Star Trek: Voyager Always Deserved A Movie, But The Show's Premise Meant It Couldn't Follow TOS & TNG

Star Trek: Voyager should have gotten to have a movie follow-up, but the premise meant it couldn't follow in the footsteps of Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation. After The Original Series' cancelation, the franchise lived on in six Star Trek films, beginning with 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture. When Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country hit theaters, Star Trek: The Next Generation was in its fifth season. After The Next Generation ended, the cinematic torch passed from the TOS cast to the USS Enterprise-D crew in 1994's Star Trek Generations.

The one thing Kate Mulgrew would change about Captain Janeway if she could go back

It made sense that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager films would follow TNG's movies, either with contemporaneous installments or through a Generations-style passing of the torch. The Voyager cameo from Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) in the fourth outing for the TNG cast, Star Trek: Nemesis, wasn't the major crossover experience that Star Trek Generations was, but Janeway's Nemesis appearance still hinted at the possibility of more Voyager in future Star Trek projects. That hope fell flat when Nemesis failed to live up to box office and fan expectations.

Star Trek: Voyager Deserved To Have A Movie Like TOS & TNG

Star Trek: Voyager Is More Like TOS & TNG Than DS9

A collage of Captain Picard, Captain Janeway, and Captain Kirk from Star Trek on a blue and pink background.

Yet Star Trek: Voyager deserved to have a movie like TOS and TNG, given their similarities. While DS9 broke new ground for the Star Trek franchise with its serialized storytelling and weighty character arcs, Voyager conducted business as usual with episodic adventures in unexplored space. As with TNG, it wasn't necessary to know complicated backstories to understand Voyager's cast of characters; most could be explained within the dialogue. Captain Kathryn Janeway's USS Voyager even made first contact with more alien species than anyone since Captain James Kirk (William Shatner).

In some ways, Voyager's twelve two-part episodes act like short movies in their own right.

In some ways, Voyager's twelve two-part episodes act like short movies in their own right. Star Trek: Voyager season 5, episodes 15 & 16, "Dark Frontier", was marketed as a Voyager television movie, presented as one uncut episode when it first aired (and on streaming services). Voyager season 3, episodes 8 & 9, "Future's End", feel like a direct homage to Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, with the USS Voyager crew in 20th-century San Francisco solving problems with a modern-day female scientist. Unfortunately, these episodes were ultimately just substitutes for the big-screen cinematic experience that could have been.

Star Trek: Voyager's Premise Made A Movie Continuation Almost Impossible

Star Trek: Voyager's Ending Meant A Movie Wouldn't Be Like The Show

Two Janeways, one older and one younger, talk in the Captain's ready room while the older one holds a cup of coffee in the Star Trek: Voyager series finale, "Endgame"

However, the story and conclusion of Voyager made a movie continuation complicated. Voyager's concept of being lost in the Delta Quadrant was perfect for a Star Trek TV show that continued the legacy (and format) of earlier Star Trek shows. The TOS and TNG movies show what happened after their series' endings, more or less in real time, with the continuing adventures of their respective USS Enterprises. Unlike TOS' abrupt end and TNG's more open-ended finale, Voyager ends with the USS Voyager getting back home, which meant there could be no continuing adventures for Janeway's crew.

Concluding Star Trek: Voyager with a theatrical release of "Endgame" probably would have alienated casual movie-goers, since previous Star Trek movies didn't rely on having any prior knowledge of either TOS or TNG.

Instead of being direct continuations like the TOS and TNG movies, a Voyager movie would have to be very different from the TV show. The concept that defined Voyager — the unfamiliarity of the Delta Quadrant — would not be present in any story set after the finale. Instead of employing the safe storytelling that made the series easy and enjoyable to watch, a Star Trek: Voyager movie would have to chart new narrative ground. Additionally, after Star Trek: Nemesis' box office disappointment, investing in a Voyager movie, especially one drastically different from its source material, would have been too risky.

How A Star Trek: Voyager Movie Could Have Worked (Despite The Show's Ending)

How Does The USS Voyager Crew Adjust To Life In The Alpha Quadrant?

The USS Voyager-A from Prodigy and the cast of Star Trek: Voyager in the foreground.

Still, a Voyager movie might have worked with some brainstorming. Voyager's series finale suffered from ending too abruptly, without showing any of the aftermath of the USS Voyager's return. A movie would have created space to explore the consequences of the crew's absence and see how they adjust to being back home. DS9's Dominion War changed the Alpha Quadrant during the USS Voyager's time away, so friends and family might have been lost. Voyager's characters banded together to survive in an unfamiliar environment, and being back home would surely have psychological effects on the crew.

That heavy subject matter isn't all that different from the musings on aging, grief, legacy, or change in earlier Star Trek movies. A Voyager film could have found a way to work in themes of alienation and trauma bonds, alongside the USS Voyager crew reuniting to deal with a threat they'd be uniquely equipped to handle. A call from the Delta Quadrant or a time-travel adventure, a new ship, and promotions all around would have made a Star Trek: Voyager movie that lived up to its premise and the legacy of Star Trek movies before it, despite the commercial risk.