“Star Trek Is Gonna Be Around”: Roddenberry Exec Describes Franchise’s “Fruitful Future”

Roddenberry Entertainment’s Chief Operating Officer is optimistic about Star Trek‘s future as an ongoing franchise, though questions remain about the next iteration of the 60-year-old franchise created by Gene Roddenberry.

Trevor Roth runs Roddenberry Entertainment along with CEO Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, and they are executive producers of every Paramount+ Star Trek series overseen by Alex Kurtzman. That ten-year period which began with Star Trek: Discovery’s launch in 2017 will end in 2027 with Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ final seasons on Paramount+. Exactly what will happen to Star Trek next under new owners Skydance is unclear.

Trevor Roth spoke about Star Trek‘s future on The 7th Rule with Cirroc Lofton and Ryan T. Husk as part of their series Closing the Book on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Roth promises with certainty that “Star Trek is gonna be around,” citing it as a “jewel” IP for Skydance. Roth then described Roddenberry’s perspective on Star Trek in its next phase, and his hopes to “capture what Star Trek is or has been… Both classic in some ways, and yet new.” Read Trevor’s quotes below:

Trevor Roth: “You can consider it ups and downs. I consider it swerves and turns, a little bit more… I don’t think Star Trek is at a down, necessarily, as much as it’s at a juncture where it’s going to have to make a left or right in some form… Looking at the future from a pure economic standpoint, with the franchise having recently been purchased along with the purchase of Paramount, and remaining an important part of the ecosystem even with the addition of Warner Brothers… One thing is for sure: Star Trek is gonna be around.

If you want to look at the brass tacks of this, there’s no one that purchases studios and everything the way that Skydance has and not exercise this wonderful jewel of Star Trek. So first off, whether it be economic or… storytelling, which I think we care about a little bit more about, I think Star Trek has got a fruitful future in regard to there being Star Trek, and people focusing on productions within this universe. I think that what form they take is obviously sort of the bigger question… We definitely have thought of doing something that is both classic in some ways, and yet new. Our general feeling is that we want to capture what Star Trek is or has been, and the reason it has lasted these 60 years… I think one of the amazing things about Star Trek is not that it’s turning 60, but it’s turning 60 and it’s still a very viable property today that people care about, that people want to have as part of their lives…

I think because of that, looking at it in new ways, and making sure that we’re capturing that classic, that feeling, but bringing it to a new stage of modern-day in some form or something fresh and new, is really the key.”

Watch Trevor Roth’s full interview on The 7th Rule:

Roddenberry Entertainment does not produce Star Trek TV series for Paramount+. Still, as executive producers, Trevor and Rod’s responsibility is to ensure that Gene Roddenberry’s optimistic vision and principles are present in every new version of Star Trek, even as series like Strange New Worlds pushed the envelope of genre storytelling, or Lower Decks took the franchise into the realm of animated comedy.

As Roth pointed out, Skydance considers Star Trek an important IP in their portfolio that now includes DC’s superheroes, Game of Thrones, and Harry Potter following its purchase of Warner Bros. Skydance’s first mission and prime focus seems to be restoring Star Trek as a movie franchise after a decade of development hell, with at least one new project in the works from filmmakers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein.

Launching a new Star Trek TV series may not happen until after a new movie hits theaters, which could be several years. For the first time in a decade, there is no new Star Trek TV show in production, and there will be no new Star Trek on Paramount+ after 2027. With HBO’s Casey Bloys now also running Paramount+’s streaming, it’s possible that Star Trek content could stream on HBO Max, although the two streaming services will reportedly merge down the line.

Roddenberry Entertainment’s hopes of creating a new Star Trek honors the “classic” but welcomes the “new,” are echoed by most fans, although the overall fandom, which spans generations, has myriad opinions on what Star Trek “is supposed to be” and what it means to them. Star Trek will surely continue under Roddenberry’s watch, but Paramount has yet to give any inkling as to what’s next for the TV franchise on streaming.

TV Show(s)

Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Animated Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Short Treks, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek Lower Decks, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

Cast

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Deforest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Wil Wheaton, Avery Brooks, Nana Visitor, Rene Auberjonois, Alexander Siddig, Cirroc Lofton, Armin Shimerman, Colm Meaney, Terry Farrell, Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson, Jeri Ryan, Robert Duncan McNeill, Robert Picardo, Ethan Phillips, Garrett Wang, Jolene Blalock, Connor Trinneer, Dominic Keating, Scott Bakula, Linda Park, John Billingsley, Anthony Montgomery, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho, Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anton Yelchin, Idris Elba, Sonequa Martin-Green, Mary Wiseman, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Wilson Cruz, Oyin Oladejo, Emily Coutts, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Rebecca Romijn, Michelle Yeoh

Created by

Gene Roddenberry