that the future as presented in Star Trek is not as far off as it once was. He also explained the logic of having the Enterprise being built on Earth rather than in space, noting that components of the ship can be built on Earth and assembled anywhere and that the Enterprise is not " some flimsy yacht that has to be delicately treated and assembled. " He also feels that it makes more sense to construct the ship within a natural gravity well rather than an area that will require an artificial gravity field. In addition, Orci states that the term "Under Construction" used in the teaser is to convey both a "literal interpretation" that the movie is currently being put together and to convey the idea that the future of Star Trek may be coming soon. [229]

Theatrical trailers [ ]

The production team was to begin working on the first theatrical trailer in January 2008 with the hopes to have it complete and in theaters by early or mid-summer, [230] however these plans changed once the film's release was pushed back to May 2009.

Editing on the first theatrical trailer was reportedly completed by 4 August 2008, although the visual effects to be seen in the trailer had not yet been finalized. [231] The trailer was enclosed with Quantum of Solace , the latest James Bond film, which opened in the US on 14 November 2008 . [232] [233] It became available for viewing in high definition on the official movie site on 17 November 2008 at 10 am PST. [234]

An alternate version of the first theatrical trailer was made available for view at Ain't It Cool News on 25 November 2008. This version is the same as the original for the most part, except that the final shot of Eric Bana's Nero proclaiming " The wait is over " is placed earlier in the trailer and in its place is a shot of Leonard Nimoy as the elder Spock, giving the Vulcan salute and proclaiming the famous line " Live long and prosper. " [235]

The incidental music used in the first theatrical trailer was a re-orchestration of Brian Tyler 's score from Children of Dune , created by Two Steps From Hell , and titled "Down With the Enterprise". [236] The use of Tyler's score in the trailer came about from its use as a temporary scoring track in early post-production on the movie. [237]

A second theatrical trailer for Star Trek was released on 6 March 2009 in front of select screenings of the film Watchmen . It was originally intended to premiere online the Monday after its release on Apple's Star Trek page , but, after an international version was released ahead of schedule, the online release was made on the same day. As with the first theatrical trailer, incidental music was provided by Two Steps from Hell, being a modified version of the track "Freedom Fighters" from their album Legend . [238] [239]

In a press release, Paramount announced that the second theatrical trailer broke all existing download records at Apple.com . The HD version of the trailer had more than 1.8 million downloads during its first 24 hours on Apple.com and had over five million downloads in its first five days. This makes the Star Trek trailer the most popular HD download in the history of the site. [240]

Super Bowl spot [ ]

A thirty-second trailer for the film aired during Super Bowl XLIII on 1 February 2009. It showed footage from the film not previously seen in the earlier trailers. Star Trek is the first film in the franchise to be given a Super Bowl spot, emphasizing the studio's attempts to draw in a larger audience.

Merchandising and promotional partners [ ]

The film's merchandising campaign was expected to be the biggest since Star Trek: The Motion Picture back in 1979 . [241]

A toy license was awarded to Playmates Toys , which produced action figures for the film, as well as prop toys, playsets and ship models. [242] [243] Corgi 's current Star Trek license covers the film, primarily for its Master Replicas brand of collectibles. [244] The company will be producing replicas of the USS Enterprise and a hand phaser . [245]

Quantum Mechanix announced in May 2009 they had secured some merchandising rights as well. The company has developed studio-scale models and 10" replicas of the ships seen in the movie, starting with the USS Enterprise . [246] They had previously been responsible for the construction of models used in the marketing campaign known as "The Enterprise Project". [247]

A novelization of the film written by Alan Dean Foster was published by Pocket Books . Comic book publisher IDW Publishing released a prequel series entitled Star Trek: Countdown from January through April 2009; an adaptation of the movie was released in January 2010 , and two follow-up series, Star Trek: Spock: Reflections and Star Trek: Nero have been produced. Rittenhouse Archives produced collectible cards for the movie. T-shirts marketing the film were created and distributed by Junk Food . A video game, Star Trek D-A-C was released by Naked Sky Entertainment . The motion picture soundtrack was released by Varèse Sarabande Records on 5 May 2009 . At least one reference book , Star Trek - The Art of the Film , has been licensed.

Burger King promoted a kids meal tie-in for this film, marking the first time Burger King has promoted a Star Trek film. [248] It was also the first time either one of the big two major fast food chains (Burger King or McDonald's ) had marketed Trek since the first film's release in 1979. [249] It was revealed in 2009 that the Burger King Star Trek commercials were shot on the set of the Enterprise . Dan Mindel, the cinematographer for Star Trek , also directed photography for the commercials. [250] Alex Beh is an actor who appeared in the Burger King television commercial. [251]

Besides the Burger King deal, Paramount also signed up Kellogg's as a promotional partner to bring Star Trek movie-branded products to grocery stores. A number of Kellogg's brand products offered Star Trek merchandise and memorabilia either by mail or included within the package. Specially-marked boxes of Kellogg's cereals contained a "Beam-Up Badge", of which there are five different designs. Boxes of Frosted Krispies offered a red or blue Starfleet tee by mail, while boxes of Frosted Flakes and packages of Keebler cookies feature offered for a Star Trek 1GB flash drive wristband. Kellogg's various Eggo waffle products offered a 3D Warp Speed Plate by mail, and boxes of Kellogg's Pop-Tarts offered a free pass to see the film. A varying amount of tokens were needed for each mail-order product. [252]

In addition, Paramount promoted the film in collaboration with auto insurance company Esurance , communications companies Nokia and Verizon Wireless , and computer technology companies Lenovo and the Intel Corporation . All of these companies held Star Trek -related contests and sweepstakes and all included pages on their sites containing Star Trek -related content. [253] [254] [255] Esurance Star Trek commercials also played on television and on public radio.

Merchandise gallery [ ]

Links and references [ ]

Credits [ ].

John Cho Ben Cross Bruce Greenwood Simon Pegg Chris Pine Zachary Quinto Winona Ryder Zoë Saldana Karl Urban Anton Yelchin With Eric Bana And Leonard Nimoy Chris Hemsworth Jennifer Morrison Clifton Collins, Jr. Faran Tahir Rachel Nichols Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment present

A Bad Robot Production

• Jeffrey Chernov
• Stratton P. Leopold
• Tommy Gormley
• Thomas Harper
• David E. Waters
• Heather Grierson
• Kirk - Chris Pine
• Spock - Zachary Quinto
• Spock Prime - Leonard Nimoy
• Nero - Eric Bana
• Pike - Bruce Greenwood
• Bones - Karl Urban
• Uhura - Zoë Saldana
• Scotty - Simon Pegg
• Sulu - John Cho
• Chekov - Anton Yelchin
• Sarek - Ben Cross
• Amanda Grayson - Winona Ryder
• George Kirk - Chris Hemsworth
• Winona Kirk - Jennifer Morrison
• Captain Robau - Faran Tahir
• Gaila - Rachel Nichols
• Ayel - Clifton Collins, Jr.
• Officer Pitts - Antonio Elias
• Tactical Officer - Sean Gerace
• Kelvin Crew Member - Randy Pausch
• Kelvin Engineer - Tim Griffin
• Kelvin Helmsman - Freda Foh Shen
• Kelvin Alien - Katarzyna Kowalczyk
• Romulan Helmsman - Jason Brooks
• Kelvin Doctor - Sonita Henry
• Kelvin Yu ( Medical Technician 1 )
• Marta Martin ( Medical Technician 2 )
• Tavarus Conley ( Kelvin Crew Member 1 )
• Jeff Castle ( Kelvin Crew Member 2 )
• Med Evac Pilot - Billy Brown
• Young James T. Kirk - Jimmy Bennett
• Stepdad - Greg Grunberg
• Johnny - Spencer Daniels
• Iowa Cop - Jeremy Fitzgerald
• Zoe Chernov ( Vulcan Student 1 )
• Max Chernov ( Vulcan Student 2 )
• Young Spock - Jacob Kogan
• James Henrie ( Vulcan Bully 1 )
• Colby Paul ( Vulcan Bully 2 )
• Cody Klop ( Vulcan Bully 3 )
• Akiva Goldsman ( Vulcan Council Member 1 )
• Anna Katarina ( Vulcan Council Member 2 )
• Long Face Bar Alien - Douglas Tait
• Lew the Bartender - Tony Guma
• Gerald W. Abrams ( Barfly 1 )
• James McGrath, Jr. ( Barfly 2 )
• Jason Matthew Smith ( Burley Cadet 1 )
• Marcus Young ( Burly Cadet 2 )
• Shipyard Worker - Robert Clendenin
• Flight Officer - Darlena Tejeiro
• Reggie Lee ( Test Administrator 1 )
• Jeffrey Byron ( Test Administrator 2 )
• Simulator Tactical Officer - Jonathan Dixon
• Admiral Richard Barnett - Tyler Perry
• Admiral James Komack - Ben Binswagner
• College Council Stenographer - Margot Farley
• Barracks Leader - Paul McGillion
• Barracks Officer - Lisa Vidal
• Shuttle Officer - Alex Nevil
• Kimberly Arland ( Cadet Alien 1 )
• Sufe M. Bradshaw ( Cadet Alien 2 )
• Jeff Chase ( Cadet Alien 3 )
• Charlie Haugk ( Enterprise Crew Member 1 )
• Nana Hill ( Enterprise Crew Member 2 )
• Michael Saglimbeni ( Enterprise Crew Member 3 )
• John Blackman (Enterprise Crew Member 4 )
• Jack Millard ( Enterprise Crew Member 5 )
• Shaela Luter ( Enterprise Crew Member 6 )
• Sabrina Morris ( Enterprise Crew Member 7 )
• Michelle Parylak ( Enterprise Crew Member 8 )
• Enterprise Communications Officer - Oz Perkins
• Hannity - Amanda Foreman
• Romulan Tactical Officer - Michael Berry, Jr.
• Romulan Communications Officer - Lucia Rijker
• Romulan Commander - Pasha Lychnikoff
• Matthew Beisner ( Romulan Crew Member 1 )
• Neville Page ( Romulan Crew Member 2 )
• Jesper Inglis ( Romulan Crew Member 3 )
• Chief Engineer Olson - Greg Ellis
• Transporter Chief - Marlene Forte
• Leonard O. Turner ( Vulcan Elder 1 )
• Mark Bramhall ( Vulcan Elder 2 )
• Ronald F. Hoiseck ( Vulcan Elder 3 )
• Irene Roseen ( Vulcan Elder 4 )
• Jeff O'Haco ( Vulcan Elder 5 )
• Nero's Wife - Scottie Thompson
• Keenser - Deep Roy
• Starfleet Computer - Majel Barrett Roddenberry
• Robert Alonzo
• Ilram Choi ( Enterprise security officer / Stunt double for John Cho )
• Paul Lacovara ( Stunt double for Eric Bana and Chris Pine )
• Daniel Arrias
• Dennis Scott
• Craig Jensen
• Kofi Yiadom
• Victor Paguia ( USS Kelvin bridge crewmember )
• Kimberly Murphy
• Jim Palmer ( USS Kelvin bridge crewmember )
• Edward Perez
• Chris Palermo ( Enterprise security officer )
• Jon Braver ( Stunt double for Faran Tahir )
• Dennis Keiffer
• Dorenda Moore ( Stunt double for Winona Ryder )
• Christina Weathersby ( USS Kelvin bridge crewmember )
• Zach Duhame ( Burly Cadet #3 / Stunt double for Simon Pegg )
• Rob Mars ( Burly Cadet #2 )
• Brian Oerly ( Stunt double for Jason Matthew Smith )
• Marcus Young ( Burly Cadet #1 )
• Steve Blalock
• Heidi Moneymaker ( USS Kelvin crewmember )
• Mike Gunther ( Stunt double for Chris Pine )
• Mike Massa ( Stunt double for Chris Pine )
• Susan Purkhiser ( Stunt double for Jimmy Bennett )
• Peter Epstein
• Mike Snyder
• Courtney Munch
• Mark Chadwick
• Michael Mukatis
• Austin Priester
• Joe Quinto ( Romulan crewman / Stunt double for Zachary Quinto )
• Sala Baker ( Romulan guard )
• Damion Poitier ( Romulan guard )
• Chris Torres ( Romulan crewman )
• Russell Earl
• Paul Kavanagh
• Jill Brooks
• Debbi Bossi
• Kathleen A. Petty
• Keith P. Cunningham
• Dennis Bradford
• Luke Freeborn
• Beat Frutiger
• Ryan Church
• James Clyne
• Paul Ozzimo
• Clint Schultz
• C. Scott Baker
• Kevin Cross
• Andrea Dopaso
• Scott Herbertson
• Joseph Hiura
• Billy Hunter
• Dawn Brown Manser
• Anne Porter
• Andrew Reeder
• Christine Youngstrom
• Amy Lamendola
• Richard Bennett
• Neville Page
• Karen Manthey
• Amanda Moss Serino
• Scott Bobbitt
• Sara Gardner-Gail
• Hector M. Gonzalez
• Courtney J. Andersen
• Richard Andrade
• Antonio Andraus
• Marcus Aurelius Epps
• Chris Larsen
• Merdyce McClaran
• Eric Ramirez
• Robert Sica
• Ronald Sica
• Ryan Steffen
• Darlene Salinas
• Dawn Gilliam
• Colin Anderson
• John T. Connor
• Phil Carr-Forester
• Wally Sweeterman
• Brad Peterman
• Matt F. Kennedy
• Greg J. Schmidt
• Brian McPherson
• Craig M. Bauer
• Peter J. Devlin
• Michael Piotrowski
• David Fiske Raymond
• Daniel P. Moore
• Peter Taylor
• Julian Smirke
• Lucyna Wojciechowski
• Kerry J. Blackman
• Martin Allan Kloner
• Elana Livneh Lessem
• Daniela Catherine Ovi
• Christopher Prampin
• Chris Weigand
• Jimmy Ellis
• Jimmy Harritos
• Daniel P. Hawking
• Douglas Kieffer
• Billy Streit
• Hootly Weedn
• David Slodki
• Joshua Thatcher
• Bryan Booth
• John Manocchia
• Edward J. Cox
• Richard M. Burkus, Jr.
• Craig Campbell
• James M. Cox
• John Jack Davies
• Gomidas Demerjian
• Brad Thomas Emmons III
• Sean Emmons
• Earl D. Gayer
• John Gutierrez
• Steve Hastings
• Ken Longballa
• Dickinson Luke
• Richard Maldonado
• Marc Marino
• Victor Mendoza
• David H. Neale
• Joel A. Ruiz
• Stephen Saunders
• Anthony Van Dyk
• Mike Visencio
• Jesse Mather
• Jason Talbert
• Larry Sweet
• Michael Wahl
• Bob Nice Arredondo
• Jack Chouchanian
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• Joseph Macaluso
• Philippe O. Meyer
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• Michael Salamone
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• Danny Andres
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• Jaime Heintz
• Rick Johnson
• George Kallimanis
• Gary Louzon
• Philip Noble
• Nolan Pratt
• Rick N. Pratt
• Ignacio Woolfolk
• Russell Bobbitt
• Jim Stubblefield
• Earl V. Thielen
• Stephen McCumby
• Eric Spencer Kagan
• Jeff Khachadoorian
• Robert Raineri
• Brian Barnhart
• Darryl B. Dodson
• Jack Jennings
• Paul J. Preshaw II
• Jason Rosene
• Brian Thoman
• Paul O. Wright
• Burt Dalton
• Dale Ettema
• William Aldridge
• David F. Greene
• Albert Delgado
• Terry P. Chapman
• Danny Cangemi
• Jeff Jarvis
• Steve Cremin
• Greg Curtis
• David P. Kelsey
• Clay Pinney
• Arnold Peterson
• Rich Ratliff
• Jeremiah Cooke
• Curtis Decker
• Jon Djanrelian
• Eric Dressor
• Dennis E. Drozdokiski
• Joseph Judd
• Edward Kennedy
• Jesse Orozco
• Jeff Pepiot
• Bryan Phillips
• Jonathan Tang
• Tony Vandeneccker
• Becky Brake
• Kyle Oliver
• Kathy McCurdy , LMGA
• Scott Trimble
• Rob Swenson
• Brooks Bonstin
• Shelly Spinks
• Steve Woroniecki
• Gavin Glennon
• Linda Matthews
• Stacy Caballero
• Leslie Sungail
• Hilary Niederer
• Carrie Yoko Arakaki
• Adrienne Greshock
• Bega Metzner
• Amelia Buhrman
• Bernadine Morgan
• Myron Baker
• Shelli Nishino
• Brenda M. Ware
• Mustapha Mimis
• Stacia Lang
• Bill Traetta
• Joseph Richard Collins
• Kacy Treadway
• Deborah Ambrosino
• Maurice Polinski
• Valfor D'Ambershay
• David R. Roesler
• Bethan Land
• Phyllis Thurber-Moffitt
• Leticia Sandoval
• Natasha Paczkowski
• Dodson Elliott
• Nina Badrak
• Leslie Miller
• Esther B. Lopez
• Seda Tufenkjian
• Varsenik Antonyan
• Madline Hana
• Hasmig Karagiosian
• Hermine Keossian
• Mary Jegalian
• Antonina Grib
• Varsenik Korkhmazyan
• Elizabet Markosyan
• Karine Avakyan
• Fahima Atrouni
• Taylor Marie Cornell
• Samantha Johnston
• Brian Valenzuela
• Phillip Boutte, Jr.
• Debra S. Coleman
• Kimberly Felix-Burke
• Dave Snyder
• Terrell Baliel
• Lana Heying
• Jason Orion Green
• Jules Holdren
• Joel Harlow
• Barney Burman
• Richard Alonzo
• Mark Garbarino
• Dave Dupuis
• Richard Redlefsen
• Rebecca Alling
• Ned Neidhardt
• Ken Niederbaumer
• Margaret Prentice
• Jamie Kelman
• Andrew Clement
• Marianna Elias
• Bonita DeHaven
• Steve Buscaino
• Robert Freitas
• Scott Gamble
• Bonita G. Deneen
• Simone Chavoor
• Maryellen Aviano
• Carla Lewis
• Nicole Phillips
• Matthew Pitts
• Noreen O'Toole
• Leigh Kittay
• Adam Gaines
• Erin M. Davis
• Alex Katsnelson
• Carol Keith
• J. Elizabeth Ingram
• John Steckert
• Katherine Taylor
• Lauren Pasternack
• Nicole Treston Abranian
• Sean Gerace
• Cheryl Andryco
• Nathan A. Aronson
• Alex Betuel
• Dan B. Cone
• Michael P. Cone
• Barry Curtis
• Simon England
• Felisha Grice
• Micheal Edward King
• Cory Bennett Lewis
• Sebastian Mazzola
• Cory McNeill
• John Tyler Ott
• Jill K. Perno
• Melani Petrushkin
• William F. Reed
• Steve Rosolio
• Ryan Roundy
• Zach L. Smith
• Helga Wool-Smith
• Kelley L. Baker
• Joseph Borrelli
• Kristy Gomez
• Diana P. Mejia
• Dijana Camaj
• Robin Nicole Williams
• Sandra J. White
• Maggie Martin
• Carrie A.F. Carnevale
• Gabriela Gutentag
• Zade Rosenthal
• Michael Hird
• Mike McKean
• Chris Whitaker
• Paul Massey
• Anna Behlmer
• Andy Nelson
• David Giammarco
• Mark Stoeckinger
• Alan Rankin , MPSE
• Ann Scibelli , MPSE
• Tim Walston , MPSE
• Harry Cohen , MPSE
• Scott Gershin
• Geoff Rubay
• Kerry Williams
• Daniel Irwin , MPSE
• Thomas Small , MPSE
• Laura Harris
• Victor Ray Ennis
• Paul Flinchbaugh
• Branden Spencer
• David Barbee
• Ben Wilkins
• Mark Ormandy
• Charlie Campagna
• Sarah Monat
• Robin Harlan
• Randy Singer
• Robert Deschaine , CAS
• Charleen Richards-Steeves
• Caitlin McKenna
• 20th Century Fox
• Tim Gomillion
• Dennis Rogers
• Matt Patterson
• Paul Pavelka
• Stephen M. Davis
• Tim Simonec
• Michael Giacchino
• Peter Boyer
• Richard Bronskill
• Larry Kenton
• Chad Seiter
• Chris Tilton
• Booker White
• Reggie Wilson
• Andrea Datzman
• Streisand Scoring Stage , Sony Pictures Studio
• Eastwood Scoring Stage , Warner Bros. Studio
• George Drakoulias
• W. Kent Demaine
• David August
• Jorge Almeida
• Cygnet Video
• Cindy Jones
• Monte Swann
• Alfred Ainsworth
• Todd Fullerton
• Jared A. Rosen
• Arin Artounian
• For Stars Catering
• Michael Kehoe
• Chris Sweeney
• Mary M. King
• Sebastian Milito
• Dixwell Stillman
• Tony Wright
• Dale Gordon
• Sasha Madzar
• Scott Mizagaites
• Casey Morgan
• Steven M. Pacheco
• Richard W. Rose
• Charles Blackwell
• David Brenner
• Anthony Centonze
• Tony Chavez
• Lucky Hoerner
• Anthony R. Imperato
• Sergey A. Mazurov
• David H. McKlveen
• Edward A. Price
• Jeffrey J. Valdez
• Bobby L. Vaughn
• Mark A. Annis
• Stephen Getz
• William Mccarley
• Desmond P. O'Regan
• Johnny Barbera
• Mark Magraudy
• Mark Martucci
• Glenn V. Braun
• Lonnie Haspel
• John Marshall
• Bruce G. Smith
• Robert Papegaay
• Robert Campbell
• Scott P. Shordon
• Toby Swinehart
• Michael W. Volz
• Andy Flores
• Jared Trepepi
• Brian Richard Fernandez
• Matthew Fuchs
• Bryan A. McBrien
• Tommy Safron

Star Trek Avionics [ ]

• Gustavo Ferreyra
• John Ramsay
• Bruce Giddens
• Lynn Garrido
• Lee Ford Parker
• Jane Kilkenny
• Jamie Levin
• Gilbert Draper
• Jesse Gabriel Horowitz
• Walter S. Polan
• Michael Meade
• Vince Borgese
• David Gallion
• Anthony McNamara
• Salvador Ruiz
• Alex Rekrut
• Lucinda A. Foy
• Tommy Tancharoen
• Tom Whelpley
• Richard Maynes
• Lindsay Dougherty

