'I'm a Trekkie. I Would Stay True to It' — Project Hail Mary Author Andy Weir Reveals Paramount Rejected His Star Trek Pitch, Says Modern Star Trek Shows 'Are S**t'

In the aftermath of the cancelation of the divisive Starfleet Academy, Project Hail Mary writer Andy Weir has revealed Paramount rejected his transportation for a caller Star Trek show, and has called modern Star Trek “s**t.”

Star Trek is presently without a caller announced series, with the divisive Starfleet Academy acceptable to extremity with its upcoming 2nd season, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds acceptable to extremity with its 5th season. Some objected to Star Trek Academy’s progressiveness and Gen Z-skewing nature, though others praised the amusement for these characteristics. Earlier this month, Starfleet Academy manager Jonathan Frakes, who plays much-loved Star Trek quality William Riker, told IGN that instrumentality hatred is “dimensionally much painful” contiguous than successful the Next Generation years.

Weir is coming disconnected the backmost of the hugely palmy merchandise of the Project Hail Mary movie, starring Ryan Gosling. It’s made implicit $300 cardinal astatine the planetary container bureau aft conscionable 2 weekends successful theaters, and there’s adjacent speech of a sequel, should Weir himself get astir to penning a follow-up.

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Speaking connected the Critical Drinker After Hours YouTube channel, Weir ended up talking astir the authorities of Star Trek, which helium was heavy influenced by. He said each modern subject fabrication TV shows and movies person been heavy influenced by the archetypal Star Trek except for the existent batch of Star Trek shows, earlier commenting connected the extremity of Starfleet Academy.

“It's gone, baby. It's each gone,” Weir said of the latest Star Trek series. “I saw a feline talking about… helium said each modern subject fabrication has been influenced by the [Gene] Roddenberry Trek, but the modern Trek.”

Weir went connected to springiness his sentiment connected caller Star Trek shows [from Enterprise onwards]. “I similar Strange New Worlds. I deliberation it's beauteous good,” helium said. “I didn't hatred Enterprise. I thought it was benignant of weird, but… Lower Decks I thought was entertaining and fun. All the others, they tin go.”

Enterprise came retired successful 2001 and ended successful 2005. There was a immense 12 twelvemonth spread earlier Discovery came retired successful 2017. That sparked thing of an detonation of Star Trek TV shows, led by existent Star Trek brag Alex Kurtzman, which included Picard and Lower Decks successful 2020, Prodigy successful 2021, Strange New Worlds successful 2022, and Starfleet Academy this year.

At this constituent successful the interview, Weir claimed Paramount rejected his Star Trek amusement pitch, though helium didn’t accidental what it would person involved. At this constituent helium called modern Star Trek shows “s**t,” and, to Paramount, declared: “f**k ‘em.”

“And here's different thing. So, I pitched a Star Trek amusement to Paramount, and I was successful a Zoom with the showrunners of each of the shows. And I'm conscionable similar pitching them my amusement idea. And truthful I really spent a agelong clip talking to Alex Kurtzman.

“I don't similar a batch of the caller Trek, but I person to accidental helium arsenic a idiosyncratic is simply a truly bully guy. So, it's benignant of interesting. I consciousness a small atrocious for him, but astatine the aforesaid time, those shows are s**t. He is simply a bully guy. But you know, they didn't judge my pitch, truthful you know, f**k ‘em. No, I don't cognize [laughs].”

The proposition passim each of this is that Weir would bash a overmuch amended occupation than Kurtzman astatine moving Stark Trek, oregon astatine slightest the shows would spell down amended with fans.

“I’m a Trekkie. I would enactment existent to it,” Weir said, earlier suggesting Star Trek and different long-running sci-fi franchises similar it endure from workplace interference.

“For the large properties similar Star Trek, Star Wars, you're ever going to get workplace interference,” helium continued. “And 1 happening that I person to accidental connected PHM [Project Hail Mary], Amazon is caller to the game, and determination was like… I can't adjacent deliberation of immoderate studio, I mean, they gave notes connected the cuts and worldly similar that. But they weren't up successful our faces pushing america around. And you cognize that that's happening connected the Star Wars films and worldly similar that.

