Star Trek III: The Search For Spock Cost The World A Full-Blown Khan Spinoff
Khan Noonien Singh's trajectory as a fictional character is the opposite of his in-universe life story. He was once a superhuman tyrant who ruled much of the Earth — after being overthrown, he fled to space aboard the SS Botany Bay. Upon reawakening, he was bested twice by James T. Kirk and died failing to avenge himself. For audiences though, Khan went from a villain of the week (in the "Star Trek" episode "Space Seed") to the greatest of all "Trek" villains thanks to his reappearance in the film "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan."
Before "The Wrath of Khan," however, "Star Trek" was in trouble. "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" underwhelmed, Paramount was hesitant about a sequel, and Leonard Nimoy had to be convinced to return as Spock. That's why the film famously ends with his character dying — except, during shooting, Nimoy changed his mind about exiting. Thus, when "The Wrath of Khan" ended up being a success, the sequel — "The Search for Spock" — was all about bringing back the late Vulcan. Nimoy even directed the movie and the subsequent fourth film, "The Voyage Home."
This wasn't the only plan Paramount had, though. According to the "Star Trek" oral history book "The Fifty-Year Mission" by Edward Gross and Mark Altman, there were plans to take the franchise in a different direction — one that looked backward in a more literal way.
"Search for Spock" Unit Publicist Eddie Egan told Gross and Altman that Harve Bennett, who co-wrote both "Wrath of Khan" and "Search for Spock," wanted to do a prequel spin-off chronicling Khan's life between his debut in "Space Seed" and his return in "The Wrath of Khan."
Star Trek: Prison Planet
In "Space Seed," Khan and his "augmented" followers choose to be exiled to planet Ceti Alpha V, a lush but untamed world. In the words of John Milton, it's better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven. Then a planetary cataclysm disrupts the environment of Khan's new world, truly turning it into the Hell he'd described. The terrible desert Ceti Alpha V has become is only glimpsed in "Wrath of Khan" before Khan's people leave it by hijacking the Starfleet vessel the USS Reliant. So, we're left to imagine how torturous 15 years there must have been.
Bennett crafted a treatment titled "Star Trek: Prison Planet" to show audiences firsthand. Ricardo Montalbán would have returned as Khan and the film would be a "vehicle" for him, per Egan. However, "Prison Planet" fell by the wayside when Paramount decided to prioritize "Star Trek III." This story illustrates how Hollywood has changed in the intervening decades. Nowadays in the age of unkillable franchises, Paramount executives would be thrilled to have both a sequel and a spin-off to a hit film. Rather than choosing one film over the other, they would likely turn "Prison Planet" into a Paramount+ mini-series.
As fate would have it, Nicholas Meyer, director of "Wrath of Khan," proposed doing a Khan mini-series, "Ceti Alpha V," in 2021. The project has since evolved into an audio drama (which saves them the trouble of finding an actor who can completely imitate Montalbán — Benedict Cumberbatch ain't it).
Star Trek spin-offs about Khan
Before the 2010s when franchise recycling hit its max (driven by the streaming service glut), interquel stories would be saved for tie-in media catered to the niche of dedicated fans. The story of Khan's exile is one that "Star Trek" authors did not ignore.
For previous tellings of Khan's time on Ceti Alpha V, there is "To Reign in Hell: The Exile of Khan Noonien Singh." This 2006 novel by Greg Cox is a sequel to his earlier two-volume work, "The Eugenics Wars: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh," which chronicled Khan's backstory on 20th century Earth. There is also "Star Trek: Khan — Ruling In Hell," a 2010 comic mini-series by Scott & David Tipton and Fabio Mantovani. Both works' titles call back to Khan quoting Milton in "Space Seed," but beyond that and fitting into the confines of "Wrath of Khan," they're mutually exclusive.
I've admitted only read the comic; issue #1 opens with the Enterprise leaving the Botany Bay and her crew on Ceti Alpha V. The issue then ends with Ceti Alpha VI exploding; as detailed in "Wrath of Khan," the shockwave is what ruined its sister planet. Over the mini-series, Khan's initial gratitude to Kirk for a second chance turns to hatred as Khan loses more and more, including his "beloved wife," while the Captain never comes to his rescue.
You don't need more than "Wrath of Khan" itself to understand the villain, but seeing Montalbán play the character again in "Prison Planet" would have been a treat. His presence is obviously lacking in this comic and novel, and now Meyer's forthcoming mini-series too.