Gene Roddenberry's Original Pitch For Star Trek 2 Will Blow Your Mind
Time-travel? JFK? Roddenberry's idea for Star Trek II would have been quite the adventure.
Star Trek II is widely revered as one of the greatest Star Trek stories ever told. However, franchise creator Gene Roddenberry was only the movie’s executive consultant. But what if he wrote the movie instead?
In this edition of Lost Trek, travel back in time to see Roddenberry’s dramatically different take on the classic film, why it was canceled, and what the Trek Universe would look like if it were actually produced.
Let’s travel back to 1980. Star Trek: The Motion Picture was released in theaters last year. With the movie’s modest box office returns and strong fanbase, Roddenberry quickly went to work on the sequel. By May, Roddenberry delivered his 60-page treatment for a sequel.
Whereas “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” aimed for high-concept existential science fiction, Roddenberry’s “Star Trek II” delved into time travel, altering American history, and surviving planetary dystopias. One thing is for sure, no one would nickname this film “the slow-motion picture.”