If and when the next Star Trek movie finally beams into theaters, the writers and director of the film have promised that it won’t be like any version of Trek we’ve seen before. It’s a bold claim, but speaking at San Diego Comic-Con, Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley made it clear that they have a plan. And that plan involves doing something very similar to what worked with their critically adored 2023 film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves: to alter the source material, but not in a disrespectful way.
Following the Collider story that broke during San Diego Comic-Con 2026, in which Goldstein and Daley said that the next Trek movie would take place further in the future than any other installment before, TrekMovie noted that a second Collider update provided more context. And that context is twofold. First, the approach the writers are taking might surprise fans. Second, it sounds like the movie is not technically greenlit.
Next Movie Will “Subvert” Star Trek...With Love
In the latest update, Goldstein said that though the new script “subverts” the ideas of Star Trek, he clarified that: “I’d say ‘subvert with respect.’ It’s kind of like that old Reagan quote, ‘Trust but verify.’ That’s how we approached D&D.”
In essence, the character-oriented approach to Honor Among Thieves helped to make Dungeons & Dragons into a watchable, crowd-pleasing hit, which fans of the franchise could love. It also didn’t require anyone watching the movie to know anything about the complex nature of D&D, which appears to be the approach the pair is taking with their next Trek script. “You don’t have to be a Star Trek fan to like what we’re doing because it’s a very character-based film that we’re putting together,” Goldstein said.
The Next Star Trek Movie Is NOT a Sure Thing
While describing the movie, Daley revealed two things in the same breath: This will be unlike any version of Star Trek that has ever existed before. But, at the same time, this new film isn’t really underway in any real sense. At least not yet.
“I think, if we get to make it, it would be very surprising for people because it is a version of Star Trek that no one’s ever seen before,” Daley said. “We are subverting [Trek] in a way that I think would be very exciting and also set itself apart from the television versions of the IP, but also the J.J. movies. It’s just a matter of if we get to actually get it done.”
For fans who have been following the saga of the next theatrical Trek movie, which has been going on for — checks notes — 10 long years, there’s something slightly discouraging about the big maybe around this entire project. Obviously, the Skydance-Paramount merger changed everything, and much of what is happening with Paramount is in flux on a much higher level than whatever’s happening with the next Star Trek movie. And, of course, it's worth noting that though the pair have completed a sequel script for Honor Among Thieves, that D&D sequel film is not likely to see the light of day, mostly because it will be too expensive.
So the fact that it seems that this next Trek script could create a dynamic, bold movie, it is very much not a sure thing, at least on the business side. It may be a version of Star Trek “no one has seen before,” but it also might end up being a version of Star Trek that we’ll never see at all.
All 13 Star Trek feature films stream on Paramount+.
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