Star Trek’s best movie also happens to be the one that fixed the entire franchise after years of confusion. Debuting in 1966 and created by Gene Roddenberry, the series is set aboard a starship that explores the galaxy on a mission of peace and discovery.Star Trekwas not an instant pop culture phenomenon, and was actually canceled after three seasons on the air in 1969. The show gained a huge cult following throughout the 1970s when it aired in syndication, and the original crew was brought back to appear inStar Trek: The Motion Picturein 1979.
Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the rest of theEnterprisecrew would appear in six movies between 1979 and 1991, and a few would return forStar Trek: Generationsin 1994.TheStar Trekfilm franchisewas popular enough to inspire another TV series in 1987, andStar Trekwould go on to dominate TV throughout the 1990s and early Aughts with three additional shows. Besides reuniting fans with the belovedEnterprisecrew, theStar Trekmovies also helped to nail down crucial details about the fictional universe, thus improving upon what had come before.
Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan Finally Confirmed The 23rd-Century Setting
The Second Movie Actually Placed The Franchise In Time After Years Of Confusion
The timeline ofStar Trekwas quite vague before the release ofStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, andthe movie fixed everything by simply including a title card that read “In the 23rd Century.“That tagline before the opening credits was the first time that the franchise acknowledged when it takes place, though it would take a while before more concrete years were established. The original TV series offered a few clues, but was often inconsistent with its timeline.
Since the show was written by many people, its relationship with time was scattered. Episodes like “Space Seed” mention that the events are 200 years after the 1990s, which would set it around the 2190s (or the 22nd century). On the other hand, “The Squire of Gothos” seems to suggest that Kirk and company were exploring the stars around the 27th century. In the end,the actual dates were intentionally kept vague throughout the run ofTOS. However,The Wrath of Khanabandoned that in favor of more concrete dates that would later unify the rest of the franchise.
It has retroactively been established thatThe Wrath of Khantakes place in 2285.
Star Trek: The Motion Picturehad previously made vague references to its time, and it mostly conforms toWrath of Khan’s definitive century dating. Decker (played by Stephen Collins) states that the Voyager 6 probe was launched 300 years before the events of the movie. Assuming Voyager 6 was launched within a decade or so of the actual Voyager probes, that would make it around the 1970s, thus confirming a late 23rd centurytimeline for theStar Trekmovies.
Star Trek’s Current Timeline Wouldn’t Have Been Possible Without The Wrath Of Khan
The Wrath Of Khan Opened The Door For The Rest Of The Timeline
The Wrath of Khanalso set the blueprint for the franchise, and subsequent shows would follow the movie’s established timeline
Though it didn’t really matter whenStar Trek: The Original Seriestook place,one of the main themes ofStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khanwas the aging of its characters. A firm timeline was needed to establish how much the characters had aged, and the vagueness of the classic episodes didn’t work.The Wrath of Khanalso set the blueprint for the franchise, and subsequent shows would follow the movie’s established timeline. WhenStar Trek: The Next Generationarrived, it was firmly established that it takes place in the 2360s, around a hundred years afterTOS.
Even in the modern era ofStar Trek, shows likeDiscoveryandStrange New Worldsstill fit into the original timeline created byThe Wrath of Khan. It was bound to happen eventually if the franchise continued to grow, but it was a gutsy move for the firstStar Treksequel to finally place its characters in time. Like its dark themes,The Wrath of Khan’s concrete timeline shifts it further away from Roddenberry’s original vision. His space opera with heady moralistic ideas had bloomed into something much larger by the time the movies began coming out.
Star Trek Movie or TV Show
2256-2258
2266-2269
2285
2364-2370
Star Trek: Discoveryseasons 3-5
3188-3191
TheStar Trektimeline is still somewhat murky, and the 23rd century dates established byStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khanaren’t without their own plotholes and confusing contradictions. However, their importance can’t be understated, because it finally empowered futureStar Trekwriters to be more certain with their storytelling. Instead of theEnterprisecrew being divorced from the weight of time, the stories have more gravity because they represent moments in the lifetimes of their heroes and villains.
