Next Star Trek Film Leaves Kelvin Timeline, Drops Legacy Characters
Filmmakers Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley say the new film is set further in the future and features no returning characters.
Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley have said the next Star Trek film will stand apart from the franchise's previous movies, with no legacy characters and a setting further in the future. The filmmakers discussed the project with Empire.
Daley said the story takes place in a different time, a little further ahead than before, and that it is not set in the Kelvin Timeline established by J.J. Abrams. He also confirmed that no returning characters from earlier films will appear.
Abrams relaunched Star Trek in 2009 with a time-travel story that recast the original series stars; that film grossed $385 million worldwide. Two sequels followed in the Kelvin Timeline.
Star Trek Beyond, released in 2016, took less at the box office than its predecessors despite a higher budget. The film side of the franchise has largely been on hold since then, and a fourth Kelvin Timeline film spent a decade in development.
Quick answers
Is the next Star Trek film set in the Kelvin Timeline?
No. John Francis Daley said the film is set in a different time, a little further in the future, and not in the Kelvin Timeline.
Will any legacy characters appear in the new Star Trek film?
According to John Francis Daley, the film features no legacy characters.