Gene Roddenberry's Original Pitch For Star Trek 2 Will Blow Your Mind

But What If...

Feel free to devise your own completed pitch, but in terms of its financial effect on the Star Trek universe, Roddenberry’s Star Trek II would be a franchise killer.

Compared to Bennett’s significantly cheaper Wrath of Khan, the set-pieces and special effects necessary to bring Roddenberry’s Star Trek II to theaters would be massively expensive. This would cause box office returns to be on par with --or potentially higher than-- the returns of The Motion Picture.

However, due to the creatively dubious decision to feature a relatively recent national tragedy as the story’s central conflict, audiences would most likely be dissatisfied, resulting in a lower box office return than Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

At best the Star Trek franchise would have stopped at Roddenberry’s Star Trek II if it were produced. There would be no financial need for future Star Trek movies or spinoff TV shows. At worst, Roddenberry’s Star Trek II would have bankrupted Paramount Pictures.

But what do you think? One of the greatest details of Star Trek history is that it is open to debate. Write your completed pitches and financial predictions in the comments.