Another major Hollywood merger might be happening, and it could once again forever change the landscape of entertainment. Alleged conversations are happening about Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount merging, and as a Star Trek fan, I can't help but feel a bit worried. Sure, watching Trek with a Max subscription would have its advantages, but is it worth the other potential downsides?
Star Trek fans who aren't following entertainment news so closely might be confused by that statement, but it's easy enough to explain. There have been some business decisions made since Warner Bros. merged with Discovery that upset fans of other franchises, and there's some worry that those tactics we've seen used with other properties could be used again if Star Trek joins the WBD family. Here are a few examples of what we've seen happen that I'd hate to see repeated to my favorite franchise.
Warner Bros. Discovery's Cancelation Of Finished Projects Has Been Concerning
One of the most concerning trends since the Warner Bros. Discovery merger has to be various finished projects being scrapped entirely, presumably to be written off as a loss and save money rather than released. CEO David Zaslav had Batgirl dropped reportedly after poor test audience scores, and it seemed like the finished movie Coyote vs. Acme would also be canceled until very recently.
Zaslav made a comment when learning why a Clint Eastwood movie that flopped was made that movies are a business, and that favors aren't owed to anyone. It's the kind of attitude I wouldn't want to see if Star Trek migrated over with the Starfleet Academy series and Section 31 movie in development, and someone was crunching the numbers on whether releasing the show and/or movie was more profitable than scrapping the projects altogether.
There are no guarantees that would happen, of course, but the fact that it's even a possible scenario gives me pause about this partnership. I also think of the nightmare that is what's happening with DC at the moment, where movies that won't even factor into the future plans for the franchise are continually being released just to get to the true restart. I would hate to see that happen to Star Trek, but I'll concede this franchise hasn't gotten itself into quite the pickle that DC had to wriggle itself out of in recent years.
A Merger Won't Make It Any Easier To Make Star Trek 4
It's almost a running joke at this point whether or not Paramount will ever get the ball rolling on Star Trek 4. The movie has faced plenty of starts and setbacks on its way to being made, and we still only know a little bit about what it might be about. At the end of 2023, it doesn't seem like we're any closer to seeing it get made, and I can't imagine a potential merger would move it along even further.
It's even possible that if a merger happened, Star Trek 4 might get tossed aside for the franchise to have a proper return to the silver screen. After all, I agree it is pretty ridiculous it's taken this long to bring the franchise back to theaters, but part of that is due to the collective star power of the Kelvin timeline's cast at present. Removing them from the equation, and potentially starting fresh with a new line of movies would make a lot more sense, but is that something that fans want?
Speaking personally, I'd rather see the Chris Pine-led Kelvin movies get some sort of proper conclusion before the next cinematic chapter of Star Trek features roll out. I'm already getting my fill of the franchise through shows like Strange New Worlds and the upcoming final season of Discovery, so I don't really need to see another movie just for the sake of seeing a Trek movie. At minimum, I'd love to hear first the odds of a Kelvin movie happening with Kirk's crew are slim to none before moving on with another idea completely.
I Don't Want To See More Star Trek Shows Leave Streaming
David Zaslav's business tactics include the removal of original series and movies from Max, and readers can see he oversaw the removal of many originals from Max in 2022. What's most disturbing about some of these removals is that many of the shows didn't have a physical release or other platform to be sold, so they simply ceased to exist (legally, at least) once they were removed.
Fortunately, I believe that every Star Trek series that has released a season officially has a physical release available of some kind. At the same time, it's unfortunate to think about a series like Star Trek: Discovery suddenly becoming unavailable on streaming entirely all in the name of a corporation wanting to save some money on paying out residuals to those responsible for the show.
With the exception of Star Trek: Prodigy's cancellation, Paramount+ has done a solid job of keeping all the shows centralized on its platform. With another player being put into the mix, it has me worried that the Trek shows will be scattered once again, with the goal of either licensing out shows like The Next Generation, Voyager, and Deep Space Nine for profit, or just removing them temporarily for one reason or another.
At the risk of fear mongering, I should say once again that while there is evidence of Warner Bros. Discovery doing all of these things with other projects, it doesn't mean this would be the approach taken with Star Trek should a merger happen with Paramount. Ultimately everything is still very much hypothetical at this point, and there's even a chance the merger doesn't happen. It's only a situation we can just continue to monitor at this stage and look to see what insiders have to say about the potential shifts that could happen as a result.
For now, Star Trek's primary home remains on Paramount+, though anyone with a Netflix subscription can and should stream Prodigy when it premieres Season 1 on Christmas Day. Obviously CinemaBlend will keep an eye on the chatter that Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery may merge, and the impact that would have on the industry at large should that happen.
