New Star Trek Movie Timeline & Character Details Teased By Writers

Published Jul 23, 2026, 6:53 PM EDT Nick Bythrow is a Lead Writer for ScreenRant. He has been writing for the site since September 2022. He graduated from Hampshire College in 2022, where he triple majored in Journalism, Communications, and Media Studies. When he's not writing about TV and movies for ScreenRant and his blog, Frayed Branches, Nick is penning speculative fiction and poetry on Amazon. He lives outside Boston, Massachusetts. Sign in to your ScreenRant account New details about the next Star Trek movie have been revealed. At a panel during San Diego Comic-Con, writers John Francis Daley and Johnathan Goldstein revealed new information about their upcoming Star Trek movie, particularly characters and its place in the timeline. A new movie in the space opera franchise was confirmed by Paramount during CinemaCon in April 2026. Not much information about the movie had been revealed, other than it would begin a new era for the franchise. Since then, the exact details of the film have been shrouded in mystery as its development has continued in the background. Now, during the Directors on Directing panel at SDCC, for which ScreenRant's Brandon Zachary was in attendance, Daley and Goldstein confirmed the timeline for the new Star Trek movie, alongside new character details. The writers expressed excitement on how the movie is progressing, teasing plenty of surprises in store for fans. Goldstein also confirmed that it won't follow any familiar faces from the franchise, while also confirming the movie will take place at the most future point in the timeline so far. Check out what they said below: John Francis Daley: [It's] in progress, and...we're very excited about it. I think people will be surprised. I really can't say anything other than that. Johnathan Goldstein: I think we've said in the past...it won't be the characters that you've seen previously in your Star Trek movies. So there will be a new take on that. And I think it'll probably be a little further into the future than we've been before.... what draws us to it is the opportunity to do a different spin. The last Star Trek movie to be released in theaters was Star Trek Beyond in 2016, earning positive reviews and doing generally well at the box office. Since then, the franchise has expanded its presence on TV, its home of origin, with a multitude of shows being released on Paramount+. However, this era of the franchise appears to be reaching its conclusion: the ongoing Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 will be the show's second-to-last installment, while Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will end with season 2 following its cancellation. Technically, the latest Star Trek movie is the 2025 made-for-TV film Star Trek: Section 31, which was panned by critics and audiences alike. Although Daley and Goldstein didn't provide a plethora of details about the next installment amid the many Star Trek movies that already exist, their words signify a very different approach to the coming installment. This means the movie is likely not relying on nostalgia too much, with the likes of Captain Kirk or Captain Picard not planned to be present in the film. But, as a movie in the franchise, it will likely still be dealing with familiar attributes of space-faring adventure, as new elements are placed at the forefront. Image via MovieStillsDB So far, this is all the concrete information about the movie that's been revealed to the public. It's unclear what else the movie will entail, or what it means for Paramount's long-term plans for the franchise. It's not the first time the franchise has gone into the far future, though: Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy both take place in the far future of the timeline. Whether the movie will have any references to either TV show remains to be seen, especially since it's going to be mostly a standalone endeavor. As development on the Star Trek movie continues, more information is bound to be revealed. Given what Daley and Goldstein confirmed at SDCC, it seems like it'll not just be a strong installment of the franchise, but also a new beginning that will allow for a whole new story to be told. This, however, is the perfect first taste of what to expect as the franchise continues to evolve. 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 Video Game(s) Star Trek Online, Star Trek: Resurgence, Star Trek: Bridge Crew First Film Star Trek: The Motion Picture First TV Show Star Trek: The Original Series 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