star trek movies list in order to watch

Star Trek movies in order: Chronological and release

Number One, show me a list of all the Star Trek movies in order — both chronological and release — engage!

• Chronological order
• Prime Timeline

The Original Series movies

The next generation movies.

• Kelvin Timeline
• Release order

Upcoming Star Trek movies

Raise shields, red alert — we’re going to try and put all the Star Trek movies in order. And we do mean try.

When they were focused on the Original Series era, the Star Trek movies were so easy to watch in order — the movies were numbered, everything was nice and simple. Then Picard comes in with his Next Generation buddies and suddenly numbers are out, subtitles are in. And that’s before we get all the time travel shenanigans that gave birth to the Kelvin timeline , an alternative timeline that splits off from the main canon.

It's been a long while since we've had a new Star Trek movie, with the last release — Star Trek Beyond — coming out back in 2016. Over eight years! Voyager got home from the Delta Quadrant in less time than that! Mercifully the drought is nearly over, with the Discovery spin-off movie Star Trek: Section 31 due to launch in early 2025.

So while we wait for Trek's silver screen return, we’re going to break down the various timelines and help you watch the Star Trek movies in either chronological or release order —- the Temporal Prime Directive be damned. Oh and we’re not making any judgements on the quality of the movies here, so head over to our Star Trek movies ranked list if you want to fight about whether the Kirk or Picard era movies are better.

All of the Star Trek movies are available to watch on Paramount+, along with almost all the shows — check our Star Trek streaming guide to find which nebulas the exceptions are hiding in. 

Star Trek movies: Chronological order

Below is the quick version of our list if you just need to check something to win an argument, but it comes with a lot of in-universe time travel-related caveats that we'll explain below.

• Star Trek: The Motion Picture
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
• Star Trek: Generations
• Star Trek: First Contact
• Star Trek: Insurrection
• Star Trek: Nemesis
• Star Trek Into Darkness
• Star Trek Beyond

Star Trek: Prime Timeline

The first thing you need to know about the Star Trek films is that while they travel back and forth in time, they also diverge into two (for now) different timelines. The films of the original crew (well, the first iteration of them, anyway – more on that later) are all in what is known as the Prime Timeline. 

Within the Prime Timeline, the movies are then split between The Original Series movies and The Next Generation movies.

1. Star Trek: The Motion Picture

• Release date: December 8, 1979
• Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley

This is the film that brought the voyages of the U.S.S. Enterprise to the big screen. An energy cloud is making its way toward Earth, destroying everything in its path. Kirk and crew intercept it and discover an ancient NASA probe at the heart of the cloud. Voyager – known as V’ger now – encountered a planet of living machines, learned all it could, and returned home to report its findings, only to find no one who knew how to answer. It’s a slow-paced film, and the costumes are about as 70s as they come, but there’s classic Star Trek at the heart of this film.

2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

• Release date: June 4, 1982
• Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Ricardo Montalban

Ask a Star Trek fan what the best Star Trek movie is and more often than not, you’ll get Khan as your answer. A sequel to the events of the “Space Seed” episode of The Original Series, Khan is a retelling of Moby Dick with Khan throwing reason to the wind as he hunts his nemesis, James T. Kirk. Montalban delivers a pitch-perfect performance, giving us a Khan with charisma and obsession in equal parts.

3. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

• Release date: June 1, 1984

Spock might have died in The Wrath of Khan, but this third entry set up the premise for his return, with the creation of the Genesis planet. Essentially a heist movie in reverse, Search for Spock has the crew defying orders from Starfleet in an attempt to reunite Spock’s consciousness with his newly-rejuvenated body. It’s not a great movie, but it does include two very important events: the rebirth of Spock and the death of Kirk’s son at the hands of the Klingons. That’ll be important a few flicks from now.   

4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

• Release date: November 26, 1986
• Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Catherine Hicks

If Star Trek fans don’t say Khan is the best Star Trek movie, odds are very high they say Voyage Home is. It’s a funny film where the mission isn’t destruction, but creation – or more accurately, repairing the devastating effects of humankind’s ecological short-sightedness. 

A probe arrives at Earth, knocking out the power of everything in its path as it looks for someone to respond to its message (yeah, it happens a lot). This time, however, the intended recipient is the long-extinct blue whale. To save Earth, Kirk and co. go back in time to 1980s San Francisco to snag some blue whales. The eco-messaging isn’t exactly subtle, but it doesn’t get in the way of a highly enjoyable movie.

5. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

• Release date: June 9, 1989

A writers’ strike and Shatner’s directorial skills (or lack thereof) doomed this film before a single scene was shot. The core plot is actually pretty good: Spock’s half-brother hijacks the Enterprise so that he can meet God, which he believes to be… himself. Some Star Trek fans have an odd fondness for this movie, as it showcases the camaraderie of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy when they’re off-duty.

6. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

• Release date: December 6, 1991
• Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Christopher Plummer

Right, so if that Star Trek fan you’ve been talking to doesn’t choose either Khan or Voyage Home as the best Star Trek movie ever, they almost certainly name Undiscovered Country (and if they don’t, they have highly questionable taste, frankly). The Klingon moon of Praxis explodes, putting the entire Klingon race at risk. The Enterprise hosts a diplomatic entourage of Klingons, much to Kirk’s discomfort. 

Remember how Klingons murdered Kirk’s son? Well, he certainly hasn’t forgotten. Kirk’s lingering rage makes him the perfect patsy for the murder of the Klingon Chancellor, sending him and McCoy to a prison planet and setting the stage for war. Christopher Plummer is perfection as a Shakespeare-quoting Klingon general with no taste for peace.

7. Star Trek: Generations

• Release date: November 18, 1994
• Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner

And thus the torch is passed from the crew of The Original Series to that of The Next Generation. It’s a bit of a fumble, to be honest, but they all did their best to get Kirk and Picard into the same film and have it make sense. Malcolm McDowell plays Soran, a scientist who will stop at nothing to control the Nexus, a giant space rainbow that exists outside of space-time. 

Soran lost his family when his home world was destroyed and he wants to re-join them (or at least an illusion of them) in the Nexus. He’s not so much a villain as a tragic figure, but the Nexus makes a meeting between Kirk and Picard possible. Not all that sensible, but possible.

8. Star Trek: First Contact

• Release date: November 22, 1996
• Cast: Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Alice Krige

Okay, no, for real, if your Star Trek pal didn’t pick Khan or Voyage Home or… oh, nevermind. Cueing off the iconic two-part episode “Best of Both Worlds,” in which Picard is assimilated by the Borg, First Contact sees the collective traveling back in time in order to disrupt First Contact, the day Earth’s first foray into space attracted the attention of the Vulcans, kicking off the events that would eventually lead to Starfleet’s victory over the Borg. The Borg Queen torments Picard with visions of the past and tempts Data with humanity, going so far as to give him some human skin. 

The fight with the Borg aboard the Enterprise is thrilling, and the work on the surface to get first contact back on track is fun. Plus, there’s just nothing like Patrick Stewart turning it up to 11 as he lashes out at the enemy that haunts his dreams.