“I deliberation portion of the crushed wherefore PHM ended up being specified a bully movie — I'm incredibly biased, but immoderate — is due to the fact that the workplace conscionable fto the creator radical bash their job. They fto Phil Lord and Chris Miller beryllium directors and person control. And they didn't travel successful and get successful the mode and say, ‘No, alteration this. No, bash that,’ due to the fact that it's not immoderate 50-year-old bequest franchise that they privation to bash things with.”

The aboriginal of Star Trek is precise overmuch up successful the aerial pursuing Paramount’s palmy bid for Warner Bros. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Kurtzman’s woody with CBS Studios runs until the extremity of 2026, and he’s successful talks with Paramount+ astir renewing oregon extending it.

Earlier this month, Kurtzman said he’d had affirmative conversations with Paramount implicit the aboriginal of Star Trek. “Yes, we’ve gotten thing but support,” helium told Trekmovie.com. “Yes, determination person been circumstantial shows that person been discussed. And we’ll see. I’m genuinely astatine the opening of the speech with them now. And truthful I hesitate to accidental thing to you, due to the fact that I don’t person thing to study yet. But I tin study that the conversations are happening.”

However, this interrogation was conducted before the announced cancelation of Starfleet Academy, truthful it remains to beryllium seen however applicable those talks were. Following the series' demise, Kurtzman and enforcement producers Noga Landau and Gaia Violo issued an unfastened letter, published by Variety, to the formed and unit of Starfleet Academy:

It’s been my and Noga’s joyousness and privilege to assistance transportation Gene Roddenberry’s bonzer imaginativeness guardant with Starfleet Academy, acknowledgment to the hundreds of hardworking humans who determination each ounce of their talents into the enactment regular with imaginativeness and reverence. We are successful post-production present connected what volition beryllium the 2nd and last season. We’re truthful arrogant of what we’ve accomplished unneurotic connected this show, and the satellite volition get to spot the enactment of these bonzer artists erstwhile play 2 airs. We volition decorativeness strong.Whether you’re moving connected Star Trek oregon portion of the marvel that is Star Trek fandom — its precise heart, soul, and conscience —the joyousness comes from adventuring crossed boundaries of time, space, and the humanly imaginable successful work to Roddenberry’s transformative imaginativeness of the future. That incomparable imaginativeness was fueled by an inexhaustible optimism. Star Trek places its stake connected the champion successful quality nature. It dares to ideate a nine of “infinite diverseness successful infinite combinations,” escaped of war, hate, poverty, disease, and repression, and dedicated to the tone of technological enquiry and respect for each life, whether c oregon silicon-based, green-skinned oregon blue.But marque nary mistake: Gene Roddenberry wasn’t immoderate starry-eyed dreamer. He was a decorated Army bomber aviator successful the Pacific Theater. He had seen first-hand the grim consequences of the worst of quality nature. And his imaginativeness of the aboriginal wasn’t conscionable a committedness of hope. It was besides a warning. In a fraught, frightening clip of intolerance and violence, Star Trek said: Look! We made it! But conscionable barely. First, we had to enactment each those past scourges down us. It said that what makes america glorious arsenic a species, and gives america anticipation for the aboriginal and the postulation is inextricably linked to what makes america unsafe to each other, to this 1 satellite we presently inhabit, and to ourselves. That dual connection — of anticipation and of informing — isn’t conscionable a beauteous imagination but a telephone to action, to deliberation astir who we are successful a antithetic way.Please don’t instrumentality our connection for it. Take Gene’s:“Star Trek was an effort to accidental that humanity volition scope maturity and contented connected the time that it begins not conscionable to tolerate, but instrumentality a peculiar delight successful differences successful ideas and differences successful beingness forms. […] If we cannot larn to really bask those tiny differences, to instrumentality a affirmative delight successful those tiny differences betwixt our ain kind, present connected this planet, past we bash not merit to spell retired into abstraction and conscionable the diverseness that is astir surely retired there.”With enduring anticipation that his imaginativeness of the aboriginal is possible, for our children, their children, and each aboriginal cadet successful Starfleet Academy:Live Long and Prosper.

Photo by Theo Wargo/WireImage.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].