Every Star Trek Movie In Chronological Order

Here's how to watch the 13 Star Trek movies in chronological order in a couple of ways. Starring William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, Star Trek: The Original Series' 3 seasons aired on NBC from 1966-1969, but the show exploded in popularity in syndication. After the blockbuster success of Star Wars in 1977, Paramount refashioned a planned TV series revival titled Star Trek: Phase II into a feature film: 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Star Trek officially became a movie franchise.

Since the 1970s, every decade up to the 2020s thus far has seen a Star Trek movie produced. Star Trek: The Original Series' cast starred in 6 films from 1979-1991. The torch was then passed to the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation, who starred in 4 films from 1994-2002. Producer and director J.J. Abrams then rebooted Star Trek: The Original Series, casting stars such as Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Karl Urban to play younger, alternate reality versions of Captain James T. Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in a trilogy of Star Trek movies from 2009-2016. Whether you want to watch them in order of theatrical release or in order of when the films stand in the Star Trek timeline, here's how to watch the 13 Star Trek movies.

How To Watch The Star Trek Movies Chronologically In Theatrical Release Order

The first 6 Star Trek movies are helpfully numbered

Watching the Star Trek movies in their theatrical release order is the simplest way to go. The 13 films are broken up into easy-to-digest blocks: the 6 Star Trek: The Original Series films, the 4 Star Trek: The Next Generation films, and the three Star Trek movies produced by J.J. Abrams that are set in the alternate Kelvin timeline. Here are the 13 Star Trek movies in theatrical release order:

Star Trek: The Next Generation Movies	Release Year	Director
Star Trek Generations	1994	David Carson
Star Trek: First Contact	1996	Jonathan Frakes
Star Trek: Insurrection	1998	Jonathan Frakes
Star Trek: Nemesis	2002	Stuart Baird

J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Kelvin Timeline Movies	Release Year	Director
Star Trek	2009	J.J. Abrams
Star Trek Into Darkness	2013	J.J. Abrams
Star Trek Beyond	2016	Justin Lin

 

How To Watch The Star Trek Movies By In-Universe Timeline Order

From 1986 to 2379 in two different Star Trek timelines

A more interesting, and challenging, way to watch the Star Trek movies is by in-universe timeline order. Although the 'present day' of the Star Trek movies is either The Original Series' 23rd century or The Next Generation's 24th century, some of the Star Trek movies involve time travel and flashbacks, while the J.J. Abrams films are actually before the events of Star Trek: The Original Series.

In J.J. Abrams' Star Trek 2009, the destruction of the USS Kelvin in 2033 by time-traveling Romulans, which led to the death of James T. Kirk's father, Lt. George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth), spawned an alternate reality where numerous major events happened in an accelerated pace. Factoring in time travel and alternate universes, here's how to watch the Star Trek movies by in-universe timeline order.

Star Trek Movie	In-Universe Timeline Order	Star Trek Timeline
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home	Main story set in 1986 San Francisco	Prime Timeline
Star Trek: First Contact	Main story set in 2063 Bozeman, Montana, and the USS Enterprise-E	Prime Timeline
Star Trek (2009)	Prologues set in 2233/2240s/2255	Kelvin Timeline
Star Trek (2009)	Present-day set in 2258	Kelvin Timeline
Star Trek Into Darkness	Present-day set in 2259	Kelvin Timeline
Star Trek Beyond	Present-day set in 2263	Kelvin Timeline
Star Trek: The Motion Picture	Present-day set in the 2270s	Prime Timeline
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan	Present-day set in 2285	Prime Timeline
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock	Present-day set in 2285	Prime Timeline
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home	Present-day prologue and epilogue set in 2286	Prime Timeline
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier	Present-day set in 2287	Prime Timeline
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country	Present-day set in 2293	Prime Timeline
Star Trek Generations	Prologue set in 2293, Present-day set in 2371	Prime Timeline
Star Trek: First Contact	Prologue set in 2373	Prime Timeline
Star Trek: Insurrection	Present-day set in 2375	Prime Timeline
Star Trek: Nemesis	Present-day set in 2379	Prime Timeline
Star Trek (2009)	Romulan Supernova, Spock and Nero Time Travel set in 2387	Prime Timeline

 

What Is The Next Star Trek Movie?

The next Star Trek movie won't be released in theaters

The next Star Trek movie won't be a theatrical release, but it will be a made-for-streaming film on Paramount+. Star Trek: Section 31 starring Academy Award-winner Michelle Yeoh is the first Star Trek movie made for Paramount+. Section 31 is written by Craig Sweeney and directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi. A spinoff of Star Trek: Discovery, Section 31 will detail what happened to Yeoh's popular anti-heroine, Emperor Phillippa Georgiou after she left Discovery in season 3, and the film will purportedly explore Georgiou's ties to and the history of Section 31, Starfleet's infamous black ops organization.

Star Trek: Section 31 introduces a new cast of characters joining Michelle Yeoh's Emperor Georgiou. Section 31 began filming in January 2024 in Toronto and is expected to wrap in March. Although no release date has been announced yet, Star Trek: Section 31 could be released on the streamer in late 2024 if not in 2025.

Depending on Star Trek: Section 31's success, a new Star Trek movie could be released on Paramount+ every 2 years.

 

Will There Be A Star Trek 4 From J.J. Abrams?

Two Star Trek theatrical movies are reportedly in development

8 years after Star Trek Beyond hit movie theaters, there is still no Star Trek 4 produced by J.J. Abrams. Star Trek 4 (AKA Star Trek 14) was scheduled for a December 2023 release date after audience polling by Paramount Pictures determined there was audience interest in seeing another Star Trek movie starring Chris Pine and the cast Abrams assembled. However, high-profile filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino, Noah Hawley, S.J. Clarkson, and Matt Shakman were unable to overcome the "creative differences" to get Star Trek 4 in front of cameras.

Star Trek 4 is said to be the "final chapter" of the voyages of the USS Enterprise commanded by Chris Pine's Captain James T. Kirk and his crew.

Following the resolution of the WGA writers' strike, a new report indicated two Star Trek movies are in development at Paramount. Star Trek 4 is said to be the "final chapter" of the voyages of the USS Enterprise commanded by Chris Pine's Captain James T. Kirk and his crew. Meanwhile, a Star Trek origin film set "decades before" Star Trek (2009) is being developed by director Toby Haynes (Star Wars: Andor) and writer Seth Grahame-Smith (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter). While it seems inevitable that a new Star Trek movie will return to the big screen one day, it looks like the long wait will continue into the foreseeable future.

Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation movies are available to stream on Max.

Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness, and Star Trek Generations are available to stream on Paramount+.