9. Star Trek: Insurrection

• Release date: December 11, 1998
• Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, F. Murray Abraham

Essentially an episode inflated for the big screen, Insurrection is about the Federation conspiring to displace a planet’s population in order to harvest the planet’s unique resource – super healing metaphasic particles. In addition to the rejuvenating natural resource, the Ba’ku also have access to exceptional technology, which they shun in favor of a more simple lifestyle. 

Data malfunctions, the villains are Federation allies (and former Ba’ku!), Picard gets to knock boots with a local – Insurrection is the very definition of “fine.” Chronologically, Insurrection is relevant for rekindling the romance between Riker and Troi, but not much else.

10. Star Trek: Nemesis

• Release date: December 13, 2002
• Cast: Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Tom Hardy

Before he mumbled his way into our hearts as Bane, Tom Hardy was Shinzon, a clone of Picard the Romulans created in an eventually abandoned attempt to infiltrate Starfleet. Shinzon is dying, and all that will save him is a transfusion of Picard’s blood. Unfortunately, Shinzon also happens to be a megalomaniac who happens to want to destroy all life on Earth and maybe a few other planets, too, if he’s feeling saucy. 

Nemesis is notable mostly for killing Data with a noble sacrifice, only to resurrect him moments later in a duplicate body found earlier by the Enterprise crew.

Star Trek: Kelvin Timeline

The last of the Prime Timeline movies failed to impress at the box office, so it was a few years before anyone tried to bring the Enterprise back to the big screen. Rather than lean on any of the TV crews, this new slate of movies would serve as a reboot, welcoming new audiences while honoring long-time fans. Welcome to the Kelvin Timeline. (For all the ins and outs, check out our Star Trek: Kelvin Timeline explained article).

11. Star Trek

• Release date: May 8, 2009
• Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban

Back to the beginning! Star Trek introduces us to James T. Kirk, Spock, and “Bones” McCoy as they meet and join the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Though the plot is a relatively straightforward affair of a Romulan named Nero trying to destroy the Earth. His anger borne out of grief, what matters most is how it all came to be. In the future, Spock – the Prime Timeline version – tries to save Romulus from being destroyed by a supernova, but fails. Both his ship and Nero’s are kicked back in time, setting off a chain of events that diverge from the original, “true” timeline. 

The name “Kelvin” refers to the U.S.S. Kelvin, the ship heroically captained by Kirk’s father, which is destroyed in the opening moments of the movie.

12. Star Trek Into Darkness

• Release date: May 16, 2013
• Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch

The benefit of the Kelvin Timeline is that it not only allows Star Trek to explore canon material – such as Khan (he of the Wrath) – but to do something completely new with it. Khan features heavily in Into Darkness, but he has no beef with Kirk. Instead, a Starfleet Admiral is threatening the lives of Khan’s crew, forcing them to craft weapons of mass destruction. 

Khan inevitably eludes captivity and strikes out against Starfleet, killing Captain Pike (and a bunch of others) in the process. Kirk and company eventually take Khan down, but not before Kirk sacrifices himself to save his crew. Don’t worry, these things don’t last in either Star Trek timeline, as Kirk gets better moments later thanks to *checks notes* Khan's super blood.

13. Star Trek Beyond

• Release date: July 22, 2016
• Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Idris Elba

Beyond leans into the camaraderie of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy now that they’ve had some time together, much to the movie’s benefit. The Enterprise is lured to Altamid under false pretenses, leading to much of the crew being marooned on the planet. The architect of the deception was Krall, who wants an opportunity to return to a galaxy where war is the order of the day. 

Beyond is a significant point in the timeline for two reasons. First, it sadly marked the death of Spock Prime due to the passing of Leonard Nimoy. Second, it culminates in the Enterprise embarking on the five-year-mission that started everything back in 1966.

Star Trek movies: Release order

If you can't be bothered remembering two different orders for the Star Trek movies then we've got good news for you — the release order is identical to the chronological order that we've shown above (accounting for the Kelvin timeline as it's own entity anyway).

Star Trek 4

The full run of Star Trek films currently tops out at 13 entries; the fate of the 14th was hidden within a nebula of conflicting information. “Star Trek 4” was slated for December 22, 2023, but given that filming had yet to begin as of July 2022, it seems inevitable that date will change. Back in February 2022, Paramount that the principal cast would be returning for the fourth installment of the Kelvin timeline, a claim quickly disputed by the agents of those selfsame actors. Awkward.

Soon after, however, Chris Pine eventually signed on the dotted line, and his shipmates reached their own agreements. As of right now, Kirk (Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), McCoy (Karl Urban, assuming he can make it work around filming of The Boys), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Uhura (Zoe Saldaña), and Sulu (John Cho) are all ready to beam up and get filming. Sadly, this will be the first of the Kelvin films to not feature Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov. Yelchin died in an accident at his home in 2016. It’s currently unclear if Chekov will be recast or if a different character will take his place on the bridge of the Enterprise.

Though the Kelvin timeline is often referred to as “J.J. Abrams Trek,” he won’t be directing Star Trek 4; Matt Shakman will take on that responsibility, leaving Abrams to produce. As for what it will be about, that’s anyone’s guess, but Chris Pine told Deadline he hopes this one tells a smaller story that appeals to the core Trek audience. “Let’s make the movie for the people that love this group of people, that love this story, that love Star Trek,” he said. “Let’s make it for them and then, if people want to come to the party, great.” It’s a strategy that makes sense; the disappointment with recent Trek films hasn’t been their content so much as their box office. A Trek film with a smaller scope (and budget) would almost certainly have a very healthy profit margin while also resonating with the fanbase.   

With no new announcements coming from San Diego Comic-Con 2022, it seems that we’ll have to wait for any more insight into the next Star Trek film. Sill, recent comments from Paramount CEO Brian Robbins have us cautiously optimistic: “We’re deep into [Star Trek 4] with J.J. Abrams, and it feels like we’re getting close to the starting line and excited about where we’re going creatively,” he told Variety . 

Still, recent comments from Paramount CEO Brian Robbins have us cautiously optimistic: “We’re deep into [Star Trek 4] with J.J. Abrams, and it feels like we’re getting close to the starting line and excited about where we’re going creatively,” he told Variety.

Since then, there hasn’t been much in the way of updates, which leaves us with the worrying prospect of Star Trek 4 being stuck in development hell. During a 2023 appearance at the 57-Year Mission convention in Las Vegas (reported by TrekMovie ), Zachary Quinto explained that creative differences were the cause of the numerous delays. 

“I think there’s a lot of other stuff, creative things. It’s complicated. The fact that anything good gets made is kind of a miracle. I think it’s about different people having different agendas and ideas about what it will be.“

Star Trek: Section 31

In the meantime, we are getting the Star Trek: Section 31 movie staring Academy Award-winning actress MichelIe Yeoh. She is reprising her role as Emperor Philip Georgiou, her character from Star Trek Discovery (well one of them anyway, mirror universes and all that). This spin-off from the TV series is coming out of warp in early 2025.

Check out our guide to Everything we know about Star trek Section 31 for more info on the upcoming movie.

