Honestly, if you ask a room full of Trekkies what the best part of the franchise is, you’ll get a hundred different answers. Some will swear by the cozy, low-stakes philosophy of The Next Generation television episodes. Others just want to see things explode in 4K. But when it comes to the star trek film series movies, the history is... messy. It's a forty-year roller coaster of massive peaks and "what were they thinking?" valleys.
Right now, we’re in a weird spot. It’s 2026, and the big screen has been dark for a decade. Star Trek Beyond came out in 2016, and since then? Total radio silence from the multiplexes. Sure, the streaming side is exploding with Strange New Worlds and Starfleet Academy, but the movies are stuck in a transporter buffer.
The Odd-Even Curse and the Original Six
You've probably heard the "curse." The idea that only the even-numbered Star Trek movies are actually good. For a long time, it was basically gospel.
- The Motion Picture (1979) was slow. Like, glacial. People called it "The Motionless Picture."
- The Wrath of Khan (1982) changed everything. It was a submarine thriller in space. Ricardo Montalbán brought the heat, and it saved the franchise from being a one-and-done curiosity.
- The Search for Spock (1984) was... fine? It gave us the death of the Enterprise, which was gut-wrenching, but felt like a bridge to something else.
- The Voyage Home (1986). The one with the whales. It’s funny, it’s light, and it’s still the most profitable movie of the original run if you look at the budget-to-gross ratio.
Then things got weird. The Final Frontier (1989) is widely considered a disaster, mostly because William Shatner took the director's chair and decided the crew should go find God at the center of the galaxy. Spoiler: God was an alien in a rock. But then Nicholas Meyer returned for The Undiscovered Country (1991), a Cold War allegory that gave the original crew a perfect, poetic send-off.
The Next Generation’s Identity Crisis
When the TNG crew took over, they struggled to find their cinematic footing. Generations (1994) was a passing of the torch that felt more like a two-part TV episode. It worked, mostly because seeing Kirk and Picard on screen together was a dream come true for fans.
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First Contact (1996) is the undisputed king of this era. It turned Picard into an action hero and gave the Borg a terrifying makeover. But after that? Insurrection (1998) felt like a filler episode, and Nemesis (2002) was a commercial and critical flop that effectively killed the "Prime" movie timeline for years. Tom Hardy was in it, though. That’s a fun trivia fact people always forget.
The J.J. Abrams Shake-up and the Kelvin Timeline
In 2009, Paramount decided they needed a fresh coat of paint. They hired J.J. Abrams, and he did what he does: lens flares and high-octane action.
The 2009 Star Trek wasn't just a reboot; it was a clever "alternate reality" called the Kelvin Timeline. By having a Romulan named Nero travel back in time and kill Kirk's dad, the writers gave themselves permission to change everything. No more being beholden to 40 years of continuity.
Into Darkness (2013) made a ton of money—it's actually the highest-grossing film in the series—but fans were split. Bringing back Khan felt like a retread. Then Star Trek Beyond arrived in 2016. It was a love letter to the original series' spirit, yet it underperformed at the box office.
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That’s where the trail goes cold.
What Really Happened with Star Trek 4?
If you’ve been following the news, you know "Star Trek 4" has been in development hell for an eternity. There was a version involving Chris Hemsworth coming back as Kirk's dad. That fell through because of salary disputes. Then Noah Hawley (the Fargo guy) was going to do a movie with a brand new cast. Paramount blinked.
As of early 2026, the situation is basically this: the "Kelvin" cast (Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, etc.) is likely done. While there’s always a rumor of a "final chapter" for them, the focus has shifted. Paramount is currently moving forward with an Origin Movie directed by Toby Haynes. This one is supposedly a prequel to the 2009 film, set decades before Kirk takes the chair.
Wait. Another prequel?
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It’s a valid concern. The franchise seems terrified of moving the timeline forward on the big screen, even though Picard and Discovery have pushed deep into the future on TV.
Why These Movies Still Matter
Star Trek isn't Star Wars. It's not about the "Chosen One" or magic powers. It’s about a bunch of professionals trying to solve problems without shooting each other (usually).
The movies are the only place where that philosophy gets a massive budget. When they work—like in The Undiscovered Country or First Contact—they show that sci-fi can be smart and thrilling at the same time. When they fail, they’re still fascinating artifacts of what Hollywood thought "smart" looked like at the time.
Real-World Takeaways for the Casual Viewer
If you're looking to dive into the star trek film series movies, don't feel like you need to watch all 13 in order. You'll get burnt out by the time you hit the V'ger cloud.
- Start with The Wrath of Khan. It’s the gold standard. You don't even need to have seen the original show to get it.
- Watch the Kelvin Trilogy (2009-2016) if you want modern blockbuster energy. It’s fast, loud, and the cast chemistry is genuinely great.
- Skip Nemesis and The Final Frontier unless you're a completionist or you enjoy "so bad it's good" cinema.
The next step for any fan is keeping an eye on the upcoming Section 31 movie starring Michelle Yeoh. While it's a streaming-first "event movie" on Paramount+, its success or failure will likely dictate whether we ever see a proper theatrical release again. If you want more big-screen Trek, showing up for these smaller projects is basically the only way to prove to the studio that the "Final Frontier" is still worth the investment.