“Wow” — Jonathan Frakes’ First Reaction To Big Star Trek Movie News [EXCLUSIVE]

On Friday, the news broke that the new Paramount leadership is moving forward with a whole new creative team with a “new take” for a Star Trek feature film. The news spread across the entertainment and Trek world in a big way, but it hadn’t yet hit Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Jonathan Frakes. TrekMovie spoke to the actor and director on Saturday and when the subject came up, he was intrigued, asking key questions, and offering some initial thoughts for the new duo shepherding the future of Star Trek on the big screen.

Frakes offers some advice… still has questions

On Saturday morning, TrekMovie spoke to Jonathan Frakes along with Kitty Swink for an upcoming episode of the All Access Star Trek podcast, with the pair out in support for PanCan and Pancreatic Awareness Month. When the subject turned to Star Trek co-host Laurie Ulster brought up Friday’s big news, but Frakes (and Swink) hadn’t yet heard about it, with Jonathan asking “Really?” when first hearing about the new Star Trek movie. And when the hosts talked about how Paramount has moved away from another Kelvin movie produced by J.J. Abrams (and the “Origin” movie produced by Simon Kinberg), Frakes recognized the magnitude of the news, saying:

“Wow. That IS big news.”

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When told the new movie was being developed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, Frakes immediately recognized their names, saying, “Oh, the Dungeons & Dragons guys,” referring to their 2023 Paramount film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Amongst Thieves (starring Chris Pine). While Frakes knew their work, he said he didn’t think he had ever met the pair. But the director of two Star Trek feature films (First Contact in 1996 and Insurrection in 1998) did have some friendly words of advice for Goldstein and Daley, saying:

“May they live long and prosper and stay safe and come in on budget and on time, and they’ll do fine.”

Like many fans, Frakes still had more questions about the movie news. The veteran Star Trek actor who played William T. Riker in seven seasons of The Next Generation, four feature films, and returned more recently in Star Trek: Picard (and the animated series Lower Decks) asked, “So, it’s all new, no legacy characters from any [previous series]?” And according to all all reports, the answer to that was yes. After the third season of Star Trek: Picard, Patrick Stewart had floated the idea that there could potentially be another feature film featuring the TNG cast, but there has never been any indication of any development along those lines. Frakes was also curious if the new movie would bring in characters from the new Paramount+ shows, such as Paul Wesley’s James T. Kirk, which also does not appear to be the case.

Jonathan Frakes as Will Riker, Patrick Stewart as Picard, Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi and Michael Dorn as Worf in “The Last Generation” Episode 310, Star Trek: Picard on Paramount+. Photo Credit: Trae Patton/Paramount+. ©2021 Viacom, International Inc. All Rights Reserved.

As someone who has been around Star Trek since 1987, Jonathan Frakes asked the big question on many fans minds, notably how the Goldstein and Daley movie will fit into established Star Trek canon, but the podcast hosts didn’t have an answer in that case, sharing his curiosity.

We also still don’t know how far along the project is, or when Paramount hopes to release it. We do know that the new studio head stated in August (shortly after taking over) that putting Star Trek back on the big screen is “absolutely a priority.” And just last week CEO David Ellison (an executive producer on the last two Trek feature films) committed to increase overall production to up to 15 new feature film releases each year, starting in 2026. But realistically, 2027 is the earliest to expect any new Star Trek movie, missing out on the 60th anniversary year.

The full interview with Jonathan Frakes and Kitty Swink talking about PanCan, Star Trek and other projects will be released in full on the All Access Star Trek podcast on Friday.

Trek against Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cancer cause of death in the USA. It has impacted the Star Trek community including late Enterprise producer Manny Coto and just last month SyFy Sistas podcast co-host Subrina Wood passed away suddenly. It has also taken the life of some family members of the Trek community including Jonathan Frakes’ brother. Armin Shimerman’s wife (and periodic Trek guest star) Kitty Swink is one of the rare survivors of the disease.

If you would like to learn more about Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month or World Pancreatic Cancer Day (coming Thursday, November 20), visit PanCan.org. And if you would like to support the Trek Team, visit the Trek Against Pancreatic Cancer page.

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Find more news and analysis on upcoming Star Trek feature films.