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Susan Arendt is a freelance writer, editor, and consultant living in Burleson, TX. She's a huge sci-fi TV and movie buff, and will talk your Vulcan ears off about Star Trek. You can find more of her work at Wired, IGN, Polygon, or look for her on Twitter: @SusanArendt. Be prepared to see too many pictures of her dogs.

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Star Trek Movies in Order: How to Watch Chronologically and by Release Date

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Star Trek is back in a big way. The franchise is going strong on Paramount+ through new original TV shows , with the recent Star Trek: Strange New Worlds premiering to positive reviews while Star Trek: Picard finished season two. Paramount also announced the long-awaited fourth Star Trek film in the recent series, which will see Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldaña, Simon Pegg, John Cho, and Karl Urban return to the franchise following a seven-year hiatus from Star Trek Beyond . The franchise is now arguably the most popular and readily available that it's been in its entire history, gaining new fans every day.

The Star Trek film series currently includes 13 films and spans multiple generations of different crews that weave in and out of the different series. They form one giant massive timeline that builds off one another to show humanity's future among the stars and the constantly changing relationship between various alien species. If the 13 films seem daunting, and you're not sure how everything relates, take a look at this list that details the Star Trek film series in chronological and release order.

Update November 23, 2023: This article has been updated with where each entry in the Star Trek film is currently streaming and more details on each film in the franchise.

Star Trek Movies In Chronological Order

Star trek: the motion picture.

• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Star trek iv: the voyage home, star trek v: the final frontier, star trek vi: the undiscovered country, star trek: generations, star trek: first contact, star trek: insurrection, star trek: nemesis, star trek into darkness, star trek beyond, star trek: the motion picture (1979).

Star Trek: The Motion Picture takes place in 2273, five years after the events of Star Trek: The Original Series, and finds Kirk and his crew retaking control of the renovated Enterprise to investigate a mysterious cloud of energy that has destroyed Federation and Klingon ships. The movie was a massive hit, yet the critical reaction was more on the mixed side than Paramount expected. Even with how much money the studio put into it, bringing in Academy Award-winner Robert Wise to direct, the film was seen as a disappointment, yet has found a cult status and recently got the director's cut released in 4K .

Star Trek: The Motion Picture is available for streaming on Paramount+

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Star trek 2: the wrath of khan.

A massive time jump, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan takes place in 2285, 13 years after the events of the previous film and 18 years since the original series ended. This film is less a sequel to Star Trek: The Motion Picture and more to season one, episode 22, or 'Space Seed,' from the original series, which now finds that episode's villain, Khan, seeking revenge on Kirk for marooning him on Ceti Alpha V. The movie sees an older Kirk wrestling with his age, and in the ultimate sign of time moving forward, Kirk loses his old friend Spock when the Vulcan-human hybrid sacrifices his life to save the crew of the Enterprise.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan also serves as the first part in a three-movie story arc, often referred to by fans as The Genesis Trilogy (named after the Genesis device which becomes a key factor in the life/death cycle the three films explore), one that continues in the following two sequels. While not making as much money as the previous film, Wrath of Khan had a smaller budget, so the profits of the film were greater and the film helped relaunch the popularity of the franchise. It still remains arguably the most acclaimed film of the franchise.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is available for streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

Picking up shortly after the previous film, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock takes place in 2285 and focuses on Kirk and the Enterprise Crew's attempt to resurrect Spock when they find out his spirit has been left inside Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, which involves stealing the Enterprise from the Federation. Meanwhile, the crew must contend with a Klingon crew led by Kurge (Christopher Lloyd) who seeks to steal information on the genesis device.

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The movie resurrects Spock but also sees another beloved member of the crew perish: this time in the form of the Enterprise. While the ship will be rebuilt, this marks the final appearance of the ship that Kirk and his crew piloted since the original series. Another major plot point is the death of Kirk's son (who was established in the previous film), killed at the hands of Klingons, which will go on to inform Kirk's bias a few films later.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is available for streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home picks up shortly after the previous film, with the Enterprise crew returning to Earth to face trial for stealing the Enterprise to resurrect Spock; however, they find the planet is in grave danger when a mysterious alien probe cannot communicate with any humpback whales. To save the Earth, the crew travels back in time to 1986 (the release date of the film) to try to find a group of whales to bring back to the future. The movie concludes the Genesis Trilogy, and due to its fish out of water aspect was a massive success even outside the Star Trek fanbase, grossing more than both previous entries.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is available for streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

Set in 2287, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier focuses on the exploits of the Enterprise-A (the new ship that replaces the destroyed Enterprise) as they confront a renegade Vulcan who is attempting to search for God at the center of the universe. While opening big, the film had massive drop-offs in the following weeks due to poor word of mouth and competition from other summer movies like Ghostbusters II and Batman. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier almost killed the franchise for many, but the studio wanted to give the classic crew of the original series one final and proper goodbye.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is available for streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

Released in 1991, 35 years after the premiere of Star Trek: The Original Series , Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country was to give the original cast their proper goodbyes. The movie is set in 2293, which makes it 24 years after the events of the original series. The Undiscovered Country acts as the end of the Cold War, but in space, the destruction of the Klingon moon, Praxis, leads the Klingon Empire to pursue peace with their longtime adversary, the Federation. However, a military conspiracy threatens to destroy the potential peace as Kirk is framed for a crime based on his prejudice towards Klingons for killing his son in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock .

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The movie ends as a proper conclusion to the original Star Trek series, as the two iconic foes of the Klingons and Federation have now found peace. With the Enterprise set to be decommissioned, Kirk and his crew take one final trip on the ship with the final mission log so that new crews, new ships and more will carry on their legacy, commenting on the future laid out in Star Trek series like The Next Generation , Deep Space Nine , and Voyager .

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is available for streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Generations (1994)

A passing of the torch film between the crew of the original series and Star Trek: The Next Generation , Star Trek: Generations is the iconic meeting between the two captains, Kirk and Picard . The movie's prologue is set in 2293, shortly after the events of Star Trek VI: The Voyage Home, while the main action of the film is 2371, 78 years later and one year after Star Trek: The Next Generation .

The movie marks the final adventure for William Shatner's incarnation of James Kirk, and while it will not be the last time the character appears thanks to the reboot, it serves as a true end for the original series and full acknowledgment of Star Trek: The Next Generation being the face of the franchise for the 1990s.

Star Trek: Generations is available for streaming on Paramount+

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

Set two years after the previous film in 2273, Star Trek: First Contact sees The Borg as the film's primary villain and follows the crew of the Enterprise-D as they pursue the villainous species back in time, with the Borg's primary objective to take over in the past. The film borrows the time travel element of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and primarily is set on April 4, 2023, which is the day before Earth makes contact with alien life and begins the steps for the Federation of Planets to form, thanks to the work of Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell), whose first successful warp drive creation draws the attention of the Vulcans.

Thanks to a heavy marketing push, Star Trek: First Contact was a major box office hit and also received positive reviews from critics, and until the release of 2009's Star Trek, was the best-performing film of the franchise internationally. Fans all over the world now celebrate April 5th as First Contact Day .

Star Trek: First Contact is available for streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)

In 2375, Star Trek: Insurrection sees the crew of the Enterprise-D rebel against Starfleet when they discover a conspiracy involving two alien species. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with many claiming it lacked the scope of a movie and felt more like an extended episode of television.

