For you long-time fans, did people know Nemesis would be the final TNG film pre-release?

[Armus]

New fan, excuse my ignorance. Was Nemesis always expected to be the final TNG film or were they planning to do a fifth movie with the cast until they saw the box office numbers? What was fandom thinking/saying at the time?

Insurrection underwhelmed a lot of fans and grossed something like 60 million so when Nemesis bombed the writing was on the wall. I think if it was a hit like First Contact there would have been more TNG films.

 

[Tomalak]

When First Contact came out, it was the high water mark of Star Trek in popular culture - remember this was when it stood pretty much alone in genre franchise at the time. Star Wars had been gone for over a decade and was a couple of years away from returning, LOTR and Harry Potter were to come later, and the huge explosion of comic/superhero films couldn't be forseen. There were big blockbusters like Terminator 2 or Independence Day, but Star Trek pretty much ruled the small and big screen for sci-fi.

By 2002 it was just one of many, and it felt tired and old by then. Insurrection was a misstep, and Nemesis stank the place out. At least for those who bothered to see it. It was obvious it would be the last film for some time, as Enterprise was a flop on TV, and both DS9 and Voyager had ended with dwindling ratings and obviously had zero spin-off potential.

It was a big surprise when Star Trek 2009 was as good and as successful as it was. It was a near miracle frankly. It brought Star Trek back from the dead.