Even though there’s no sign of aStar Trek: Voyagermovie in the works, an underutilized branch of the franchise has already introduced a brilliant way for the show’s titular vessel to return for a feature-length production. Ofall theStar Trekshowsfrom the space opera’s classic era,Voyageris among the most popular since the franchise returned to the small screen in 2017 withStar Trek: Discovery.A lot of the newer shows have referencedVoyagerby revisiting its charactersin other settings, but I think the franchise can go a couple of steps further than that.
Star Trek: Voyagerholds a special place in theStar Trektimeline. Although it also unfolds in the 24th century along withStar Trek: The Next GenerationandStar Trek: Deep Space Nine, theStar Trek: Voyagercastexplores an entirely different region of space. As such, it teaches the viewers things about theStar Trekuniverse that would be impossible to learn from other shows within the franchise. However, that unique trait meansVoyagermissed out on certain thingsas well, which a very specific type of movie could rectify.
I’d Love To See The Kelvin Timeline Movies Reach The 24th Century
Abrams' rebooted movies could bring back characters like Captain Sisko & Captain Janeway
JJ Abrams’Star Trekmovies only softly rebooted the franchise. His creative overhaul ofStar Trek: The Original Seriesto form the basis of his 2009 movie pulled the Chris Pine-led effort into the main canon, but in a new universe that was set in motion by the destruction of the USS Kelvin. So far, the three Kelvin Timeline movies so far haven’t ventured beyond the 23rd century, but there is no reason why they couldn’t in the future - especially if thelong-awaitedStar Trek 4is a success.
2009
94%
2013
84%
2016
86%
If so, then Abrams' branch of theStar Trekfranchise would open up to include recast characters from the 24th century shows. This would include, but not be limited to,Star Trek: Voyager. As much as I enjoyStar Trek: The Original Series, I have a far greater fondness for the franchise’s 24th century, so I’d be thrilled to see that era updated too.Abrams has earned my trust with his current trilogy ofStar Trekfilms, so I think the 24th century should be next on his to-do list. At the very least, I hope it’s on his mind.
The USS Voyager May Never Get Stranded In The Delta Quadrant In The Kelvin Timeline
The Caretaker could take another Starfleet vessel in Voyager’s place
The Kelvin Timeline’s biggest appeal is thatthe movies don’t just rehash what happened inStar Trek: The Original Series. Sure, there are similarities and shared characters, but that makes perfect sense.Chris Pine’s Captain Kirkand his alternate version of the USS Enterprise have already experienced a vastly different set of events compared to William Shatner’s Kirk and the original crew. Therefore, it stands to reason that this would apply to the Kelvin Timeline’s version of Captain Janeway and her ship.
There is a lot of time for the butterfly effect to take hold and make it so that Voyager is nowhere near the Badlands when the Caretaker tries to scoop up ships from the Alpha Quadrant.
As such, events in the Kelvin Timeline will probably have diverged so much from the Prime Universe by the 24th century thatit would arguably be very surprising if the alternate Voyager were still pulled into the Delta Quadrantby the Caretaker. There are decades that separate the events ofStar Trek: The Original SeriesandStar Trek: Voyager, so there is a lot of time for the butterfly effect to take hold and make it so that Voyager is nowhere near the Badlands when the Caretaker tries to scoop up ships from the Alpha Quadrant.
A Kelvin Timeline Voyager Movie In The Alpha Quadrant Would Be Very Different From The Original Show
Captain Janeway’s alternate crew could finally be seen exploring the Alpha Quadrant instead
Despite the current differences between the Kelvin Timeline movies andStar Trek: The Original Series, the former is still recognizably a reimagining of the latter.Star Trek: Voyagergetting the Kelvin Timeline treatment wouldn’t be like that, at least not quite so prominently.Incredibly little ofVoyageris set in the Alpha Quadrant, so the show primarily reveals new races and worlds that had never before been seen in other areas of the franchise. So, if the USS Voyager remains in its native quadrant, the characters could be seen doing things their Prime counterparts never got the chance to.
All 5 Star Trek: Voyager Character Promotions After Janeway’s Ship Returned To Earth
The story didn’t end when Star Trek: Voyager’s titular vessel reached home in “Endgame,” and the franchise has revealed far more about Janeway’s crew.
One of the biggest disparities between the Prime Voyager and a Kelvin Voyager that never left the Alpha Quadrant would arguably be the crew lineup.Certain members of Janeway’s crew only came to be aboard after being stranded in the Delta Quadrant. So, a KelvinVoyagermovie would need to write new ways for characters likeJeri Ryan’s Seven of Nineand Ethan Phillips' Neelix to find their way onto Janeway’s ship. However, that needn’t be a huge challenge, asStar Trek: Voyagerhas already pulled off far weirder arcs.