The events of Star Trek: Insurrection are taking place around the time of both Star Trek: Voyager and at the end of the story for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , and while there are no major references to the events of the series or vice versa, it does show how big the franchise was at this point in time but also how the overexposure and years of continuity were starting to hamper it.

Star Trek: Insurrection is available for streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

Star Trek: Nemesis takes place in 2379, meaning it is nine years after the events of Star Trek: The Next Generation and 110 years since the end of the original series. Star Trek: Nemesis sees a clone of Picard (Tom Hardy, in his first movie), created by Romulans, take control of the Romulan Empire and seek war with the Federation.

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The film received poor reviews from critics and was a box office bomb , becoming the lowest-grossing Star Trek film ever and was beaten out in its opening weekend box office by Maid in Manhattan . Combine that with competition from huge movies like Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets , Die Another Day, and Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers during the holiday season, and Star Trek: Nemesis was dead on arrival, marking the final adventure for the crew of The Next Generation until the release of Star Trek: Picard . The film's box office disappointment, combined with the cancelation of Star Trek: Enterprise three years, later marked a quiet point in the franchise , where it would take a big swing to bring the series back.

Star Trek: Nemesis is available for streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek (2009)

Marketed as a prequel, J.J. Abrams' Star Trek is much more. It does show the origins of the original series cast but does so by taking place in an alternate reality that is kicked into motion by Spock from the original series traveling through a wormhole from 2387 (ten years after Star Trek: Nemesis ) that causes the timeline to split. So Star Trek is both a reboot, a prequel, and a sequel, as the events in Star Trek: The Original Series and all the following films need to happen to get Spock into a place to go back and time and create a new timeline, which will be called the Kelvin Timeline after the USS Kelvin, which is the ship at the center of the timeline divergence in 2233.

The great J.J. Abrams movie tells the story of how the crew of the Enterprise comes together, primarily taking place from 2258 to 2259, meaning that by the end of the film, when Kirk takes control of the Enterprise, it is earlier than the original timeline. The film was a surprisingly big success, grossing $386 million and becoming the highest-scoring Star Trek film on Rotten Tomatoes. In addition to the polished production and great effects, the excellent work of the cast was largely responsible for this; as Ty Burr writes in The Boston Globe :

What lifts the Abrams film into the ether is the rightness of its casting and playing, from Saldana's Uhura, finally a major character after all these years, to Urban's loyal, dyspeptic McCoy, to Simon Pegg's grandly comic Scotty, the movie's most radical reimagining of a Star Trek regular.

Star Trek is available for streaming on Hulu and Paramount+.

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

With a new timeline in place, Star Trek Into Darkness sees the crew of the Enterprise encounter Khan years earlier, as the destruction of Vulcan causes the Federation to explore space and find Khan and his crew about eight years earlier than the original timeline. Star Trek Into Darkness takes place one year after the 2009 Star Trek , meaning it is 2259. With Khan awakened earlier, and the butterfly effect nature of the timeline is rewritten, Kirk meets Carol Marcus (the mother of his child in the original timeline) earlier, and instead of Spock dying, it is Kirk. Yet Kirk is able to be resurrected much quicker than Spock.

The film ends with Kirk, Spock, and the crew on a rebuilt Enterprise ready to begin their five-year mission, and it is revealed they were waiting a year, meaning, that the five-year mission begins in 2260, six years before the original series. The modern-day cast of these Star Trek movies continues to excel, and the inclusion of a great Benedict Cumberbatch performance as Khan is a highlight.

Star Trek Into Darkness is available for streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek Beyond (2016)

The final film released so far in the Star Trek film series, Star Trek Beyond, is set three years into the Enterprise's five-year mission (a meta-joke about how the original series lasted three seasons). The movie finds Kirk and his Enterprise crew on an unexplored planet, encountering a hostile alien who has ties to the Federation.

Released to tie in with the 50th anniversary of the franchise, Star Trek Beyond serves as the perfect conclusion to the film series so far. When the Spock from the original timeline dies, he leaves the current Spock some of his belongings, which includes a photo of the crew from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country . Seeing the life his alternate timeline version had, inspires this version to stay with his crew on a rebuilt Enterprise (this universe's version of Enterprise-A) to continue the adventure in a recently announced fourth film , whose production seems to be encountering several setbacks .

Star Trek Beyond is available for streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek Films In Release Order

Unlike Star Wars , The MCU, or the X-Men movie series , the release order of Star Trek is the same as the chronological viewing order, making it a straightforward viewing experience. Historically, Star Trek has been a winter franchise, finding great success during the holiday weekends around Thanksgiving and Christmas. However, in recent years, all three Kelvin timeline films were summer releases.

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Ready for a rewatch but not sure where to start? We’ve got you covered.

Have you ever wondered what the best way is to stream Star Trek from start to finish? Look no further.

Approaching the chronological watch of a franchise that’s been on over fifty years can be daunting. Especially with a science-fiction universe that has time travel, multiple universes, concurrent shows and entirely new timelines.

Fear not, as we have created a handy binge-watch guide using the Stardate of each series and film. Here is our guide on how to watch every Star Trek series and movie in the right order.

How to watch the Star Trek movies in order

Set phasers to "fun" and watch the Star Trek movies in order

It’s a good time to be a Star Trek fan and watch all the Star Trek movies in order. With three active TV series ( Discovery , Picard , Lower Decks ) and three more in the works (Section 31, Prodigy, Strange New Worlds ), there are more Star Trek adventures airing now than at any point since the mid-90s. 

While Star Trek TV shows have come and gone since the ‘60s, Star Trek movies maintained a pretty consistent release schedule between 1979 and 2016. On average, we got a new film once every three years. But with the fourth move of the Star Trek reboot franchise allegedly canceled , we may be in for a long wait until we see the U.S.S. Enterprise on the big screen again.

Still, there’s one missing piece of the puzzle: Where are all the Star Trek movies? Unlike watching the Star Wars movies in order , you can't see every Trek film on the same service.

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In the meantime, there are thirteen Star Trek movies to watch (or rewatch), either on DVD or your favorite streaming services. I personally bought the Blu-ray collections so that I wouldn’t be at the mercy of shifting streaming schedules, but if you prefer an all-digital experience, these movies are almost always available somewhere online.

Star Trek movies in order of release date

Watching the Star Trek movies in release order is, for the most part, exactly the same as watching the Star Trek movies in chronological order. (There’s some time travel here and there, but the later films still follow “after” the earlier ones.) There are 13 films. The first came out in 1979; the last came out in 2016. 

The only issue is that they're spread out across a number of different subscription services. 10 of the 13 can be found on Amazon Prime Video, and seven of those are also on Hulu. FX Now and Fubo each have one Star Trek movie a piece, each film being a streaming exclusive (you'd need to buy or rent to watch otherwise). And then CBS All Access (soon to be Paramount Plus) and Pluto also have one film. 

• Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) : On Prime Video
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Star Trek: Generations (1994) : On Prime Video
• Star Trek: First Contact (1996) : On Prime Video
• Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) : On CBS All Access/Paramount Plus and Pluto
• Star Trek (2009): On Fubo
• Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) : On FX Now
• Star Trek Beyond (2016) : On Hulu and Prime Video

Star Trek is just one of many great things you can watch on Hulu . In addition to its acclaimed originals like High Fidelity and Shrill, Hulu streams next-day airings of current TV shows and library content from FX.

Amazon Prime Video has a huge library beyond Star Trek movies. Not only do they have a ton of top movies and TV shows, they've got a lineup of acclaimed originals. They've got everything from Fleabag to Marvelous Mrs. Maisel to The Expanse to Jack Ryan. 

Fubo.TV : One of the streaming services you'll need to complete the Star Trek movies in order, Fubo has all of the right network channels too. Who needs cable? Not Fubo subscribers. It's got a 7-day free trial so you don't need to pay up front.

One year of Paramount Plus: was $99 or $59, now $49 or $29 If you sign up a little under one month before Paramount Plus launches, you'll save $30 to $50 on its annual price. The higher rate is for the ad-free version. Paramount Plus will pack everything from Yellowstone to SpongeBob SquarePants, The Real Criminal MInds and more.

On top of there not being one home for all the movies, there are a few small wrinkles in this plan, however. First: The Star Trek movies aren’t completely standalone. They require some knowledge of what happened in the Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation TV shows to fully grok. 

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Furthermore, the 13 movies don’t tell one continuous story. Rather, they’re based on three separate iterations of the long-running franchise.

Star Trek movies in order of series

Just like the Star Trek TV shows, the Star Trek movies don’t all focus on the same characters and settings. While there’s a little bit of crossover (which we’ll cover below), the films generally fall into three categories.

The first category is based on Star Trek: The Original Series. This is your daddy’s Star Trek, complete with Kirk, Spock, McCoy, the original U.S.S. Enterprise and Scotty beaming people up. If you’ve ever heard about “KHAAAAN!” or “the one with the whales,” or “Shakespeare in the original Klingon,” this is where they come from.

They're all available on Prime Video, and almost all (The Voyage Home is missing) are on Hulu as well. 

Star Trek: The Original Series movies

Next up, there are the Next Generation movies. This is Gen X/Elder Millennial Star Trek, starring Picard, Data, Worf and the crew. The movies start off with the Enterprise-D, but transition to the sleeker Enterprise-E in First Contact. Generations features a crossover with some original series crewmembers, but the rest put the TNG cast front and center, with occasional Deep Space Nine and Voyager cameos.

You'll need at least two streaming services to see all of them.

Star Trek: The Next Generation movies

• Star Trek: Generations (1994): On Prime Video

Finally, there are the “reboot” Star Trek films, also known as the “Kelvin timeline” films. Kirk, Spock and McCoy take center stage again, but this time in an alternate reality, where events play out differently. This is Star Trek for the cool kids, complete with fast starships, pulse-pounding action and soundtracks populated by the Beastie Boys. (It’s not quite as mindless as it sounds — except for Into Darkness, maybe.) For the most part, these films don’t require previous Star Trek knowledge. But they do pick up where Nemesis left off, more or less, before winding the clock back.

This set is the splintered across services more than any of the others.

Star Trek reboot movies

• Star Trek (2009) : On Fubo

Star Trek episodes to watch first

TOS: The Original Series TNG: The Next Generation ENT: Enterprise

Watching the Star Trek movies is an extremely straightforward process, but they may be a little incomprehensible unless you’ve seen at least some of the TV series . (I watched the entire franchise , but that may not be practical for you.) The Motion Picture picks up after The Original Series ends; likewise with Generations and The Next Generation.

As such, here are some episodes you should watch if you’re going to dive into the movies. Generally, the movies stand on their own, but it might help to know about some of the supporting characters and subplots:

Episodes for Star Trek: The Original Series movies

• Space Seed (TOS, S1, E22) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Errand of Mercy (TOS: S1, E26) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Journey to Babel (TOS: S2, E10) : On Hulu and Prime Video

Episodes for Star Trek: The Next Generation movies

• Q Who (TNG: S2, E16) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• The Best of Both Worlds, Parts I and II (TNG: S3, E26 / S4, E1) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• Family (TNG: S4, E2) : On Hulu and Prime Video

Episodes for Star Trek reboot movies

• Unification, Parts I and II (TNG: S5, E7 & E8) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• First Flight (ENT: S2, E24) : On Hulu and Prime Video
• The Xindi (ENT: S3, E1) : On Hulu and Prime Video

Which Star Trek movies are good?

If you watch all 13 Star Trek movies, you’re signing yourself up for about 26 hours of screen time. That’s more than a casual fan may want to invest. Luckily (or unluckily?), not ever Star Trek film is created equal. For a long time, fans held that the even-numbered movies were good, while the odd-numbered ones were bad. That trend seems to have reversed with the recent reboot films, though: The odd ones are good, while the even one is, well, not.

In any case, if you want to start with the movies that are really worth your time, here they are:

I personally like some of the other ones quite a bit (Nemesis is better than you remember, and Generations has quite a few moving moments), but those should at least represent a good starting point.

And once you’re done with those, you can move onto Galaxy Quest: the best Star Trek movie that’s not actually a Star Trek movie.

• Next: How to watch Harry Potter movies in order

Marshall Honorof is a senior editor for Tom's Guide, overseeing the site's coverage of gaming hardware and software. He comes from a science writing background, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and technology. After hours, you can find him practicing taekwondo or doing deep dives on classic sci-fi. 

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In a choice between whether to watch the Star Trek TV series and movies in the order of release or watching the saga unfold throughout its in-universe continuity, here's how a Trekker can do either. When  Star Trek: The Original Series premiered in 1966, no one dreamed it would launch a franchise that would last 55 years, and Star Trek  is still going strong . Star Trek now encompasses 9 TV series, with two more, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and the animated Star Trek: Prodigy in development for 2022, as well as 13 feature films, with the 14th Star Trek movie earmarked for June 2023.

Star Trek has also grown into a massive canon that spans a thousand years of the future. Much of the franchise is focused on the Captain and crews of the various starships named Enterprise and most of the saga is divided between the optimistic future of the 23rd century's The Original Series ( TOS ) era and Star Trek: The Next Generation 's ( TNG ) 24th-century era, which also spans the spinoffs Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Lower Decks, and Star Trek: Picard . But in the last 20 years, Star Trek has also relied heavily on prequels, with Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Discovery seasons 1 and 2, and J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movie trilogy all set before TOS . Complicating matters, Abrams' films are also set in their own alternate canon, the Kelvin timeline. Star Trek: Discovery season 3 (and all future seasons) take place in the 32nd century, which is the farthest in the future the franchise has explored.

Related: Star Trek: Every Captain of The Enterprise

Star Trek  utilizes Stardates in-universe but it's easier to track the timeline based on the Greco-Roman calendar years each TV series and movie is set in. Of course, as a sci-fi franchise renowned for its innovative storytelling, Star Trek has told plenty of time travel tales . Nearly every TV series and several of the films have time travel adventures set that have sent the Starfleet heroes into the present day or even let them cross over and meet crews from different eras. There is really no wrong way to watch Star Trek but if a new fan is making the choice between release date order or the order of continuity, here is a handy guide to both options.

