Simon Pegg suggests that the Kelvin timeline is (essentially) a reboot

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Spock's theory was in error. From his point of view it seemed the timeline changed from that point onward. But the reality that we have seen proves that this is a brand new alternate universe.

Or was one all along, even before Nero's arrival.

A lot of people thought that anyway, even before Pegg's recent comments, but either interpretation works (i.e. either the alternate universe always existed, or Nero's arrival created a new one past & present like Pegg said).

The end result is the same.

 

[JWPlatt]

The end result is the same.

Not for me. I don't care about the characters as much as if there were in our Universe. They're someone else's problem now.

 

[Terok Nor]

Simple explanation. Spock's theory was in error. From his point of view it seemed the timeline changed from that point onward. But the reality that we have seen proves that this is a brand new alternate universe.

That will have to be stated on screen or else Spock's theory still stands as the explanation. Pegg didn't write Star Trek 2009 after all. I would agree it appears to be more of a brand new universe than anything else. I still can't bring myself to really care what happens to an alternate reality version of the Enterprise crew. I mean I enjoyed most of the parallel universe episodes but I'd hate to have been stuck in the Mirror Universe for an entire season. It just seems pointless since it's not the "real" versions of the characters. Star Trek 2009 should just have been a complete reboot with no ties to the other shows and movies.

 

[Terok Nor]

One more thing. I'm flabbergasted they continue to reference the show "Enterprise". If the new timeline began with the big bang then why mention that monstrosity of a series at all? How does it even make sense since elements from "Star Trek : First Contact" played a major role in one of the episodes? The mind boggles! Then there's the last episode...

 

[Terok Nor]

Not for me. I don't care about the characters as much as if there were in our Universe. They're someone else's problem now.

I didn't see your post before I posted mine. I pretty much agree. I have even less reason to care about these characters now. At least before they were supposed to be the same characters with different destinies. Now they're basically completely different characters like The Intendant and Mirror Spock.

 

[elric428]

Hmmm. Maybe the whole Kelvin timeline is just a holodeck program from the prime universe.

 

[Vger23]

They just needed a gimmick to get the old fans to stick around.

I don't think they cared whether the fans would stop complaining.

We've been complaining for decades, and it hasn't stopped us from consistently handing over our money...

Just wanted to let you know- your petition is spot-on. Well done!

 

[eyeresist]

The idea that a time travel event has effects going back in time as well as going forward is pretty interesting.

Not for me. I don't care about the characters as much as if there were in our Universe. They're someone else's problem now.

How do you know which universe you are in?

 

[JWPlatt]

How do you know which universe you are in?

I know that the writers of TOS intended it to be our future - in our Universe. Thus, all alternates are not our Universe. And before there are cries about WW III, Eugenics Wars, blah, blah, I praise the writers for their courage to make predictions (in the days of a Cold War that threatened nuclear war) simply as cautionary tales and forgive them for anything that hasn't come true in retrospect, including the literalist absence of Khan in our time and his 1996 launch. It was still, and remains, our Universe and is at the root of any optimism and inspiration we take from the show for ourselves because of its vision for our future.

 

[fireproof78]

Inspiration and optimism can come from many sources.

 

[psCargile]

Yeah, but Entropy. Goes one way. Forward into disorganization.

With all the continuity errors, I view every episode and movie, and books, as being in similar but different alternative universes. It's really the sanest approach to explain every fu—foul up.

 

[Ssosmcin]

Or was one all along, even before Nero's arrival.

A lot of people thought that anyway, even before Pegg's recent comments, but either interpretation works (i.e. either the alternate universe always existed, or Nero's arrival created a new one past & present like Pegg said).

The end result is the same.

I'll go with this. It fits my own personal requirements for easing my inner nerd who keeps being a nitpicky a-hole no matter how much I like the movies.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I'm still not a fan of what Pegg said - not that it matters, really, as I doubt it will ever become an actual plot point in a future Kelvinverse film - but I admit I am warming up to the possibility that the "red matter" wormhole kept appearing at multiple points in the past, whipping around uncontrollably. (And the same thing could have happened again at the end of the film, when the Narada's stash of red matter imploded and created yet another wormhole.)

If that is what happened, there's no telling how much of this universe's timeline that it could have affected.

 

[fireproof78]

I have an idea that the mass of the Narada also impacted the red matter singularity in a way that was unpredictable.

 

[somebuddyX]

One more thing. I'm flabbergasted they continue to reference the show "Enterprise". If the new timeline began with the big bang then why mention that monstrosity of a series at all? How does it even make sense since elements from "Star Trek : First Contact" played a major role in one of the episodes? The mind boggles! Then there's the last episode...

Maybe it's not just that Enterprise is the the only series that the new films can reference, since the other ones actually take place in the future, but maybe there's some people out there who like that series and want to reference it.

 

[The Doctor]

I think Pegg is wrong as wrong can be. The new films have been just as consistent with the continuity as the movies and films that came before them.

 

[eyeresist]

Maybe it's not just that Enterprise is the the only series that the new films can reference,

The Nu films so far have included plenty of TOS references, albeit "remixed".

 

[I am not Spock]

I've always thought this was an alternate universe from the get go, since 2009. The Kelvin bridge, ship design, and uniforms looked very different from the 'Prime' timeline already. I'll roll with it. Alternate universes aren't exactly new to Trek. Hell , 'Parallels' in TNG had endless multiverses on display

 

[Cadet49]

As someone said earlier, I've always just considered this version of Trek to be a complete re-boot... and that Nimoy's Spock in 2009 was a future version of Quinto's Spock, not the TOS Spock. It's never confirmed in any filmed material that Old Spock in 2009 and Into Darkness came from the TOS reality, just because Nimoy is playing Spock again. Yes, some of the crew working on the film indicated Nimoy was TOS Spock, as did some of the comic tie-ins, but if we stay consistent with the idea that only what appears on film is "canon", then there is no reason to assume that Nimoy-Spock from Trek09 is TOS Spock - he can just be an older version of Quinto Spock from this new reboot version of the Trek universe - and Nero came from the future of this reboot universe.

Considering it all a reboot is much simpler, in my opinion... Instead of trying to figure out, as others have said here, why Pike is so much older than in TOS, why Chekov and Uhura are closer to Kirk in age than in TOS (according to the Okuda timeline, etc.), why the Kelvin, a pre-TOS ship, is so much larger and more advanced looking, etc... Just chalk it up to reboot, and enjoy the new version of Trek! :-)

 

[somebuddyX]

I don't get what the big deal is. The intentions were that it was old Spock from the original universe. He and Nero might've travelled back in time creating a universe that was identical to the original one except for the changes that happened forwards or backwards in the timestream