Second Unit [ ]

• Roger Guyett
• Robert Bruce McCleery
• Terry Jackson
• Vickie M. Hsieh
• Julie Fay Ashborn
• David M. Atkinson
• Elizabeth Probst
• Hal Olofsson
• Danny Green
• David Berke
• Stephen P. Del Prete
• Andrew Rowlands
• Serge Rxtedi Nofield
• Brandon M. Cox
• Dale Myrand
• John R. Woodward
• Chris Garcia
• Anders Yarbrough
• Steven Constancio
• David Perrone
• Gilbert Zamorano
• Alexander Cruz
• Arnold Pena
• Sean Devine
• Josh Kuykendall
• Anthony Mollicone
• Anthony T. Marra II
• Joseph Bergman
• Nicole Rubio
• Adam Harrison
• Morty Peterson
• Troy D. Webb
• Jerry Gregoricka
• Anthony Gudino
• Jose O. Harb, Jr.
• Kyle Kovacs
• Jonathan Wiener
• Phillip W. Palmer , CAS
• Patrick Martens
• Jim Harling
• Gala Catering
• Peter Chase
• Aaron C. Fitzgerald
• Cosmos Kiindarius
• Gerard A. Facchini
• William Batsel
• Andrew Will
• Cliff Fleming
• Cory Fleming
• David B. Nowell , ASC
• Pete Romano
• Marc Okrand
• Carolyn Porco
• Brandon Fayette
• Tom Elder-Groebe
• Clayton M. Lyons
• Industrial Light & Magic , a Lucasfilm Ltd. Company, San Francisco, California
• Eddie Pasquarello
• Michael Dicomo
• Joakim Arnesson
• Thomas Fejes
• Hilmar Koch
• Nigel Sumner
• Alex Jaeger
• Chris Stoski
• Bruce Holcomb
• Giovanni Nakpil
• Ron Woodall
• James Tooley
• Karin Cooper
• Terry Chostner
• Beth D'Amato
• Richard Bluff
• Matt Brumit
• Grady Cofer
• Brian Connor
• Leandro Estebecorena
• Conny Fauser
• Gerald Gutschmidt
• Katrin Klaiber
• Francois Lambert
• Tory Mercer
• Mark Nettleton
• Daniel Pearson
• Jason Rosson
• Greg Salter
• Damian Steel
• Chad Taylor
• Todd Vaziri
• John Walker
• David Weitzberg
• Steve Aplin
• Colin Benoit
• Derrick Carlin
• Jessica Teach
• Yanick Dusseault
• Jon Alexander
• Okan Ataman
• Katharine Baird
• Christopher Balog
• Daniel Bayona
• Jill Berger
• Jason Billington
• Matthew Blackwell
• Jeremy Bloch
• Daniel Bornstein
• Amanda Braggs
• Steve Braggs
• James Brown
• Kela Cabrales
• Michaela Calanchini-Carter
• Owen Calouro
• Marshall Candland
• Tami Carter
• Lanny Cermak
• Kien Geay Chan
• Cheah Chin Chi
• Peter Chesloff
• Paul Churchill
• Michael Conte
• Michael Cordova
• Christopher Crowell
• Peter Demarest
• Eran Dinour
• Kalene Dunsmoor
• Selwyn Eddy III
• Katharine Evans
• Dan Feinstein
• Simon Fillat
• Shine Fitzner
• Jason Fleming
• Tim Fortenberry
• Christian Foucher
• David Fuhrer
• Robb Gardner
• Grantland Gears
• Angela Giannoni
• Timothy Gibbons
• Bill Gilman
• David Gottlieb
• Bryant Griffin
• David Gutman
• Christian Haley
• Craig Hammack
• Giles Hancock
• David Hanks
• Jeff Hatchel
• Wendy Hendrickson
• Neil Herzinger
• Shawn Hillier
• David Hirschfield
• David Hisanaga
• Sherry Hitch
• Ryan Hopkins
• Christopher Horvath
• Jiri Jacknowitz
• Danny Janevski
• Patrick Jarvis
• Jeff A. Johnson
• Stephen Kennedy
• Michael Kennen
• Drew Klausner
• Susan Klausner
• Justin Kosnikowski
• Matt Krentz
• Marshall Krasser
• Kimberly Lashbrook
• Asier Hernaez Lavina
• John Legrande
• Melissa Lin
• Noll Linsangan
• Michael Logan
• Jennifer Mackenzie
• Dev Mannemela
• Patrik Marek
• David Marsh
• Tia Marshall
• Marcel Martinez
• Didier Mathieu
• Regan McGee
• Vicky McCann
• Scott Mease
• Joseph Metten
• Christopher James Miller
• Jack Mongovan
• Carlos Monzon
• Katie Morris
• Michelle Motta
• Betsy Mueller
• Timothy Mueller
• Melissa Mullin
• Brett Northcutt
• Ben O'Brien
• Saro Orfali
• Akira Orikasa
• Scott Palleiko
• Frank Losasso Petterson
• Zoltan Pogonyi
• Jason Porter
• Scott Prior
• Ricardo Ramos
• Satish Ratakonda
• Michael Rich
• Anthony Rispoli
• Shane Roberts
• Matthew Robinson
• Elsa Rodriguez
• Barry Safley
• Jeff Saltzman
• Frederick Schmidt
• Eric Schweickert
• Misty Segura
• Paul Sharpe
• Amy Shepard
• John Sigurdson
• Ken Sjogren
• Sam Stewart
• Russ Sueyoshi
• David Sullivan
• Andre Surya
• Jeff Sutherland
• Masahiko Tani
• Stephanie Taubert
• Alan Travis
• Alex Tropiec
• Yusei Uesugi
• Bruce Vecchitto
• David Washburn
• Talmage Watson
• Ronnie Williams, Jr.
• Dan Wheaton
• John Whisnant
• Jeff Wozniak
• Mark Youngren
• Rita Zimmerman
• Michael Bomgat
• C. Michael Easton
• Jean-Denis Haas
• Geoff Hemphill
• Makoto Koyama
• Chris Mitchell
• Erik Morgansen
• Marla Newall
• Rick O'Connor
• Steve Rawlins
• Greg Towner
• Delio Tramontozzi
• Chi Chung Tse
• Leigh Barbier
• Tim Brakensiek
• Bradford De Caussin
• Brian Clark
• Rene Garcia
• Maurizio Giglioli
• Bridget Goodman
• John Goodson
• Greg Jonkajtys
• Greg Killmaster
• Robert Kosai
• Jean-Claude Langer
• James Orara
• Steve Sauers
• Renita Taylor
• Katherine Farrar
• Dale Taylor
• Chrysta Burton
• Stacy Bissell
• Joseph Bell
• Hui Ling Chang
• Melanie Cussac
• Cheng Peishan
• Terran Benveniste
• Cathleen Carden
• Marilyn Chan
• Benjamin Chua
• Jennifer Coronado
• Rachel Galbraith
• George Gambetta
• Christine Loo
• Alejandro Melendez
• Erik Pampel
• Nikita Patel
• Andrew Russell
• Michael Sanders
• Marci Velando
• Sean Bittinger
• Peter Bogatsky
• Leah Brooks
• Chantell Brown
• Brian Cantwell
• Jayesh Dalal
• Jason Griger
• Maura Hogan
• Mark Kayfez
• Charlie Ledogar
• Brian McGraw
• Elona Musha
• Selma Sabera
• Tommy Burnette
• Andre Mazzone
• Jennifer Suter
• Vivek Verma
• Gretchen Libby
• Chrissie England
• Lynwen Brennan
• Miles Perkins
• Janet Lewin
• Vicki Dobbs Beck
• Curt Miyashiro
• Digital Domain , Venice, CA
• Julian Levi
• Darren M. Poe
• Paul George Palop
• Michelle Jacobs
• Erik Gamache
• Steve Avoujageli
• Erik Zimmermann
• Charles Abou Aad
• Richard Grandy
• George Saavedra
• Melanie Okamura
• BJ Christian
• Raul Dominguez
• David S. Sanchez
• Bernard Obieta Ceguerra , PE
• Shaun Comly
• Kevin Sears
• David Niednagel
• Shelley Larocca Courte
• Alfredo Ramirez
• Dan Cobbett
• Steven Fagerquist
• Joe Farrell
• Scott Gastellu
• Aruna Inversin
• Paul Kulikowski
• Mike Ocoboc
• Olivier P. Sarda
• Craig A. Simms
• Florian Strobl
• Vanessa Cheung
• Cathy Morin
• Viviana Kim
• Ian A. Harris
• Janice Barlow Collier
• Kevin LaNeave
• Francisco Ramirez
• Christopher Savides
• Meagan Condito
• Brian Holligan
• Navjit Singh Gill
• Antonio Freire
• Shelby M. Ellis
• Terry Clotiaux
• Svengali FX
• Stefano Trivelli
• Jamie Venable
• Eric Withee
• Rocco Gioffre
• Michele Moen
• Nabil Schiantarelli
• Jan Cilliers
• Lawrence Littleton
• Marcus Levere
• Steve Norton
• Junko Schurgardt
• Laura Murillo
• Edson Williams
• Thomas Nittmann
• Ryan Zuttermeister
• Brian Nugent
• Sean Wallitsch
• Casey Allen
• Trent Claus
• Chris Ingersoll
• Clark Parkhurst
• Persistence of Vision Digital Entertainment
• David Dozoretz
• Brian J. Pohl
• Chad Hofteig
• Kevin Aguirre
• Robert Rossoff
• Simon Halpern
• Patrick Rodriguez
• Brian Magner
• Amy Vatanakul
• The Third Floor
• Nicholas Markel
• Austin Bonang
• Dorian Bustamante
• Eric Carney
• Albert Cheng
• Mark Nelson
• Kerner Optical
• Stefan Sonnenfeld
• Nick Monton
• Rob Doolittle
• J. Cody Baker
• Missy Papageorge
• Mike Chiado
• Mark Van Horne
• Don Capoferri
• Katherine Kane
• Mary Nelson-Fraser
• Andrew Kramer
• Pacific Title and Art Studio
• Digital Vortechs
• Richard Massey
• MavroCine Pictures

Mind Meld Soundscape by Mark Mangini and Mark Binder

Soundtrack Album on Varèse Sarabande Records

"Theme from Star Trek TV Series" Written by Alexander Courage & Gene Roddenberry

" Sabotage " Written by Michael Diamond , Adam Horovitz & Adam Nathaniel Yauch Performed by Beastie Boys Courtesy of Capitol Records Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

" Awasoruk Jam " Written & Performed by Cyrano Jones Courtesy of Bad Robot Music and Video LLC

" Josh Greenstein " Written & Performed by Cyrano Jones Courtesy of Bad Robot Music and Video LLC

" Future Blues " Written & Performed by Doyle Bramhall II Courtesy of Doyle Bramhall II by arrangement with Bug

• Anheuser-Busch, Inc.
• Kern County Film Commission
• Cal Pine Pastoria Facility
• Long Beach Generating Plant, LLC
• City of Long Beach
• Vasquez Rocks Los Angeles County Park
• Utah Bureau of Land Management
• Alaska Department of Natural Resource
• Tejon Ranch Company
• LA County Department of Sanitation
• Rock of Ages, Vermont
• Cal State University of Northridge
• American Legion Hollywood Post 43
• City of San Francisco
• Siemens Medical

Color by deluxe ®

Filmed in Panavision ®

DOLBY DIGITAL ® In Selected Theatres

SDDS ™ Sony Dynamic Digital Sound In Selected Theatres

Copyright © MMIX MavroCine Pictures GmbH & Co. KG All Rights Reserved

In memory of Gene Roddenberry and Majel Barrett Roddenberry

• J.J. Abrams as Iowa Cop (voice)
• Alex as Starfleet cadet [256]
• Tansy Alexander as Alice Rawlings
• James Anderson as injured soldier
• Rico E. Anderson as councilmember
• Ladesha Ard as Starfleet cadet
• Richard Arnold as Romulan crewmembers
• Ewen Audrey as Starfleet cadet [257]
• Leslie Augustine as doctor
• Jonathan Baca as Starfleet cadet
• Corey Becker as Starfleet cadet
• Leonard Baligaya as Starfleet cadet
• Stefon Benson as Starfleet cadet
• Jeff Boehm as Starfleet cadet
• Anthony Bonaventura as Riverside Shipyard worker
• Bill T. Brown as Romulan crewmember
• Natishia Brown as medic
• Susse Budde as med tech
• Neil S. Bulk as Starfleet cadet
• Sawyer Burke as Vulcan student
• Anton Burman as Vulcan student
• James Cawley as Enterprise crewmember
• Jeff Chase as Romulan crewmember
• Olivia London Choate as alien cadet
• Mark E. Clason as Riverside Shipyard worker
• Tiffany Collie as Starfleet Academy cadet
• Jasmine Coussinat as Starfleet cadet
• Zachary Culbertson as Starfleet cadet
• Calvin Dean as security officer
• Joy Dever as Baby James T. Kirk
• Robert Dierx as Starfleet cadet
• Christopher Doohan as Enterprise transporter technician
• Robin Atkin Downes as ADR voices (Vulcan and Romulan chants and dialogue)
• Richard D. Durden as barracks officer
• Evan Dye as Vulcan student
• April Marie Eden as Shipyard Bar patron
• Owen Tanner Edinger as Starfleet cadet
• Ken Edling as doctor
• Yuri Elvin as Starfleet security officer
• Kristine Fong as Starfleet cadet
• Massi Furlan as Enterprise crewman
• Mary Grace as Shipyard Bar patron
• Wyatt Gray as Starfleet cadet
• Joshua Greene as James T. Kirk ( body double , cave scene)
• Jeff L. Green as security officer
• Nancy Guerriero as crew member
• Tania Gunadi as alien Enterprise crewmember
• Aaron Haedt as Starfleet doctor
• Justin Rodgers Hall as security officer
• Song Han as anesthetist
• Colleen Harris as Starfleet cadet
• Melanie Harrison as medical technician
• Arlo Hemphill as Riverside Shipyard worker
• Rachel Jean Howard as Starfleet cadet
• Ryan T. Husk as Enterprise crewmember
• Elizabeth Ingalls as Enterprise nurse
• Nikka Ischelle as Shipyard Bar patron
• Rick Ituarte as Starfleet Academy instructor
• James Jolly as Enterprise bridge crewmember
• Johnny as Starfleet cadet
• Jason Michael Johnson as alien cadet
• Jillian Johnston as Starfleet cadet
• Christopher Jude as Vulcan teacher
• Jolene Kay as Enterprise crewmember
• Barbara Keegan as Starfleet Academy instructor
• Sarah Klaren as Starfleet Academy cadets
• Makiko Konishi as Enterprise crewmember
• Richard Krzemien as Starfleet councilmember
• Joyce Lasley as Starfleet instructor
• Bryan Lee as Starfleet cadet
• Daniel D. Lee as Starfleet commander
• Dominie Lee ( two different background parts )
• Anne Marie Leighton as Starfleet officer
• Michelle Lenhardt as USS Kelvin crewmember
• Steve Luna as Starfleet Lieutenant
• Justin Malachi as Starfleet cadet
• Nav Mann as Romulan crewmember
• Taylor McCluskey as Kelvin alien (unconfirmed)
• Matthew McGregor as Starfleet cadet
• Andrew Mew as Starfleet officer
• Patrizia Milano as Erika Biordi
• Andres Perez-Molina as Romulan crew member
• Abe Molinares as Enterprise sciences division crewmember
• Kevin Moser as USS Enterprise crewmember
• Wednesday Mourning as Shipyard Bar patron
• David Narloch as Starfleet cadet
• Jonathan Newkerk as Starfleet cadet
• Jacob Newton as Starfleet cadet
• Westley Nguyen as Enterprise crewman
• Jim Nieb as Shipyard Bar alien
• Luke Novella as Starfleet cadet
• Craig Nystrom as Riverside Shipyard worker
• Jeffery Quinn as Vulcan scientist
• Mark Phelan as Romulan crewmember
• Paradox Pollack as Alien
• Woody Porter as councilmember
• Marc Primiani as Riverside construction worker
• Rahvaunia as Academy teacher
• Jessica Lauren Richmond as flirty cadette
• Renie Rivas as Starfleet cadet
• Bertrand Roberson, Jr. as Starfleet cadet
• David Rodriguez as Starfleet cadet
• Paul D. Rosa as USS Enterprise security chief
• Paul Sass as Starfleet administrator
• Roger Schueller as engineering officer
• Darth Schuhe as Enterprise crewmember
• Kyle Scudiere as Starfleet cadet
• Ramona Seymour as Starfleet cadet
• Eamon Sheehan as Romulan crew member
• Justin Shenkarow – background voice artist
• W. Morgan Sheppard as Vulcan Science Council minister
• Nicholas Guy Smith as Professor Freemon Richter
• Katie Soo as Starfleet Academy security guard
• Arne Starr as Enterprise engineer
• Joseph Steven as Romulan engineer
• Sufi as Starfleet cadet [258]
• Paul Sutherlin as Shipyard bar patron
• David Jean Thomas as Vulcan elder
• Sean Michael Tilghman as Vulcan student
• Paul Townsend as security officer
• Errik Tustenuggee as Starfleet councilmember
• Ravi Valleti as Starfleet cadet
• Jason Vaughn as Starfleet cadet
• Brian Vowell as Starfleet cadet
• Brian Waller as Vulcan council member
• Steve Wharton as Starfleet cadet
• Wil Wheaton as Romulan helmsman (voice)
• Jerry Wible as Riverside Shipyard worker
• Devin Williamson as Joe Fueller
• John Williamson as fleet mechanic
• Brianna Womick as Starfleet cadet
• Stuart Wong as security officer
• Lynnanne Zager as Jellyfish Computer Voice
• Nensi Chandra
• Christine Chapel (voice)
• alternate reality
• Mark Lenard
• Gretchen Lui
• Enterprise engineer
• Enterprise operations division crewmember
• Enterprise torpedo bay crewmember
• Enterprise security officer
• Female Shipyard Bar patron
• Kelvin sciences crewwoman
• Kelvin medical technician
• Narada crewman
• Vulcan council member
• Vulcan Science Council member
• Vulcan scientist
• Vulcan student
• Adam Absinthe as Rura Penthe prisoner
• Tad Atkinson as Rura Penthe prisoner
• Diora Baird as Orion Enterprise science officer
• John Alan Bartlebaugh as Klingon guard
• Fran Bennett as Vulcan midwife
• Troy Brenna as Klingon guard
• Paul A. Brown as Alien
• Jeff Chase as Klingon guard
• Terryl Daluz as Klingon guard
• Mark Casimir Dyniewicz as Klingon camp prisoner
• Victor Garber as Klingon interrogator
• Tommy Germanovich as Rura Penthe prisoner
• Brad William Henke as Uncle Frank
• Jill Lover as Vulcan midwife
• Michael Lovern as Rura Penthe prisoner
• Brandon Stacy as Klingon guard
• T.J. Storm as Klingon guard
• Logan Strand as Nero ( body double )
• Scott Trimble as Klingon guard
• Jenna Vaughn as Baby Spock
• James D. Weston II as Klingon guard
• Trace Cheramie – Stunts
• Shauna Duggins – Stunts
• Doc Duhame – Stunt actor: Romulan Prison Guard
• Derek Graf – Stunts
• Terry Jackson – Stunt double
• Jace Jeanes – Stunt double for Clifton Collins, Jr.
• Lauren Kim – Utility stunts: Kelvin crewmember
• Henry Kingi, Jr. – Utility stunts: Romulan crewmember
• James Lew – Utility stunts: Romulan crewmember
• Anthony Molinari – Stunt double for Greg Ellis
• Panuvat Anthony Nanakornpanom – Stunts
• Lin Oeding – Stunt double for John Cho
• Xuyen Valdivia – Stunts
• Webster Whinery, Jr. – Stunt double for Jimmy Bennett
• Peipei Yuan – Stunt double for Freda Foh Shen
• Stunt double for Jacob Kogan
• Stunt double for Colby Paul
• Alex Acuna – Drummer
• Patrick Albani – Camera Production Assistant: Teaser Unit
• Dave Archer – Artwork Provider: Paintings
• Tammy Ashmore – Makeup Artist
• Jennifer Aspinall – Makeup Artist: Romulans
• Chris Ayers – Character Designer
• Scott Bailey – Leadman
• Ramiro Belgardt – Music Editor
• Wayne Bergeron – Trumpeter
• Nick Bergthold – Additional Set Production Assistant
• Stephen Bettles – Prosthetic Make-Up Artist
• Jason Bonnell – Location Scout (New Mexico)
• J.D. Bowers – Makeup Effects Lab Technician
• Peter Boyer – Orchestrator
• Doug Brode – Props and Weapon Designer
• Arlene Brown – Grip
• Ryan Bruce – Makeup Lab Technician
• Belinda Bryant – Special Effects Makeup Artist
• Jessica Carpenter – Costumer
• Ian Chriss – Visual Effects Best Boy Electric: Kerner Optical
• Tom Cloutier – Visual Effects Key Grip: Kerner Optical
• Kit Conners – Production Assistant
• Larry Corbett – Cellist
• Dan Crawley – Key Technician: Film Illusions
• Jill Crosby – Key Hair Stylist
• Joan Cunningham – First Assistant Director: 2nd Unit
• Roxy D'Alonzo – Special Makeup Effects Artist
• Ginger Damon – Hair Stylist
• Patricia Dehaney-Le May – Hair Stylist
• Natasha Delahunt – Extras Casting Assistant
• Bernie Demolski – Visual Effects Best Boy Grip: Kerner Optical
• Robert Kato DeStefan – Specialty Costumer: Quantum Creation FX
• Jon Donahue – stand-in for Chris Pine
• Jed Dornoff – Makeup Artist
• Dennis Drozdowski – Special Effects Technician
• Kathleen S. Dunn – Accent and Dialogue Coach for Chris Hemsworth
• Earl Ellis – Make-Up Artist
• Amber Erwin – Chorus singer
• Megan Flagg – Specialty Costume Crew: Film Illusions
• Tim Flattery – Concept Designer
• Nicole Frank – Hair Stylist
• Demitre Garza – Digital Artist
• Scott Martin Gershin – Sound Editor
• Casey Green – Computer/Video Engineer
• Fabian H. Gutierrez – Makeup/ Hair Artist
• Kevin Haggerty – First Assistant Camera Operator
• Samara Hagopian – Prop maker
• Greg Haines – stand-in : Ben Cross
• Kevin Haney – Background Make-Up Artist
• Clayton Haslop – Lead Violinist
• Cynthia Hernandez – Make-Up Artist
• Teressa Hill – Hair Stylist
• Bryan Hitch – Production design
• Kelly Hitman – photo double : Winona Ryder
• Robert Hoffmeister – Visual Effects Artist: Industrial Light & Magic
• John L. Jack – Executive Producer: Evil Eye Pictures
• Clark James – Special Effects Technician
• Rod M. Janusch – Visual Effects Gaffer: Kerner Optical
• Derek Johnson – stand-in for Karl Urban
• Petra Jorgensen – Second & Splinter Unit day-playing Script Supervisor
• Tex Kadonaga – Digital Set Designer
• Tina Kalliongis Hoffman – Make-Up Artist
• René Dashiell Kerby – Makeup Artist
• Erwin H. Kupitz – Wig Maker
• Colleen LaBaff – Hair Stylist
• Fabian Lacey – Concept Designer
• Toby Lamm – Special Make-Up Effects Artist
• Michelle Latham – Location Manager (Teaser Unit)
• Daniel D. Lee – photo double for John Cho
• Oleg Livits – Assistant to Producer
• Norman Ludwin – Musician: Bass
• Andreas Maaninka – Concept Modeler/Designer
• James MacKinnon – Prosthetic Make-Up Artist
• Geoffrey Mandel – Graphic Designer
• Stephan Martiniere – Conceptual Designer
• Rob McCabe – stand-in for Eric Bana
• Frank McEldowney – Greens Foreman
• Tracey McLean – Digital Artist: IMAX Version [259]
• Beth Melnick – Location Scout
• Ron Mendell – Concept Artist
• Bart Mixon – Special Make-Up Effects Artist
• Glenn T. Morgan – Sound Editor
• Spencer Mulcahy – Visual Effects Dolly Grip: Kerner Optical
• Christopher Allen Nelson – Special Makeup Effects Artist
• Josh Neugass – Construction Welding Foreman
• William Allen Olsen – Propmaker
• Timothy Olyphant – Guest Conductor
• Rhonda O'Neal – Hair Stylist
• Leonardo Oregel – Production Assistant: Assistant Directors
• Lygia Orta – Make-Up Artist
• Garrik Palumbo – additional stand-in for Simon Pegg
• Dan Patterson – Character Animator: Digital Domain
• Cristina Patterson Ceret – Contact Lens Coordinator/Painter
• Tom Piedmont – Digital Plate Restoration
• Tom Pillifant – 2nd Assistant Camera Operator Alaska Unit
• Paradox Pollack – Alien Choreographer and Movement Coach
• Barbara Pollastrini – Food Stylist
• Bryant Powell – stand-in for Simon Pegg
• Alan D. Purwin – Helicopter Pilot
• Anthony Ragonese – Location Assistant
• Emil Richards – Percussionist
• Eugene P. Rizzardi – Prop Shop/Special Effects
• Benjamin D. Robertson – Set Dresser
• Walter Rodriguez – Drummer
• Ben Rosenblatt – Post-Production Executive
• Mike Ross – Make-Up Effects Lab Technician
• Geoffrey G. Rubay – Sound Editor
• Peter Sattler – Graphic Designer
• John Savedra – Lighting Electrician
• Evan Schiff – Assistant Editor (short-term, during second digital intermediate and mix) [260]
• Nathan Schroeder – Illustrator
• Bill Spradlin – Lighting Technical Director: Digital Domain
• Matthew D. Smith – Additional Second Assistant Director
• Mike Smithson – Makeup Artist: Romulan make-up
• Robert Snyder – Digital Compositor
• Charles Sowles – Costume Props
• Brandon Stacy – stand-in for Zachary Quinto
• Justin Stafford – Special Contact Lens Painter
• Martin P. Stankard – CG Artist
• Amanda Starr DeMille – Production Assistant
• Susan Stepanian – Makeup Artist (Hair and Hairpiece)
• Lon Strickland – Second Unit Production Assistant
• Victor Tang – Visual Effects Researcher
• Mike Tsucalas – Set Production Assistant
• Benton Ward – RF Technician: 2nd Unit (day play)
• Clinton Wayne – Special Makeup Effects Artist
• Mario West – Production Assistant
• Richard B. Wester – Set Dresser
• James D. Weston II – stand-in
• Gerald White – Singer
• Catherine J. Young – Make-Up Artist
• Crist Ballas – Special Effects Makeup Artist
• Christopher Bergschneider – Mold Maker
• Barney Burman – Prosthetic Makeup Designer
• Rob Burman – Moldshop Supervisor
• Aida Caefer – Hair Stylist Supervisor
• Brie Ford – Fabricator
• Jamie Grove – Prosthetic Painter
• Vincent J. Guastini – Additional Masks
• Rufus Hearn – Makeup Effects Lab Technician
• Russ Herpich – Makeup Lab Foreman
• Jennifer Jackson – Makeup Lab Assistant
• Don Lanning – Key Sculptor
• Sue La Prelle – Plasterer
• Jessica Nelson – Make-Up Effects Lab Technician
• Christopher Payne – Makeup Effects Lab Technician
• Jenn Rose – Key Mask Fabricator
• Thomas Sanders – Makeup Lab Assistant
• Ray Shaffer – Makeup Effects Lab Technician
• Miho Suzuki – Makeup Effects Lab Technician
• Vincent Van Dyke – Sculptor Lab Work
• Hugo Villasenor – Shop Foreman
• Hill Vinot – Mold Maker
• Daphne Yap – Concept Artist
• Clint Zoccoli – Sculptor

