Has SNW made future Kelvin movies obsolete?

[Ray Hardgrit]

Because the "classic" 5 year mission is over. They'd either have to pretend the cast is younger - and keep in mind that SNW-Uhura Goods is old enough to be an actor but young enough to remember being a child and seeing KEL-Uhura Saldana on screen - or say the "original" 5YM is done and they're on their second or third. It would lose the "alternate run of TOS events" appeal, unless they went with "new timeline, new history".

I don't think they were ever aiming to tell an alternate version of the first five year mission specifically. Even Star Trek Beyond takes place two years before the TOS five year mission begins.

Though if the next film hits cinemas around 7 years after Beyond and the same amount of time passes in-universe, that'll put it in the same year as a fifth season of Star Trek: TOS. Definitely on the border of Motion Picture territory but still basically the right era for you.

 

[Jedi Marso]

Has SNW made future Kelvin movies obsolete?

Yes.

Didn't the CODA books wipe out all those other pesky timelines, anyway?

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

Only in the books.

 

[Jedi Marso]

And the Kelvin timeline, says I...

 

[fireproof78]

Because the "classic" 5 year mission is over. They'd either have to pretend the cast is younger - and keep in mind that SNW-Uhura Goods is old enough to be an actor but young enough to remember being a child and seeing KEL-Uhura Saldana on screen - or say the "original" 5YM is done and they're on their second or third. It would lose the "alternate run of TOS events" appeal, unless they went with "new timeline, new history".

Which is always was to be. So, yeah, there's zero, zip, nada, zilch, goose egg, to keep them from making another Kelvin film.

Only in the books.

Which have zero to do with the Kelvin films, so again, nothing preventing it except naysayers and Paramount sitting on their rear.

 

[F. King Daniel]

They can still reboot The Undiscovered Country I guess. Everything happens faster in the Kelvin Universe, Praxis was already in pieces in 2259 (and according to some promotional tie-in stuff, the work of Section 31 agent "John Harrison") so they don't have to wait another 20 years to make it.

Also I guess I'd still like to see Kirk meet his father through time travel wibbly wobbly stuff and solve all those daddy issues. That's the last real Kelvin-centric plot thread left, I think.

 

[David cgc]

So there's really no story that the KT can tell that they can't basically tell in SNW (other than Vulcan being destroyed, that is.)

Yes and no. The fetishization of the Prime Timeline has put SNW in a really awkward position. For instance, I'm really enjoying SNW's Christine Chapel, and I'm interested in where they're going with her interest in Spock. Except "where they're going" is exactly the problem. Even if nothing of the kind happens in SNW itself, the idea is that TOS is binding; Chapel is getting engaged to some rando who's going to run off to turn into and also sleep with a robot, and a decade after meeting Spock, she'll be coyly affectionate toward him and otherwise utterly passive to a degree that's treated as a sad joke by everyone around her.

Needless to say, this wouldn't be an issue if they just said, "Remake, nerds! All bets are off!" like they desperately want to, but barring some kind of shattering divergence in the course of SNW (and nothing would make me happier), it's still nominally joined to TOS—even if it doesn't take any pains to remain consistent, the idea will remain that as soon as SNW ends, TOS as we know it takes over character and lore.

Ironically, the Kelvin movies don't need the freedom from precedent as much (on a minute-by-minute basis, if we haven't already gotten more SNW than KT, we will in another week or so), at least on a character level, but just for my own peace of mind, there are ways having a fully divergent remake of TOS gives the movies more flexibility.

 

[FederationHistorian]

I have to say…I’m quite stunned that it is believed that there is nothing more can be done with Kelvin Trek on here. When both the comics and videogames have come up with a lot of interesting stories and given the Kelvinverse a lot to work with.

To sum up several ideas in beta canon:

• Carol Marcus & the Helios Project
• The Sasaud
• The Enterprise visits the 23rd century Delta Quadrant and deals with the Dark Market Syndicate
• Jaylah falsely accused of poising a Romulan ambassador, and then later assimilated by the Borg and becomes Five of Ten, which clearly impacts Scotty who teaches at Starfleet Academy
• The Khitomer Conflict (The Kelvinverse Federation-Klingon War)
• Sulu being reassigned to the USS Concord under Captain Terrell with his family, while his sister joins Section 31
• Kirk, McCoy, Scotty & Chekov being reassigned to the USS Endeavour and encountering the Borg on their first mission aboard
• Uhura & Spock taking a sabbatical on New Vulcan together after the events of BEY
  
• Khan put on trial before being put in stasis, with Kirk and Spock acting as adjunct counsel
• Kirk having more than one encounter with the Gorn
• Q meeting and then sending the Enterprise & her crew 108 years into the future to Terok Nor to be captured by Jem’Hadar troops after talking to Kirk about his belief in no-win scenarios
  
• Kelvinverse Robert April backing Admiral Marcus' plan to start a war with the Klingon Empire.
• Sarek’s aide L’Nel aka T’Pring

In addition, the actor that plays Sarek passed way. Why not weave that into the story that Spock has lost his father very early, in addition to his mother, homeworld, and Spock Prime in such a short span of time? There is a lot to unpack with that with an interpersonal story.

