20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
16. Star Trek IV Directly Resulted In The Next Generation Getting The Greenlight
Star Trek IV was a roaring success at the box office, taking in over $100million. In 2022, that equates to roughly $250million. This led Paramount Pictures to believe that the time was right to begin work on another television series, so as to capitalize on this success.
Before Star Trek: The Motion Picture was made, Star Trek: Phase II had failed to gain traction. While much of that series would be adapted into the first film, with costumes and sets finding themselves reused, several of the scripts themselves would be adapted to fit the second live-action Star Trek series.
Star Trek: The Next Generation debuted in 1987 with Encounter At Farpoint. This was made while Star Trek V: The Final Frontier was in production, which allowed DeForest Kelley to cameo in the pilot. Having said that, many of the Original Series cast were less than enthused to hear that Paramount Pictures was looking to take the franchise in another direction. Spiraling costs of salaries played its part in this, as well as a clause in William Shatner's contract that received even more scrutiny during production on Star Trek IV.