It’s an exciting time in the Star Trek universe, at least when it comes to television. New Star Trek TV shows are planned for 2022 and beyond, but things are a bit more stagnant on the film side. At a time where streaming is as big as ever, and fans are loving nods to past Trek shows, I have to ask, is now the best time for a Star Trek: Voyager movie?
The Kate Mulgrew-led series that featured Robert Beltran, Jeri Ryan and others was beloved during its time, but never got the same love as The Next Generation during its run. It also didn’t get the big-screen features that TNG did, and in 2022, I think there’s an opportunity for Paramount to rectify that. In fact, now is the perfect time for a Star Trek movie centered around Voyager to come out, and it isn’t hard to see why.
Streaming And New Star Trek Shows Have Given Voyager Renewed Relevance
Star Trek’s journey to streaming has certainly helped bolster relevance for its older shows in the modern era. Anyone with a Paramount+ subscription can stream Star Trek: Voyager and either experience the show again or for the first time. Additionally, we also have Kate Mulgrew and Robert Beltran reprising their roles in the animated series Prodigy, and Jeri Ryan is playing Seven of Nine in Picard.
Those reprisals help Janeway and Seven of Nine maintain peak relevance in the eyes of Star Trek fans, and also could pave the way to tell a larger story that culminates in a cast reunion. I’m not sure exactly what the story to bring everyone back together would be, but given that Star Trek: Picard was able to cook up an adventure that reunites the cast of The Next Generation for Season 3, I’m sure there are creative minds out there who have ideas.
Paramount+ Creates A Space Where A Voyager Movie Can Happen Without Major Box Office Pressure
Star Trek: Voyager might have reignited popularity within the fandom, but in terms of mainstream appeal, it’s fair to say interest in most shows that aired in the late '90s have relatively low interest. After all, part of the reason Star Trek's Kelvin timeline came to be was to give the franchise a blank slate for newcomers to join in without being burdened by past canon and other shows. If a Voyager movie came out on the big screen, it’s unlikely a bunch of people who never watched the original series would turn up for the opening night release.
Making a Voyager movie for Paramount+ eliminates the problem of pulling in a mainstream audience for a niche feature, but it also feels like the best option overall. After all, Paramount+ is the streaming home for all Star Trek, so it’s fair to say that there’s an existing audience on the platform ready to watch this type of show. Additionally, if there are any hold-out classic Star Trek fans who have their physical copies of Voyager to watch whenever they want, there’s now this cool reunion movie that requires they at least use the free Paramount+ trial to watch. I fully believe that making revival movies for classic Trek shows would drive some people to the platform, and then potentially expose them to all the new stuff out there.
Now Might Be The Best Possible Window In Years To Make A Voyager Movie Happen
So far, we know that Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, and Jeri Ryan are actively working in the Star Trek franchise. It’s possible there are more people we don’t know about who are working in other Trek shows (Robert Picard once teased he would appear in Picard), but in terms of nailing the biggest stars associated with Voyager, I’d say Paramount has the hard part out of the way. Getting others like Robert Duncan McNeill shouldn’t be that difficult, especially with him McNeill pitching Captain Proton stuff.
10 years ago, something like a Star Trek: Voyager movie wouldn’t have been as feasible as it is now, and it’s hard to imagine it’ll be easier even five years from now. Paramount already has some of the pieces of the puzzle in place, and with the quality of the current Star Trek television shows, you’d think the platform could do some pretty amazing stuff with a movie made for streaming.
More Star Trek Shows Means More People To Figure Out How To Make A Voyager Movie
Star Trek currently has writers and creatives working on Picard, Discovery, Lower Decks, Prodigy and Strange New Worlds. That’s a huge talent pool of people who know the franchise inside and out, and while they’re probably very busy with all their shows, that’s a sizable chunk of people who could brainstorm the right angle for a Voyager movie. Admittedly, I’m sure the subject is a tough nut to crack given the nature of the original series.
After all, Star Trek: Voyager was about a ship stranded in the Delta Quadrant, searching for a way to get home. With the ship having returned to Earth, it’s hard to imagine what the next step is. Then again, we already know that Janeway went on a search for Chakotay via Star Trek: Prodigy, and that Seven of Nine is currently trying to help Jean-Luc Picard fix time. People are out there spinning webs, so perhaps the first thing to do is to reach out to those people and get to work on how to make this happen.
Of course, this whole argument presumes a lot of things. I can’t pretend to know about the logistics of making a Star Trek: Voyager movie or how willing anyone on the cast would be to commit to such an idea. What I do know is that as I’m watching the series on Paramount+, I’d be down for at least one more adventure with this crew, so my fingers are crossed that someone out there is two steps ahead of me.
Star Trek: Voyager may not have a movie on the way, but fans can catch the series on Paramount+. Hopefully, the franchise can find a way to get the movies a new entry soon, and that Star Trek 4 not only makes it to theaters after its previous false starts, but also learns some lessons from its predecessor, Star Trek Beyond.
