Scott Bakula's Proposed Star Trek: Enterprise Spin-Off Will Finally Reveal A Major Franchise Moment

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What's next for "Star Trek" after "Strange New Worlds" concludes with season 5? One pitch could throw the franchise even further into the past to the late 22nd century, the earliest years of the United Federation of Planets.

The idea comes from actor Scott Bakula, former star of "Star Trek: Enterprise," and "Enterprise" writer/producer Mike Sussman. "Enterprise" was a prequel set in the 2150s, a decade before the Federation was founded. Bakula played Jonathan Archer, captain of the first starship Enterprise. Unfortunately, "Enterprise" ran only four seasons — a true shame, since the show spent seasons 3 and 4 spreading its wings after a rough start. 

"Enterprise" revealed that Archer would eventually serve as President of the Federation from 2184 to 2192 as a background detail. Bakula and Sussman have made that the crux of their pitch, "Star Trek: United," which (if picked up) will follow Archer during his presidential tenure. In comments to TrekMovie (who first broke the news of the pitch), Sussman said he thinks "United" could be not just "The West Wing" in space, but also the "Star Trek" answer to "Andor," i.e. a more political and grounded series.

Sussman revealed some further details about the pitch, including what he envisions as the series' opening scene: Archer and his crew fighting in the Earth-Romulan War. Or, as Sussman puts it, a scene from the "Enterprise" season 7 that never was:

"Something that has become clear to me from feedback since we first started talking about this, is fans saying they never got to see the Romulan War. We were waiting for it, and you guys just kind of skipped over it [in the 'Enterprise' series finale]. And I share their frustration. So I would want to show [some of] that, and a particular pivotal moment that's not just pure fan service. The scene would actually introduce a very important character for the show moving forward."

The Romulans are some of the oldest "Star Trek" villains there are, debuting back in the original "Star Trek" series during the episode "Balance of Terror." That episode revealed that, 100 years prior, Starfleet and the Romulans fought an interplanetary that ended with them declaring a Neutral Zone between their territories. 

"Enterprise" season 4 had started to build up to the Romulan War, with plans for the war to become the focus of the show if it had gotten a fifth season and beyond. The episode "Kir'Shara" established that the Romulans had infiltrated Vulcan society, all part of the long-game to "reunify" with (read: conquer) their long-lost cousins.

A three-part "Enterprise" arc ("Babel One," "United," and "The Aenar") then tied the founding of the Federation to Romulan expansion. Humans, Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites form an alliance against Romulan attacks, the first step that the four species take to merging as the Federation. The Romulan War turns that into a permanent alliance. 

Due to the series' cancellation, "Enterprise" fans had to settle for novels ("Beneath The Raptor's Wing" and "To Brave the Storm" by Michael A. Martin) chronicling the war. To this day, the conflict has never been depicted onscreen in a "Star Trek" production.

"Balance of Terror" established that humans had never seen the Romulans during the war, which was fought with "primitive" atomic weapons and ships. Those details don't really match up with the tech in "Enterprise." The series was diligent about the main characters never seeing the Romulans, though, and Sussman sees those cloaks and daggers as an opportunity. 

"It almost seems like the Federation, or the people of Earth as well as the Romulans, don't want the Vulcans to know who they are. And why would that be? I think that's a very intriguing question. I've certainly got my ideas."

While "United" presumably can't depict the whole Romulan War, Sussman inferred that the Romulans could still feature as more subtle villains. He mentioned one "Enterprise" character he'd like to bring back is Talok (Todd Stashwick) from "Kir'Shara," a Romulan spy who was posing as a Vulcan. Stashwick has since played Captain Shaw on "Star Trek: Picard." Perhaps he could pull double duty and reprise both roles on different "Trek" shows.

What about other characters, like Jeffrey Combs as Archer's Andorian frenemy turned just plain friend, Shran? Sussman answered that any cameos would have to be worth it.

"The issue with returning cast is, you can't have Jeff Combs [as Shran] just show up at a meeting and say, 'Right on Mr. President,' and then disappear. They have to be integral to the story. That said, I'd love to get everybody back one way or another."

Jolene Blalock, who played Archer's Vulcan first officer T'Pol on "Enterprise," is mostly retired, but she recently made a voiceover cameo as T'Pol on "Star Trek: Lower Decks." However, Sussman stressed there'd be a lot of focus on new characters, i.e. Archer's (adult) children, who are serving in different roles across the Federation themselves.

"Archer would be in a place in his life where Scott kind of is right now, where Scott is a family man. He's got four adult kids. And so I gave Archer four adult kids, and the story is as much about them as it is about him."

On that note: the "Enterprise" series finale "These Are The Voyages..." jumped ahead to 2161, concluding with the Federation's founding ceremony. "United" would thus pick up 23 years later. In the real world, it's been 20 years since "Enterprise" went off air, so the timing is right for Archer to take another shot.