Star Trek’s Next Movie Reveals New Timeline: What This Means

Jul 24, 2026 - 07:12

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Star Trek’s Next Movie Reveals New Timeline: What This Means

Anton Yelchin as Chekov and Chris Pine as Kirk in Star Trek Beyond

Published Jul 23, 2026, 9:30 PM EDT

John Orquiola is a New & Classic TV Editor, Senior Writer, and Interviewer with a special focus on Star Trek. John has over 5,000 published articles at SR, and he has interviewed the biggest names in Star Trek on the red carpet and VIP events, among other beloved shows, movies, and franchises.

A new update on the next Star Trek movie raises new questions about its place in the timeline. Star Trek has been a popular and profitable movie franchise since Star Trek: The Motion Picture premiered in 1979. There have been 13 theatrically released Star Trek movies, and one made-for-streaming film, Star Trek: Section 31.

At CinemaCon 2026, Paramount Skydance formally announced a new Star Trek movie being developed for theatrical release. Months earlier, the studio canceled Star Trek 4, ending a decade of development hell. Star Trek 4 was supposed to reunite the USS Enterprise cast led by Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto under producer J.J. Abrams, but now, there will be no follow-up to 2016's Star Trek Beyond.

Although Paramount Skydance didn't offer specifics about the next Star Trek movie in the works, it is believed to be the reported project being developed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, the filmmakers behind Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. There are also rumors of even more Star Trek movies in development.

Star Trek’s Next Movie Being Set In The Future Raises New Questions

Riker and Picard in Star Trek First Contact

Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley were part of San Diego Comic-Con's Directors on Directing panel, attended by ScreenRant's Brandon Zachary. Daley confirmed that their new Star Trek movie is "in progress, and...we're very excited about it. I think people will be surprised. I really can't say anything other than that." However, Goldstein offered more hints about its setting in Star Trek's timeline:

Jonathan Goldstein: I think we've said in the past... it won't be the characters that you've seen previously in your Star Trek movies. So there will be a new take on that. And I think it'll probably be a little further into the future than we've been before.... what draws us to it is the opportunity to do a different spin.

The screenwriters confirming that the next Star Trek movie will be "probably a little further into the future than we've seen before" raises some pertinent questions.

The first is: Which timeline is the new film set in? Star Trek's movie franchise takes place in two different realities: the Prime timeline of Star Trek I - XIII (as well as every Star Trek TV series) and the alternate Kelvin timeline of the J.J. Abrams-produced trilogy.

With Paramount Skydance reportedly aiming for a "holistic" approach to the Star Trek franchise, which has been interpreted as reuniting the TV and film divisions, which have been separate for 20 years due to various corporate upheavals, we guess that the Kelvin timeline will be abandoned, and the new Star Trek movie will be set in the Prime timeline's future.

However, "a little further into the future than we've seen before" gets complicated when it comes to Star Trek's Prime timeline. Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy are set in the late 32nd century, which is now the farthest continuing point of the Prime Timeline.

Goldstein and Daley may be thinking of moving further into the future than we've seen before in the Star Trek movies. The farthest point the feature films have established in the Prime timeline was 2379 in Star Trek: Nemesis. However, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Prodigy, and Star Trek: Picard have all taken place after that, with Picard season 3 opening up the early 25th century.

It's a reasonable bet that Goldstein, Daley, and Paramount Skydance will ignore the Star Trek TV series on Paramount+ and are setting the next Star Trek movie in an unexplored era after Star Trek: The Next Generation's 24th century. This will allow for a brand new starship, a new crew, and any upgrades and developments to Starfleet's technology they can imagine.

Alternatively, Goldstein and Daley's Star Trek movie might continue in the Kelvin Timeline, which is also vast uncharted territory. Star Trek Beyond was set in 2263, which gives hundreds of years of open space in the Kelvin timeline to explore.

Whether set in an era of the Prime timeline that Star Trek fans haven't seen, or continuing the Kelvin timeline past Star Trek Beyond, this would allow Daley and Goldstein free rein without rebooting Star Trek completely like J.J. Abrams' did in 2009. Unless they do a reboot anyway. It remains to be seen.

Movies Are Paramount’s Star Trek Priority (For Now)

Star Trek movies seem to be the focus of Paramount Skydance in the immediate future. New CEO David Ellison named Star Trek as a crown jewel I.P. along with Transformers, G.I. Joe, Top Gun, and World War Z that Paramount plans to bolster its movie slate for years to come. Paramount's decade-long inability to launch a new Star Trek movie has also, frankly, been embarrassing.

With John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein speaking publicly (as much as they can) about their Star Trek movie, it seems like their project is the farthest along and was the film that Paramount Skydance announced at CinemaCon, although the studio still hasn't officially confirmed it.

At least Star Trek movies have more forward movement than the streaming TV franchise on Paramount+. Every Star Trek TV series executive produced by Alex Kurtzman has been canceled, with nothing new in development or greenlit for the first time in a decade. Paramount+ is expected to release Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' final seasons in 2027.

The consensus from the creative teams who have been producing Star Trek on Paramount+ for the last decade is that Paramount intends to let Star Trek TV series lie fallow for an undetermined period of time before a big relaunch. In the meantime, movies will be where Star Trek fans will get their next fix of the final frontier.

There has been at least one Star Trek movie released in theaters every decade since 1979. Paramount Skydance has only 4 years left to produce and premiere a new Star Trek movie to keep this record intact. If a new film does make it to theaters, it will be the 15th Star Trek movie overall.

From what Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley are planning, their Star Trek movie will be a new vision fans haven't seen before. (If, of course, a new Star Trek movie gets made.)

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Trivia Challenge

🚀ShipsEnterprise!

