'Star Trek' to return as a TV series?

Even though his hands are plenty busy working on the Munsters reboot titled Mockingbird Lane, and now that his plans for the Hannibal television series have revealed an ambitious seven-year storyline, one would think Bryan Fuller would have little time to ponder a new Star Trek television series.

Apparently, that’s not the case.

While speaking with Entertainment Weekly regarding the upcoming NBC series Hannibal, Fuller was asked about his thoughts on a new Star Trek television series and what he had discussed with filmmaker Bryan Singer prior to J.J. Abrams rebooting the franchise with his successful 2009 feature film release.

It seems that since Abrams and Paramount are the current gatekeepers to the Star Trek franchise, any such television series would likely have to be met with their approval, and coincide with the release schedule of any further installments beyond next year’s tentatively titled Star Trek 2.

In his statement, Fuller said:

“Bryan and I are big fans of Trek and have discussed a take on what we would do, and we would love to do it. I don’t think anything is going to happen in any official capacity until after the next movie comes out. And I’m sure it would be wisely under J.J. Abrams’ purview of what happens. He’s the guardian of Trek right now.”

While that may be somewhat disheartening news for fans eager to have Trek back on the small screen, despite Fuller’s hesitance, common sense suggests that Paramount and Abrams certainly see the potential in a new series – provided it’s done right, of course. Given Abrams’ penchant for producing hit television – especially within the sci-fi realm - and Fuller’s past credits on Star Trek: Voyager, along with Pushing Daisies and Heroes, the idea of a Fuller/Singer collaboration with the support of J.J. Abrams sounds like a sure-fire hit.

The question remains, however, whether this proposed Star Trek series would be based directly on the lore established in Abrams’ films, or if it will take its cue from Bryan Singer’s unproduced Star Trek: Federation series?

According to details that emerged last year, Star Trek: Federation would take place in the same continuity as the original shows and films, but in the year 3000. Additional aspects saw the series serve as something of a metaphor for the decline of the Roman Empire, with Starfleet having fallen from scientific prominence seemingly waiting for another Kirk to lead the charge in restoring Starfleet to former glory.

An excerpt from the proposal says it best:

“The Federation hasn’t had a flagship in over two hundred years. They haven’t done anything either scientifically or in terms of exploration that comes near the deeds done in the long ago Age of Expansion.

There is no sense of true unity in the Federation and unity will be required if these new aliens return in force. The people need a symbol to remind them who they are, what they mean to each other and that there are prices to be paid for living in paradise.

They need, in short, a sense of Enterprise…”

That proposal varies a great deal from Abrams’ new, alternate timeline, and seeing as how mainstream audiences and (many) Trek fans took a shine to the reboot, it would seem a trip back to the original timeline might be counterintuitive in terms of the audience’s preference, and certainly, cross-promotion.

Whatever the case, it seems any Star Trek series will be years away from production, so there will be plenty of time to get the storyline straight.

Kevin Yeoman blogs at Screen Rant.