Star Trek is entering a new phase after Paramount confirmed a fresh film is now in development. The announcement came on April 16, 2026, during CinemaCon in the Eastern Time zone, shortly after the studio’s television plans were pared back. The move points away from the Kelvin-verse and toward a different direction for the franchise.
What Paramount confirmed in ET
At CinemaCon, Paramount said the new Star Trek movie is officially moving ahead, but gave only brief details. The project is not connected to the Kelvin-verse and will feature an entirely new cast, marking a clear departure from the Chris Pine-led films.
The studio had previously tapped Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley to write, direct, and produce the film. Plot details remain under wraps, and it is still unclear how the movie will fit into the broader 60-year television franchise. The question now is not whether Star Trek will return to theaters, but what shape that return will take.
Star Trek and the television pullback
The film news lands after Paramount’s new management began winding down the franchise’s television side. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has been set to end with its already-filmed second season, and Strange New Worlds is also slated to conclude with a fifth and final season.
At the time of the CinemaCon announcement, no release date had been set for the new movie. Season 4 of Strange New Worlds is expected to air later this year, while Starfleet Academy has not yet been scheduled for its second and final season. The studio has not announced any new television shows to replace them.
Franchise voices react
Jonathan Frakes, who has worked on Star Trek for decades as both an actor and director, said he believes the franchise will return in some form. He called it “very unfortunate” that no new Trek was in production during the 60th anniversary period, but added, “I’m sure that Trek will resurface, it always has, and it always will. ”
Frakes also pointed to the series’ higher production costs and the changing environment at Paramount+ and CBS Studios as part of the challenge. On the cancellation of Starfleet Academy, he said critics who had not watched the show were a factor, and noted that Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau had described the project as being “on ice. ”
His comments reflect the uncertainty around Star Trek at a moment when the brand is shifting from one era to another. Even so, he said he is “very optimistic about the future. ”
What comes next for Star Trek
The immediate future now centers on whether Goldstein and Daley’s film can define the next version of Star Trek. The studio has not said where in the franchise timeline the movie will land, which characters may appear, or whether it could introduce an entirely new set of people and stories.
For now, the clearest signal is that Paramount wants Star Trek to move forward without relying on the Kelvin-verse. With TV winding down and a new movie in motion, the franchise appears to be entering a reset that could shape its next phase for years to come. That is the central question hanging over Star Trek now, and it is the one viewers will be watching most closely in the weeks ahead.