Unconfirmed cast and crew [ ]

• Leslie Alnes as Nurse
• Fallon Brooks as Starfleet cadet
• Brad Champagne as Starfleet cadet
• Sarah Abrams Char as Prisoner [261]
• Talon DeSoto' as Engineer
• Claire Doré as Enterprise crewman
• Aliza Finley as Hurried cadet with clipboard
• Ian Fisher as Shipyard worker #1
• Cole Fritch as Klingon prison guard
• Robert Grant as Starfleet officer
• Jarrell Hall
• Monte Hunter as Starfleet cadet
• Paul Kumar as Kelvin cadet
• Matthew Jennings
• Michelle Lang (day player)
• Anne Lockhart as voice of Kelvin computer
• Aaron Lynch as Flight Operational Air Safety Conductor
• Vadim Mantelzak as "Soldier Joe"
• Owen Martin as Alien cadet / Enterprise crewmember
• Jessica Mika as Enterprise bridgeport cadet
• Kristen Rakes
• Duane Ram as Starfleet cadet
• Shanequa Reed as Starfleet cadet
• Larramie Doc Shaw as War builder
• Joseph Stephens, Jr. as Starfleet cadet
• Renee Taglia
• Barron Toler
• Justin Riemer – Stunt Performer
• A.J. Verel – Stunt Performer: Enterprise crewmember
• Erik Aguirre – Assistant Construction Buyer
• Nigel Albermaniche – Sound
• Damon Allison – Propshop Foreman
• Michael Avallon – Driver
• P. Scott Bailey – Leadman
• William D. Barber – "C" Camera Operator
• Ted Basso – Production Van Driver Operator
• Daniel Beals – Production Assistant
• Matthew E. Bell – Look Development/Color & Lighting
• Michael Boggs – Scanning Manager
• Tony Bohorquez – Model Maker
• James Bolt – Additional Sound Mixer
• Dana Bonilla – Key Set Production Assistant: Kerner Optical
• Mateo Bourdieu – First Assistant Camera
• Lindsey Jayne Boyd – Production Assistant
• Tony Bridgers – Construction Foreman
• Margaret Bright-Ryan – Digital Artist
• Kieran Brown – Paint Gang Boss
• Alex E. Burns – Transportation
• Tony Capasso – Construction Gang Boss
• Mark Carlile – Lighting Technician
• Derek Casari – Sound Stage Engineer
• Lyle Christensen – Shotmaker Driver
• Carol Collini – Makeup Artist
• Greg Crawford – ADR Mixer (Atlanta)
• Mark Cueto – Electrician
• Val I. Deikov – Sculptor
• Doug Devine – Set Dresser
• Robin Atkin Downes – ADR Voice
• William Doyle – Location Consultant
• Jessica Drake – Dialect/Language Coach
• Scott Dropkin – Remote Camera Technician (Sparrow Head)
• Randy Eriksen – Second Unit Property Master
• Christian G. Ervin – Driver
• Anaïs Ganouna – Second Unit Camera Production Assistant
• Danny Gonzalez – Electrician
• Randy Haynie – Go Cam Rigger
• Courtney Harrell – Visual Effects Production Coordinator
• Kurt Herbel – Cable Video Assist
• Patrick Hoeschen – Electrician
• Tom Holzhauer – Production Assistant
• Spencer Jambor – Stand-in for Spencer Daniels
• Debra James – Production Manager
• Jim C. Johnson – Gang Boss
• Chris Jones – Special Effects Technician
• Simeon Jones – Production Assistant
• Kory Juul – Lighting Artist: Evil Eye Pictures
• Tex Kadonaga – Set Designer
• Jimmy Kaminsky – Driver
• Jason Kaufman – Prop Shop
• Rick Kelly – Second Unit Second Assistant Director
• Lawrence Kim – Art Department Researcher
• John Knox – Prop Shop
• Scott M. Leonard – Grip
• Frank Leasure – Propmaker
• Alex Lee – Additional Production Assistant
• Damon Liebowitz – Electrician
• Eric Lozano – Set Dresser
• Michelle Maloney – Additional Set Production Assistant
• Cory Mandel – Sound Re-Recording Mixer
• Canyon Martens – Set Dresser
• Matt McDonald – Visual Effects Supervisor: Evil Eye Pictures
• Chuck McSorley – Second Unit Property Assistant
• Vanessa Meier – Second Unit Script Supervisor
• Michael R. Melamed – Second Unit Second Second Assistant Director
• Vicky Menke – Assistant Set Production Assistant
• David Mesloh – Special Effects Technician
• Ricky Dean Monsey – Production Assistant
• Melissa Montague – Costume Aging and Dying
• Glenn T. Morgan [262] – Sound Effects Editor
• Michael Mosher [263] – Makeup Artist
• Joe Murray – Production Assistant
• Dillon Neaman – Production Assistant
• Andrew Nelson – Costumer
• Mark Nelson – Pre-visualization Artist
• Timothy Oakley – Set Graphics
• Tony Oberstar – Production Assistant
• Bill O'Donnell – Production Assistant
• Jason Pomerantz – Digital Artist (IMAX version)
• Grace Pyke – Additional Costumer
• Paul Pytlik – Digital Artist (IMAX version)
• Norbert F. Quiban – Rigging Electrician
• Chris Quilty – Second Unit Boom Operator
• Justin Raleigh – Specialty Costume Supervisor: Quantum Creation FX
• Robert Razavi – Consulting Producer
• Michael Ray Reed – Stand-in for Anton Yelchin
• Greg G. Reeves – Rigging Electrician
• Graham Robertson – Set Dresser
• Erik Rogers – Senior Digital Intermediate Producer: Company 3
• Michael Roundy – Special Effects Technician
• Maury Ruiz [264] – Concept Artist
• Paul Samaniego – Underwater Camera Production Assistant
• Scott Schutzki – Set Dresser
• Paul Sinnott – Costume Assistant
• Greg Smith – Prop Shop
• Maciek Sokalski – Digital Compositor: Svengali FX
• Scott Solan – Sound Utility and Second Unit Sound
• Chad Stansbury – Sculptor
• Mike Steaheli – Unit Medic
• Christopher A. Suarez – Special Effects Technician
• Donna Tegan Set Production Assistant
• Thomas "Noe" Welch – Set Dresser
• C. Jerome Williams [265] – Rotoscope Artist: Lola Visual Effects
• Mark J. Williams Production Assistant
• Helen Wilson – Props
• Steve Wolfe – First Assistant Camera
• Chris Qi Yao – Matchstick Technical Director
• Dennis Yeager II – Special Effects Technician
• Ryan Young – Production Assistant

Companies [ ]

• Paramount Pictures – Distributor, Production Company
• Spyglass Entertainment – Production Company
• Bad Robot Productions – Production Company
• MavroCine Pictures – Production Company
• Industrial Light & Magic – Special Visual Effects
• Digital Domain – Additional Visual Effects
• Svengali Visual Effects – Additional Visual Effects
• Lola VFX – Additional Visual Effects
• Persistence of Vision Digital Entertainment – Previsualization Effects
• The Third Floor – Additional Previsualization Effects
• Kerner Optical – Models and Miniatures
• Company 3 – Digital Intermediate
• Pacific Title and Art Studio – End Titles & Opticals
• Digital Vortechs – Avid Editing Equipment
• For Stars Catering – Caterer
• Gala Catering – Catering: Second Unit
• Star Waggons – Cast Trailers

Uncredited companies [ ]

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment, Inc. – Camera Systems and Cranes
• Chef Robért Catering – Catering
• Evil Eye Pictures – Additional Visual Effects
• Film Illusions – Special Effects
• Harlow FX – Makeup Effects and Prosthetics
• Level 1 Entertainment – Former Production Company (replaced by Spyglass)
• Movie Movers – Hair & Makeup Trailers, Production Trailers
• Professional VisionCare Associates – Contact Lens company
• Prop Docs – Set Dressing Documents
• Quantum Creation FX – Specialty Costume and Prop Weapons
• Sessions Payroll Management – Extras Payroll Services
• SouthCoastHelicopters.com – aerial photography of Alaska
• Tinsley Transfers – Special Makeup Effects Tattoos
• Vital Distraction – Previsualization Effects (in collaboration with Persistence of Vision)

Unconfirmed companies [ ]

• Executive Assurance – Security
• Filmtools – Expendables
• MoviePlacement.com – Product Placement
• On Tour Productions – Transportation Services
• Panavision Remote Systems – Supertechno Cranes
• Transportation Resources – Transportation Equipment
• Star Trek (soundtrack)
• Star Trek (DVD)
• Star Trek (Special Edition DVD)
• Star Trek (single disc Blu-ray)
• Star Trek (three disc Blu-ray)
• Star Trek (4K Ultra HD)
• Star Trek (iTunes)

References [ ]

2233 ; 2240s ; 2255 ; 2258 ; 2387 ; 313-C ; ability ; academic suspension ; accuser ; Airtrax ; Aldrin, Buzz ; Andorian shingles ; anger ; annular confinement beam ; Antares , USS ; apple ; Aptera Typ-1 ; aptitude test ; Archer, Jonathan ; armada ; Armstrong , USS ; Armstrong -type ; attack ; authorization code ; autopilot ; aviophobia ; backpack ; Battle of Earth ; battle stations ; blanket ; Bravo-six maneuver ; Destruction of Vulcan ; Bardeen ; bathroom ; beagle ; bean ; Beastie Boys ; black hole ; Blake ; blindfold ; brain stem ; bravo-six maneuver ; Budweiser Classic ; car ; Cardassian sunrise ; cellular phone ; Centaurian slug ; character reference ; christening ; Class III neutronic fuel carrier ; climbing frame ; code of conduct ; command officer ; Constitution -type escape pod ; confiscation ; construction zone ; commendation ; Constitution -class ; cortisone ; Corvette ; Counter ; court martial ; cupcake ; crystal ball ; damage report ; dead body ; deadly force ; death ; Delta Vega ; Delta Vega outpost ; delusion ; department ; Dimassa 01 ; dock control ; ear ; Earth ; ECS ; emotional response ; emotional transference ; endangered species ; Enterprise , USS ; ethics ; experience ; external inertial dampener ; extinction ; eyeball ; Farragut , USS ; favoritism ; fear ; Federation ; flag ; Flag of California ; Flag of the Federation ; flask ; flight officer ; friend ; fuckin ; Fugeman ; General Order 13 ; General Orders and Regulations ; Gerace ; Gilliam ; " God damn "; grapefruit ; " Grande Valse "; Grissom , USS ; Grumman F-14 Tomcat ; Hangar 1 ; Hangar 1 vehicle ; headache ; heart rate ; hick ; high energy pulse device ; hitchhiking ; hobgoblin ; Hood , USS ; hostage ; hoverbike ; hovercruiser ; Hovercruiser 924 ; Iowa ; Iowa State Police ; itch ; Jack Daniel's ; James ; jamming signal ; Jellyfish ; katric ark ; Kelvin , USS ; Kelvin -type ; Kelvin -type shuttlecraft ; Kentucky Derby ; kilometer ; Kirk, George ; Kirk, James T. ; Kirk, Tiberius ; Kirk, Winona ; kiss ; Klabnian fire tea ; Klingon ; Klingon prison planet ; Klingon warbird ; Kobayashi Maru , USS ; Kobayashi Maru scenario ; kohlinar ; Komack, James ; Leifer ; lie ; lightning ; lightning storm ; lungworm ; maneuvering board ; marooning ; Maximum security zone ; Mayflower , USS ; Mayflower -type ( starships ); McGrath ; media ; medical shuttle ; Medical shuttle 37 ; Melvaran mud flea ; meter ; Midwest ; military shuttle ; mining vessel ; mirage ; Moore ; Moore -type shuttlecraft ; morphology ; motorbike ; mouth breather ; name ; Narada ; natural disaster ; Newton , USS ; Newton -type ( starships ); Nokia ; nosebleed ; notebook ; numb tongue ; Odyssey , USS ; orator ; Orion ; paradox ; parking brake ; path ; PCAP-SYS ; Petrovsky ; phonology ; pi ; police ; Pomoroy ; prank ; prod ; programming code ; Prometheus nectar ; protein nibs ; quarry ; quota ; R2-D2 ; repeat offender ; Rader ; red alert ; red matter ; Regula I ; rescue mission ; Riverside ; Riverside Shipyard ; Romulan Bird-of-Prey ( unnamed ); Romulan disruptor pistol ; Romulan disruptor rifle ; Romulan language ; Romulan Star Empire ; Romulus ; roommate ; " Sabotage "; Saurian brandy ; Sect 7XT ; security protocol ; sex ; SFC Division ; shaker ; shield ; Shipyard Bar ; ships ; Shuttle 2 ( Enterprise ) ; Ship's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701 alternate reality) ; Shuttle 2 ( Kelvin ) ; Shuttle 3 ; Shuttle 37 ; Shuttle 43 ; Shuttle 89 ; Shuttle 12091 ; Shuttle 78072 ; skill dome ; Slusho ; solar flame ; sphere ; stallion ; starch amyloplast ; Starbase 1 ; stardate ; Starfleet Academy ; Starfleet Academy Board ; Starfleet ; Starfleet medical code ; Starfleet Regulation 619 ; Starfleet uniform ; startcard ; stenographer ; storm ; straw ; subroutine ; subspace transmission test ; supernova ; surname ; sweat ; syntax ; Tagruato ; telemetry ; Teral'n ; towel ; townie ; toxin ; T'Plana-Hath -type ( unnamed ); Trainer , USS ; transporter ; transporter control ; transporter signal ; transwarp beaming ; tribble ; truck ; Truman , USS ; turbine ; United We Are Strong, United We Will Win ; universe ; vision loss ; volume ; vomiting ; Vulcan ; Vulcan (planet) ; Vulcan High Council ; Vulcan Science Academy ; Vulcan ship ; water turbine control board ; whiz kid ; whore ; windows ; Wolcott , USS ; xenolinguistics ; yellow creature

Other references [ ]

Shipyard Bar menu: Chik burger ; Earth burger ; Fish and chips ; Hajjlaran surprise ; home base fries ; Jestral tea ; Mantickian paté ; Mareuvian tea ; Orion wing-slug ; Papalla juice ; Prometheus nectar ; prune juice ; SHM tofu bites ; Sinteel pasta ; space burger ; super combo

Meta references [ ]

47 ; Intertitle

Unreferenced material [ ]

book club ; cockaleekie soup ; cone ; Discount function ; Defiant , USS ; Endeavour , USS ; EM sensor ; Exponential discounting ; First contact protocol ; FC-3 procedure ; flo-yo ; fractal ; gastric stimulator ; gold rating ; Hawk-dove strategic interaction game ; hoverspeeder ; Hyperbolic discounter ; Jaxa ; Lennon, John ; Kyoto ; McCartney, Paul ; MIT ; mince and tatties ; narcissism ; Oxford invitational ; quantum cosmology ; piece and jam ; planetary security ; Power signature ; Prisoners' dilemma ; quark ; Quasi-hyperbolic discounter ; Spock ; Scalar discount ; slim-shot ; station chief ; Square root ; T'nag ; Universal greeting ; Vulcan creature ; Vulcana Regar

See also [ ]

• Star Trek: The Beginning , an earlier concept for an eleventh Star Trek film
• Undeveloped Star Trek projects , which includes a description of a discarded concept for the eleventh Trek film
• Star Trek: The First Adventure , an earlier concept for a prequel Star Trek film which was abandoned in favor of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

External links [ ]

• Star Trek at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Star Trek at Wikipedia
• Star Trek at the Internet Movie Database
• Star Trek script at IMSDb.com
• 2 Daniels (Crewman)
• 3 Klingon augment virus

Pocket-lint

How to watch the star trek movies and tv shows in order.

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Key Takeaways

• Explore the Star Trek universe by watching the franchise in chronological order, based on stardates.
• The original Star Trek timeline includes the TV show Enterprise and the first two seasons of Discovery.
• The original series, The Animated Series, and the first Star Trek movie are important parts of the franchise's origins.

With the Star Trek franchise rapidly expanding on Paramount+ , now is the perfect time to boldly go explore the Star Trek Universe.

The universe is composed of 13 films and nine TV shows. Now, it'd be easy enough to watch them all in the order they premiered, but if you prefer to watch everything chronologically (when the events take place), we've compiled an ultimate viewing guide for you. Below, you'll find the entire franchise organized by stardates. It starts with the oldest event in the original Star Trek timeline.

Speaking of timelines, there are two in Star Trek: The original, which includes nearly all the films and TV shows; and Kelvin, an alternative timeline that kicked off with the latest three reboot films. To better understand what we're talking about, please read the guide below. Those of you who want to proceed spoiler-free, however, can scroll all the way to the bottom for the list version of this guide.

Also at the bottom, we've included another spoiler-free list. It's structured by order of release - or when each film and TV show premiered.

How to watch all the Marvel movies and TV shows in chronological order

The Marvel Cinematic Universe began in 2008 and is still going strong. Here's the entire MCU timeline, shows and movies included.

