George Takei is 79 years old, Walter Koenig is 79, Nichelle Nichols is 83, and William Shatner is 85. If these guys were to appear in any new Trek endeavors, they would be playing retired people.
Yes. Even the cast of Voyager and DS9. Even aside from believably playing active duty Starfleet, the hours you put in making a weekly television show are hard even for 20- and 30-somethings, let alone actors in their 50s or older.
Looking at Berman Trek alumni, it seems like the younger cast members are now in their forties. The older ones are in their 50s to early 60s. The older ones would be playing officers at the tail end of their careers.
I don't know if they could do it, but John Cho in a Captain Sulu series set in Abramsverse would be interesting to me. Also, as a note on Prime, I would love to see a Robau series or something in that era. I think that an X-files approach could work for a new show where you have stand alone episodes and arc episodes (or mythbuilding episodes). Some things will have longer term implications while others are just the crew experiencing the unusual in the universe. If done right, both kinds of stories could work well.
Because I want to sit down for an hour and watch a nice complete story that gets its conclusion, instead of waiting for years whether the plot points ever get resolved or whether the writer dies first.
At most, I can imagine an 85 year old Kirk functioning as a consultant, even if he is still in the service.
You could recast any of these characters. That's what Abrams did. Other genres do it too. From Batman to Bond.
Rather see the time period immediately following the Romulan War, maybe with characters having flashbacks to their experiences in the war. If you're going to recast Takei for a Captain Sulu series, then why not just create a new Captain character?
Maybe the Kelvin before Robau becomes captain? I know some fan sources suggest that the Kelvin was modified as part of the Romulan war effort.
I guess if you have to ask, then there's no convincing you of its value. But all you have to do is read Gene's original show pitch/bible to see why he wanted planet of the week. Each week you get a new society arranged a certain way (usually exaggerated) that helps to shine a light on humanity or a social ill. It's the Gulliver's Travels approach. To me, that is the CORE of Trek, not pew pew, politics, or soap opera. Even Beyond is falling back to this pattern because Simon Pegg realizes this.
OK, here's a thought, or at least bits of thoughts I've been playing with for a while: I'd imagine a post DS9 prime verse where rather than easily slipping back into the TNG era philosophy starfleet has somewhat lost their way. A whole generation of officers have spent the formative years of their careers on a war footing and the loss in experienced pre war high brass means there is little effective counter balance. The federation's foreign policy has become more aggressive, imperialistic and the actions of officers in the field more so. BUT there is doubt, there are people whose consciences lead them to harken back to something nobler and the society within SF grows divided as those reluctant to simply accept this become unsettled. I'm not setting up a civil war here, more a backdrop for people being forced to make moral choices under duress, when doing the right thing may not be a guarantee of support from the heirarchy. As SF struggles to redefine it's identity this is reflected on a smaller scale in the journey of a character or characters who are finding their place in the universe and struggling to decide exactly what that is. I imagine a turning point being some atrocity committed in the federation's name and the responses of those who simply can't stomach what they have become a part of and start to seek another path. This would allow for the occasional return of TNG era characters who would act as the voice of reason, being guiding lights to those people. Perhaps Picard has retired to a life of quiet study but unwittingly finds himself a controversial cult figure, with younger characters seeking out his wisdom and being disappointed that he no longer readily sees himself as a part of the greater galaxy or having a part to play.
My guess is the new series will take place in the TOS era -- and probably in the alternate timeline -- but with a different ship and crew. The producers will probably want to capitalize on the brand equity being accrued by the new films, while still differentiating the show so the audience won't be confused.
Yeah I think that is one of the two most likely options, the other being a further 'future jump' into an era we've not seen before.
If they're trying to reboot the franchise, it would be a mistake to use anything other than the Enterprise. I sincerely doubt if it'll be the same crew or even the same Enterprise as the ones in the movies, but I'm almost certain that it's going to be an Enterprise.