Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery’s Series Finale - “Life, Itself”
Summary
Star Trek: Discoveryhas ended, but will the flagshipStar Trekseries on Paramount+ return for season 6 or a streaming movie?Star Trek: Discoverybegan in 2017 and helped launch the CBS All-Access streaming service, which later rebranded as Paramount+.Discoverywas the first newStar Trekseries in 12 years and brought the franchise into the streaming era with cinematic visuals and serialized storytelling.Discovery’s success led to multipleStar Trek spinoffs, includingStar Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Prodigy,andStar Trek: Strange New Worlds, as well as the upcoming seriesStar Trek: Starfleet Academyand the made-for-streamingStar Trek: Section 31movie.
AlthoughStar Trek: Discoveryseason 5 wasn’t produced as the final season, after the cast and crew learned the series was ending, Paramount+ allowed them to film new scenes to wrap upStar Trek: Discoverywith an epilogue to the series finale, “Life, Itself”.Star Trek: Discoveryseason 5 turned out to be one of the show’s strongest seasons, with an adventurous tone that delivered thrills and poignant moments.Discoveryseason 5 also contained multiple callbacks topastStar Trekseriesto better tie the 32nd century-set saga with the franchise’s legacy. But now thatStar Trek: Discoveryis officially over,will Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the USS Discovery return for season 6 or a movie on Paramount+?
Star Trek’s next live-action Paramount+ series and movies,Star Trek: Strange New Worldsseasons 3 and 4,Star Trek: Section 31, andStar Trek: Starfleet Academyseason 1 are all spinoffs ofStar Trek: Discovery.
Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide
As Burnham seeks the universe’s greatest treasure in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, she’ll need help from a host of new and returning characters.
Will Star Trek: Discovery Season 6 Happen?
Discovery has taken its last ride.
There are no known plans forStar Trek: Discoveryseason 6.Star Trek: Discoveryseason 5 contained multiple endings that concluded the story of Captain Burnham and the USS Discovery. The original ending ofStar Trek: Discoveryseason 5 consisted of thewedding of Ambassador Saru(Doug Jones) and President T’Rina (Tara Rosling) while Captain Burnham and Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) resumed their love story just in time for their next adventure.Star Trek: Discovery’s series finale epilogue flashed forward decades to send off the USS Discovery to its ultimate destiny.
Paramount Studios is up for sale, which will inevitably affect futureStar Trekprojects.
However,Star Trek: Discovery season 5’s ending doesn’t preclude season 6were it to be greenlit by Paramount+.Discovery’s finale epilogue scenes simply mean audiences learn what happens to Michael Burnham and the USS Discovery in the far future, but there is plenty of time before that to tell more stories about the USS Discovery and its crew.Star Trek: Discoveryhas wrapped, but it’s possible the cast and crew could reunite for season 6 after some time has passed.
What Star Trek: Discovery Season 6 Would Have Been About
Discovery’s epilogue was an abbreviated version of season 6’s story
IfStar Trek: Discoveryseason 6 happened, showrunner Michelle Paradise indicated that its focus would have beentying the series into Star Trek: Short Treks' “Calypso”.Star Trekexecutive producer Alex Kurtzman wanted to ensure the lingering question about whether"Calypso" isStar Trek: Discoverycanonis definitively answered. Instead,Star Trek: Discovery’s finale coda delivered the link that leads directly into “Calypso”.
Michelle Paradise also toldScreen Rantin our exclusive interview that"we hadn’t gotten far enough down the road to know what would happen"to Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) and Moll (Eve Harlow), two ofStar Trek: Discoveryseason 5’s new additions who proved popular with audiences.Both Moll and Rayner endedDiscoveryseason 5 with hints that they would stay on into season 6, had it happened. Perhaps what’s next for Rayner and Moll will be revealed in the nextStar Trekseries,Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.
Star Trek: Discovery Showrunner Answers The Series Finale’s Burning Questions
Screen Rant interviews Star Trek: Discovery showrunner Michelle Paradise about the biggest questions left behind by the series finale.
Will Star Trek: Discovery Get A Paramount Plus Streaming Movie?
Five seasons… and a movie?
A streaming movie on Paramount+ is a potential option for a continuation ofStar Trek: Discovery. A plan to feature a newStar Trekmovie on Paramount+ every 2 years kicks off whenStar Trek: Section 31starring Academy Award-winner Michelle Yeohpremieres on the streamer. Reuniting the cast ofStar Trek: Discoveryfor a Paramount+ movie is a definite possibility. However,there are no known plans for aStar Trek: Discoverymovieand the future ofStar Trekstreaming movies depends on howSection 31performs on Paramount+.
Star Trek: Section 31is being eyed for a possible sequel if the film is a success.
What Star Trek TV Series & Movies Are Coming After Discovery Ends?
Star Trek will still be going strong.
Star Trekwill continue to go boldly afterStar Trek: Discoveryends,with multipleannouncedStar Trekprojectsin various stages of production and development. (Executive producer Alex Kurtzman, who oversees all of Star Trek on Paramount+, says there are more unannouncedStar Trekprojects in the works.)Star Trek: Lower Deckswill stream season 5, which is also its final season, on Paramount+ in fall 2024. Netflix is also going to premiereStar Trek: Prodigyseason 2 sometime in 2024.Star Trek: Section 31is awaiting a Paramount+ premiere date, andStar Trek: Strange New Worldswrapped filming season 3 with season 4 greenlit.Star Trek: Starfleet Academywill also start production in late summer 2024.
Release date
Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 (final season)
TBD
Paramount+
Paramount Pictures' Star Trekmovie franchise is also ramping upafter nearly a decade of development hell. Paramount announced anUntitled Star Trek Originmoviedirected by Toby Haynes will begin production later in 2024 for a 2025 or 2026 theatrical release.X-Menproducer Simon Kinberg is reportedly signing on to oversee theStar Trektheatrical movies similar to how Alex Kurtzman runsStar Trekstreaming on Paramount+. Producer J.J. Abrams is also reportedly trying to launchStar Trek 4and reunite the USS Enterprise cast led by Chris Pine. AsStar Trek: Discoveryheads off to its final frontier, it leavesStar Trekstronger than how it found it.
Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is available to stream on Paramount+