The original Star Trek timeline

The thing to remember about this order is that it is chronological - based entirely on the stardate time system in the Star Trek franchise. Think of stardates as years. In that case, the order below starts with the oldest events in the Star Trek Universe - but it excludes the Kelvin timeline films.

There are spoilers below.

1 Star Trek: E nterprise

The first to boldly go where no man has gone before, star trek: enterprise.

Stardate: 2151 to 2156

Enterprise follows the adventures of one of the first starships to explore deep space in the Star Trek Universe.

Set right before the founding of the Federation of Planets (and about 100 years before the original Star Trek series), Star Trek: Enterprise is a TV show that follows the adventures of Captain Jack Archer, played by Scott Bakula, and the Starship Enterprise crew. This ship is the first Federation vessel to have Warp 5 capabilities, allowing its crew to be among the first deep-space explorers.

The series introduces many of the different alien species important to the Star Trek Universe, such as the Vulcans and Klingons. It also begins to lay the groundwork for the Federation of Planets, in the fourth and final season.

2 Star Trek: Discovery seasons 1 and 2

Discover a new type of starship, set ten years before the original series, star trek: discovery.

Stardate: 2256

The first two seasons of Discovery is set ten years before the original series as the crew of the titular ship tests an impressive new warp drive.

Star Trek: Discovery follows Michael Burnham, played by Sonequa Martin-Green, the first officer aboard the USS Shenzhou before she is found guilty of mutineering. However, with the Federation at war with the Klingons, the captain of the new Discovery ship, Gabriel Lorca, played by Jason Isaacs, enlists Burnham to help get the ship’s experimental warp drive properly working.

Discovery's early setting in the Star Trek universe was changed with a leap through time at the end of season two, which is why we're placing the recently released third season elsewhere on our list.

3 Star Trek: Strange New World

A direct prequel to the original series., star trek: strange new worlds.

Stardate: 2258

Strange New Worlds follows the early adventures of the Starship Enterprise, before Kirk became its captain.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds stars Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike.

Pike will be a familiar name to Star Trek fans, as Pike is the man who commanded the starship Enterprise before Captain Kirk. The series follows Pike doing just that, in his final five-year mission as captain of the Enterprise before he becomes Fleet Captain and hands the reigns to Captain Kirk.

This being a prequel to the original Star Trek series, there are also other recognizable names, with Ethan Peck playing Spock and Celia Rose-Gooding as Uhara. A third season is currently in production.

4 Star Trek: The Original Series

Where it all began, star trek: the original series.

Stardate: 2266 to 2269

The original Star Trek series follows Captain Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the crew as they boldly go where no man has gone before.

This is the original Star Trek TV show. It began airing in 1966 and primarily follows the crew of the USS Enterprise, starting with them embarking on a five-year mission “to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before”.

The series introduces William Shatner’s Captain James T Kirk and Leonard Nimoy’s Spock, too.

It also gives us the basis for the universe that makes Star Trek so successful, from introducing numerous alien species like the Vulcans and Klingons to showing us the inner workings of the Federation of Planets. The origins of the Star Trek Universe wouldn’t exist without it.

5 *Optional* Star Trek: The Animated Series

Continue the journey with the original crew, star trek: animated.

Stardate: 2269 to 2270

Continue the adventures of the original series in this animated version that sees most of the cast return to voice their characters.

After The Original Series ended, it quickly became a cult classic. Creator Gene Roddenberry then began work on an animated series that saw most of the original cast provide voice work for the animated versions of their characters. The show essentially functions as the fourth season of the original series, with the original characters navigating unexplored sections of space.

However, it was eliminated from canon by Roddenberry himself, when the rights were renegotiated following the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. So, if you want to consume every drop of Star Trek content, add this to your list.

6 Star Trek: The Motion Picture

The first star trek movie, star trek: the motion picture.

Stardate: 2273

Captain Kirk, his crew, and a newly remodeled Enterprise head out to investigate an alien entity known as V'ger.

This is the first feature film in the Star Trek Universe. It sees Captain James T Kirk retake the helm of a renovated USS Enterprise to investigate a mysterious cloud of energy that is moving toward Earth. The energy cloud destroys a Federation monitoring station, as well as three Klingon ships, but before Kirk is able to engage it, he must learn to operate an unfamiliar USS Enterprise.

7 Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Star trek: the wrath of khan.

Stardate: 2285

The crew of the Enterprise faces off against it's most fearsome adversary, Khan.

The second Star Trek movie is perhaps the most successful entry in the franchise. It sees Captain James T Kirk taking command of a USS Enterprise staffed with untested trainees in order to track down the adversary Khan Noonien Singh and his genetically engineered super soldiers.

In the process of escaping a planet that Kirk trapped him on, Khan learns of a secret device known as Genesis, capable of re-organizing matter to terraform (make them habitable) planets. Khan tries to steal the device, but, of course, Kirk will do all he can to stop him.

8 Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

The crew of the enterprise try to resurrect spock, star trek iii: the search for spock.

Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise set out on a mission to recover Spock's body and bring him back to life.

Following their battle with Khan, the crew of the USS Enterprise returns home to Earth in this third feature film.

Once there, Leonard H “Bones” McCoy, played by DeForest Kelley, begins to act strangely, leading to him being detained. Captain James T Kirk, with the help of Spock’s father, Sarek, played by Mark Lenard, then learns that Spock transferred his Katra into McCoy before dying.

If nothing is done, McCoy will die from carrying Spock’s Katra. So, the crew of the USS Enterprise go back to the site of their battle with Khan - in the hopes of retrieving Spock’s body. To top it all off, they must battle with the Klingon Kruge, played by Christopher Lloyd, over control of the Genesis Device. The Search for Spock is also directed by Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy.

9 Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

Earth is in danger and the only hope is humpback whales, star trek iv: the voyage home.

Stardate: 2286

The Enterprise travels back in time to 1986 and has to untangle a mystery involving humpback whales and an alien probe.

In this film, a mysterious ship begins orbiting Earth and destroys the planet's power grid. It emits strange noises, too, and the newly resurrected Spock realizes the sound is similar to the now-extinct humpback whale. Believing the strange ship is expecting to hear back the song of humpback whales, the crew goes around the Sun and travels back in time to 1986 to get a humpback whale.

Nimoy returned to direct this film, as well.

10 Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

The enterprise crew must face off with spock's brother, sybok, star trek v: the final frontier.

Stardate: 2287

The Enterprise heads out on a mission to rescue hostages from the planet Nimbus 3.

After finishing a mission, Kirk, Spock, and Bones are enjoying a camping trip in Yosemite in this film when they are ordered to rescue hostages on the planet Nimbus III. But, once arriving on the planet, the crew realizes Spock’s half-brother, Sybok, is responsible for taking the hostages in order to lure a starship, with the hopes of reaching the mythical planet Sha Ka Ree and meeting a God.

Sybok realizes he’ll need Kirk’s expertise to navigate through the barrier at the centre of the Milky Way that leads to this mythical planet. Along the way, the Klingon Kraa decides to hunt Kirk. The Final Frontier is also the only Star Trek film directed by William Shatner.

11 Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

The final film starring the original series cast, star trek vi: the undiscovered country.

Stardate: 2293

After being framed for a political assassination, Kirk and the rest of the crew of the Enterprise must unravel the conspiracy to avoid war with the Klingon Empire.

In the final film of this series, we see the Klingon homeworld nearly destroyed, leading the hostile empire to engage in peace talks with the Federation. Captain James T Kirk is assigned to escort the Klingon ambassador, but is instead blamed when assassins beam aboard the Ambassador’s ship and kill him. The Klingons then sentence Kirk and McCoy to life imprisonment on a frozen asteroid.

At that point, Spock and the rest of the crew must find the true culprits behind the attack of the Klingon ship and rescue Kirk and Bones.

12 Star Trek: The Next Generation

The next generation takes over the uss enterprise, star trek: the next generation.

Stardate: 2364 to 2370

A new crew takes over the Enterprise and heads out on a five-year mission to explore the unknown.

Set 71 years after the USS Enterprise’s last mission with Captain James T Kirk at the helm, The Next Generation introduces us to a new USS Enterprise staffed with the next generation of Starfleet officers, led by Captain Jean Luc Picard (played by Patrick Stewart).

This TV series also shows us new species of aliens, the Cardassians and the Borgs, which replace the now-friendlier Klingons as the Federation’s primary adversaries.

The Next Generation ran for seven seasons and featured a couple of cameos from The Original Series, like Spock and Bones, among others.

13 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Everyday life in the deepest reaches of space, star trek: deep space nine.

Stardate: 2369 to 2375

Set on a stationary space station instead of an exploring starship, Deep Space Nine explores what life in space is like after the exploring part is done.

This TV show overlaps with the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It focuses on the former Cardassian space station, a backwood outpost that the Federation now controls and has ordered a Starfleet crew to run, with Avery Brook’s Benjamin Sisko as the commanding officer.

It's not about a starship exploring the unknown, but rather the trade disputes and political manoeuvring surrounding a crucial military hub.

14 Star Trek Generations

The two enterprise crews unite to take on a force with the power to destroy stars, star trek: generations.

Stardate: 2371

The first Star Trek film to feature the Next Generation crew also brought back the Enterprise crew from the original series.

Star Trek Generations is the first film to feature the crew of The Next Generation while also starring some of The Original Series cast.

The plot primarily centres around an El-Aurian, named Dr Tolian Soran (played by Malcolm McDowell), as well as an energy ribbon known as the Nexus.

You see, in 2293, Soran is rescued from the Energy Ribbon by a retired Captain James T Kirk, who is attending a maiden voyage of a new USS Enterprise. Then, in 2371, while answering a distress call, Captain Jean Luc Picard finds Soran - and he has a weapon capable of destroying stars.

15 Star Trek: Voyager

A federation starship stranded in uncharted space, star trek voyager.

Stardate: 2371 to 2378

Follow a Captain Janeway and her crew of the USS Voyager as they attempt to find their way home after being stranded in space.

After leaving Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in search of a group of Maquis rebels, the Starship Voyager, led by Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), is captured by an energy wave that sends it - and a ship of Maquis rebels - into the middle of the unexplored Delta Quadrant. With both ships damaged and far from home, the crews agree to join forces and begin a 75-year journey back to Earth.

16 Star Trek: First Contact

The crew of the enterprise travels back before the first warp drive was used, star trek: first contact.

Stardate: 2373

The Enterprise must travel back in time to prevent a Borg ship from assimilating all of Earth.

In this film, the USS Enterprise tries to help defeat a Borg Cube attacking Earth, with Captain Jean Luc Picard assuming command of a fleet of starships. However, just before the Cube is destroyed, it releases a smaller ship that enters a temporal vortex. The USS Enterprise gives chase through the vortex, but in the process, realizes the Borg traveled back in time and assimilated the entire planet.

And once through the Vortex, the crew arrives in 2063. More specifically, they arrive one day before Zefram Cochrane (played by James Cromwell) uses the first warp drive system, which draws the attention of the Vulcans, leading to humanity's first contact with an alien race.

17 Star Trek: Insurrection

The enterprise must uncover the mystery around a nearly immortal group of people, star trek: insurrection.

Stardate: 2375

The crew of the USS Enterprise uncovers a conspiracy involving the forced relocation of a peaceful alien race.

The action now centres around a planet with a type of unique radiation that rejuvenates its people, known as the Ba’ku. The effects of the radiation make the Ba’ku nearly immortal.

In this film, Brent Spinner’s Data is sent undercover to monitor the Ba’ku people and soon begins to malfunction, which causes Captain Jean Luc Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise to investigate.

They uncover a conspiracy between a species, which is hostile to the Ba’ku, and Admiral Mathew Doherty, a Starfleet officer played by Anthony Zerbe. The crew of the Enterprise must stop them both in order to save the Ba’ku from being forcibly removed from their home planet.

18 Star Trek: Nemesis

Picard vs picard, star trek: nemesis.

Stardate: 2379

Captain Picard and the crew face a new, dangerous enemy in the form of a clone of Picard himself.

Captain Jean Luc Picard and the USS Enterprise crew are sent on a mission to meet with the leader of the Romulans, Shinzon, played by a super young Tom Hardy. Once there, they learn that Shinzon is actually a clone of Picard, created in the hopes that he would one day be able to infiltrate the Federation. The Romulans had abandoned the plan and sent Shinzon into slavery.

He led a rebellion, however, and created his own starship, the Scimitar. Soon, the Enterprise learns Shinzon’s true plan is to use a form of radiation poisonous to all life in order to attack the Federation and destroy Earth.

19 Star Trek: Picard

Picard's forced out of retirement one more time

Star Trek: Picard

Stardate: 2399

Captain Picard's retirement is about as full of adventure as his career on the Enterprise.

One of the most popular starship captains in the Star Trek Universe, Jean Luc Picard had retired to a life of wine-making, but a new mission set 20 years after the events of Nemesis sees Captain Jean Luc Picard return to space along with many of his old friends. The first season sees Picard struggling with the events that led to his retirement from Starfleet -- when he's forced into a conflict that sees him thrust into a captain's chair again.

The second season sees Picard transported to an alternate timeline by the interdimensional being known as Q (John De Lancie), who originally appeared in The Next Generation. The third and final season of Picard recently got a teaser and is slated to premiere in spring 2023.

20 Star Trek: Discovery seasons 3 and beyond

The discovery's journey picks up later than any other star trek content.

Stardate: 3188

Catch up with the rest of Discovery after a timejump shifts the story to the end of the Star Trek timeline.

Burnham and the crew of the Discovery make a jump through time that lands them further in the future than we've ever seen in the Star Trek Universe.

There, Burnham is separated from the rest of the crew of Discovery.

While trying to locate the ship, she learns that the United Federation of Planets has fallen following the event known as The Burn, which saw ships simultaneously explode throughout the entire galaxy. The fuel for Star Trek's ships, Dilithium, has also become extremely rare, which makes travel across wide distances of space much harder. In the fourth season, Burnham and the crew of the Discovery begin the process of rebuilding the Federation of Planets. A fifth season of Star Trek Discovery is slated to premiere in 2024.

Kelvin timeline: The alternate Star Trek timeline

These films kick off JJ Abrams' alternate Star Trek timeline. Officially called the Kelvin timeline, it's named after the USS Kelvin. If you want to watch them, you can do so either before or after Star Trek: The Original Series. We prefer you watch it after - in fact, watch it after you've finished the original Star Trek timeline, because it literally takes place in a different timeline.

• Movies and TV

pop culture

A guide to the 'star trek' movies in order.

Perhaps you've started watching Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and you're wondering where this whole thing (like the whole thing ) originated from. Maybe you're completely ingrained in the Star Trek universe but want to start all over from the beginning for the hundredth time. Whatever the case may be, you're currently reading this because you plan on watching or re-watching all of the Star Trek movies in order. No worries, we've got you all covered with everything you need to know before you get to it. When you're dealing with franchise that has been around many different decades and has had different iterations things can get a bit tricky.

We're going to break it down the best way we can.

RELATED: How to Watch the Marvel Movies in Chronological Order

How Many Star Trek Movies Are There?

All-in-all, there are thirteen total films in the Star Trek franchise as of this writing. That's the simple version. Now we're really going to break it all down.

Star Trek "Original Series" Movies in Order:

• Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

Star Trek "Next Generation" Movies in Order

• Star Trek Generations (1994)
• Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
• Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
• Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

Star Trek "Kelvin Timeline" Movies in Order aka the "New" Star Trek Movies in Order

• Star Trek (2009)
• Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
• Star Trek Beyond (2016)

1. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

• Release Date: December 8, 1979
• Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Nichelle Nicholas
• Extra Recommended Viewing:  While it isn't required to watch Star Trek: The Original Series in its entirety before Star Trek: The Motion Picture , seasons one and two in particular can help prepare you for the overall pace of the movie and familiarize yourself with the characters as they are the ones that star in the film.

Ten years prior to the release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture , the television series, Star Trek: The Original Series , was cancelled after three seasons. Despite the cancellation, Paramount Pictures had been lobbying for a feature film which originally began development in 1975, but was scrapped in 1977 for another television series that was to be titled Star Trek: Phase II . However, after the success of Steven Spielberg's Close Encounter of the Third Kind in 1977, plans for a feature film were put back into motion since that particular film showed that science-fiction movies could be successful.

Finally, after many years, Star Trek: The Motion Picture was released on December 8, 1979, as we just mentioned, it featured the cast from the television series. Adm. James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the crew of the Starship Enterprise is called upon by the federation to help contain an object that is on a crash course with earth. This object is an alien cloud that is wreaking havoc on everything getting in it's way. Kirk uses his leadership expertise to intercept the cloud, which eventually leads to an alien attack.

We then find out that Voyager aka V'Ger,  a 20th-century Earth space probe previously believed lost in a black hole, was found by an alien race of living machines, learned all the information it could, returned home to report what they discovered, but that nobody knew how to respond to the findings. Some people believe that you can skip this film altogether, but if you want to say that you've watched every single Star Trek , you've gotta get it in.

2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

• Release Date: June 4, 1982
• Extra Recommended Viewing: Similar to the first film, nothing is required to be watched in order to understand the movie. However, if you want to get super nerdy, you can watch "Space Seed" (season 1, episode 22) from the television series as that's when Khan is originally introduced.

Despite the mixed reviews of Star Trek: The Motion Picture , the follow-up Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was released three years later on June 4, 1982. Many consider The Wrath of Khan to be the best Star Trek movie of all time, which makes for a fun debate amongst fans and movie critics. Adm. James T. Kirk and Capt. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) are monitoring trainees at Starfleet Academy when they discover that another vessel from the United Federation of Planets is about to test the planet-creating Genesis Device, which leads to two of Kirk's officers being captured and a showdown.

The Wrath of Khan was a huge box office success, grossing $97 million at the box office along with positive reviews from critics.

3. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

• Release Date: June 1, 1984
• Extra Recommended Viewing: For Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , you will need to watch The Wrath of Khan as this film is a continuation of the events that happened in that movie.

Fast forward two years later, Spock is dead. Or is he? Adm. James T. Kirk succeeded in defeating Khan, but that defeat apparently came with the cost of losing Spock. While investigating  the Genesis planet from aboard the science vessel  Grissom , they discover that Spock has been resurrected, but in the form of a child and that he has lost consciousness. The crew defies orders disables the USS  Excelsior , and steals the  Enterprise in the attempt to retrieve Spock's body. While The Search for Spock did gross $87 million at the box office (which in reality wasn't that much less than its predecessor), the film was still considered a "moderate" success compared The Wrath of Khan .

4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

• Release Date: November 26, 1986
• Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Nichelle Nicholas, Catherine Hicks
• Extra Recommended Viewing: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home completes the arc of The Wrath of Khan and The Search for Spock , so you will need to watch both in order to understand what's going on.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is another debate starter as it is frequently put up against The Wrath of Khan in terms of which one is better. In it, Adm. James T. Kirk and his crew go back in time to San Francisco in 1986 to retrieve humpback whales — which is the key to communicating with a probe that's dangerously looking for somebody that understands it/them/whatever you want to call it. The plot is inexplicably corny 1980s, but you can't deny its charm as it pulled in $133 million worldwide at the box office, and received four Academy Award nominations for cinematography and sound.

5. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

• Release Date: June 9, 1989
• Extra Recommended Viewing: No required viewing, but it is recommended that you watch the previous films.

Alright, we're going to save you the trouble here — the mark was missed with Star Trek V: The Final Frontier . It has a case for being one of if not the worst Star Trek film of all time. That said, The Final Frontier centers around Sybok, the half brother of Spock, who hijacks the Enterprise in order to meet God, who he also believes is himself. Interesting. We're not going to say skip The Final Frontier completely, but we will say to have proper expectations before you watch.

6. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

• Release Date: December 6, 1991
• Extra Recommended Viewing: While it's recommended you watch the previous films, it should be noted that some have started their Star Trek journey with The Undiscovered Country . You don't have to watch the television series to understand what's going on this film either.

Whenever Star Trek would take a step backward in terms of critical and commercial success, they would always follow it up with a stronger attempt. The Undiscovered Country is a whirlwind journey as Capt. Kirk and the USS Enterprise Crew are carrying Klingon Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner) to Earth as leverage for a peace treaty with the United Federation of Planets. Their ship gets confused for firing on a Klingon vessel, which kills Gorkon. This leads to Kirk and Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) being arrested for murder as it is thought to be a revenge attempt by Kirk for the Klingons murdering his son. Now it's all left up to Spock to save the day.

7. Star Trek: Generations (1994)

• Release Date: November 18, 1994
• Starring: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Michael Dorn, William Shatner
• Extra Recommended Viewing: It is our recommendation that you watch at least a few episodes of the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series that ran from 1987 to 1994, as the movies are set at the end of series and preceded by the 1994 series finale "All Good Things."

And here begins The Next Generation era of Star Trek . While not as captivating as the prior films, the movie had its own strong points as the Starship Enterprise gets sent to a giant energy field on the verge of engulfing two ships that presumably kills Capt. Kirk. Fast forward several years later, Capt. Picard (Patrick Stewart) learns that one of the survivors, Dr. Soran (Malcolm McDowell), has big plans to enter the field by destroying a neighboring star, and must be stopped. While The Next Generation received mixed reviews, it did gross $118 million at the box office, so it was a good first start to the new generation.

8. Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

• Release Date: November 22, 1996
• Starring: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Michael Dorn, Brent Spiner
• Extra Recommended Viewing: "The Best of Both Worlds" (season 3, episode 26 and season 4, episode 1)

The story behind Star Trek: First Contact goes a little something like this — Paramount Pictures asked writers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore to start working on the next film. Braga and Moore wanted to feature the Borg in the storyline, but Rick Berman, the producer, wanted the plot to focus on time travel. The solution? They decided to combine both ideas, pulling references from the two-part episode "The Best of Both Worlds" from Star Trek: The Next Generation , which served as both a season finale for season 3, and a season premiere for season 4.

First Contact features the crew following a Borg ship and traveling back in time to prevent the Borg from taking over the Earth in a past era. Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) and a space travel guru (James Cromwell) are stuck trying to create the first time warp, whereas Capt. Picard and mdr. Data (Brent Spiner) are trying to battle the borg queen as she attempts to take over The Enterprise. Fun stuff.

9. Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)

• Release Date: December 11, 1998
• Extra Recommended Viewing: Any episode from The Next Generation and the previous movies in The Next Generation series.

