“It didn’t do us any good”: Star Trek Legend Leonard Nimoy Never Forgave a Movie That “Nearly Derailed” the Franchise

The 1979 film, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, was quite disappointing for fans of the original series. Although the film kicked off the cinematic run of the franchise, it has been regarded as one of the weaker contenders in the entire series. So much so, that some believe it to have almost ruined the film series’s start altogether.

Leonard Nimoy once gave an interview where he talked about the film in comparison to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and the rest of the films. It would seem that the Spock legend has very strong opinions and feelings towards the 1979 project.

Leonard Nimoy’s Distain Towards Star Trek: The Motion Picture

In 2005, Leonard Nimoy gave an in-depth interview with TrekMovie, where he touched on the topic of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. He specifically talked about how the film fits in with the rest of the series. He talked about how Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan ended up becoming the real beginning of the series because of the performance of the 1979 project.

The film was supposed to be a big welcome back to the franchise after the original series ended ten years earlier. Even though it was profiting off that hype, Nimoy believes the film has completely killed the excitement and anticipation fans had.

The second Star Trek movie put the franchise back on track. The first one derailed us, it didn’t do us any good. Perhaps some people made some money. 

Although many did watch it and the film made an impressive amount of money, it was unable to truly establish the essence of the franchise. Not until the second part came around in 1982.

Lenord Nimoy Excludes Star Trek: The Motion Picture From The Trilogy

Lenord Nimoy then talked about Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan in more detail, mentioning how he believed this project to have been the true start of the Star Trek trilogy. When they were making the second film, it was almost obligatory. After making a film of a successful story, it is only natural to make another part.

The second one put us back on track and what happened, unintentionally, we didn’t realize that we were at the beginning of a trilogy.

That the three films, II, III and IV, told a story that had and arc to day and they hung together in an interesting way. III was obligatory, we had to get Spock back and IV was the completion of that cycle.

However, soon the two films turned into three, which then turned into four. Although even more additions came out later on, Nimoy believes Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home to be the main trilogy. They tell a cohesive story, and they could not have done a better job at that.

 

The Star Trek franchise is available for streaming on Paramount+.