By George Johnson If Quentin Tarantino can go far along on a Star Trek project, so can Christopher Nolan. The filmmaker is known for his sci-fi mind-benders like Inception, Tenet, and Interstellar. While Nolan has confessed to being a Star Wars fan, the Enterprise might be a better fit for his grounded sensibility than a galaxy far, far away.
Star Trek has not had a theatrical release in the past nine years, let alone a theatrical blockbuster. While J.J. Abrams’ reboot earned the most money for the franchise in terms of theatrical releases, it has still not reached the blockbuster level of other franchises that have a similar legacy. A film by Christopher Nolan might give it its first billion.
Here are five reasons why a Christopher Nolan Star Trek movie will be able to best its fiercest competitor, Star Wars.
1. The Star Trek Franchise Lacks an Interstellar-Esque Event Film
The sci-fi film, Interstellar, was Christopher Nolan’s most ambitious project at the time. The space opera spanned galaxies and time zones, taking audiences into a world of wormholes and blackholes to explore other planets ready for habitation. The film reflected many of the themes of Star Trek, which were exploration and study.
While Interstellar was a blockbuster, earning $759 million at the box office (via Box Office Mojo), the Star Trek franchise has yet to achieve such numbers. The problem is that Star Trek
2. Christopher Nolan Would Prioritize Scientific Accuracy in Star Trek
Christopher Nolan’s film concepts may be wacky and mind-bending, but they are rooted in real-world science. Films like Inception, Tenet, and Interstellar have grounded themselves in the rules of physics, with the latter even predicting the first visual of a black hole (the credit goes to Kip Thorne, though).
Star Trek has also used real-world science to spark the imagination of its viewers. It was one of the first shows to look at time dilation in Voyager and has explored several such physical concepts. Despite the technobabble, Trek promotes scientific inquiry, and Nolan’s involvement would definitely keep the film grounded in that reality.
3. A Nolan-Esque Espionage Thriller in the Star Trek Universe Would Be Better Than Section 31
Apart from his experience in sci-fi, Christopher Nolan has also explored the espionage genre in his filmography. Despite being a biopic, Oppenheimer does delve into espionage and political sabotage, while Inception and Tenet have more overt tropes of the spy genre. The Star Trek universe is well-built enough to also explore a storyline like that.
The last Star Trek movie to be released, despite being on streaming, was Section 31. The eponymous intelligence agency was introduced in Deep Space Nine and was revealed to be the hidden face of the Federation, which made sure its Utopia worked like a charm. A Nolan-helmed espionage thriller would be a thousand times better than what we got.
4. Star Trek’s Frequent Use of Non-Linear Storytelling Would Be Perfect for Nolan’s Style
Christopher Nolan’s films are non-linear in their screenplays. Several movies, like Memento and The Prestige, have used this trope to tell the story in a more thrilling fashion. Star Trek has also begun several episodes by putting the audience right in the middle of the action, and then going back to the origins to explain a wacky situation. Nolan’s style would be a perfect fit.
5. Star Wars Is Too Fantastical for Nolan; Star Trek Is a Better Grounded Fit
Christopher Nolan has confessed to being a Star Wars fan and reportedly began his filmmaking journey by making a stop-motion homage to Star Wars in his father’s Super 8 camera (via Business Insider). However, the fantastical nature of the franchise might not fit in well with Nolan’s usual, grounded aesthetic.
Even when Nolan helmed a big franchise like Batman with The Dark Knight trilogy, he avoided the more out-there aspects of the comic book source material and kept it realistic (it would be interesting to see what he does with The Odyssey). While there are aliens and monsters in Star Trek, the treatment has remained grounded, and Nolan would fit right in.
What do you think about a Christopher Nolan take on Star Trek? Comment below.
Star Trek movies are available to stream on Paramount+.
