Paramount officially announced the prequel in the spring of 2024, with new developments slowly being revealed throughout the summer. As of right now, not much is known, except that the prequel film will be set "largely on Earth" and focus on humanity's first interactions with aliens and the early days of Starfleet and the Federation. This puts the Untitled Origin movie during the Star Trek: Enterprise era, which opens up some exciting possibilities for storylines. However, doing another prequel runs the risk of falling into a trap that Star Trek: Discovery in particular found it difficult to climb out of.
Star Trek's Origins Movie Must Avoid Star Trek: Discovery's Canon Mistake
The film should steer clear of messing with established canon
One of the main complaints about Discovery was that the show altered canon established in Star Trek: The Original Series, a problem the Untitled Origin movie could run into as well if it's not careful. Discovery season 1 was set 10 years before the events of TOS, and the introduction of Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), the Spore Drive, and Discovery's take on the Klingons all contradicted established rules that TOS had laid down. Understandably, this rubbed many long-time viewers the wrong way, which ended up hurting Discovery seasons 1 and 2 in terms of popularity.
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With yet another Star Trek prequel in the works, the franchise once again faces the same problem in terms of coming up with engaging storylines that won't also bend or break canon. Star Trek: Discovery never quite recovered from the upsets of its early days, and while other prequel shows like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds have been more successful, they've still skirted the line in terms of messing with established events. Star Trek's Untitled Origin movie must try and avoid breaking canon from Enterprise or TOS if it aims to appeal to new and old audiences alike.
There's An Easy Solution To Star Trek's Canon Difficulties
The Star Trek franchise needs to learn from its mistakes
Of course, there is one easy solution to the problem of breaking canon: Star Trek needs to stop setting new projects in the past. Prequels can be great when they're done properly, with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as a great example. However, there is only so far a storyline can go before it starts rewriting history. Discovery seemed to realize this at the end of season 2 and took steps to make sure the show stayed relevant by catapulting its characters to the far future, giving the show a chance to explore uncharted territory in Star Trek's 32nd century.
Star Trek 's last big movie project, J.J. Abrams' film series, avoided issues of continuity by basing its storyline in a parallel reality, allowing the films to create new canon without breaking the old. While Abrams' movies were controversial for other reasons, they did avoid audience ire about breaking or bending canon rather cleverly.
Star Trek: Discovery never stopped getting mixed reviews, but its time jump did ensure that the final three seasons bypassed the issue of breaking continuity. By virtue of its premise, the Untitled Star Trek Origin movie can't employ this solution to fix the problem, but other upcoming Star Trek projects should start focusing on the future. There is a wealth of possibility in the franchise's 25th century and beyond, and while some projects like Star Trek: Starfleet Academy are set to tap into that possibility, Star Trek could still do more to avoid getting bogged down in the past.
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