Star Trek TV Shows & Movies In Order Of Release

Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969)

Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1974)

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock ( 1984)

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

Star Trek Generations (1994)

Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

Star Trek Insurrection (1998)

Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)

Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

Star Trek (2009)

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Star Trek: Discovery (2017-present)

Star Trek: Picard (2020-present)

Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020-present)

Related: Star Trek: When The Kelvin Timeline Takes Place

Star Trek TV Shows & Movies In Chronological Order

Star Trek: Enterprise (2151-2155)

Star Trek (2009) (2255 in the Kelvin timeline) Star Trek also contains flashbacks to 2233, the 2240s, and 2252 and a flashforward to 2387 in the Prime timeline.

Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1 & 2 (2256-2258) The USS Discovery permanently time travels to the 32nd century at the end of season 2.

Star Trek Into Darkness (2259 in the Kelvin timeline)

Star Trek Beyond (2263 in the Kelvin timeline)

Star Trek: The Original Series (2266-2269)

Star Trek: The Animated Series (2269-2270)

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (2270s)

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (2285)

Star Trek IV:  The Voyage Home (2286 and 1986)

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (2287)

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (2293)

Star Trek: The Next Generation (2364-2370)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2369-2375)

Star Trek Generations (2371) Generations takes place before DS9 season 4 when Worf (Michael Dorn) joins the space station crew.

Star Trek: Voyager (2371-2378) Voyager 's first four seasons take place concurrently with DS9 seasons 4-7.

Star Trek: First Contact (2373 and 2063) First Contact takes place during DS9 season 5 and Voyager season 3. Most of the film takes place in 2063, 90 years before the events of Star Trek: Enterprise .

Star Trek Insurrection (2375) Insurrection takes place during DS9 season 7 and Voyager season 5.

Star Trek: Nemesis (2379)

Star Trek: Lower Decks (2380 onward)

Star Trek: Picard (2389 onward) Picard also has flashbacks set in 2385.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 (3188-3189)

Next: Why Every Star Trek Series Ended

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How to Watch the 'Star Trek' Movies in Order

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What to Know

• All 13 movies were released chronologically.
• Search various streaming platforms to stream the movies by release date.
• Organized by three eras: The Original Series, The Next Generation, and Kelvin Timeline.

Like Star Wars , which is housed on Disney+, you can watch all 13  Star Trek  movies on a single streaming service.

This article only covers Star Trek movies that were released theatrically. It doesn’t include TV series like The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine , or canonical adaptations across other media. Although having knowledge of The Original Star Trek Series and other Star Trek TV series is helpful, it's not essential for enjoying the movies.

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How to Watch the Star Trek Movies in Chronological Order

The Star Trek movies can be separated into three distinct eras. The first era covers the “Prime” timeline started by Gene Roddenberry’s original series from the 1960s and features James T. Kirk and Spock. This era spans six films, beginning with Star Trek: The Motion Picture and ending with Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country .

The second era is spun off from Star Trek: The Next Generation and features characters from that TV series. Fittingly, these are known as The Next Generation films. Finally, the Kelvin timeline kicked off with the J.J. Abrams-directed Star Trek in 2009. This era is an alternate timeline featuring a significantly different history from the “Prime” universe.

If you watch all 13 Star Trek movies in one sitting, it takes you just over 25 hours. But if you add in the seven TV shows, that time climbs to nearly 25 days .

How to Watch the Star Trek Movies in Order of Release

The great thing about Star Trek is that the movies were released chronologically, so you’ll be following the exact same order as above if you want to watch them based on the release date.

All of these movies are available to stream on Paramount+ , but you might be able to dip into other services for a few of them as available.

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Trek Boldly With Our Guide To Watching the ‘Star Trek’ Movies

We’ve had almost 60 years of Star Trek now, and with 13 movies (and counting?) it can be hard to work out the right order to watch them in. It helps that the early movies are numbered, but only if you want to watch them in release order rather than in universe chronology—and once you get out of The Original Series era , even that advantage goes away. Here’s our ultimate guide to watching the Star Trek movies, both ways!

Release Order

Watching the Star Trek movies in the order in which they were released is recommended for first time viewers, simply to avoid the confusion of receiving plot elements out of order. We start with the TOS films and work our way through to the Kelvin timeline reboots. Easy.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Kirk, now an Admiral, commandeers the Enterprise to investigate a powerful alien entity traveling inside an energy cloud that poses a serious threat to all life in the galaxy. After losing various members of the crew to the alien, it turns out to be the returning Voyager 6 probe, now sentient after its travels and looking to merge with a human to complete its mission.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

No good deed goes unpunished, and Kirk’s decision (TOS: “Space Seed”) to spare Khan and his followers—by leaving them to settle on an uninhabited planet—backfires spectacularly in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . Seeking vengeance, Khan attempts to capture the Genesis Device—experimental technology that can produce new worlds out of dead matter through an explosive process, which can also be used as a weapon. Be warned: Spock dies in this one, and it’s emotionally devastating even though we all know it doesn’t last.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

In Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , Kirk discovers that Spock’s katra (something like a soul) is inside McCoy, and that both katra and body are needed to properly lay Spock to rest on Vulcan. So Kirk and the crew steal the Enterprise to reunite them. But because Spock’s casket landed on the new planet created by the Genesis Device, his body has been de-aged and resurrected, rapidly aging toward adulthood—but without a mind. However, Klingons are also after the planet and the Genesis Device, so the crew of the Enterprise will have to do battle with them to complete their mission.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Star Trek IV is also commonly referred to as the “one with the whales.” After an alien probe induces catastrophic effects on the earth’s atmosphere, Spock discovers that the probe is attempting to communicate via the call of the now extinct humpback whale. In order to find and bring some of the whales back, and thereby save the planet, the Enterprise performs a “slingshot maneuver” around the sun to travel back to a time before the whales died out. When they arrive in 1986, Kirk and Spock locate a pair of whales that are about to be released from captivity and try to persuade the biologist in charge of their care to hand them over, while Uhura and Chekov raid a nuclear-equipped aircraft carrier to restore the Enterprise’s power so they can return home.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

In Star Trek V , Kirk, Spock, and McCoy’s camping trip is cut short when Spock’s half-brother Sybok takes a group of diplomats hostage and the crew of the Enterprise is sent to rescue them. It turns out to be a trap, as Sybok needed a starship to find God at the center of the universe, and he uses his Vulcan abilities to persuade the crew to help him. Pursued by a glory-seeking Klingon Captain and his warship, they reach and break through the energy barrier that Sybok believes houses God on the other side, and meet a powerful alien entity who certainly claims to be God but doesn’t have anyone’s best interests at heart.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

The destruction of Qo’noS’ moon forces the Klingons into peace talks with the Federation in Star Trek VI . Despite Kirk’s long standing grudge against Klingons (one of them killed his son), the Enterprise is sent to collect their Chancellor, Gorkon, and bring him to Earth to negotiate a treaty. On the way there, however, Gorkon is murdered, and Kirk and McCoy are framed as the killers and sent to a penal colony on an ice planet. The crew of the Enterprise goes rogue to rescue them, expose the real assassins, and foil the conspiracy that threatens the peace talks.

