Paramount-Skydance Plans New Star Trek Movies Tied Directly to Paramount+ Shows — Could Picard, Strange New Worlds and Discovery Hit Theaters?

Paramount and Skydance now plan to tie their new Star Trek movies more closely to the shows on Paramount Plus, company leaders said at an event celebrating the $8 billion merger. At the event, Skydance Media CEO David Ellison said the combined studio intends to focus on theatrical releases, including Star Trek films, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

What executives announced about Star Trek movies and how they will connect to existing TV shows.

New film strategy from Paramount-Skydance

Studio co-film chief Josh Greenstein named Star Trek alongside Transformers and World War Z as franchises that will be a priority for Paramount-Skydance’s plan to release 15 films a year. Meanwhile, Paramount Plus chief Cindy Holland said, “Streaming movies are not a priority for me” in her role overseeing the streaming business.

How the movies will relate to the TV shows

New Paramount-Skydance chief creative officer Dana Goldberg said the Star Trek TV and film teams will be working together to build the brand. The trade report mentioned several possible directions discussed by studio sources, including revisiting characters from Picard, bringing actors from Strange New Worlds into films, or following storylines that continue from Discovery.

Context: past Star Trek film attempts

Over the past decade, multiple Star Trek film projects were developed but ultimately stalled. For example, Quentin Tarantino worked on a script that Simon Pegg described as “batshit crazy.” In another effort, director S.J. Clarkson was reportedly tapped to direct a sequel to Star Trek Beyond, according to Variety. Later, Matt Shakman left a Star Trek project to make The Fantastic Four: First Steps, as reported by Variety.

Noah Hawley and other halted plans

Creator Noah Hawley was in talks to make an original Star Trek film before that project was abandoned in 2020, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Meanwhile, actor Chris Pine, who played Captain Kirk in three recent films, has publicly described his experiences with the series, with Variety reporting that he called the franchise “cursed.”