⭐CrewMake it so

☠EnemiesResistance is…

⚡TechWarp speed!

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The USS Enterprise is the most iconic starship in science fiction. What is the registry number of Captain Kirk’s original Enterprise from The Original Series?

ANCC-1701-D BNX-01 CNCC-1701 DNCC-74656

✓ Correct! NCC-1701 is the registry of Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise. The “-D” suffix belongs to Picard’s Galaxy-class ship, NX-01 is Archer’s Enterprise, and NCC-74656 is Voyager.

✗ Red alert! The answer is NCC-1701. Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise carried this now-legendary registry. NCC-1701-D is Picard’s Enterprise from TNG, NX-01 is Captain Archer’s, and NCC-74656 belongs to Voyager.

Kirk’s most trusted officer is a half-human, half-Vulcan science officer famous for his logic and iconic salute. Who is this legendary character?

AData BSpock CTuvok DSarek

✓ Correct! Mr. Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy, is the half-Vulcan science officer whose “Live long and prosper” salute became a cultural icon. His struggle between logic and emotion defines the heart of the Original Series.

✗ Red alert! The answer is Spock. Data is an android from TNG, Tuvok is Voyager’s Vulcan tactical officer, and Sarek is Spock’s Vulcan father. Only Spock is the half-human, half-Vulcan first officer of Kirk’s Enterprise.

Starfleet’s most important regulation forbids interference with the natural development of alien civilizations. What is this guiding principle called?

AThe Temporal Accord BGeneral Order One CThe Omega Directive DThe Prime Directive

✓ Correct! The Prime Directive (also known as General Order 1) is Starfleet’s most sacred law. It prohibits interfering with less-developed civilizations — though Kirk, Picard, and Janeway have all famously bent or broken it when lives were at stake.

✗ Red alert! The answer is the Prime Directive. While “General Order One” is technically another name for it, the Prime Directive is the universally known term. The Omega Directive and Temporal Accord are separate, more specialized Starfleet protocols.

“Resistance is futile.” This chilling declaration belongs to a cybernetic collective that assimilates entire civilizations into its hive mind. What is this fearsome species called?

AThe Borg BThe Dominion CThe Romulans DSpecies 8472

✓ Correct! The Borg are Star Trek’s most terrifying villains — a hive-mind collective that forcibly assimilates species and technology. Captain Picard was famously assimilated and transformed into Locutus in the landmark TNG episode “The Best of Both Worlds.”

✗ Red alert! The answer is the Borg. The Dominion is the Gamma Quadrant empire from DS9, the Romulans are a rival empire, and Species 8472 is actually one of the few species that the Borg themselves fear. Only the Borg declare “Resistance is futile.”

Captain Jean-Luc Picard commands the Enterprise-D in The Next Generation and later received his own series, Star Trek: Picard. Which acclaimed actor portrays him?

AWilliam Shatner BAvery Brooks CPatrick Stewart DScott Bakula

✓ Correct! Sir Patrick Stewart brought gravitas, Shakespeare, and Earl Grey tea to the captain’s chair for seven seasons of TNG, four films, and three seasons of Star Trek: Picard. His “Make it so” is one of TV’s most iconic catchphrases.

✗ Red alert! The answer is Patrick Stewart. William Shatner plays Captain Kirk, Avery Brooks is Captain Sisko on Deep Space Nine, and Scott Bakula captains the NX-01 Enterprise. Only Sir Patrick Stewart portrays the legendary Jean-Luc Picard.

Starfleet vessels travel faster than light by bending space around them using a matter-antimatter reaction. What is this propulsion system called?

ATranswarp Drive BWarp Drive CSlipstream Drive DSpore Drive

✓ Correct! Warp Drive is the standard faster-than-light propulsion in Star Trek, powered by dilithium-regulated matter-antimatter reactions. Zefram Cochrane invented it in 2063, which led to humanity’s first contact with the Vulcans.

✗ Red alert! The answer is Warp Drive. Transwarp is an advanced Borg technology, Slipstream is an experimental quantum drive, and the Spore Drive uses mycelial network navigation (from Discovery). Standard Starfleet vessels use Warp Drive.

At Starfleet Academy, cadets face a notorious no-win scenario designed to test their character under impossible circumstances. James Kirk is the only cadet who ever beat it — by cheating. What is this test called?

AThe Prometheus Trial BThe Omega Simulation CThe Corbomite Maneuver DThe Kobayashi Maru

✓ Correct! The Kobayashi Maru is an unwinnable rescue simulation that tests how cadets handle certain death. Kirk reprogrammed it so he could win — earning a commendation for original thinking. It was memorably featured in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

✗ Red alert! The answer is the Kobayashi Maru. The Corbomite Maneuver is a TOS episode, not an Academy test. The Kobayashi Maru is the famous no-win scenario that Kirk defeated by reprogramming the simulation — because he doesn’t believe in the no-win scenario.

In the widely regarded greatest Star Trek film, a genetically enhanced superhuman from Earth’s past seeks revenge against Captain Kirk. “KHAAAAN!” Who is this iconic villain?

AKhan Noonien Singh BGeneral Chang CQ DGul Dukat

✓ Correct! Khan Noonien Singh, played by Ricardo Montalbán, is Star Trek’s greatest villain. First appearing in the TOS episode “Space Seed,” he returned in The Wrath of Khan (1982) for a devastating revenge plot that cost Spock his life.

✗ Red alert! The answer is Khan Noonien Singh. General Chang is a Klingon from Star Trek VI, Q is TNG’s omnipotent trickster, and Gul Dukat is DS9’s Cardassian antagonist. Only Khan inspired Kirk’s legendary scream across the cosmos.

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