When a mission to planet Ba'ku gets disrupted by a malfunctioning android named Data (Brent Spiner) taking the cultural task force hostage, Capt. Picard and crew learn that the Federation mission was actually a ploy by the Son'a to remove the inhabitants of Ba'ku. There's also the romance between Troi and Riker that gets rekindled in the process. While some may argue other Star Trek films are more dynamic, we'd argue that Insurrection stands on its own two feet.

10. Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

• Release Date: December 13, 2002
• Starring: Patrick Stewart, Stuart Baird, Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes, Tom Hardy
• Extra Recommended Viewing: You could watch the entire Next Generation series and all the prior films before tackling Nemesis , but it also works as a standalone.

The final film of The Next Generation series sees Capt. Picard diverting Enterprise's trip to Cmdr. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Counselor Troi's (Marina Sirtis) wedding in order to negotiate a peace treaty with the Romulans. Pre-Bane Tom Hardy takes on the role of Shinzon, the new Praetor of the Romulans, who needs Picard’s blood to survive. The only problem is Shiznon is also trying to destroy the entire Earth and take everyone down with him, so there's that.

11. Star Trek (2009)

• Release Date: May 7, 2009
• Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban
• Extra Recommended Viewing: The 2009 Star Trek essentially restarts the whole series. You can watch it without having seen any of the prior series or movies.

Back to the beginning we go! We get re-introduced to Kirk, Bones, Spock and the rest of the USS Enterprise crew as they are dealing with the villainous Romulan commander Nero (Eric Bana) who's kinda threatening all of mankind. It's up to Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), and everybody else to defeat Nero before it's too late. Nothing too complicated here — just a simple plot to introduce newcomers to the franchise.

12. Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

• Release Date: May 16, 2013
• Extra Recommended Viewing: Star Trek (2009)

Capt. Kirk gets removed from his commander position by violating the Prime Directive, Admiral Pike replaces him, Spock gets transferred to another ship, and that's just the beginning. Khan is back, but he's actually kind of... somewhat... nice, and Kirk and the rest of The Enterprise team set out to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction which leads to a life or death battle. Fun stuff again.

13. Star Trek Beyond (2016)

• Extra Recommended Viewing: Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

And this is where the Star Trek movies (emphasis on movies) leaves us in this era until Star Trek 4 which is currently in development. Star Trek Beyond was about The Enterprise being deceived by Krall (Idris Elba), a vicious enemy who gets his energy from sucking the life out of his victims. Long story short, Krall needs an artifact that's on The Enterprise ship, and Kirk and the crew have got to battle against him. The events of Star Trek Beyond effectively serve as a prequel to the 1960s series, so you can actually watch Star Trek: The Original Series after this.

The Star Trek Movies in Release Order:

Unlike other franchises or universes , the Star Trek movies in order of release date is actually exactly the same as the chronological order.

• Star Trek: The Motion Picture - December 6th, 1979
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - June 4th, 1982
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock - June 1st, 1984
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home - November 26th, 1986
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier - June 9th, 1989
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country - December 6th, 1991
• Star Trek: Generations - November 18th, 1994
• Star Trek: First Contact - November 22nd, 1996
• Star Trek: Insurrection - December 11th, 1998
• Star Trek: Nemesis - December 13th, 2002
• Star Trek - May 7th, 2009
• Star Trek Into Darkness - May 16th, 2013
• Star Trek Beyond - July 22nd, 2016

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How to watch the Star Trek movies in order

Set phasers to "fun" and watch the Star Trek movies in order

It’s a good time to be a Star Trek fan and watch all the Star Trek movies in order. With three active TV series ( Discovery , Picard , Lower Decks ) and three more in the works (Section 31, Prodigy, Strange New Worlds ), there are more Star Trek adventures airing now than at any point since the mid-90s. 

While Star Trek TV shows have come and gone since the ‘60s, Star Trek movies maintained a pretty consistent release schedule between 1979 and 2016. On average, we got a new film once every three years. But with the fourth move of the Star Trek reboot franchise allegedly canceled , we may be in for a long wait until we see the U.S.S. Enterprise on the big screen again.

Still, there’s one missing piece of the puzzle: Where are all the Star Trek movies? Unlike watching the Star Wars movies in order , you can't see every Trek film on the same service.

• What is Paramount Plus ?
• Play the best Star Trek games
• Find what to watch after Star Trek: Discovery

In the meantime, there are thirteen Star Trek movies to watch (or rewatch), either on DVD or your favorite streaming services. I personally bought the Blu-ray collections so that I wouldn’t be at the mercy of shifting streaming schedules, but if you prefer an all-digital experience, these movies are almost always available somewhere online.

Star Trek movies in order of release date

Watching the Star Trek movies in release order is, for the most part, exactly the same as watching the Star Trek movies in chronological order. (There’s some time travel here and there, but the later films still follow “after” the earlier ones.) There are 13 films. The first came out in 1979; the last came out in 2016. 

The only issue is that they're spread out across a number of different subscription services. 10 of the 13 can be found on Amazon Prime Video, and seven of those are also on Hulu. FX Now and Fubo each have one Star Trek movie a piece, each film being a streaming exclusive (you'd need to buy or rent to watch otherwise). And then CBS All Access (soon to be Paramount Plus) and Pluto also have one film. 

• Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) : On Prime Video
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Star Trek: Generations (1994) : On Prime Video
• Star Trek: First Contact (1996) : On Prime Video
• Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) : On CBS All Access/Paramount Plus and Pluto
• Star Trek (2009): On Fubo
• Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) : On FX Now
• Star Trek Beyond (2016) : On Hulu and Prime Video

Star Trek is just one of many great things you can watch on Hulu . In addition to its acclaimed originals like High Fidelity and Shrill, Hulu streams next-day airings of current TV shows and library content from FX.

Amazon Prime Video has a huge library beyond Star Trek movies. Not only do they have a ton of top movies and TV shows, they've got a lineup of acclaimed originals. They've got everything from Fleabag to Marvelous Mrs. Maisel to The Expanse to Jack Ryan. 

Fubo.TV : One of the streaming services you'll need to complete the Star Trek movies in order, Fubo has all of the right network channels too. Who needs cable? Not Fubo subscribers. It's got a 7-day free trial so you don't need to pay up front.

One year of Paramount Plus: was $99 or $59, now $49 or $29 If you sign up a little under one month before Paramount Plus launches, you'll save $30 to $50 on its annual price. The higher rate is for the ad-free version. Paramount Plus will pack everything from Yellowstone to SpongeBob SquarePants, The Real Criminal MInds and more.

On top of there not being one home for all the movies, there are a few small wrinkles in this plan, however. First: The Star Trek movies aren’t completely standalone. They require some knowledge of what happened in the Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation TV shows to fully grok. 

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Furthermore, the 13 movies don’t tell one continuous story. Rather, they’re based on three separate iterations of the long-running franchise.

Star Trek movies in order of series

Just like the Star Trek TV shows, the Star Trek movies don’t all focus on the same characters and settings. While there’s a little bit of crossover (which we’ll cover below), the films generally fall into three categories.

The first category is based on Star Trek: The Original Series. This is your daddy’s Star Trek, complete with Kirk, Spock, McCoy, the original U.S.S. Enterprise and Scotty beaming people up. If you’ve ever heard about “KHAAAAN!” or “the one with the whales,” or “Shakespeare in the original Klingon,” this is where they come from.

They're all available on Prime Video, and almost all (The Voyage Home is missing) are on Hulu as well. 

Star Trek: The Original Series movies

Next up, there are the Next Generation movies. This is Gen X/Elder Millennial Star Trek, starring Picard, Data, Worf and the crew. The movies start off with the Enterprise-D, but transition to the sleeker Enterprise-E in First Contact. Generations features a crossover with some original series crewmembers, but the rest put the TNG cast front and center, with occasional Deep Space Nine and Voyager cameos.

You'll need at least two streaming services to see all of them.

Star Trek: The Next Generation movies

• Star Trek: Generations (1994): On Prime Video

Finally, there are the “reboot” Star Trek films, also known as the “Kelvin timeline” films. Kirk, Spock and McCoy take center stage again, but this time in an alternate reality, where events play out differently. This is Star Trek for the cool kids, complete with fast starships, pulse-pounding action and soundtracks populated by the Beastie Boys. (It’s not quite as mindless as it sounds — except for Into Darkness, maybe.) For the most part, these films don’t require previous Star Trek knowledge. But they do pick up where Nemesis left off, more or less, before winding the clock back.

This set is the splintered across services more than any of the others.

Star Trek reboot movies

• Star Trek (2009) : On Fubo

Star Trek episodes to watch first

TOS: The Original Series TNG: The Next Generation ENT: Enterprise

Watching the Star Trek movies is an extremely straightforward process, but they may be a little incomprehensible unless you’ve seen at least some of the TV series . (I watched the entire franchise , but that may not be practical for you.) The Motion Picture picks up after The Original Series ends; likewise with Generations and The Next Generation.

As such, here are some episodes you should watch if you’re going to dive into the movies. Generally, the movies stand on their own, but it might help to know about some of the supporting characters and subplots:

Episodes for Star Trek: The Original Series movies

• Space Seed (TOS, S1, E22) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Errand of Mercy (TOS: S1, E26) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Journey to Babel (TOS: S2, E10) : On Hulu and Prime Video

Episodes for Star Trek: The Next Generation movies

• Q Who (TNG: S2, E16) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• The Best of Both Worlds, Parts I and II (TNG: S3, E26 / S4, E1) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Family (TNG: S4, E2) : On Hulu and Prime Video

Episodes for Star Trek reboot movies

• Unification, Parts I and II (TNG: S5, E7 & E8) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• First Flight (ENT: S2, E24) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• The Xindi (ENT: S3, E1) : On Hulu and Prime Video

Which Star Trek movies are good?

If you watch all 13 Star Trek movies, you’re signing yourself up for about 26 hours of screen time. That’s more than a casual fan may want to invest. Luckily (or unluckily?), not ever Star Trek film is created equal. For a long time, fans held that the even-numbered movies were good, while the odd-numbered ones were bad. That trend seems to have reversed with the recent reboot films, though: The odd ones are good, while the even one is, well, not.

In any case, if you want to start with the movies that are really worth your time, here they are:

I personally like some of the other ones quite a bit (Nemesis is better than you remember, and Generations has quite a few moving moments), but those should at least represent a good starting point.

And once you’re done with those, you can move onto Galaxy Quest: the best Star Trek movie that’s not actually a Star Trek movie.

• Next: How to watch Harry Potter movies in order

Marshall Honorof is a senior editor for Tom's Guide, overseeing the site's coverage of gaming hardware and software. He comes from a science writing background, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and technology. After hours, you can find him practicing taekwondo or doing deep dives on classic sci-fi. 

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Star Trek Movies in Order: How to Watch Chronologically and by Release Date

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Star Trek is back in a big way. The franchise is going strong on Paramount+ through new original TV shows , with the recent Star Trek: Strange New Worlds premiering to positive reviews while Star Trek: Picard finished season two. Paramount also announced the long-awaited fourth Star Trek film in the recent series, which will see Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldaña, Simon Pegg, John Cho, and Karl Urban return to the franchise following a seven-year hiatus from Star Trek Beyond . The franchise is now arguably the most popular and readily available that it's been in its entire history, gaining new fans every day.

The Star Trek film series currently includes 13 films and spans multiple generations of different crews that weave in and out of the different series. They form one giant massive timeline that builds off one another to show humanity's future among the stars and the constantly changing relationship between various alien species. If the 13 films seem daunting, and you're not sure how everything relates, take a look at this list that details the Star Trek film series in chronological and release order.

Update November 23, 2023: This article has been updated with where each entry in the Star Trek film is currently streaming and more details on each film in the franchise.

Star Trek Movies In Chronological Order

Star trek: the motion picture.

• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Star trek iv: the voyage home, star trek v: the final frontier, star trek vi: the undiscovered country, star trek: generations, star trek: first contact, star trek: insurrection, star trek: nemesis, star trek into darkness, star trek beyond, star trek: the motion picture (1979).

Star Trek: The Motion Picture takes place in 2273, five years after the events of Star Trek: The Original Series, and finds Kirk and his crew retaking control of the renovated Enterprise to investigate a mysterious cloud of energy that has destroyed Federation and Klingon ships. The movie was a massive hit, yet the critical reaction was more on the mixed side than Paramount expected. Even with how much money the studio put into it, bringing in Academy Award-winner Robert Wise to direct, the film was seen as a disappointment, yet has found a cult status and recently got the director's cut released in 4K .

Star Trek: The Motion Picture is available for streaming on Paramount+

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Star trek 2: the wrath of khan.

A massive time jump, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan takes place in 2285, 13 years after the events of the previous film and 18 years since the original series ended. This film is less a sequel to Star Trek: The Motion Picture and more to season one, episode 22, or 'Space Seed,' from the original series, which now finds that episode's villain, Khan, seeking revenge on Kirk for marooning him on Ceti Alpha V. The movie sees an older Kirk wrestling with his age, and in the ultimate sign of time moving forward, Kirk loses his old friend Spock when the Vulcan-human hybrid sacrifices his life to save the crew of the Enterprise.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan also serves as the first part in a three-movie story arc, often referred to by fans as The Genesis Trilogy (named after the Genesis device which becomes a key factor in the life/death cycle the three films explore), one that continues in the following two sequels. While not making as much money as the previous film, Wrath of Khan had a smaller budget, so the profits of the film were greater and the film helped relaunch the popularity of the franchise. It still remains arguably the most acclaimed film of the franchise.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is available for streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

Picking up shortly after the previous film, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock takes place in 2285 and focuses on Kirk and the Enterprise Crew's attempt to resurrect Spock when they find out his spirit has been left inside Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, which involves stealing the Enterprise from the Federation. Meanwhile, the crew must contend with a Klingon crew led by Kurge (Christopher Lloyd) who seeks to steal information on the genesis device.

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The movie resurrects Spock but also sees another beloved member of the crew perish: this time in the form of the Enterprise. While the ship will be rebuilt, this marks the final appearance of the ship that Kirk and his crew piloted since the original series. Another major plot point is the death of Kirk's son (who was established in the previous film), killed at the hands of Klingons, which will go on to inform Kirk's bias a few films later.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is available for streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home picks up shortly after the previous film, with the Enterprise crew returning to Earth to face trial for stealing the Enterprise to resurrect Spock; however, they find the planet is in grave danger when a mysterious alien probe cannot communicate with any humpback whales. To save the Earth, the crew travels back in time to 1986 (the release date of the film) to try to find a group of whales to bring back to the future. The movie concludes the Genesis Trilogy, and due to its fish out of water aspect was a massive success even outside the Star Trek fanbase, grossing more than both previous entries.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is available for streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

Set in 2287, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier focuses on the exploits of the Enterprise-A (the new ship that replaces the destroyed Enterprise) as they confront a renegade Vulcan who is attempting to search for God at the center of the universe. While opening big, the film had massive drop-offs in the following weeks due to poor word of mouth and competition from other summer movies like Ghostbusters II and Batman. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier almost killed the franchise for many, but the studio wanted to give the classic crew of the original series one final and proper goodbye.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is available for streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

Released in 1991, 35 years after the premiere of Star Trek: The Original Series , Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country was to give the original cast their proper goodbyes. The movie is set in 2293, which makes it 24 years after the events of the original series. The Undiscovered Country acts as the end of the Cold War, but in space, the destruction of the Klingon moon, Praxis, leads the Klingon Empire to pursue peace with their longtime adversary, the Federation. However, a military conspiracy threatens to destroy the potential peace as Kirk is framed for a crime based on his prejudice towards Klingons for killing his son in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock .

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The movie ends as a proper conclusion to the original Star Trek series, as the two iconic foes of the Klingons and Federation have now found peace. With the Enterprise set to be decommissioned, Kirk and his crew take one final trip on the ship with the final mission log so that new crews, new ships and more will carry on their legacy, commenting on the future laid out in Star Trek series like The Next Generation , Deep Space Nine , and Voyager .

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is available for streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Generations (1994)

A passing of the torch film between the crew of the original series and Star Trek: The Next Generation , Star Trek: Generations is the iconic meeting between the two captains, Kirk and Picard . The movie's prologue is set in 2293, shortly after the events of Star Trek VI: The Voyage Home, while the main action of the film is 2371, 78 years later and one year after Star Trek: The Next Generation .

The movie marks the final adventure for William Shatner's incarnation of James Kirk, and while it will not be the last time the character appears thanks to the reboot, it serves as a true end for the original series and full acknowledgment of Star Trek: The Next Generation being the face of the franchise for the 1990s.

Star Trek: Generations is available for streaming on Paramount+

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

Set two years after the previous film in 2273, Star Trek: First Contact sees The Borg as the film's primary villain and follows the crew of the Enterprise-D as they pursue the villainous species back in time, with the Borg's primary objective to take over in the past. The film borrows the time travel element of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and primarily is set on April 4, 2023, which is the day before Earth makes contact with alien life and begins the steps for the Federation of Planets to form, thanks to the work of Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell), whose first successful warp drive creation draws the attention of the Vulcans.

Thanks to a heavy marketing push, Star Trek: First Contact was a major box office hit and also received positive reviews from critics, and until the release of 2009's Star Trek, was the best-performing film of the franchise internationally. Fans all over the world now celebrate April 5th as First Contact Day .

Star Trek: First Contact is available for streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)

In 2375, Star Trek: Insurrection sees the crew of the Enterprise-D rebel against Starfleet when they discover a conspiracy involving two alien species. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with many claiming it lacked the scope of a movie and felt more like an extended episode of television.

The events of Star Trek: Insurrection are taking place around the time of both Star Trek: Voyager and at the end of the story for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , and while there are no major references to the events of the series or vice versa, it does show how big the franchise was at this point in time but also how the overexposure and years of continuity were starting to hamper it.

Star Trek: Insurrection is available for streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

Star Trek: Nemesis takes place in 2379, meaning it is nine years after the events of Star Trek: The Next Generation and 110 years since the end of the original series. Star Trek: Nemesis sees a clone of Picard (Tom Hardy, in his first movie), created by Romulans, take control of the Romulan Empire and seek war with the Federation.

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The film received poor reviews from critics and was a box office bomb , becoming the lowest-grossing Star Trek film ever and was beaten out in its opening weekend box office by Maid in Manhattan . Combine that with competition from huge movies like Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets , Die Another Day, and Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers during the holiday season, and Star Trek: Nemesis was dead on arrival, marking the final adventure for the crew of The Next Generation until the release of Star Trek: Picard . The film's box office disappointment, combined with the cancelation of Star Trek: Enterprise three years, later marked a quiet point in the franchise , where it would take a big swing to bring the series back.

Star Trek: Nemesis is available for streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek (2009)

Marketed as a prequel, J.J. Abrams' Star Trek is much more. It does show the origins of the original series cast but does so by taking place in an alternate reality that is kicked into motion by Spock from the original series traveling through a wormhole from 2387 (ten years after Star Trek: Nemesis ) that causes the timeline to split. So Star Trek is both a reboot, a prequel, and a sequel, as the events in Star Trek: The Original Series and all the following films need to happen to get Spock into a place to go back and time and create a new timeline, which will be called the Kelvin Timeline after the USS Kelvin, which is the ship at the center of the timeline divergence in 2233.

The great J.J. Abrams movie tells the story of how the crew of the Enterprise comes together, primarily taking place from 2258 to 2259, meaning that by the end of the film, when Kirk takes control of the Enterprise, it is earlier than the original timeline. The film was a surprisingly big success, grossing $386 million and becoming the highest-scoring Star Trek film on Rotten Tomatoes. In addition to the polished production and great effects, the excellent work of the cast was largely responsible for this; as Ty Burr writes in The Boston Globe :

What lifts the Abrams film into the ether is the rightness of its casting and playing, from Saldana's Uhura, finally a major character after all these years, to Urban's loyal, dyspeptic McCoy, to Simon Pegg's grandly comic Scotty, the movie's most radical reimagining of a Star Trek regular.

Star Trek is available for streaming on Hulu and Paramount+.

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

With a new timeline in place, Star Trek Into Darkness sees the crew of the Enterprise encounter Khan years earlier, as the destruction of Vulcan causes the Federation to explore space and find Khan and his crew about eight years earlier than the original timeline. Star Trek Into Darkness takes place one year after the 2009 Star Trek , meaning it is 2259. With Khan awakened earlier, and the butterfly effect nature of the timeline is rewritten, Kirk meets Carol Marcus (the mother of his child in the original timeline) earlier, and instead of Spock dying, it is Kirk. Yet Kirk is able to be resurrected much quicker than Spock.

The film ends with Kirk, Spock, and the crew on a rebuilt Enterprise ready to begin their five-year mission, and it is revealed they were waiting a year, meaning, that the five-year mission begins in 2260, six years before the original series. The modern-day cast of these Star Trek movies continues to excel, and the inclusion of a great Benedict Cumberbatch performance as Khan is a highlight.

Star Trek Into Darkness is available for streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek Beyond (2016)

The final film released so far in the Star Trek film series, Star Trek Beyond, is set three years into the Enterprise's five-year mission (a meta-joke about how the original series lasted three seasons). The movie finds Kirk and his Enterprise crew on an unexplored planet, encountering a hostile alien who has ties to the Federation.

Released to tie in with the 50th anniversary of the franchise, Star Trek Beyond serves as the perfect conclusion to the film series so far. When the Spock from the original timeline dies, he leaves the current Spock some of his belongings, which includes a photo of the crew from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country . Seeing the life his alternate timeline version had, inspires this version to stay with his crew on a rebuilt Enterprise (this universe's version of Enterprise-A) to continue the adventure in a recently announced fourth film , whose production seems to be encountering several setbacks .

Star Trek Beyond is available for streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek Films In Release Order

Unlike Star Wars , The MCU, or the X-Men movie series , the release order of Star Trek is the same as the chronological viewing order, making it a straightforward viewing experience. Historically, Star Trek has been a winter franchise, finding great success during the holiday weekends around Thanksgiving and Christmas. However, in recent years, all three Kelvin timeline films were summer releases.

