Star Trek films

This article concerns itself with the general production and performances of the official Star Trek theatrical feature films as produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures, having been the full rights title holder from 1979 () through 2002 (), and as licensee from 2009 () through 2016 (), thereby constituting what is currently known as the "Star Trek film franchise".
Within that franchise a further distinction is often made between the two prime universe film franchises, to wit,
*The or "Original Crew" film franchise ( – )
*The or (less commonly) "Next Gen (TNG) Crew" film franchise ( – )
and the third, alternate reality or "Kelvin-timeline", film franchise,
* – 
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|-| Films=
|-| Summary=
|-| Future=In a November 2015 Wired article discussing the recent popularity of s on film, Paramount Motion Pictures Group president Marc Evans acknowledged the possibility of spin-off films. He said, "I often think about the areas of the Star Trek universe that haven’t been taken advantage of. Like, I’ll be ridiculous with you, but what would look like? Where is the of the Star Trek universe? That fascinates me." 
On April 25, 2018, it was confirmed that two Star Trek films were in development. However, on 10 January 2019, pursuant the dismal profitability performance of Beyond and a little over ten months later, Forbes magazine reported that the , yet untitled, Kelvin-timeline film had been canceled, which in itself followed in the wake of earlier reports that main performers Chris Pine () and Chris Hemsworth () had all already withdrawn their commitments to the project. While not overtly evident at the time, this decision had for all intents and purposes all the hallmarks of the definitive termination of the Kelvin timeline in the Star Trek (film) franchise. It conceivably entails for the time being the end of the Star Trek film franchise proper as well (even though the Quentin Tarantino Star Trek XV pitch was at the time still under consideration, though apparently no longer on the table due to Tarantino's withdrawal from the project in January 2020 ), especially in light of the film franchise being virtually rendered insignificant by those from the Star Wars and Marvel Comics ones in particular, and in light of the December 2019 "reunification" of he television, and film franchises under the consolidated end auspices of Secret Hideout, after which Tarentino has indicated his disinclination to further pursue the project. 
The cancellation of the fourth alternate reality film could have serious consequences for Paramount, but for production partner Bad Robot Productions in particular, at least where alternate reality Star Trek is concerned, as a production license of the kind extended to the studio and its partner usually includes a timetable clause in which a franchise-licensed production company is obligated to produce sequential franchise film outings within a preordained time-frame. When defaulting on the clause, the film production rights then automatically reverts to the licensor, in this case CBS Corporation (franchise owner as of 2006, then ViacomCBS from December 2019 to February 2022; now rebranded as Paramount Global), who is then free to do with it as it wills. With the establishment of ViacomCBS in December 2019, and the resultant reunification of the two Star Trek franchises, this has indeed become the case, with the fate of the Kelvin timeline as expected hanging in the balance, it as of 2020 being under re-evalution of the new management. 
It is against this background that new plans, separate from the Tarantino project, for a fourteenth film were reported in November 2019, involving prospect Writer/Director Noah Hawley, though by May 2020 it too has not evolved beyond the consideration stage, its development apparently stuck in limbo. 
:*See for further details.
It was in the same month that Beyond Performer/Writer Simon Pegg has expressed his personal suspicion that the end of not only the alternate reality, but also the entire film franchise proper had indeed come to pass, when he stated in an interview for Collider,
"The fact is, the appeal of Star Trek is slightly more niche than the appeal of, say, the Marvel movies, which make huge amounts of money, and have this really, really broad appeal and they do very well. I think Star Trek is just a little bit more niche, so it isn’t gonna hit those kind of numbers. So yes, the obvious thing to do would be to not go for that massive spectacle, go for something a little bit more restrained in the vein of the original series. Yes, that would be a brilliant thing to do, and I’m sure it probably has been discussed… You specialize a little bit more. (… )Maybe TV is a better place for [Star Trek] now. Television has evolved so much. It’s become something which is very much a contemporary, a peer of cinema. It’s simply viewed in a different way. It isn’t a reduced scope anymore. You can still do masses of interesting things, and it can still look modern and not inexpensive. Maybe television is a better format for Star Trek. That’s where it started, you know." 
In this Pegg has joined the ranks of those who were already of similar mind, such as the Forbes editors who argued as early as November 2016, a mere three months after the Beyond premiere and its resultant box-office failure, "The thing that made [Beyond] most appealing to the fans, that it played like a smaller-scale 50th anniversary homage to the spirit and tone of the original show, was the thing that arguably doomed it in terms of blockbuster success. Star Trek Beyond was what its fans wanted it to be. There is value in that over the long run. But Paramount and friends need to realize that Star Trek is never going to be a Guardians of the Galaxy-level success and plan accordingly." 
In November 2020, Hawley intimated that his film was definitively off the table as well. In a 29 November 2020 interview to Deadline Hawley responded to a question about the status of the film, "It doesn’t appear to be in my immediate future. I think when Emma came in, she took a look at the franchise and wanted to go in a different direction with it. But you know, life is long, we were very close to production but in this business that doesn’t mean much. You got to get out of the gate to be in the race if you know what I mean." The "Emma" Hawley referred to concerned Emma Watts, a Paramount executive, who was pursuant the 2019 remerger of Paramount and CBS into ViacomCBS, appointed by National Amusements head Shari Redstone to appraise the status of the Star Trek live-action franchise, both film as well as television, for its (commercial) viability. Hawley's words were in essence Hollywood-speak for the definitive cancellation of his Star Trek film. As to Watt's "different direction", nothing, save some vague rumors, has been made public, making it appear that the entire film franchise too is terminated for the time being – all this being in line with Pegg's assessment.
|-| Cast and crew listings=
*Credits for Star Trek: The Motion Picture
*Credits for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
*Credits for Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
*Credits for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
*Credits for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
*Credits for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
*Credits for Star Trek Generations
*Credits for Star Trek: First Contact
*Credits for Star Trek: Insurrection
*Credits for Star Trek Nemesis
*Credits for Star Trek
*Credits for Star Trek Into Darkness
*Credits for Star Trek Beyond
|-| Background information=
|-| Further reading=
* "Rumblings: The Bottom line", David Gerrold, , issue 30, January 1980, pp. 37, 63
|-| See also=
*Film performers
*Film recurring characters
*Film directors
*Composers
*VHS releases
*LaserDisc releases
*DVD releases
*Blu-ray releases
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Category:Star Trek films