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.

by Greg Garcia
Krik JFK
Paramount

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.”

Advertisement
Contributor

Aloha and NuqneH (the Klingon equivalent of "hello"), As a professional public historian, it is my job to get the non-academic public involved in the process of historical interpretation. In the Pop Culture universe, my specialty is uncovering abandoned Star Trek TV projects and postulating how their presence would have affected the Trek universe --both creatively and financially-- if they were actually produced. As I am also an inner-city high school teacher, I am a member of the Teachers Talking Trek Network so feel free to follow me on Twitter @TrekTeachers. Mahalo Nui Loa (deepest thanks in "Hawaiian") and Live Long and Prosper!