UPDATE 8/19/2026: A well-placed industry insider says Paramount has no plan for Star Trek: United as it stands, with everything currently aimed at the new movie and no involvement expected from Alex Kurtzman if a series does get greenlit. Read the full report here.
Following the cancellation of Starfleet Academy and its sets being torn down, rumors are picking up that Paramount could be eyeing a new Star Trek series called Star Trek: United, with Scott Bakula returning as Jonathan Archer and Enterprise writer-producer Michael Sussman involved.
Right now, nothing official has been announced.
As noted below, IMDb Pro lists Star Trek: United as a “pitch,” not as something in production or even in development.
An image placeholder featuring Bakula being used on IMDb, also appears to be AI-generated. The rumors are coming from various X users and YouTubers – word first hit back in August – but Paramount has not confirmed anything.
According to the description from IMDb, the pitch is set “at the dawn of the Federation,” with President Jonathan Archer dealing with political threats, interstellar tension, and the effort to hold together a divided galaxy. That lines up with details previously reported about the concept being a more grounded political thriller set after Archer’s Starfleet career.
Star Trek: United details
Previous details tied to the rumored project said Bakula and Sussman had been working on the idea for a few years.
The concept would follow Archer after Enterprise, with the former captain now serving as President of the United Federation of Planets during the unstable early years of the Federation.
Sussman described it as a mix of political thriller and family drama, with comparisons to The West Wing, Homeland, and The Diplomat.
That earlier report also said the idea grew out of continuity Sussman planted in Enterprise, specifically a future database entry about Archer’s post-Starfleet life. From there, the pitch reportedly evolved into a full show concept.
New Paramount owners reportedly have big Star Trek plans
The new Skydance-led Paramount has already made it clear that Star Trek remains a priority, especially on the movie side. After the merger, David Ellison pointed to Star Trek as one of the company’s key franchises as Paramount looks to build out bigger theatrical brands, and later reports said the studio moved ahead with a new Star Trek movie from Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley.
Nothing has been greenlit yet on the Paramount+ side under the Ellison regime. As of August, Paramount+ originals head Jane Wiseman said the streamer is talking to “a lot of writers” about what Star Trek becomes next, working through CBS Studios rather than Alex Kurtzman’s Secret Hideout.
That is a development process starting from scratch, not a handoff, and it means the next series does not currently exist in any form. Meanwhile our insiders say the franchise is being steered back toward what made Wrath of Khan through The Next Generation work.
So the franchise clearly remains on the board. The Kurtzman era is ending, and whatever replaces it is being built from the movie outward.
