Following up on claims that Trump saved Star Trek, now it’s said Paramount may actually be canceling the entire current franchise amid a rumored great reset involving the acquisition by Skydance.
The gist of it is that it’s a similar story to what happened at Disney+ with Marvel and Star Wars: lots of money spent, but not enough return due to questionable content.
When Paramount+ first launched, it was marketed as the home of Star Trek. However, fans tuned out following the disaster of content and shows from Alex Kurtzman, which were less about telling quality Trek stories and more about sending The Message. It’s exactly what happened with Kathleen Kennedy and Star Wars, and Kevin Feige and Marvel: no one is watching.
Back to Star Trek, we get inside information again from the Tachyon Pulse YouTuber. Recall how the YouTuber said he was contacted by Anson Mount following claims that the Trump administration indirectly caused reshoots on the upcoming season of Strange New Worlds. The YouTuber has also dropped scoops regarding Karl Urban returning to Dredd and the future of Doctor Who, Stargate, and said the big AVP crossover is happening.
What does the YouTuber say about Star Trek?
Paramount to END Star Trek TV shows
Now in a video titled “Paramount to END Star Trek TV shows,” the YouTuber goes over what his Skydance contact told him about Star Trek. The YouTuber says Skydance may not renew once Kurtzman’s contract ends (Secret Hideout is Kurtzman’s production company):
“I’ve literally just got off a call with my main guy or girl over at Skydance. They’ve been feeding me little bits of information for a little while now, and they have once again come through and told me about a lot of what’s going on.”
“They are leaning very heavily towards not renewing the contract with Secret Hideout to produce Star Trek and not actually pursuing further Star Trek projects particularly quickly.”
Star Trek not performing, divided fan base
According to the YouTuber, Skydance has reviewed all of Paramount’s major franchises, including Star Trek. And again, just like Marvel and Star Wars at Disney, what they’ve found is that Star Trek is not performing well enough to justify the cost. While Disney pulled back on volume and budgets, Skydance may take it further:
“They looked at Star Trek… They looked at the fan base and how we’re quite divided and how basically much it costs for them to produce Star Trek compared to the return and that’s not been good.”
“Star Trek doesn’t [perform]. Strange New Worlds doesn’t even do it. And generally speaking, that’s probably the most popular of all the current Star Trek iterations.”
“It costs too much to make and just not enough people are watching it.”
Star Trek 4 not happening
Reportedly, once Kurtzman’s contract ends around mid-2027, all his Star Trek shows will be canceled, and any movies in development are off the table, except maybe the prequel:
“I’m being told Star Trek 4 isn’t going to happen, but the prequel movie probably will still move forwards.”
“Roughly in the summer of 2027 we will get the last season of Strange New Worlds. That may be the last Star Trek series we get on our screens for a very, very long time.”
Section 31 a bust
The YouTuber says the bad ratings are a big factor in the decision:
“Section 31… at least initially did okay, did good hours, but those hours dropped off like a cliff. I mean literally like a lemming in a Star Trek uniform just jumping clean off a cliff. The hours died really, really quickly.”
Strange New Worlds is ending
He also notes that Strange New Worlds is ending after Season 5, and other series like Academy will wrap under the existing deal:
“Strange New Worlds… they were never planning to go beyond five seasons and they are now rushing to get five seasons done.”
Willing to farm off projects
The YouTuber adds that Paramount has instead started licensing Star Trek elsewhere — like Star Trek: Prodigy to Netflix — which was also canceled after the streamer passed on Season 3, suggesting the shows haven’t been popular on Paramount+:
“They are willing to farm off projects like Prodigy if it suits them.”
Star Trek hiatus
So, according to the YouTuber, the plan once the Skydance acquisition goes through — which will be approved by the Trump administration (and Trump is friends with Skydance owner’s father Larry Ellison) — is for Star Trek to go on hiatus in 2027:
“There does seem to be an idea to move away from Secret Hideout and maybe just do a couple of Star Trek movies over the next 10 to 15 years and perhaps no television at all.”
The YouTuber also ponders whether having no Star Trek content is better than having content that isn’t good. The answer seems obvious.
The Skydance acquisition of Paramount is expected to close in the first half of this year. In related news, the future of Transformers at Paramount is also being called into question.
Paramount also recently announced Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 premieres Thursday, July 17, with a two-episode premiere and dropped a new trailer.
