Big news about Kelvin era novels

[RAMA]

Big news from Don Crandall
Good news for our Trek novel readers...

At STLV today, they announced that Kelvin Timeline novels "were no longer off the table," meaning they can be made & released now. Fans were never exactly sure why 4 Kelvin novels by top Trek authors were shelved back in 2010, but my guess is that they will finally be released soon, with a little editing to make them compatible with the movie trilogy. After that, expect new novels, too...

 

[Kor]

It's about time.

Kor

 

[Relayer1]

Already being discussed :

https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/litverse-star-trek-09.287513/page-11

 

[F. King Daniel]

Obviously, I'm really looking forward to this. I've got a lot of catching up to do in Treklit.

 

[donners22]

Good to hear. Not sure if that's a great sign for the prospects of a fourth film, though.

 

[Mage]

Two of the authors have, in the mean time, used elements from those Kelvin-novels they wrote for other novels. So, not sure if that's going have any effect.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Two of the authors have, in the mean time, used elements from those Kelvin-novels they wrote for other novels. So, not sure if that's going have any effect.

Those 4 novels written in 2010 won't be released. IIRC, many plot elements were contradicted by Into Darkness anyway. Must admit though, I'd have loved to read The Hazard of Concealing, about a scramble for Spock's future knowledge (and had it's basic plot recycled to become that novel whose name escapes me, about Seven of Nine being lost in Kirk's era)

 

[Tosk]

The only one that piqued my interest was Greg Cox's Spock novel, so I'd definitely be down for that getting a release. That's even assuming the new arrangement means we'll see those older novels.

Edit: Dat one wot Daniel mentioned above.

 

[Christopher]

First off, let's not get ahead of ourselves. The renewal process is underway, and the fact that they're talking about it in public is a good sign that it's close to completion, but as a rule, it's best not to start celebrating until after the contracts are signed.

Second, the announcement wasn't about those specific four novels, it was just about future novels being able to use elements from the Kelvin Timeline -- which could mean finally being able to show the destruction of Romulus and its Prime Universe aftermath, or being able to refer to/depict the Kelvin and Robau in the 23rd century or the Franklin and Edison in the 22nd. If Pocket did start doing novels set in the KT as well, we'd probably start over from scratch. I suppose it's still possible that Alan Dean Foster's novel could be published, but both Greg Cox and I already reworked our Kelvin novels into Prime novels. I'm not sure about Dave Mack's.

 

[Malaika]

I'd love to read more novels about this timeline. I enjoyed the Starfleet Academy series.

 

[Dales]

Big news from Don Crandall
Good news for our Trek novel readers...

At STLV today, they announced that Kelvin Timeline novels "were no longer off the table," meaning they can be made & released now. Fans were never exactly sure why 4 Kelvin novels by top Trek authors were shelved back in 2010, but my guess is that they will finally be released soon, with a little editing to make them compatible with the movie trilogy. After that, expect new novels, too...

how many people will read books, no doubt I will pick it up but for me the failings of the kelvin timeline is paramount did not make any animated series. thought they would have learned from Star Wars and DC.

 

[F. King Daniel]

how many people will read books, no doubt I will pick it up but for me the failings of the kelvin timeline is paramount did not make any animated series. thought they would have learned from Star Wars and DC.

The rights situation with Trek is a little complicated. Paramount can only make Star Trek movies. Any other media (TV episodes etc) is from CBS, an entirely different company with their own goals (like launching Star Trek Discovery on CBS All-Access). Until a few months ago they were under a no-compete clause because some people at the top were afraid any new Trek from one would diminish the value of anything made my the other.

 

[Christopher]

The rights situation with Trek is a little complicated. Paramount can only make Star Trek movies. Any other media (TV episodes etc) is from CBS, an entirely different company with their own goals (like launching Star Trek Discovery on CBS All-Access). Until a few months ago they were under a no-compete clause because some people at the top were afraid any new Trek from one would diminish the value of anything made my the other.