• Movie Lists

This Is The Correct Order In Which To Watch The Star Trek Franchise

Don't look now, but "Star Trek" is a thing again. It's been a while — after redefining television in the 1960s and enjoying a resurgence in the '80s and '90s, the final episode of ""Star Trek: Enterprise" in 2005 marked the beginning of a dark period in which there was simply no "Trek" to be had. Then, in 2017, the drought ended with the premiere of " "Star Trek: Discovery ," and when it rains, it pours. "Discovery" heralded the arrival of a whole new era of ""Star Trek," and that's just the beginning — Paramount+ will soon play host to two new "Star Trek" shows, with three more currently in development, and there's a new movie scheduled for release in 2023 . Suddenly, we are awash in "Trek," which means that if you're unfamiliar with Gene Roddenberry's universe, it's a pretty good time to jump on board. Only where do you start with a franchise this big — and more importantly, what's the proper watch order?

These are the questions we're here to answer. While it's tempting to try and watch "Star Trek" chronologically, using either the fictional timeline or release dates, we recommend an order that's a bit of a blend of both. Following this list should result in an experience that provides a complete picture of what "Star Trek" is while also remaining easy to binge. With that in mind (and with the understanding that a few spoilers are unavoidable ), it's time to boldly go where every previous "Star Trek" installment has gone before!

The Original Series

When you watch "Star Trek," you really need to begin at the beginning. Not with Enterprise, which is set earlier in the "Trek" timeline than any show, but with "Star Trek" — or as it's lovingly called these days, "The Original Series." This is the show that ran on NBC from 1966 to 1969, forever altering the television medium, the science fiction genre, and the experience of being a fan. While some viewers may find the special effects laughable or the political themes unsubtle, the most astonishing thing about "TOS" is how well it holds up, even more than 50 years later. The first two seasons, in particular, are absolutely riddled with classic episodes, and while the third season is significantly worse due to changes in the creative team, it's still fun to watch William Shatner ham it up as Captain Kirk, Leonard Nimoy raise a single Vulcan eyebrow as Mr. Spock, and the original Starship Enterprise soar through space. Most importantly, though, those first 79 episodes introduce rules, concepts, and even characters that "Star Trek" is still playing with today, from Class M planets and the Prime Directive to Khan and the Klingons.

The Animated Series

The unofficial fourth and fifth seasons of "Star Trek," "The Animated Series" aired on NBC from 1973 to 1974, after tempers had cooled somewhat between NBC and Roddenberry, who left "Star Trek" after its second season out of frustration with the network. Not only was the entire original cast back (minus Walter Koenig), but so was Roddenberry, and so was D.C. Fontana, Roddenberry's longtime assistant who had grown into one of the most celebrated "Trek" writers and had also departed after Season 2. Between the return of some of the show's original creative minds and cast, and the fact that animation allowed them to do so much more than live action special effects of the era, "TAS" is pure, undiluted "Star Trek."

It's never been made explicitly clear whether "TAS" is canon, but considering the number of "TAS" ideas re-used in later live-action shows, plus the introduction in "TAS" of canon pieces of backstory, like Kirk's middle name, it's silly at this point to believe otherwise. And it's required viewing for completists who want to see every televised adventure undertaken by the original Enterprise crew.

The first six films

"Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was released by Paramount in 1979, and while it's not an especially good film, it holds historical importance as the launching point for the "Star Trek" movie franchise. The real highlights in this part of the list, though, are the three films that followed. The Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock, and The Voyage Home essentially form their own trilogy of movies within the larger "Trek" saga, and are some of the most popular and critically acclaimed installments in the franchise. "The Wrath of Khan," in particular, tends to show up near the top of "best science fiction films in history" lists, making the titular Khan such an iconic villain that he was recast for the J.J. Abrams reboot movies, while "The Voyage Home" is probably the most charming "Star Trek" film, as the Enterprise travels to the past to rescue the humpback whale species from extinction.

Even the most dedicated binge-watcher can safely skip the horrendous fifth movie, "The Final Frontier," but "The Undiscovered Country" is an absolute masterpiece, and taken together, these six films provide a worthy capstone to the franchise's inaugural era.

It might seem counterintuitive to follow up the oldest "Star Trek" series with one of the newest, especially given that "Star Trek: Discovery" actually takes place prior to "The Original Series." But there's a good reason to jump from the tales of Kirk and Spock to the tales of Michael Burnham and...well, and Spock, who shows up in Season 2. "The Original Series" and its accompanying animated and film extensions are foundational to "Discovery," which is set shortly after the events of the rejected "Star Trek" pilot "The Cage." And characters from "The Cage" show up in Season 2 and are also appearing in their own spinoff, "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds."

While an in-universe chronological watch order would put the first two seasons of "Discovery" before "TOS" and the third season at the very end (as the crew travels forward in time to the far future) it makes more sense to us to treat "Discovery" as its own story. The third season does occasionally reference "past" events from other shows, but that does lead nicely into the next "Trek" installment...

The Next Generation (Seasons 1-5)

For many Trekkies today, "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was their introduction to the franchise, and for good reason. If any one series beyond the original can lay a claim to being the single most iconic "Star Trek" story, it's Next Generation, which premiered in 1987 and went on to not only have seven seasons of its own, but to jumpstart a chain of interlocking "Star Trek" shows that would thoroughly dominate the 1990s. Before that, though, the first five seasons of Next Generation stood alone, and if you're trying to get somebody instantly hooked on Trek, this might actually be the place to start, despite the fact that the first couple of seasons don't hold up incredibly well.

If you're absorbing all of "Star Trek," though, "Next Generation" has to be the place to start. After all, it's the next generation of what, exactly? The answer is the Starship Enterprise, which comes with an entirely new cast and crew, introducing the world to Worf, Data, Counselor Troi, and Geordi LaForge, and permanently branding the hearts of a thousand Trekkies with the image of Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard .

The Next Generation (Season 6) / Deep Space Nine (Season 1)

Okay, this is where it gets weird. "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" debuted in January 1993, just a few months after "Next Generation" kicked off its sixth season — a season full of unmitigated classics, incidentally, from the return of Montgomery Scott in "Relics" to the legendary two-parter "Chain of Command." Picard even makes a cameo in the first episode of "DS9," which takes place aboard a space station and uses the ideas and events of earlier "Next Generation" episodes to inform characters like Commander Benjamin Sisko and Quark. It's essentially impossible to understand Sisko's backstory, for example, without first having seen the "Next Generation" episode "The Best of Both Worlds."

Despite the fact that they take place over roughly the same time period, we recommend watching the entirety of Season 6 of "Next Generation" followed by the entirety of Season 1 of "DS9," if for no other reason than the former has more episodes than the latter, making it a complicated process to intercut between them. But however you choose to do it, these two seasons really should be watched back to back.

The Next Generation (Season 7) / Deep Space Nine (Season 2)

Similarly, the second season of "DS9" coincides with the last "Next Generation" season. While it might lack the standout episodes of earlier seasons, Season 7 manages a few achievements. For one thing, it puts a bow on one of the most beloved shows in television history with a flourish, ending the program with an ambitious, timeline-jumping two-parter that ties directly into the events of the very first episode. It also inadvertently lays the groundwork for a much more modern "Trek" show with an episode about junior officers called "Lower Decks." But most importantly, it ties into and reinforces "Deep Space Nine," most notably in the penultimate episode "Preemptive Strike," which deals with concurrent "DS9" problems like the Cardassians and the Maquis.

By the end of Season 2, "DS9" has already proven capable of standing on its own, having picked up and ran with the Maquis threads from earlier "Next Generation" episodes, returned to the Mirror Universe first introduced in the original series, and introduced the Dominion and the Jem'Hadar, who will serve as the series' primary antagonists. But the stories of Picard and company were far from over...

Generations

The four feature films built around the cast of "Next Generation" are a direct continuation of the movies that came before, not least because the first one, 1994's "Generations," serves as a bridge between "TOS" and its descendant, and between Kirk and Picard, in about the most literal way you could imagine. This movie marks the final appearance of several characters from the original show, including Kirk himself (the one played by William Shatner, at any rate) which makes it a crucial piece of the "Star Trek" timeline, as does the introduction of Data's emotion chip. Of course, some might consider the movie worth it just to see Malcolm McDowell chew the scenery like he hasn't eaten in three days, and we can't say they're wrong.

"Generations" launched Picard's crew onto the big screen almost immediately after their exit from the small one, meaning they would continue to be the face of "Star Trek" for the remainder of the decade. But back in the realm of "Trek" TV, things were only heating up, as a new series prepared to take the field and challenge "DS9" for television dominance.

Deep Space Nine (Season 3) / Voyager (Season 1)

Once again, it's time to switch between two seasons of "Star Trek," as the third season of "DS9" overlaps with the debuting "Star Trek: Voyager." The first "Trek" series to feature a woman (Kathryn Janeway) in the captain's chair, "Voyager" also had a unique and fascinating premise. Much of the "DS9" action is driven by the existence of a nearby wormhole that leads to the Gamma Quadrant, a section of space far away from the Federation's native Alpha Quadrant. This allows the titular space station and its intrepid crew to encounter any number of new and dangerous alien species. "Voyager" goes even farther, literally — a solitary ship finds itself transported to the even more distant Delta Quadrant and spends the rest of the series trying to get home.

Due to this premise, there's no reason whatsoever to jump between individual episodes of these two seasons, as the events of one show don't affect the other in any way. But jumping between shows by the season provides a fun and accurate experience of what it was like to watch the interlocking "Star Trek" programs of the 1990s.

Deep Space Nine (Season 4) / Voyager (Season 2)

Like most "Star Trek" shows, "Voyager" takes a couple of seasons to find its feet, and Season 2 in particular contains some of its most notoriously bad episodes, from the tone-deaf Native American implications of "Tattoo" to Janeway and Voyager pilot Tom Paris turning into salamanders and having salamander babies together in "Threshold" to the utter abomination that is "Tuvix." At least it has the consideration to get them all out of the way early on.

"DS9," meanwhile, was encountering its own problems in Season 4, which took a sharp turn away from the burgeoning conflict with the Dominion and instead spent most of its time dealing with the newly antagonistic Klingon Empire. Fortunately, even as the overarching plot went briefly off the rails, the writing was getting better and better, and the diversion is, if nothing else, entertaining. As a bonus, Season 4 features one of television's first lesbian kisses, and also brings in Worf, the Klingon security officer from "Next Generation" — until Picard, Michael Dorn was the only actor to star in the main casts of two different "Star Trek" shows.

First Contact

As a result of his dual roles, Worf would spend the next several years hopping back and forth between television and the movies. One reason it's important to watch Season 4 of "DS9" prior to watching "First Contact," the second film starring the "Next Generation" cast, is because in order to include Worf in the story, the latter is obligated to include a scene in which the Enterprise rescues another ship called the Defiant, introduced in "DS9" and captained by Worf himself. Future "Next Generation" movies, which decline in quality moving forward, come up with increasingly hand-wavy reasons for his presence on the Enterprise bridge.

"First Contact" itself, however, is by far the best of the "Next Generation" films and one of the best "Star Trek" films in general, as the crew travels back in time to prevent the cybernetic hive mind known as the Borg from altering history. Not only is "First Contact" a great movie (and the film directorial debut of Jonathan Frakes, who plays Commander William Riker), it also kicks off a spectacular "Star Trek" run that can stand up against any other period in franchise history.

Deep Space Nine (Season 5) / Voyager (Season 3)

With Season 5, "DS9" gets back on track after the previous outlier season, quickly focusing around a single unified threat thanks to an alliance between the show's original antagonists the Cardassians and the Dominion. The presence of the sinister Changelings adds an intrigue element to the story, as any character could potentially be a Changeling in disguise — a concept that would be used to great effect years later in the 2004 reboot of "Battlestar Galactica." The season concludes with the official start of the Dominion War, a conflict that would dominate the remainder of the show.

"Voyager," meanwhile, was also getting back on track in its third season, which generally sees an uptick in quality — particularly toward the end, with episodes like "Before and After," "Real Life," and "Worst Case Scenario." Robert Picardo, who plays Voyager's holographic doctor, also gets to make a cameo in "DS9" as the Doctor's creator, Lewis Zimmerman, in the episode "Doctor Bashir, I presume." And Season 3 ends with the first installment of "Scorpion," which catalyzed "Voyager's" official rise to greatness in part thanks to a memorable new character.

Deep Space Nine (Season 6) / Voyager (Season 4)

These two overlapping seasons, airing in late 1997 and early 1998, represent the pinnacle of "Star Trek's" '90s golden age. In "DS9," the Dominion War is in full swing, the series' much-discussed religions themes are building in prominence, the mysterious Section 31 is introduced, foreshadowing its prominent role in both "Enterprise" and "Discovery," and most memorably, the showrunners do what almost no iteration of "Star Trek" has ever dared to do: permanently kill off a member of the main cast.

Casting changes are also a major part of Season 4 of "Voyager," which jettisons the little-loved character of Kes and officially introduces Seven of Nine , a liberated Borg drone played by Jeri Ryan who quickly joins the ranks of the franchise's most widely known characters. It's an oversimplification to suggest that the overall brilliance of Season 4 is the direct result of Ryan joining the cast, but no matter how much of it you attribute to her, it's a phenomenal season of television, filled from start to finish with some of the best "Voyager" episodes (and also "Retrospect," but we don't talk about that one).

Insurrection

It's not "First Contact," but 1998's "Insurrection" is still a pretty good "Next Generation" movie, another solid offering from Jonathan Frakes. While "Insurrection" doesn't interact much with the events of "DS9" or "Voyager," watching it at this point in the "Trek" timeline provides an overall context for the state of the Federation, which has been intermittently challenged, as the movie's primary villain points out, by the Borg, the Cardassians, and the Dominion. A sense of the Federation being assailed from all sides isn't strictly necessary for the film's story of familial betrayal on a planet that confers immortality, but it does make viewing it a more interesting experience (though again, the perfunctory inclusion of Worf simply because he's expected to be in "Next Generation" movies is potentially jarring for "DS9" fans who have become invested in his character development, which "Insurrection" largely ignores).

"Insurrection" is Frakes' last "Star Trek" movie as director (though he would later direct episodes of "Discovery" and "Picard") and marks the beginning of the end of the '90s "Trek" boom. There's still plenty of great "Trek" ahead, but the curve is now pointing down.

Deep Space Nine (Season 7) / Voyager (Season 5)

The final season of "DS9" represents one of the single greatest creative accomplishments in "Star Trek" history, as no "Trek" show to date has managed to stick such an ambitious and satisfying landing. In a unique move, the last 10 episodes of the season form a single, series-ending story, and the feature-length finale, "What You Leave Behind," is considered one of the greatest "Trek" episodes of all time. "DS9" had been great for at least two seasons prior to this one, but the success of Season 7 cemented it as a foremost jewel in the crown of the "Star Trek" franchise.

"Voyager," meanwhile, continued its stellar run of episodes, capping off a three-year rehabilitation effort that saw one of the franchise's shakiest shows become one of its best. It was good timing, too, because with "DS9" wrapping up ("What You Leave Behind" aired the week after the Season 5 "Voyager" finale, "Equinox"), Captain Janeway and her crew were suddenly the only starship in the galaxy. And you, intrepid binge-watcher, can finally stop switching between two different shows.

Voyager (Seasons 6-7)

Unlike "DS9," the final seasons of "Voyager" are not its best, though admittedly, after Seasons 4 and 5, that's a high bar to clear. Season 6 comes close with a steady stream of classics, introducing both the popular Holodeck scenario Fair Haven and the "Pathfinder" storyline that sees "Next Generation" vets Reginald Barclay and Deanna Troi join up as recurring characters. By Season 7, however, the quality of "Voyager" has begun to dip noticeably — the final season contains few memorable episodes and at least one extremely ill-conceived romantic subplot. It earns some redemption, however, with the two-part series finale "Endgame," which, whether you like it or not, at least fulfills the promise of the show's premise and comes to a definitive conclusion about whether the ship and its crew are ever getting back to the Alpha Quadrant. It's a moment that would have been easy to shy away from, and "Voyager" meets it head on.

"Endgame" aired in May 2001, and in retrospect, the title didn't only apply to "Voyager." The continuous story that "Star Trek" had been telling for the past 14 years over the course of three different shows and three different movies was over. There was, however, one last (incredibly depressing) chapter to get through.

The final "Next Generation" film, released in 2002, is by far the worst of them, and the worst "Star Trek" movie in general since 1989's "The Final Frontier." It was so bad, in fact, that it notoriously killed "Star Trek" — plans for a fifth "Next Generation" movie were scrapped after "Nemesis" bombed at the box office, and creatively, it's an absolute nightmare, introducing a Romulan sister planet with the unfortunate name of Remus, blatantly attempting to restart Data's entire character arc via a literal copy with the also unfortunate name of B-4, and tying these and other unfortunate decisions together with a nonsensical plot featuring Tom Hardy as a secret clone of Picard. After "Nemesis," the scuttling of future franchise installments can honestly be seen as a mercy killing.

"Star Trek" wasn't quite dead in 2002, however. While we've now officially made it through the combined stories of "Next Generation," "DS9," and "Voyager," there's one more show, independent from the others, that now enters the viewing order. And watching it involves going back to the very beginning... and even before that.

In a chronological viewing, "Star Trek: Enterprise" would actually be the first show you watch, since it takes place a hundred years prior to "The Cage." Indirectly spinning off from the events of "First Contact," it tells the story of Earth's first warp starship, appropriately named the Enterprise and captained by Scott Bakula's Jonathan Archer, and of humanity's early relationships with alien species like the Vulcans, Klingons, Romulans, and Andorians. Despite its status as a prequel, the sheer degree to which "Enterprise" relies on its audience having knowledge of other "Star Trek" properties makes it almost impossible to recommend as an entry point. It fits much better here, as the official end of the franchise's second major era, especially given that the final episode, "These Are The Voyages...," frames itself as a holodeck simulation being watched by the Enterprise crew from "Next Generation."

"There Are The Voyages..." aired on May 13th, 2005. There wouldn't be another "Star Trek" show for more than 12 years. At this point, our watch order breaks away from order of release, but we feel strongly that it's how "Star Trek" from 1987 to 2005 should be watched.

Lower Decks

If you think 12 years is a long gap between "Star Trek" installments, that's nothing compared to the 45 years that went by between "Trek" stories told via animation. "Short Treks" was technically the first "Trek" show since "The Animated Series" to include animated episodes, and that aired in 2019, but 2020 gave us the first season of "Lower Decks," an entirely animated show about the people who don't get to hang out on the bridge.

The first franchise installment to ever concern itself primarily with characters who are not in command of a starship or space station, "Lower Decks" is the "Star Trek" equivalent of shows like HBO's "Harley Quinn" — an irreverent, adult-oriented comedy that revels in its TV-MA rating, delivering violence, sex, and swearing at warp speed frequencies. Chronologically, it's set shortly after the events of "Nemesis," but more importantly to the binge-watcher, it's the dessert following a feast — a vital dose of pure fun after absorbing almost four full decades of space drama.

The Kelvin timeline

After the box office failure of "Nemesis" brought an abrupt end to the "Next Generation" movies, there wasn't a new "Trek" film until 2009. And far from being a continuation of the existing movie franchise, this new version, simply called "Star Trek," was a reboot of "The Original Series," casting new, younger versions of Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the first Enterprise crew. Sequels to the reboot followed in 2013 and 2016.

Watching these three movies as part of a "Star Trek" binge is pretty much entirely optional, since they take place in an alternate timeline created when the USS Kelvin was destroyed in battle with time-traveling Romulan ship from the 24th century, leaving an infant James T. Kirk without a father in the process. Moreover, the trilogy is widely considered to be of uneven quality (though the third movie, "Star Trek Beyond," is considerably better than its predecessor, possibly due to the departure of director J.J. Abrams). Still, if you're going to watch them, this is the place in the viewing order to do it, as a key plot point of the first film — the Romulan sun going supernova — plays a major role in "Picard."

Short Treks

The Kelvin movies might not exert much direct influence over the larger plot of "Star Trek," but they played a major role in the future of the franchise by bringing in Alex Kurtzman. Kurtzman is the showrunner on "Discovery," and with the exception of "Lower Decks," he has been directly involved in every modern "Trek" series. In 2018, after the successful first season of "Discovery" led to a new expansion of the "Star Trek" franchise, Kurtzman and co-creator Bryan Fuller (formerly a writer on "DS9" and "Voyager") premiered "Short Treks," an anthology series of short, unrelated stories. As of this writing, there have been two seasons and 10 total episodes, some live-action, some animated.

"Short Treks" spans almost the entire "Star Trek" timeline — two episodes are set in the period of time between "Enterprise" and "The Original Series," while a third takes place in the far future. As a result, watching it requires a sense of the entire scope of the "Trek" universe. It's the penultimate entry in this watch order, however, because the Season 2 finale, "Children of Mars," leads directly into the final entry: "Picard."

"Star Trek: Picard" is the first of the modern "Trek" offerings to look forward rather than back, giving us a story set after the events of "Next Generation," "DS9," and "Voyager." Indeed, not only does the series follow up with Jean-Luc Picard 20 years after we last saw him (and 12 years after the Romulan sun went supernova) but it also brings in an older version of Seven of Nine, once again portrayed by Jeri Ryan. As mentioned, Picard also ties into the most recent installment of "Short Treks," which involves a terrorist attack by synthetic life forms that eventually leads to a ban on their creation — one of the many plot elements of "Picard" that has drawn criticism for being inconsistent with the original utopian vision of "Star Trek."

With so many new "Trek" shows on their way, this list will quickly become outdated. But all the upcoming series will reward previous "Trek" viewing, from Janeway's return on "Star Trek: Prodigy" to a show focused entirely on Section 31. So if you're going to binge all of "Star Trek," you might want to get started now!

Every Star Trek Show And Movie In Chronological Order

As a media phenomenon, "Star Trek" began on September 8, 1966 with the airing of "The Man Trap" (the sixth episode in production order, but the first aired). Originally, the show's writers, including creator Gene Roddenberry, used the concept of "stardates" to ensure the show's actual timeline was left vague; for several episodes, all audiences knew was that "Trek" was set in the future and that the future was a pretty keen place. It wouldn't be until the episode "The Naked Time" (seventh episode produced, fourth aired, first aired on September 29, 1966) that the Gregorian year would be mentioned out loud, and an actual timeline could begin to be constructed. 

Since then, "Star Trek" has extrapolated an extensive, centuries long timeline of events, often skipping merrily back and forth through the centuries, adding more and more to the franchises complex chronology. The chronology of "Star Trek" is so complicated that entire books have been published tracking the various shows' and films' events. Because of the constant production of new "Star Trek," these books became dated immediately. 

