20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan (1982)
18. Gene Roddenberry Had Serious Reservations About Militarism In The Movie
Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry was credited as an “executive consultant” on Star Trek II, after serving as the producer and uncredited co-writer of Star Trek—The Motion Picture. As part of his reduced role, Roddenberry received a generous fee and was allowed to read and comment on the sequel’s script as it progressed, but the producers were under no obligation to implement his suggestions. And Roddenberry had many, many suggestions.
In one memo, sent to producer Harve Bennett on September 30, 1981, Roddenberry complained about militarism in the most recent iteration of the script, which had been written by director Nicholas Meyer:
I call attention mainly to those parts explaining why Star Trek emphasized an optimistic future for humanity and those which predicted how the show could be damaged if we portray Star Trek as a militaristic organization in the genre of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, BUCK ROGERS, and that kind of stuff.
Later in the memo, Roddenberry hit on these issues again:
MILITARY SALUTES AND THAT SORT OF THING. Is there any really good reason for Star Trek to change its format and begin doing these things? This included Kirk saluting the Federation symbol, people announcing his arrival on the bridge, and all the enlisted man/officer crap that every veteran in this country hates.
In the final film, the producers split the difference. “Admiral on the bridge” stayed in, along with boatswain whistles and the new uniforms inspired by Horatio Hornblower, but the military salutes were kept out.