With no Star Trek in production for the first time in a decade, no news on that next movie, and a fire sale in Toronto where set pieces are being sold off, one could think Paramount has forgotten about the franchise turning 60 years old this year. But in his latest comments to investors, Paramount Skydance’s CEO brought Star Trek up a couple of times as he looked to the future of his burgeoning media empire.
Ellison talks Trek (a bit)
This week Paramount announced results for its first quarter of 2026, with numbers exceeding Wall Street estimates and boosting the stock. A big highlight was in streaming, with Paramount+ subscriptions jumping since last year along with 17% revenue growth. The official press release for the quarterly results pointed to several drivers for that performance, including hit shows like Landman and Marshalls from producer Taylor Sheridan, and had no mention of Starfleet Academy, which debuted in January. This is no surprise as Paramount has already decided not to move forward with a third season of the new series.
But during the call with the investors while fielding questions from one analyst about the future of the streamer and its ability to meet Paramount’s “very large ambitions,” David Ellison did throw in a mention of Trek, saying:
“To achieve our goals that we’re working towards in streaming, we need to invest in obviously more content on platform. I think if you take a look at what’s obviously coming in 2026. We have new seasons of The Agency, Star Trek, Lioness, MobLand and Tulsa King. We have Dutton Ranch obviously coming this summer, Frisco King from Taylor Sheridan. On sports, you’re seeing us obviously continue to invest. UFC is obviously year-round. We have the NFL, March Madness, UEFA Champions League, a new partnership with the WNBA.”
There are indeed three seasons of Star Trek TV still to come to Paramount+: Season 4 of Strange New Worlds arrives July 23rd (or Q3 2026 from the corporate point of view), and the fifth and final season of Strange New Worlds and the second and final season of Starfleet Academy are expected in 2027.
Anson Mount as Captain Pike in season 4, episode 1 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds streaming on Paramount+, 2026. Photo Credit: Jan Thijs/Paramount+
The press release accompanying the Q1 results noted that since Skydance took over Paramount last August, they have greenlit “more than 20 new and returning series across scripted, unscripted and animation —broadening both the depth of our slate and the audiences we reach.” This is all to make the point that even as the company is promising billions in cost savings, they want to convey a commitment to investment, although we don’t have clarity on if any of this investment will flow into new Star Trek TV.
The franchise came up again when Ellison was pressed on his repeated commitment to release 30 movies every year after the planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is finalized (which the company says will happen by this fall). Ellison said in part:
“So [Paramount Studios and Warner Bros.] are actually making 30 films to date, which I think is important to note and accelerating. And under those studios will be some of the most beloved franchises of all times, including Harry Potter, Top Gun, Star Trek, Looney Tunes, Game of Thrones, Yellowstone. We really do think it’s an incredibly exciting and powerful creative content engine. By bringing these two businesses together, we really do build a scaled [streaming] competitor, and it accelerates our goals there. It gives you over 200 million subscribers across more than 100 countries, which really does basically position us well to compete with the leading streaming services in the space.”
This comment mirrors what Ellison said in March when the WBD merger was announced and Star Trek was on his short list of “compelling” franchises for the combined media company. As for Star Trek being part of that annual release of 30 feature films, Paramount Studio chiefs did mention Star Trek as part of their upcoming slate in their CinemaCon presentation last month; however, the next Star Trek feature has yet to get a release date, and is still firmly in the “development” status.
David Ellison speaks during the Paramount Pictures 2026 CinemaCon Footage Presentation at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, NV on Thursday, April 16, 2026 (photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)
Licensing Trek again?
One other thing came up on the investor call that could have an impact on Trek: licensing content to third parties. During the streaming wars, Paramount pulled back licenses from other streamers. Currently, Paramount+ is the exclusive home to not just the original Star Trek series, but also the library of “classic” shows and the feature films. When asked how Paramount will approach licensing across the board, Ellison said, “There are certain series and shows that you’ll want to keep exclusively on your owned and operated platform, but there are other series that absolutely make sense to sell to third parties. And I think one of the things that is surprising is some of those series when they actually come back to your owned and operated platforms will actually increase in viewership.” So there is the potential to see some Star Trek shows return to the likes of Hulu, Netflix and Prime Video. In theory, we could also see the same for some of the Paramount+ originals.
Star Trek exited Hulu in 2021
Trek in waiting
So Star Trek is still in the mix when it comes to talk of the future of Paramount Skydance and the future after the company absorbs the larger Warner Bros. Discovery. But we still await concrete plans for what comes next, including word on the future of producer Alex Kurtzman, who has overseen the franchise on the streaming TV side for the last decade. As always, TrekMovie will keep an eye on the corporate side of Star Trek and provide any updates as they come along.
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