Star Trek Animated Movie Similar To Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse Teased By Paramount Head
It's not an uncommon occurrence for a lightning-in-the-bottle genre film to come out of nowhere and almost singlehandedly influence how similar movies are made from that point onwards. "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" most definitely fits the bill, especially now that it seems to have played quite a large role in its live-action brethren fully committing to the multiverse. MCU fans may want to insist that these plans have been in the works since the beginning of time itself, but let's just say I'm highly skeptical that we'd be getting the same exact version of "Spider-Man: No Way Home" or even the grand plans that Sony seems to be gearing up for between "Venom" and "Morbius" (and who knows what else) if it weren't for the immense popularity and success of "Spider-Verse."
But here's an interesting wrinkle for you: The "Spider-Verse" influence has apparently crossed over into the world of "Star Trek" too, with Paramount recently citing the groundbreaking animated film as the model for the kind of "Trek" film they'd like to make. Given how many of us are hungry for more boundary-pushing projects from the beloved sci-fi franchise, consider this music to our ears.
Star Trek Into the Trek-Verse?
The history of animation and "Star Trek" go back decades, to the (short-lived) "Star Trek: The Animated Series" from 1973-1974, which did all it could to tide fans over after the cancelation of "The Original Series." Though the actual quality of storytelling left something to be desired overall, the animation style at least provided the opportunity for the show to bring even more outlandish (and impossible to film) concepts to life, making good on the promise of "Trek" going boldly where no one has gone before. Between the generally well-received "Star Trek: Lower Decks" and the most recent release of "Star Trek: Prodigy," the franchise has been successfully extending its influence across multiple mediums.
In the same spirit, the new head of Paramount is looking ahead to multiple new movies — one of which is being planned as an animated feature film. According to THR (via TrekMovie.com), President and CEO Brian Robbins indicated that he and "Trek" creative lead Alex Kurtzman took inspiration from "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" as an example of the type of theatrical "four-quadrant family movie" that they'll be using as inspiration for their own "Trek" animated movie. Speaking more broadly about the shared themes and ambitions between the two franchises, Kurtzman added:
"'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' is still one of the best movies over the past decade, animated or not. It's just an unbelievable piece of artistry. I went with my whole family and another family and we all sat there with our jaws on the floor. Ultimately, 'Star Trek' is about family, it's about these giant universal themes. Getting to tell a story like that, especially given the level of cinema we've already brought to the television show, is a wonderful opportunity. It would thrill me to do that."
And as a parting note, though neither Robbins or Kurtzman comment specifically on any of the reported live-action "Trek" movies in development, Robbins does at least provide a hint for the future of the cinematic side of the franchise, saying that "I can't wait to get going on it; we're not there yet, but we need to get there soon." We haven't seen a "Trek" movie in theaters since 2016's "Star Trek Beyond", so the urgency to reclaim a cinematic niche for the franchise is understandable. Even with that delay, the future of the "Star Trek" seems as bright as ever.