" Star Trek: Strange New Worlds " is set to debut on Paramount+ on May 5, and it is set immediately before the events of the original "Star Trek," making it the third "prequel" series to the original. To keep matters as clear as possible, here is a (very brief, by the standards of "Trek") rundown of "Star Trek" chronology from within its own canon. 

NOTE : This list will not necessarily include single episodes wherein characters go back in time, but give an overall timeframe for each individual film and TV show.

1986: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Although beginning and ending within the proper chronology of the "Star Trek" future, Leonard Nimoy's 1986 feature film " Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home " is set largely in the earliest point in the franchise's timeline (again, excluding single time travel episodes of any given TV series, wherein Mark Twain, the 1950s, and other eras are regularly visited). In the film, the crew of the Enterprise must go back in time to rescue a pair of humpback whales from extinction in order to appease an enormous, inscrutable space monolith that has been draining future Earth of its oceans, looking for its own kind. 

The bulk of "Voyage Home" takes place in 1986, and the film gained a lot of critical and audience attention for its fish-out-of-water humor and light tone; the previous three films had been comparatively dour, downbeat, or cerebral.

2024: Star Trek: Picard (Season 2)

As of this writing, the second season of "Star Trek: Picard" is still being released weekly on Paramount+, so the ultimate conclusion of the story is as yet unknown. 

What is known is that the trickster god Q (John De Lancie), a playful villain from "Star Trek: The Next Generation," visited an elderly Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) to warn him of a parallel universe. In this parallel universe, Earth is a genocidal conqueror race that has wiped out most life in the galaxy. Picard must travel back in time, paralleling the story of "Voyage Home" in order to stop the fascist timeline from starting. Thanks to the limited information they have, they travel to the year 2024, and the bulk of the season's action takes place there. 

A bit of a continuity error already: In previously mentioned "Trek" canon, the Eugenics Wars — the conflagration that wrought Khan from "Star Trek II" — should have already happened by 2024 (I believe the original date for the Eugenics Wars was 1997), but, in "Picard," they had clearly been delayed. One of the subplots of the second season of "Picard,' however, involves a malevolent genetic engineer, so it looks like the Eugenics Wars may finally be nigh.

2063: Star Trek: First Contact

Although never directly filmed, there are constant references throughout "Star Trek" to World War III, an event that left the entire planet devastated. Despite destitution and technological ruin, an inventor named Zefram Cochran managed to invent an engine that allowed humanity to travel faster than light. This technology, when being tested for the first time in the solar system, attracted the attention of some Vulcans who just happened to be passing by. This was the First Contact mentioned in the title of the 1996 film " Star Trek: First Contact ." 

In that film, the characters from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" travel back in time to foil a plot by a malevolent species of cyborgs called The Borg, and find themselves in the year A.D. 2063 where they could witness First Contact themselves. This was the event that essentially kicked off creator Gene Roddenberry's vision of a peaceful future. In meeting intelligent space aliens, a hobbled humanity learned that war was churlish, and that unity as a species was preferable in the face of a suddenly occupied cosmos. 

"First Contact" is essentially the "Star Trek" origin story.

2151 - 2155: Star Trek: Enterprise

After first talking to Vulcans, humans were eager to take to the stars and join the galactic community. The conceit of the 2001 TV series " Star Trek: Enterpris e" (originally just called "Enterprise") was that the Vulcans, seeing how illogical and roughhewn humanity still was, encouraged them to stay on Earth for nearly a century before actually taking to the stars. In that century, humanity rebuilt, formed a Starfleet, and constructed its very first long-mission starship, the U.S.S. Enterprise NX-01. The show is about the adventures of the very first humans in space, circa A.D. 2151.

"Enterprise" took place before a lot of established "Trek" tech had been invented. There were transporters, but they weren't entirely safe for use on humans. There were no shields around the ship. There were no food replicators, and the Enterprise required a galley. Most notably, there wasn't a Prime Directive yet, so a lot of mistakes are bound to be made. It wouldn't be until 2161 — according to ancillary revelations — that the Federation would be formed. 

2254: The Cage

The unused "Star Trek" pilot has probably gained more canonical traction than any other unused footage from any other work of filmed fiction. "The Cage" didn't air in its complete form until 1986, 20 years after its making. Previously, footage from "The Cage" was incorporated into a two-part "Star Trek" episode called "The Menagerie" (November of 1966). 

In the pilot, we first meet Capt. Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) and his ship the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701. We were first introduced to Spock as well, although Spock would be the only character carried over into the second pilot that was eventually used. Majel Barrett played the Enterprise's first officer in "The Cage," and she would go on to play multiple other roles throughout "Star Trek," including Nurse Chapel, M'Ress, Lwaxana Troi, and the voice of the ship's computer. 

The events of "The Cage" would also be revisited in the second season of "Star Trek: Discovery."

2256 - 2258: Star Trek: Discovery (seasons 1 and 2)

Another cataclysm that had been mentioned multiple times throughout "Star Trek" was a war between the Klingons and the Federation. The first season of "Star Trek: Discovery," which debuted on CBS All Access (now Paramount+) in November of 2017, dramatized those events explicitly, as seen through the eyes of the U.S.S. Discovery. This new ship was a science vessel that had figured out a way to tap into a galaxy-wide network of near-undetectable, microscopic spores into order to teleport anywhere in the galaxy instantaneously. 

After surviving the Klingon war, the Discovery teamed up with the U.S.S. Enterprise while it was still being captained by Christopher Pike (now played by Anson Mount), putting the events of "Discovery" immediately after the original pilot. There were a lot — and I mean a LOT — of narrative excuses as to why the high-tech Discovery (realized with late-2010s special effects) didn't match the boxier, monochromatic world of "The Cage." 

The show's writers also needed to come up with an organic reason why a ship that can teleport — a technology that would have fundamentally changed the world of "Star Trek" — was never mentioned in any of the "Trek" shows made from 1966 until 2017. As such, at the end of the second season of "Discovery," the ship was thrown almost 1,000 years into the future in order to outrun an insidious computer intelligence that would spread throughout the galaxy if knowledge of it was passed around. As such, the Discovery more or less deleted itself from existence. As panicked, narrative ass-saving measures go, it's a 7.

2258: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

The appearance of Capt. Pike on "Discovery" was so well-received that Paramount+ elected to go back to the Enterprise, bring back the characters from "The Cage," lump in a few familiar faces from the 1966 "Star Trek," and make " Strange New Worlds ," a series that takes place only eight years prior to the events of the original TV series. 

"Strange New Worlds" brings back Anson Mount as Pike, as well as a young Spock, a very young Uhura, a young Nurse Chapel, one of Khan's ancestors, and Dr. M'Benga, who showed up in a few episodes if the 1966 show. It also, notably, will not have season-long story arcs, but a single-hour episodic structure, standing in contrast with most of the other Paramount+-era "Star Treks," with "Lower Decks" being the proud exception.

2258 (KELVIN): Star Trek (2009)

Thanks to "Star Trek," the notion of parallel universes is quite well-known to the public. Incidentally, it's been quite odd watching the films and TV shows in the Marvel universe slow-walk the notion of a multiverse over the course of multiple installments when we've already seen Spock with a goatee. 

Thanks to complicated studio politics, there was a split in Paramount in the mid-2000s, and the Paramount side of the schism — when wanting to make a new "Star Trek" feature film — was legally required to make something distinguishable from the TV shows. Enter J.J. Abrams and his 2009 feature film " Star Trek " which takes place at the same time as "Strange New Worlds," but in a parallel universe where the characters from the 1966 show now look like a new cast, the Enterprise looks brighter and sleeker, and everything is more intense and action-packed. 

This new timeline would be created when a villain went back in time interfered with James T. Kirk right when he was born.

2259 (KELVIN): Star Trek Into Darkness

Although taking place far before the events of 1982's "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," J.J. Abrams' " Star Trek Into Darkness " (2013) drew a lot of story parallels to the Nicholas Meyer film. Taking place almost immediately after the 2009 film, "Into Darkness" involved the character of Khan who, in the timeline of the 1966 series, wouldn't be resurrected from cryogenic sleep for a few years hence. In "Into Darkness," he was awakened early, became involved in a plot to smuggle other cryogenically frozen compatriots. 

Originally, the Eugenics Wars were meant to have started in the 1990s, but — as "Star Trek" persisted, and the '90s came and went in the real world — that timeline had to be altered several times. The timeline of the Eugenics Wars in "Into Darkness" are a little unclear. As we saw above in "Star Trek: Picard," we know that they'll now take place sometime after 2024.

2263 (KELVIN): Star Trek Beyond

In Justin Lin's " Star Trek Beyond " (2016), Kirk (Chris Pine) laments that his adventures have already become episodic. It's unusual that the 2009 film and the 2013 sequel are essentially origin stories about the young Kirk coming into his own, and "Beyond" skips ahead to the point where he's already tired of being on "Star Trek." We missed the actual "five year mission" part!

Another interesting wrinkle in "Beyond" is that it alludes to a time somewhere after "Star Trek: Enterprise": The evil Kroll (Idris Elba) was, in fact, a human captain named Edison who led his own starship in the "Enterprise" era. Before the film, he was mutated into an evil alien. "Beyond," in explicitly mentioning the Xindi wars and other events from "Enterprise," anchors the Kelvin films a little more solidly into the "Trek" timeline.

2265 - 2269: Star Trek

After "The Cage" was abandoned by Paramount, the studio and Gene Roddenberry reworked the show into the 1966 program we all know and love. As mentioned, Spock was the only character carried over from the original pilot, and "Star Trek" now featured William Shatner as Captain Kirk and a host of new characters besides. "Star Trek" began as a horror show — there are many monsters and scare moments in the first season — eventually tackling ethical issues in a sci-fi fantasy context. 

"Star Trek" ran for three seasons, ending its initial run on June 3, 1969. Thanks to the gods of syndication, "Star Trek" would remain in reruns for the following decade, building up interest, spawning Trek conventions, and allowing the show to grow into a full-blown cultural phenomenon.

2269 - 2270: Star Trek: The Animated Series

In the opening credits of " Star Trek ," Shatner brazenly informed the audiences that the U.S.S. Enterprise was on a five-year mission. Given that the show was canned after only three years, there was more mission left to witness. In 1973, Roddenberry teamed up with Filmation to make an animated "Star Trek" series that would, by dint of its two seasons, ostensibly complete the five-year mission. Chekov (Walter Koenig) was absent from this show, but other unusual aliens took his place, including a cat woman named M'Ress and Mr. Aryx, a being with three arms. The animated format allowed for wilder ideas, aliens, and ships to be employed, and there are stories featuring flying serpents, aliens made of plants, an undersea episode, and a story with a 50-foot Spock. 

This 1973 version of "Star Trek," in only running 30 minutes per episode, cut out a lot of extraneous character moments from the traditional "Trek" structure, and got straight to the story. It's a far more efficient show than the 1966 program, and it has a passionate following of fans. 

2273: Star Trek: The Motion Picture

The decade of syndication, "Trek" conventions, and the financial success of George Lucas' sci-fi serial epic " Star Wars " in 1977 led Paramount to start thinking about restarting "Star Trek" on TV. A project was put into production that was to be called "Star Trek Phase II," and would have reunited several familiar "Trek" characters as well as introduce some new ones. For various reasons, "Phase II" was abandoned and elements of it were transformed into what would become the 1979 theatrical release " Star Trek: The Motion Picture ."

If all you had prior to "The Motion Picture" was a failed, low-budget TV show and a little-regarded animated series, this movie would feel grand in ways that you couldn't previously imagine. A lot of time was devoted to the size of the Enterprise, the importance of the characters, and mind-bending notions about the unending vastness of the cosmos. Here was a "Star Trek" film that is often compared to 1968's "2001: A Space Odyssey." Good gracious was it enormous. 

"The Motion Picture" was successful enough to warrant a sequel, but not so successful that Roddenberry was welcomed back. Remember that detail when we get to "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

2285: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

2285 was a significant year. In the events of Nicholas Meyer's "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" (1982), a thawed out Khan — the version played by Ricardo Montalbán from the 1967 "Star Trek" episode "The Space Seed," not the version played by Benedict Cumberbatch in "Star Trek Into Darkness" — hijacked a starship called the U.S.S. Reliant and set out on a mission of revenge against Admiral Kirk. The good admiral, we find, had forgotten about a lot of irresponsible actions taken in his past and had to face them head on just as he was looking down the barrel of old age. "Star Trek II" didn't end well for Kirk or for Spock. In that film, Spock famously dies. 

Not wasting any time, however, Kirk and co. sprang back into action in Leonard Nimoy's " Star Trek III: The Search for Spock " (1984), which picks up immediately after "Khan" ended. Thanks to the fineries of Vulcan psychic powers, and a high tech radiation wave that can generate life out of nothing, Spock could potentially be resurrected, and Kirk hijacks the Enterprise in order to help a friend. In so doing, Kirk destroys the ship, rouses the ire of some Klingons, loses his son (killed by said Klingons), and possibly destroys his career in Starfleet. Oops. 

Perhaps one of the reasons "Star Trek IV" (which began in 2286) was so popular was that it was the first "Trek" film to end on a wholly positive note. 

2287: Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Often cited as the worst of the "Trek" movies, William Shatner's "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" (1989) starts with a promising concept, but was undone by a bad script hastily written during a strike, and a repeatedly cut FX budget. The film ultimately feels flimsy and ill-considered, not able to truly confront the interesting ideas it brings up. Shatner has apologized for the poor quality of his film, which was fraught with production troubles.

In "Frontier," a newly-built Enterprise is hijacked by Spock's half-brother Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill), who is leading a cult of brainwashed followers, freed from pain by their leader's psychic powers. He seeks a mysterious planet at the center of the galaxy where he believes God physically lives. The final frontier of the title is not space, but the soul, religion, or spirituality. Many "Trek" purists will point out that seeking the center of the galaxy, and finding a deity there, is similar to an Animated Series episode called "The Magicks of Megas-Tu," wherein Kirk found the planet at the center of the galaxy is actually home to Satan. 

Note : "The Magicks of Megas-Tu" is far better than "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier."

2293: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Made after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Nicholas Meyer's " Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country " (1991) was very clearly a metaphor for the end of the Cold War. In it, the Klingon Empire is crippled by the accidental explosion of one of their moons, leaving the entire government requiring Federation help. "Country" is about how difficult it is to give up being enemies, especially when so much of one's identity is tied in with hate. There's an assassination, a investigation, a trial, a prison break ... It's one of the best "Trek" movies. 

One might glean from the title of the previous film in the series that the entire Kirk era was meant to end with "The Final Frontier." One might also glean that the poor reception and bad box office of "Final Frontier" led to one last go 'round. Fans may be relieved that the final feature film in the Kirk era was actually, y'know, a good one.

2364 - 2370: Star Trek: The Next Generation

Throughout the 1970s, Gene Roddenberry made tours on the convention circuit, talking about his vision for "Star Trek," and interacting with fans who were inspired by the peace, diplomacy, and calm that "Star Trek" has written into its DNA. Looking back over the 1966 show, notions of optimism and diplomacy are present, but they are mixed in with a lot of violence, sexism, and other now-backward ideas. After Roddenberry was essentially barred from involvement on the "Star Trek" feature films, he decided to make a purer, better version of his old show, set another 80 years in the future, and even more devoted to intelligence and diplomacy than ever before. Hence, 1987's " Star Trek: The Next Generation ." 

Taking place on a new ship, the Enterprise NCC-1701-D, and featuring an all new cast, the update of "Star Trek" started a little clumsily, but eventually found its stride to become the best "Star Trek" has offered to date. The tech was more convincing than it ever was, and it featured professional, adult characters who deal with crises with stiff upper lips. More so, it more frequently addressed questions about the meaning of life that humanity will always, it seems, wrestle with.

"Next Generation" last for seven full seasons, and its characters ended up occupying just as large a place in the pop consciousness as the characters from the 1966 TV series. 

Yes, "Next Generation" went back in time several times.

In terms of chronology, "Next Generation" overlapped with...

2369 - 2375: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

" Deep Space Nine " (1993 – 1999) was an unusual animal in many ways. It was the first time two "Star Trek" shows would run concurrently, and would take place over the same time frame (Picard from "Next Generation" appeared in the show's pilot). It was not about trekking at all, as it took place aboard a space station. It was also not set in the world of the Federation, often revolving alien species who were not offered protection from the organization. It was a show of healing and animosity. Of war and death. It started with an ensemble of seven or eight people, and eventually expanded to include about 30 main characters. "Deep Space Nine" is "Star Trek" via a Russian historical novel. 

When taken as a unit, "Next Generation" and "Deep Space Nine," both excellent in their own rights, become a complementary mass that is greater than their sum. The strength of diplomacy vs. its breakdown. The avoidance of war vs. the involvement in it. The absence of fascism vs. its inevitable regrowth. 

Yes, "Deep Space Nine" went back in time several times. 

"Deep Space Nine's" chronology would overlap with "Star Trek: Voyager," as well as with...

2371: Star Trek: Generations

The 1994 feature film " Star Trek: Generations " was a strange excursion. Although "Next Generation" had already run for seven years, "Generations" was still insistent on "passing the torch" from Kirk to Picard, and it bent over backwards to create the means by which Kirk and Picard, separated by 87 years of history, could meet face-to-face. It was the fan crossover no Trekkie wanted. As such, "Generations" is a flimsy affair, speeding through a ridiculous plot about a mobile temporal nexus that serves as Heaven for the people it scoops up along its path. 

Trekkies were even-headed enough to realize that Kirk and Picard weren't meant to meet, and that "Next Generation" was its own entity. The decision to aggressively tie the two shows even more closely together was just baffling. 

Notable too: The Enterprise-D was destroyed in "Generations," and would be replaced by a big ol' ugly thing for three additional feature films.

2371 - 2378: Star Trek: Voyager

" Star Trek: Voyager " debuted in 1995 and ran concurrently with "Deep Space Nine" both on television and within the chronology of "Star Trek." To cleverly avoid any interference between the two shows, however — "Deep Space Nine" would eventually become embroiled in a galaxy-spanning war — "Voyager" was given a "Lost in Space"-style premise wherein the title ship was thrown all the way across the galaxy to a portion of space that has never been explored by Starfleet, and could otherwise only be reached by 70 years of space travel. 

While the premise would perhaps lead a viewer to believe that "Voyager" was going to be about resource allocation and survival, it quickly became more about the Borg, a character played by actress Jeri Ryan, and Captain Janeway's (Kate Mulgrew) steady slide into autocracy. 

"Voyager" struggled with ratings for years, but still managed to last seven seasons like "Next Gen" and "Deep Space" before it. The final episode of "Voyager," a time travel story called " Endgame ," would air in March of 2001.

2375: Star Trek: Insurrection

While "Voyager" and "Deep Space Nine" were running concurrently on television, the "Next Generation" crew were yukking it up in the overwhelmingly mediocre 1998 Jonathan Frakes film " Star Trek: Insurrection ." Like "The Final Frontier," "Insurrection" can be seen straining against the limits of its budget, with bad CGI, bland costumes, and locations clearly found in the California mountains. The cheapness of "Star Trek" has often served as a boon for its story, forcing writers to insert interesting and challenging ideas into their plywood sets. "Insurrection" has no such ideas, asking the ethical question of forced relocation, but never feeling threatening, and offering a magical curative radiation that would require study and collection. 

Although one can admit this: "Insurrection" captures the tone of the "Next Generation" TV series far better than any of the other movies in this part of the series. It's a pity, though, that after the grand finale of "Next Generation," we find ourselves with suck lackluster films. 

Speaking of lackluster films ...

2379: Star Trek: Nemesis

Released in 2002, Stuart Baird's " Star Trek: Nemesis " was poised to be the final gasp for "Star Trek." "Enterprise" was already taking the franchise in a new direction, and the "NextGen" cast was clearly too tired to handle a continued barrage of poorly planned action movies, and thrillers that didn't resemble the show they were inspired by. "Nemesis" is dark and action-packed and violent and takes a lot of structural cues from "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." 

In it, Tom Hardy plays a character named Shinzon who is, in fact, a clone of Captain Picard, grown in a Romulan lab, and eventually discarded into a Romulan mine. Shinzon escaped the mine, built an army, and is poised to take a giant death ship into Federation space to revenge all over people. "Nemesis" is also the film in which Data (Brent Spiner) dies, and Captain Picard drives a dune buggy. 

The sentiment of the time was reminiscent of T.S. Eliot's " The Hollow Men ." This is the way "Next Gen" ends. Not with a bang, but a whimper.

Worry not. There will be further whimpers for the NextGen crew.

2380 - ?: Star Trek: Lower Decks

Named after a seventh season episode of "Next Generation," and taking place in line with the end of "Nemesis" and "Voyager," " Star Trek: Lower Decks " debuted on Paramount+ in 2020 as part of a slew of "Star Trek"-related indicia that the company was desperate to exploit. And while the all-your-eggs-in-one basket approach to TV production affected by Paramount led to stinkers like "Discovery" and "Picard," it did lead to this surprisingly good animated program. 

One of the more appealing aspects of "Star Trek" is that it's essentially a series of workplace shows. The characters are typically vocation-forward, and take their duty to their ship very seriously. Where a "Star Trek" character works speaks powerfully to who they are. "Lower Decks" follows the people who have the worst possible jobs on a Starfleet vessel, often tasked with cleaning holodecks, sanitizing floors, and arranging widgets for the senior staff. It's rough going for ensigns. They sleep in the hallway and are typically not deemed important enough to include on more exciting missions. What's more, the central ship on "Lower Decks" is a tiny, crappy ship with substandard tech. Surely such jobs would exist in "Star Trek." 

"Lower Decks" is eager to make "Trek" references, and is clearly made by people who understand "Trek's" ethos, but who still have a raunchy sense of humor. The future is here. And it's still crappy for those on the bottom. 

2383: Star Trek: Prodigy

Produced under the auspices of Nickelodeon, " Star Trek: Prodigy " (2021) was the first Trek series to be made explicitly with a younger audience in mind. The series follows a ragtag group of alien youths as they flee a prison mine and discover an abandoned Starfleet vessel called the U.S.S. Protostar. On board is an instructional hologram of Captain Janeway from "Voyager," and she teaches the kids how to behave like Starfleet officers, the importance of duty and compassion, and how their trauma does not define them. The design and the creatures are more reminiscent of "Star Wars" than "Star Trek" (the series features an evil emperor and his powerful masked servant, invoking the Emperor and Darth Vader), but it certainly functions as a generic space adventure. The "Star Trek" stuff is mere window dressing. 

