Super Popular Star Wars Brings Star Trek Back to Life
Exciting news for fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation, we owe a lot to Star Wars for the rebirth of our favorite series. The events in Star Trek: The Next Generation took place a century after the original Star Trek. But the road to the epic return of this franchise was not easy at all. Thanks to the success of George Lucas’ Star Wars, the dream of a new start to Star Trek was possible.
When Star Wars and Star Trek Crossed Paths
Star Wars had a massive fan base. Seeing this, Paramount Studios decided to bring back its space-drama, Star Trek. In an interview, Dorothy Fontana who was a writer on the original Star Trek series, revealed that Star Wars’ roaring success influenced Paramount to think about a new Star Trek series. But, they made a call to reboot the franchise by producing four Star Trek movies instead of immediately starting a brand-new series.
These movies, known as Star Trek Phase II, came out between 1979 and 1986. They were big winners at the box office. These hit movies, along with the re-runs of the original Star Trek series were gaining new young fans. At the same time, Star Wars was still ruling, sparking interest in space, aliens, and battles across the galaxy.
New Life Breathed into Star Trek
The combination of renewed Star Trek interest and the success of Star Wars gave birth to Star Trek: The Next Generation. The idea for this series came from the mind of Gene Roddenberry, creator of the original Star Trek. Despite challenges from Paramount, who fancied keeping the focus on the movies, Roddenberry’s vision was realized.
According to Robert H. Justman, who produced the original Star Trek series, the popularity of Star Trek repeats played a big part. Add that to the success of Star Wars and the Star Trek movies, and you have the perfect conditions for starting a new chapter in the Star Trek world.
The Man behind the Successful Comeback
By the mid-1980s, Paramount could see how profitable a new Star Trek series could be. They had made good money from the reruns and the movies. Seeing this, Roddenberry really pushed for it. He was smart and managed to convince Paramount to invest in his idea.
With the backing of Paramount, and in a way, thanks to the success of Star Wars, The Next Generation got the go-ahead. This was a huge moment. It brought Star Trek back to life in an entirely novel way. The Next Generation led to further growth of the Star Trek world, like with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and many movies.
In Conclusion
It’s a surprise when fan worlds overlap. But it’s true: every fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation should give a thank you to Star Wars. Its sky-high success pushed Paramount to reboot Star Trek. This perfect mix of cosmic events means you can now stream Star Trek: The Next Generation on Netflix. So, we can all continue to follow the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his crew. This just goes to show how galaxies collide in the world of sci-fi.
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