It wasn't a non-compete clause. A number of CBS licensees, like IDW Comics and the Star Trek Online computer game, were able to use Kelvin content, and there were several YA Kelvinverse novels from Simon Spotlight. After all, CBS owns all of Star Trek. Paramount Pictures licenses the movie rights from CBS, as a legacy of their origins as a single company. (Viacom split its movie and TV properties a decade or so ago -- it kept the TV properties and renamed itself CBS Corporation, then created a new company that was confusingly called Viacom to own the movie properties. Its holding Paramount Television was renamed CBS Studios, and Paramount Pictures, the film studio, was split off to the new Viacom.) So all Trek tie-ins and merchandise, even Kelvin tie-ins and merchandise, have to be approved by CBS. It's just that Kelvin material also needs Paramount's and Bad Robot's approval, which makes it a little more complicated to license. For whatever reason, Pocket Books didn't manage to get that license even though other licensees did.

 

[F. King Daniel]

It wasn't a non-compete clause. A number of CBS licensees, like IDW Comics and the Star Trek Online computer game, were able to use Kelvin content, and there were several YA Kelvinverse novels from Simon Spotlight. After all, CBS owns all of Star Trek. Paramount Pictures licenses the movie rights from CBS, as a legacy of their origins as a single company. (Viacom split its movie and TV properties a decade or so ago -- it kept the TV properties and renamed itself CBS Corporation, then created a new company that was confusingly called Viacom to own the movie properties. Its holding Paramount Television was renamed CBS Studios, and Paramount Pictures, the film studio, was split off to the new Viacom.) So all Trek tie-ins and merchandise, even Kelvin tie-ins and merchandise, have to be approved by CBS. It's just that Kelvin material also needs Paramount's and Bad Robot's approval, which makes it a little more complicated to license. For whatever reason, Pocket Books didn't manage to get that license even though other licensees did.

This is my source.

 

[Christopher]

This is my source.

That's about Beyond and Discovery, the feature film rights vs. the TV rights. It has nothing to do with the reason Pocket Books wasn't doing Kelvinverse novels, since after all that situation has been in effect since 2010, and it involves licensed prose tie-ins, not screen productions.

Again: If what you're saying were true, then the IDW Kelvinverse comics and the Kelvin material in Star Trek Online would not exist. Because those are licensed by CBS in the exact same way that the Pocket novels are. They all have to be approved by CBS Consumer Products. Every licensed product does, regardless of whether it's Prime or Kelvin.

 

[F. King Daniel]

That's about Beyond and Discovery, the feature film rights vs. the TV rights. It has nothing to do with the reason Pocket Books wasn't doing Kelvinverse novels, since after all that situation has been in effect since 2010, and it involves licensed prose tie-ins, not screen productions.

Again: If what you're saying were true, then the IDW Kelvinverse comics and the Kelvin material in Star Trek Online would not exist. Because those are licensed by CBS in the exact same way that the Pocket novels are. They all have to be approved by CBS Consumer Products. Every licensed product does, regardless of whether it's Prime or Kelvin.

I wasn't speaking about novels, I was replying to @Dales' comment that Paramount should have made an animated Trek series.

 

[Christopher]

Oh, I see. Sorry. I thought we were still discussing the main topic of the thread.

But, yeah, an animated TV series would be CBS's department, although Bad Robot and Paramount Pictures could certainly have partnered with CBS for that if they'd wanted. As I said, the TV production division of what used to be called Paramount is now under the CBS banner. The name Paramount is only used for the movie studio these days.

 

[BillJ]

The movies are dead.

 

[F. King Daniel]

The movies are dead.

Too soon, dude.

Even if they announce it's over, I'll still be hoping for a reboot of The Undiscovered Country in 2029.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

being able to refer to/depict the Kelvin and Robau in the 23rd century or the Franklin and Edison in the 22nd.

Don't forget Frank Abbott.