One of the most popular sci-fi movie franchises in history has had an unprecedented gap between theatrical releases. While movies in the genre can be hit or miss at the box office, the hit entries that either have sci-fi as a primary or secondary genre frequently spawn franchises that can span decades.
For instance, the superhero movie franchise known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe has had 36 installments debut in theaters since 2008, with many more on the way. It is also the highest-grossing movie franchise in history with a cumulative worldwide gross of $31.8 billion.
The second-place franchise is the Star Wars movies, which have grossed $10.4 billion from 12 theatrical installments (including the animated spinoff The Clone Wars) that have been released since 1977. Other long-running sci-fi franchises in the Top 50 include Avatar ($5.2 billion), Jurassic Park ($6.4 billion), Transformers ($5.4 billion), and a franchise that is currently in its longest-ever theatrical drought.
Star Trek Is In The Midst Of Its Longest Gap Between Movies
Even After A $1.1 Billion Trilogy
In spite of this trend for sci-fi franchise longevity, the Star Trek movies are in the middle of their longest theatrical drought since the original movie (which was a continuation of the 1966 television series) debuted in 1979. The most recent installment was 2016's Star Trek Beyond, meaning that the movie franchise has been dormant for nine years.Previously, the longest gap between theatrical installments was the seven years between 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis and the 2009 Star Trek, the latter of which was a reboot featuring the characters from the original series played by new actors.
While the possible Star Trek 4 has been in various stages of development over the years, it has been stalled for a number of reasons. One reason is the fact that Anton Yelchin, who played navigator Pavel Chekov in the new trilogy, died in June 2016, just one month before the premiere of Beyond.
Another is the fact that the franchise has carried on elsewhere with a robust number of Star Trek shows on the streaming service Paramount+, including Discovery (2017-2024), Picard (2020-2023), Lower Decks (2020-2024), and Strange New Worlds (2022-).
Paramount+ also debuted the franchise's first-ever television movie, Star Trek: Section 31, in January 2025. However, the movie's 20% Rotten Tomatoes score and 16% audience score may prevent similar projects from going into production.
Ultimately, it remains to be seen what it takes to get the sci-fi franchise back on the big screen. However, there is not currently a major Star Trek movie project in the works, so this unprecedented theatrical gap will continue to grow even wider, even though the franchise as a whole is not experiencing any major interruptions.