Star Trek: Generations

Star Trek: Generations begins with Picard, having just learned of the death of his brother and nephew, receiving a distress call from an observatory. When he takes the Enterprise to check it out, they discover that the scientist in charge, Dr. Soran, is trying to destroy stars to summon a massive energy ribbon that contains another dimension. Called the Nexus, the dimension creates alternative realities based on your deepest desires. Attempts to stop Soran fail, and both he and Picard are transported inside the Nexus, where Picard discovers Captain Kirk—who was sucked inside the Nexus at the beginning of the movie—and the two work together to defeat Dr. Soran.

Star Trek: First Contact

In an attempt to conquer Earth, the Borg create a temporal vortex to send a ship back in time and take over the planet before humanity demonstrated warp capabilities, thereby preventing first contact and the formation of the Federation—hence the title, First Contact . The Enterprise follows the Borg ship through the time vortex, seeking out Zefram Cochrane to ensure his test flight goes ahead as planned, thus preserving the correct timeline, all while fighting off a Borg invasion. Meanwhile, the Borg queen has kidnapped Data, and Picard has to work through his own Borg-related trauma while attempting to rescue him.

Star Trek: Insurrection

In Star Trek: Insurrection , Data malfunctions while observing what appear to be pre-warp people, leading the Enterprise to discover that not only is this untrue (they merely choose to live that way), but that the Federation is collaborating with a group called the Son’a to forcefully relocate them so the planet’s rejuvenating properties can be harvested. Picard defies orders to allow this to go on, citing the Prime Directive, and the Enterprise assists the planet’s inhabitants in defending themselves and their way of life.

Star Trek: Nemesis

Star Trek: Nemesis sees Picard on a diplomatic mission to Romulus, where he discovers that the new Romulan leader is a younger clone of himself. Named Shinzon, he was originally created to act as a spy within the Federation, but the project was scrapped and the young clone was left in a prison colony on Remus, where he launched his climb to the top of the Empire. Shinzon requires a transfusion of Picard’s blood to reverse the ill effects of the cloning process that are killing him, so he kidnaps Picard and heads for Earth with a thalaron radiation-emitting weapon, which he intends to use to wipe out all life on the planet.

The first of the alternate timeline films, Star Trek reboots the series with a vengeance-seeking Romulan who travels back in time, altering the past. Kirk, having lost his father as a baby, grows up to be a very different person. Though he’s constantly getting into trouble, Kirk is invited to join the academy anyway by Captain Pike, who sees his potential. Just when Kirk is on the verge of expulsion, the same Romulan reappears, continuing to seek his vengeance, and Kirk stows away on the Enterprise, determined to go into the field with the other cadets.

Star Trek Into Darkness

Star Trek Into Darkness is a reboot of The Wrath of Khan that proposes a very different backstory for Khan and Kirk’s relationship. Sent to chase after a Starfleet agent who blew up the Section 31 headquarters and killed several senior officers (including Pike), Kirk and the Enterprise crew discover there’s something else going on. The agent is actually Khan, pressed into service by Admiral Marcus, who is holding the rest of Khan’s people hostage and is trying to kill them and everyone else who knows what’s going on.

Star Trek Beyond

In Star Trek Beyond , the Enterprise is ambushed and many of its crew captured by a man named Krall. The bulk of the ship is destroyed, while the saucer section crashes onto the planet below. It turns out Krall is a pre-Federation soldier whose life was extended by the technology of the planet’s inhabitants, and who believes the Federation abandoned him and his crew there to die. Intent on revenge, Krall is seeking the missing piece of an ancient bioweapon. When he finds it, the movie becomes a race to stop Krall from reaching Earth and setting it off.

Chronological Order

I wouldn’t recommend watching the Star Trek movies in chronological order unless you’ve already watched all of them through at least once. Otherwise, you’re going to spend half the time confused as to what’s going on and the rest realizing you’ve already spoiled yourself on the major plots.

The Voyage Home is the earliest the crew travels back in time, to 1986. However, they change the past, altering rather than preserving the timeline, so it’s debatable as to whether the fourth film actually goes here or if it follows The Search for Spock instead.

By traveling back to ensure First Contact goes ahead as planned, the crew of the Enterprise ensure the timeline remains unchanged, enabling everything that happens in the other movies to proceed.

This is where you switch to watching the Kelvin-verse movies, because Nero’s alteration to the timeline starts long before the events of the original Star Trek movie took place.

Time to revert to the original continuity, even though the events of this movie (and the ones after) don’t follow the last three you’ve watched.

If you actually give this watch order a try, let us know how it goes and whether it makes for an enjoyable experience!

(featured image:

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A guide to the 'star trek' movies in order.

Perhaps you've started watching Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and you're wondering where this whole thing (like the whole thing ) originated from. Maybe you're completely ingrained in the Star Trek universe but want to start all over from the beginning for the hundredth time. Whatever the case may be, you're currently reading this because you plan on watching or re-watching all of the Star Trek movies in order. No worries, we've got you all covered with everything you need to know before you get to it. When you're dealing with franchise that has been around many different decades and has had different iterations things can get a bit tricky.

We're going to break it down the best way we can.

RELATED: How to Watch the Marvel Movies in Chronological Order

How Many Star Trek Movies Are There?

All-in-all, there are thirteen total films in the Star Trek franchise as of this writing. That's the simple version. Now we're really going to break it all down.

Star Trek "Original Series" Movies in Order:

• Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

Star Trek "Next Generation" Movies in Order

• Star Trek Generations (1994)
• Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
• Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
• Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

Star Trek "Kelvin Timeline" Movies in Order aka the "New" Star Trek Movies in Order

• Star Trek (2009)
• Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
• Star Trek Beyond (2016)

1. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

• Release Date: December 8, 1979
• Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Nichelle Nicholas
• Extra Recommended Viewing:  While it isn't required to watch Star Trek: The Original Series in its entirety before Star Trek: The Motion Picture , seasons one and two in particular can help prepare you for the overall pace of the movie and familiarize yourself with the characters as they are the ones that star in the film.

Ten years prior to the release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture , the television series, Star Trek: The Original Series , was cancelled after three seasons. Despite the cancellation, Paramount Pictures had been lobbying for a feature film which originally began development in 1975, but was scrapped in 1977 for another television series that was to be titled Star Trek: Phase II . However, after the success of Steven Spielberg's Close Encounter of the Third Kind in 1977, plans for a feature film were put back into motion since that particular film showed that science-fiction movies could be successful.

Finally, after many years, Star Trek: The Motion Picture was released on December 8, 1979, as we just mentioned, it featured the cast from the television series. Adm. James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the crew of the Starship Enterprise is called upon by the federation to help contain an object that is on a crash course with earth. This object is an alien cloud that is wreaking havoc on everything getting in it's way. Kirk uses his leadership expertise to intercept the cloud, which eventually leads to an alien attack.