The Kelvin movies aren't obsolete; the SNW sets could easily pass as the Kelvin Enterprise. At the same time, if there is uncertainly that there will be more Kelvin movies, they should get a better sendoff than Beyond. Not that Beyond was a bad movie - it was good - but it left the door open to more stories with the crew and that exploring the Kelvinverse with the Kelvinverse crew was unfinished.

If I can figure out an interesting story using all of the above as a backstory, and do a time jump to the early 2270s to explain the gap in time between Star Trek 4 and the preceeding three films, surely those in charge of Star Trek can.

 

[fireproof78]

surely those in charge of Star Trek can.

One would hope, yes.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

The Kelvinverse can go anywhere. There could be Kelvin movies into the 2030s. I hope there will be.

 

[saddestmoon]

^^^ Me also!

 

[Admiral Archer]

I'd only be interested in seeing the Kelvinverse again for one reason and one reason only:

A Kelvinverse "Star Trek: The Next Generation"

I've posted about the dream I had about what I believe would be their best direction to go in to keep it fresh, but I'll post it again now: in a 24th century setting, the Ferengi (re-imagined as villainous and scrupulous alien corporate moguls) have bought/conquered the former Cardassian Empire and enslaved them to use them as their military might. They invade Earth, destroying the USS Stargazer and killing Jack Crusher. Young Wesley Crusher, Jacks son, escapes, thinking he has lost both his parents although he manages to get to Earth and hide away as the Cardassian soldiers take over. Meanwhile we discover Jack's widow Beverly Crusher has escaped and rejoins the survivors of the Stargazer crew at a hidden facility at Utopia Planitia on Mars, where the top secret Galaxy-class USS Enterprise-D is being built. This version of the Enterprise-D is two miles long, and much bigger than either the Kelvin 1701 or the USS Vengeance. Captain Jean-luc Picard was formerly Captain of the Stargazer, but has spent the past few months preparing the Enterprise, during which time he had left Jack Crusher in charge, but now he scrambles together a new crew: Commander William T. Riker and Lt. Geordi LaForge of the Dreadnought-class refit USS Hood; Counselor Troi of Betazed; Lt. Worf of the Klingons; Commander Data, and Android from Omicron Theta; and Beverly Crusher from the Stargazer. While this crew is assembling, Wesley is rescued by a daring young security officer named Tasha Yar who risks her life to help him escape Earth, and the two bond over their survival against all odds. Yar delivers Wesley to the Enterprise, and the new starship launches to Earth leading the USS Hood and a fleet of other ships to retake their homeworld.

The movie tagline would be: "The Future is Reborn"

 

[somebuddyX]

They should do the Doctor Who episode "The Doctor's Daughter" but with Captain Kirk and give Chris Pine's Kirk a ten year old daughter. She's super precocious and like a female version of young Chris Pine from the opening of Star Trek 09. Maybe she steals a shuttlecraft and rams it through the Enterprise shuttlebay doors on a joyride just to piss off Dad. She's a clone built by some alien race who stole Kirk's DNA because who cares and a bit like an Augment or the kid from DARYL in that she's sort of a weapon and now people want to chase her down. Chris Pine gets to read her a story and tuck her into bed. Some Star Trek happens too. Coming soon.

 

[Yistaan]

Maybe Kelvin films can go full temporal wars and thus they can justify bringing in Chris Hemsworth if they want for George Kirk, or even anyone from any of the shows from any time period like Jonathan Archer, Cristobal Rios, Seven of Nine etc.

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

For me, the momentum is dead.
The season opener to Discovery season 2 blew me away when it first aired. Right then and there, Kelvin's universe died to me. The budgets at least appear to be on an even playing field and with so much ongoing Trek now, the Kelvin timeline isn't even close to being on my radar anymore.
Plus it's tougher to become attached to characters when you see them seemingly once a decade. The production schedule of those movies is a joke.

 

[FederationHistorian]

it's tougher to become attached to characters when you see them seemingly once a decade. The production schedule of those movies is a joke.

It definitely is.

ST II -VI all came out in the span of a decade

Since ID, there’s only been Beyond and nothing else.

Considering how Paramount wants to be like the MCU, they sure do churn out films at a super slow rate.

 

[fireproof78]

Paramount is a cautious company. They will not expand like MCU because they don't trust that. So they take it cautiously. I don't blame them. MCU is a once in a life time dedicated opportunity that requires a willingness to take a loss in the short term.

That is a hard place to be.

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

Paramount is a cautious company. They will not expand like MCU because they don't trust that. So they take it cautiously. I don't blame them. MCU is a once in a life time dedicated opportunity that requires a willingness to take a loss in the short term.

That is a hard place to be.

I would understand that.

If the product wasn't an ongoing franchise 55 years old that birthed the idea of a fan convention and was still going strong.

This is Star Trek. Not something new for audiences to check out blind.

 

[XCV330]

I think a fun SNW movie might do quite well, and with the sets already in existence, it might be able to be done with a lot less expense and time.

 

[fireproof78]

I would understand that.

If the product wasn't an ongoing franchise 55 years old that birthed the idea of a fan convention and was still going strong.

This is Star Trek. Not something new for audiences to check out blind.

It's not a matter of newness. It's willingness to take a loss and keep going with the plan.