It's almost disappointing to include "Prodigy" on this timeline, as one of the show's central mysteries — at least for the first part of its first season, the only part to have aired as of this writing — is when and where it takes place. It was possible that "Prodigy" took place centuries or even millennia beyond the known Trek universe. The last we saw, however, the real Captain Janeway is still alive, giving "Prodigy" a known place in Trek chronology. 

2399: Star Trek: Picard (Season 1)

After nearly 20 years of a world without Picard, Paramount+ convinced Patrick Stewart to reprise his role in a new show named for him. " Star Trek: Picard " debuted on Paramount+ in 2020, taking place further in the future than any other Trek show to date. In the timeline of "Picard," the Federation had become soured by xenophobia and openly discouraged the evacuation of Romulus, historically an enemy world, but now in dire straits after their sun went supernova (something something J.J. Abrams). Picard had left Starfleet in disgust, and had now retired to his winery. 

The story of the first season is too convoluted to get into here, needless to say it involved a Romulan secret society, a planet of androids, a reclaimed Borg cube, and a robot Cthulhu. I'm not kidding. 

It's a pity that "Picard" did not roll with its future setting more, establishing new tech or positive sea changes in the "Trek" universe. Instead, everything is devoted to a chewy, awful story about androids. Indeed, by the end, Picard himself would have his consciousness shunted into an android body. What a snore.

3188 - 3190: Star Trek: Discovery (Seasons 3 and 4)

When last we saw the U.S.S. Discovery, it was being pulled through a time hole into the distant future. In the third and fourth seasons , Discovery's crew learns that they are stranded 930 years from home, and now must rediscover their function as Starfleet officers after the Federation went into hiding. A galaxy-wide disaster — The Burn — spontaneously destroyed millions of starships, and a fierce new criminal enterprise, The Emerald Syndicate, now rules the galaxy.

The 23rd-century ship now has to learn how to use 32nd-century technology. The Discovery was redesigned, and the new mission became to spread diplomacy in a galaxy unready for it. This is the premise, it seems, that Discovery should have started with two years prior. The writing is still rather weak, and the characters are callow and weepy, but "Discovery" does excel in one notable way: Queer representation. Seven of the main cast members are openly queer. After 55 years of a dodgy relationship with queerness, "Discovery" finally nailed it.

I just wish it were a better show.

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Trek Boldly With Our Guide To Watching the ‘Star Trek’ Movies

We’ve had almost 60 years of Star Trek now, and with 13 movies (and counting?) it can be hard to work out the right order to watch them in. It helps that the early movies are numbered, but only if you want to watch them in release order rather than in universe chronology—and once you get out of The Original Series era , even that advantage goes away. Here’s our ultimate guide to watching the Star Trek movies, both ways!

Release Order

Watching the Star Trek movies in the order in which they were released is recommended for first time viewers, simply to avoid the confusion of receiving plot elements out of order. We start with the TOS films and work our way through to the Kelvin timeline reboots. Easy.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Kirk, now an Admiral, commandeers the Enterprise to investigate a powerful alien entity traveling inside an energy cloud that poses a serious threat to all life in the galaxy. After losing various members of the crew to the alien, it turns out to be the returning Voyager 6 probe, now sentient after its travels and looking to merge with a human to complete its mission.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

No good deed goes unpunished, and Kirk’s decision (TOS: “Space Seed”) to spare Khan and his followers—by leaving them to settle on an uninhabited planet—backfires spectacularly in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . Seeking vengeance, Khan attempts to capture the Genesis Device—experimental technology that can produce new worlds out of dead matter through an explosive process, which can also be used as a weapon. Be warned: Spock dies in this one, and it’s emotionally devastating even though we all know it doesn’t last.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

In Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , Kirk discovers that Spock’s katra (something like a soul) is inside McCoy, and that both katra and body are needed to properly lay Spock to rest on Vulcan. So Kirk and the crew steal the Enterprise to reunite them. But because Spock’s casket landed on the new planet created by the Genesis Device, his body has been de-aged and resurrected, rapidly aging toward adulthood—but without a mind. However, Klingons are also after the planet and the Genesis Device, so the crew of the Enterprise will have to do battle with them to complete their mission.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Star Trek IV is also commonly referred to as the “one with the whales.” After an alien probe induces catastrophic effects on the earth’s atmosphere, Spock discovers that the probe is attempting to communicate via the call of the now extinct humpback whale. In order to find and bring some of the whales back, and thereby save the planet, the Enterprise performs a “slingshot maneuver” around the sun to travel back to a time before the whales died out. When they arrive in 1986, Kirk and Spock locate a pair of whales that are about to be released from captivity and try to persuade the biologist in charge of their care to hand them over, while Uhura and Chekov raid a nuclear-equipped aircraft carrier to restore the Enterprise’s power so they can return home.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

In Star Trek V , Kirk, Spock, and McCoy’s camping trip is cut short when Spock’s half-brother Sybok takes a group of diplomats hostage and the crew of the Enterprise is sent to rescue them. It turns out to be a trap, as Sybok needed a starship to find God at the center of the universe, and he uses his Vulcan abilities to persuade the crew to help him. Pursued by a glory-seeking Klingon Captain and his warship, they reach and break through the energy barrier that Sybok believes houses God on the other side, and meet a powerful alien entity who certainly claims to be God but doesn’t have anyone’s best interests at heart.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

The destruction of Qo’noS’ moon forces the Klingons into peace talks with the Federation in Star Trek VI . Despite Kirk’s long standing grudge against Klingons (one of them killed his son), the Enterprise is sent to collect their Chancellor, Gorkon, and bring him to Earth to negotiate a treaty. On the way there, however, Gorkon is murdered, and Kirk and McCoy are framed as the killers and sent to a penal colony on an ice planet. The crew of the Enterprise goes rogue to rescue them, expose the real assassins, and foil the conspiracy that threatens the peace talks.

Star Trek: Generations

Star Trek: Generations begins with Picard, having just learned of the death of his brother and nephew, receiving a distress call from an observatory. When he takes the Enterprise to check it out, they discover that the scientist in charge, Dr. Soran, is trying to destroy stars to summon a massive energy ribbon that contains another dimension. Called the Nexus, the dimension creates alternative realities based on your deepest desires. Attempts to stop Soran fail, and both he and Picard are transported inside the Nexus, where Picard discovers Captain Kirk—who was sucked inside the Nexus at the beginning of the movie—and the two work together to defeat Dr. Soran.

Star Trek: First Contact

In an attempt to conquer Earth, the Borg create a temporal vortex to send a ship back in time and take over the planet before humanity demonstrated warp capabilities, thereby preventing first contact and the formation of the Federation—hence the title, First Contact . The Enterprise follows the Borg ship through the time vortex, seeking out Zefram Cochrane to ensure his test flight goes ahead as planned, thus preserving the correct timeline, all while fighting off a Borg invasion. Meanwhile, the Borg queen has kidnapped Data, and Picard has to work through his own Borg-related trauma while attempting to rescue him.

Star Trek: Insurrection

In Star Trek: Insurrection , Data malfunctions while observing what appear to be pre-warp people, leading the Enterprise to discover that not only is this untrue (they merely choose to live that way), but that the Federation is collaborating with a group called the Son’a to forcefully relocate them so the planet’s rejuvenating properties can be harvested. Picard defies orders to allow this to go on, citing the Prime Directive, and the Enterprise assists the planet’s inhabitants in defending themselves and their way of life.

Star Trek: Nemesis

Star Trek: Nemesis sees Picard on a diplomatic mission to Romulus, where he discovers that the new Romulan leader is a younger clone of himself. Named Shinzon, he was originally created to act as a spy within the Federation, but the project was scrapped and the young clone was left in a prison colony on Remus, where he launched his climb to the top of the Empire. Shinzon requires a transfusion of Picard’s blood to reverse the ill effects of the cloning process that are killing him, so he kidnaps Picard and heads for Earth with a thalaron radiation-emitting weapon, which he intends to use to wipe out all life on the planet.

The first of the alternate timeline films, Star Trek reboots the series with a vengeance-seeking Romulan who travels back in time, altering the past. Kirk, having lost his father as a baby, grows up to be a very different person. Though he’s constantly getting into trouble, Kirk is invited to join the academy anyway by Captain Pike, who sees his potential. Just when Kirk is on the verge of expulsion, the same Romulan reappears, continuing to seek his vengeance, and Kirk stows away on the Enterprise, determined to go into the field with the other cadets.

Star Trek Into Darkness

Star Trek Into Darkness is a reboot of The Wrath of Khan that proposes a very different backstory for Khan and Kirk’s relationship. Sent to chase after a Starfleet agent who blew up the Section 31 headquarters and killed several senior officers (including Pike), Kirk and the Enterprise crew discover there’s something else going on. The agent is actually Khan, pressed into service by Admiral Marcus, who is holding the rest of Khan’s people hostage and is trying to kill them and everyone else who knows what’s going on.

Star Trek Beyond

In Star Trek Beyond , the Enterprise is ambushed and many of its crew captured by a man named Krall. The bulk of the ship is destroyed, while the saucer section crashes onto the planet below. It turns out Krall is a pre-Federation soldier whose life was extended by the technology of the planet’s inhabitants, and who believes the Federation abandoned him and his crew there to die. Intent on revenge, Krall is seeking the missing piece of an ancient bioweapon. When he finds it, the movie becomes a race to stop Krall from reaching Earth and setting it off.

Chronological Order

I wouldn’t recommend watching the Star Trek movies in chronological order unless you’ve already watched all of them through at least once. Otherwise, you’re going to spend half the time confused as to what’s going on and the rest realizing you’ve already spoiled yourself on the major plots.

The Voyage Home is the earliest the crew travels back in time, to 1986. However, they change the past, altering rather than preserving the timeline, so it’s debatable as to whether the fourth film actually goes here or if it follows The Search for Spock instead.

By traveling back to ensure First Contact goes ahead as planned, the crew of the Enterprise ensure the timeline remains unchanged, enabling everything that happens in the other movies to proceed.

This is where you switch to watching the Kelvin-verse movies, because Nero’s alteration to the timeline starts long before the events of the original Star Trek movie took place.

Time to revert to the original continuity, even though the events of this movie (and the ones after) don’t follow the last three you’ve watched.

If you actually give this watch order a try, let us know how it goes and whether it makes for an enjoyable experience!

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The brash James T. Kirk tries to live up to his father's legacy with Mr. Spock keeping him in check as a vengeful Romulan from the future creates black holes to destroy the Federation one pl... Read all The brash James T. Kirk tries to live up to his father's legacy with Mr. Spock keeping him in check as a vengeful Romulan from the future creates black holes to destroy the Federation one planet at a time. The brash James T. Kirk tries to live up to his father's legacy with Mr. Spock keeping him in check as a vengeful Romulan from the future creates black holes to destroy the Federation one planet at a time.

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• 534 Critic reviews
• 82 Metascore
• 27 wins & 95 nominations total

Top cast 99+

• Spock Prime

• (as Zoë Saldana)

• Amanda Grayson

• George Kirk

• Winona Kirk

• Captain Robau

• Officer Pitts
• (as Antonio Elias)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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• Trivia In the scene where Kirk is taking the Kobayashi Maru test, he is eating an apple, which is also what he is eating while recounting his tale of taking the Kobayashi Maru test in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) . (According to director J.J. Abrams in the Blu-ray audio commentary, this was not intended to be a reference to The Wrath of Khan. At one point, he was simply told that lead actors seem cocky eating apples.)
• Goofs After Spock boards the Vulcan ship on board the mining vessel, Kirk is seen walking through some pipes. His Starfleet phaser has switched to a Romulan gun (longer barrel and no lights), before switching back to the Starfleet one again in the next scene. He actually acquires the Romulan gun a few scenes later.

Spock Prime : James T. Kirk!

James T. Kirk : Excuse me?

Spock Prime : How did you find me?

James T. Kirk : Whoa... how do you know my name?

Spock Prime : I have been and always shall be your friend.

James T. Kirk : Wha...

[shakes head]

James T. Kirk : Uh... look... I-I don't know you.

Spock Prime : I am Spock.

James T. Kirk : Bullshit.

• Crazy credits The first part of the closing credits is styled after the opening credits of Star Trek (1966) , where the starship Enterprise blasts off into space as a monologue describes its mission, and then the cast names appear as the famous "Star Trek" theme music plays.
• Connections Edited into De wereld draait door: Episode #4.157 (2009)
• Soundtracks Theme from 'Star Trek' TV Series Written by Alexander Courage & Gene Roddenberry

User reviews 1.6K

• Apr 9, 2009
• If this premise is that an alternate timeline created when Nero traveled back in time, then what happened to James Kirk's older brother, Sam, aka George Samuel Kirk Jr.?
• How can Spock's mother still be alive years later (original series) when she dies earlier on in this movie ?
• What is Star Trek about?
• May 8, 2009 (United States)
• United States
• Official Facebook
• Star Trek: The Future Begins
• Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park - 10700 W. Escondido Canyon Rd., Agua Dulce, California, USA (Vulcan)
• Paramount Pictures
• Spyglass Entertainment
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $150,000,000 (estimated)
• $257,730,019
• $75,204,289
• May 10, 2009
• $385,681,768

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 7 minutes
• Dolby Digital
• 2.39 : 1 (original ratio)

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How to Watch Every Star Trek Series (and Movie) in the Right Order

Ready for a rewatch but not sure where to start? We’ve got you covered.

Have you ever wondered what the best way is to stream Star Trek from start to finish? Look no further.

Approaching the chronological watch of a franchise that’s been on over fifty years can be daunting. Especially with a science-fiction universe that has time travel, multiple universes, concurrent shows and entirely new timelines.

Fear not, as we have created a handy binge-watch guide using the Stardate of each series and film. Here is our guide on how to watch every Star Trek series and movie in the right order.

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How to watch every star trek series & movie in the right order.

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One Star Trek: The Next Generation Species Was Too Powerful To Ever Bring Back

Star trek explains why it uses 'quadrants' despite the universe being infinite, star trek's new warp drive breaks the prime directive in a way no-one expected.

In a choice between whether to watch the Star Trek TV series and movies in the order of release or watching the saga unfold throughout its in-universe continuity, here's how a Trekker can do either. When  Star Trek: The Original Series premiered in 1966, no one dreamed it would launch a franchise that would last 55 years, and Star Trek  is still going strong . Star Trek now encompasses 9 TV series, with two more, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and the animated Star Trek: Prodigy in development for 2022, as well as 13 feature films, with the 14th Star Trek movie earmarked for June 2023.

Star Trek has also grown into a massive canon that spans a thousand years of the future. Much of the franchise is focused on the Captain and crews of the various starships named Enterprise and most of the saga is divided between the optimistic future of the 23rd century's The Original Series ( TOS ) era and Star Trek: The Next Generation 's ( TNG ) 24th-century era, which also spans the spinoffs Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Lower Decks, and Star Trek: Picard . But in the last 20 years, Star Trek has also relied heavily on prequels, with Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Discovery seasons 1 and 2, and J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movie trilogy all set before TOS . Complicating matters, Abrams' films are also set in their own alternate canon, the Kelvin timeline. Star Trek: Discovery season 3 (and all future seasons) take place in the 32nd century, which is the farthest in the future the franchise has explored.

Related: Star Trek: Every Captain of The Enterprise

Star Trek  utilizes Stardates in-universe but it's easier to track the timeline based on the Greco-Roman calendar years each TV series and movie is set in. Of course, as a sci-fi franchise renowned for its innovative storytelling, Star Trek has told plenty of time travel tales . Nearly every TV series and several of the films have time travel adventures set that have sent the Starfleet heroes into the present day or even let them cross over and meet crews from different eras. There is really no wrong way to watch Star Trek but if a new fan is making the choice between release date order or the order of continuity, here is a handy guide to both options.

Star Trek TV Shows & Movies In Order Of Release

Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969)

Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1974)

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock ( 1984)

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

Star Trek Generations (1994)

Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

Star Trek Insurrection (1998)

Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)

Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

Star Trek (2009)

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Star Trek: Discovery (2017-present)

Star Trek: Picard (2020-present)

Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020-present)

Related: Star Trek: When The Kelvin Timeline Takes Place

Star Trek TV Shows & Movies In Chronological Order

Star Trek: Enterprise (2151-2155)

Star Trek (2009) (2255 in the Kelvin timeline) Star Trek also contains flashbacks to 2233, the 2240s, and 2252 and a flashforward to 2387 in the Prime timeline.

Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1 & 2 (2256-2258) The USS Discovery permanently time travels to the 32nd century at the end of season 2.

Star Trek Into Darkness (2259 in the Kelvin timeline)

Star Trek Beyond (2263 in the Kelvin timeline)

Star Trek: The Original Series (2266-2269)

Star Trek: The Animated Series (2269-2270)

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (2270s)

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (2285)

Star Trek IV:  The Voyage Home (2286 and 1986)

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (2287)

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (2293)

Star Trek: The Next Generation (2364-2370)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2369-2375)

Star Trek Generations (2371) Generations takes place before DS9 season 4 when Worf (Michael Dorn) joins the space station crew.

Star Trek: Voyager (2371-2378) Voyager 's first four seasons take place concurrently with DS9 seasons 4-7.

Star Trek: First Contact (2373 and 2063) First Contact takes place during DS9 season 5 and Voyager season 3. Most of the film takes place in 2063, 90 years before the events of Star Trek: Enterprise .

Star Trek Insurrection (2375) Insurrection takes place during DS9 season 7 and Voyager season 5.

Star Trek: Nemesis (2379)

Star Trek: Lower Decks (2380 onward)

Star Trek: Picard (2389 onward) Picard also has flashbacks set in 2385.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 (3188-3189)

Next: Why Every Star Trek Series Ended

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All ‘Star Trek’ movies in order

It’s hard to believe that as of 2024, Star Trek will have been on the silver screen for forty-five years. In that time, the crews of the many and varied starships Enterprise have had no less than thirteen adventures. Here they are in order.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

It’s unfortunate that the first movie in the franchise is also the weakest to feature the original crew. The script was subject to a tug-of-war during production between series creator Gene Roddenberry and principal writer Harold Livingston. The result was a flabby tale about the Enterprise crew’s encounter with an enormous entity threatening Earth – a colossal mishmash that pleased no-one, save for seeing the revamped starship Enterprise looking majestic on a big screen.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

By common consensus, The Wrath of Khan was streets ahead of its predecessor, and, forty years after its release, it still hasn’t been bettered . Ricardo Montalban reprises his role as Khan, Admiral Kirk’s nemesis from the 1966 episode “Space Seed”; the plot sees Khan steal a starship, purloin the Genesis device, and vow revenge for his exile to a distant planet. The battle scenes are breathtaking, and the final act is a tour de force of tension and suspense.

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (1984)

The franchise’s third instalment may be a touch less compelling than The Wrath of Khan , but there are still thrills aplenty, as the Enterprise ’s crew goes to the Genesis planet created in the previous film, where they make an extraordinary discovery. Christopher Lloyd shows the acting chops that would shortly serve him so well as Doc Brown in Back To The Future as the homicidal Klingon captain whose fistfight with Kirk provides the one moment that really harkens back to the original series.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

Time travel – never an easy proposition in the Star Trek universe – seems as easy as pie in this 1986 movie, but that inconsistency aside, viewers are treated to a famous romp. Kirk and company visit 1980s San Francisco in search of humpback whales who, it is surmised, can communicate with a probe in the future that is hellbent on destroying Earth. “But that’s crazy,” mutters Bones at one point. He’s not wrong; but it’s still a rollicking movie.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

William Shatner took the directorial reins for the fifth film in the series, which saw the Enterprise being commandeered by Sybok, a half-brother of Spock, and a mystic in search of God. The intention was to offer commentary on televangelists, but, though it has its moments, the script sags under the weight of slapstick, cheesy one-liners, ropey special effects, and an underwhelming climax.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

The final outing for the original crew sees Kirk and Bones framed for the assassination of the Klingon premier (played with gravitas by David Warner). Normal service is resumed after its predecessor’s misfires, and the plot is worthy, but the cast never quite manage to shake off the sense of an era coming to an end.

Star Trek: Generations (1994)

The first film featuring the Enterprise crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation , Generations sees Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) battling Sorin (Malcolm McDowell), a stereotypical mad scientist driven to the destruction of an entire planet by grief. The film seems to have suffered in comparison to its successor, which did better at the box office, but it’s a fine film, with a nail-biting final act.

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

The best of the Next Generation films, First Contact features the Borg, time travel, and fine turns by James Cromwell and Alfre Woodard as 21 st century scientists attempting to build the world’s first warp drive. The stakes are high, the action convincing – and dyed-in-the-wool fans will squee non-stop during the final scene.

Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)

The increasingly sure hand of Jonathan Frakes – Next Generation ’s Commander Riker – in the director’s seat is not enough to compensate for a by-the-numbers script which reads more like an extended television episode. The themes of eternal life and a conspiracy within Starfleet fail to disguise a strangely tensionless plot, though Tony Award winner Donna Murphy impresses as Captain Picard’s love interest.

Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

This underwhelming conclusion to the Next Generation films barely broke even at the box office. Tom Hardy appears in only his third film role as Shinzon, a Romulan rebel created from Captain Picard’s DNA. The hectic climax has dramatic beats in all the wrong places, and, with multiple plot strands competing with one another for attention, it’s unsurprising that cinema audiences voted with their feet.

Star Trek (2009)

J. J. Abrams kicked off the Star Trek reboot films with a new Kirk and Spock in Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto respectively, a nifty new starship Enterprise, a touch of Beastie Boys, and a ton of lens flare. It won an Academy Award for Best Makeup (the only Star Trek film to be so honored), and audiences loved it, though removal of rose-tinted spectacles shows more of a reliance on artifice than strong plotting.

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Abrams’ second bite of the cherry was another box office success, but struggles for coherence, relying on misplaced callbacks to previous movie instalments and a laughable final slugfest between Spock and Khan that puts viewers in mind of the similarly batty and sleep-inducing fight sequence in Star Wars: The Revenge of the Sith . The usually dependable Benedict Cumberbatch is miscast as Khan.

Star Trek Beyond (2016)

This Simon Pegg and Doug Jung-scripted film improves on its predecessors , thanks in large part to well-judged performances from Idris Elba and Sofia Boutella. But the action is still way too far-fetched even for the Star Trek franchise, and it’s no wonder that a fourth instalment is yet to be ready for launch.