We then find out that Voyager aka V'Ger,  a 20th-century Earth space probe previously believed lost in a black hole, was found by an alien race of living machines, learned all the information it could, returned home to report what they discovered, but that nobody knew how to respond to the findings. Some people believe that you can skip this film altogether, but if you want to say that you've watched every single Star Trek , you've gotta get it in.

2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

• Release Date: June 4, 1982
• Extra Recommended Viewing: Similar to the first film, nothing is required to be watched in order to understand the movie. However, if you want to get super nerdy, you can watch "Space Seed" (season 1, episode 22) from the television series as that's when Khan is originally introduced.

Despite the mixed reviews of Star Trek: The Motion Picture , the follow-up Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was released three years later on June 4, 1982. Many consider The Wrath of Khan to be the best Star Trek movie of all time, which makes for a fun debate amongst fans and movie critics. Adm. James T. Kirk and Capt. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) are monitoring trainees at Starfleet Academy when they discover that another vessel from the United Federation of Planets is about to test the planet-creating Genesis Device, which leads to two of Kirk's officers being captured and a showdown.

The Wrath of Khan was a huge box office success, grossing $97 million at the box office along with positive reviews from critics.

3. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

• Release Date: June 1, 1984
• Extra Recommended Viewing: For Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , you will need to watch The Wrath of Khan as this film is a continuation of the events that happened in that movie.

Fast forward two years later, Spock is dead. Or is he? Adm. James T. Kirk succeeded in defeating Khan, but that defeat apparently came with the cost of losing Spock. While investigating  the Genesis planet from aboard the science vessel  Grissom , they discover that Spock has been resurrected, but in the form of a child and that he has lost consciousness. The crew defies orders disables the USS  Excelsior , and steals the  Enterprise in the attempt to retrieve Spock's body. While The Search for Spock did gross $87 million at the box office (which in reality wasn't that much less than its predecessor), the film was still considered a "moderate" success compared The Wrath of Khan .

4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

• Release Date: November 26, 1986
• Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Nichelle Nicholas, Catherine Hicks
• Extra Recommended Viewing: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home completes the arc of The Wrath of Khan and The Search for Spock , so you will need to watch both in order to understand what's going on.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is another debate starter as it is frequently put up against The Wrath of Khan in terms of which one is better. In it, Adm. James T. Kirk and his crew go back in time to San Francisco in 1986 to retrieve humpback whales — which is the key to communicating with a probe that's dangerously looking for somebody that understands it/them/whatever you want to call it. The plot is inexplicably corny 1980s, but you can't deny its charm as it pulled in $133 million worldwide at the box office, and received four Academy Award nominations for cinematography and sound.

5. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

• Release Date: June 9, 1989
• Extra Recommended Viewing: No required viewing, but it is recommended that you watch the previous films.

Alright, we're going to save you the trouble here — the mark was missed with Star Trek V: The Final Frontier . It has a case for being one of if not the worst Star Trek film of all time. That said, The Final Frontier centers around Sybok, the half brother of Spock, who hijacks the Enterprise in order to meet God, who he also believes is himself. Interesting. We're not going to say skip The Final Frontier completely, but we will say to have proper expectations before you watch.

6. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

• Release Date: December 6, 1991
• Extra Recommended Viewing: While it's recommended you watch the previous films, it should be noted that some have started their Star Trek journey with The Undiscovered Country . You don't have to watch the television series to understand what's going on this film either.

Whenever Star Trek would take a step backward in terms of critical and commercial success, they would always follow it up with a stronger attempt. The Undiscovered Country is a whirlwind journey as Capt. Kirk and the USS Enterprise Crew are carrying Klingon Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner) to Earth as leverage for a peace treaty with the United Federation of Planets. Their ship gets confused for firing on a Klingon vessel, which kills Gorkon. This leads to Kirk and Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) being arrested for murder as it is thought to be a revenge attempt by Kirk for the Klingons murdering his son. Now it's all left up to Spock to save the day.

7. Star Trek: Generations (1994)

• Release Date: November 18, 1994
• Starring: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Michael Dorn, William Shatner
• Extra Recommended Viewing: It is our recommendation that you watch at least a few episodes of the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series that ran from 1987 to 1994, as the movies are set at the end of series and preceded by the 1994 series finale "All Good Things."

And here begins The Next Generation era of Star Trek . While not as captivating as the prior films, the movie had its own strong points as the Starship Enterprise gets sent to a giant energy field on the verge of engulfing two ships that presumably kills Capt. Kirk. Fast forward several years later, Capt. Picard (Patrick Stewart) learns that one of the survivors, Dr. Soran (Malcolm McDowell), has big plans to enter the field by destroying a neighboring star, and must be stopped. While The Next Generation received mixed reviews, it did gross $118 million at the box office, so it was a good first start to the new generation.

8. Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

• Release Date: November 22, 1996
• Starring: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Michael Dorn, Brent Spiner
• Extra Recommended Viewing: "The Best of Both Worlds" (season 3, episode 26 and season 4, episode 1)

The story behind Star Trek: First Contact goes a little something like this — Paramount Pictures asked writers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore to start working on the next film. Braga and Moore wanted to feature the Borg in the storyline, but Rick Berman, the producer, wanted the plot to focus on time travel. The solution? They decided to combine both ideas, pulling references from the two-part episode "The Best of Both Worlds" from Star Trek: The Next Generation , which served as both a season finale for season 3, and a season premiere for season 4.

First Contact features the crew following a Borg ship and traveling back in time to prevent the Borg from taking over the Earth in a past era. Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) and a space travel guru (James Cromwell) are stuck trying to create the first time warp, whereas Capt. Picard and mdr. Data (Brent Spiner) are trying to battle the borg queen as she attempts to take over The Enterprise. Fun stuff.

9. Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)

• Release Date: December 11, 1998
• Extra Recommended Viewing: Any episode from The Next Generation and the previous movies in The Next Generation series.

When a mission to planet Ba'ku gets disrupted by a malfunctioning android named Data (Brent Spiner) taking the cultural task force hostage, Capt. Picard and crew learn that the Federation mission was actually a ploy by the Son'a to remove the inhabitants of Ba'ku. There's also the romance between Troi and Riker that gets rekindled in the process. While some may argue other Star Trek films are more dynamic, we'd argue that Insurrection stands on its own two feet.

10. Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

• Release Date: December 13, 2002
• Starring: Patrick Stewart, Stuart Baird, Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes, Tom Hardy
• Extra Recommended Viewing: You could watch the entire Next Generation series and all the prior films before tackling Nemesis , but it also works as a standalone.

The final film of The Next Generation series sees Capt. Picard diverting Enterprise's trip to Cmdr. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Counselor Troi's (Marina Sirtis) wedding in order to negotiate a peace treaty with the Romulans. Pre-Bane Tom Hardy takes on the role of Shinzon, the new Praetor of the Romulans, who needs Picard’s blood to survive. The only problem is Shiznon is also trying to destroy the entire Earth and take everyone down with him, so there's that.

11. Star Trek (2009)

• Release Date: May 7, 2009
• Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban
• Extra Recommended Viewing: The 2009 Star Trek essentially restarts the whole series. You can watch it without having seen any of the prior series or movies.

Back to the beginning we go! We get re-introduced to Kirk, Bones, Spock and the rest of the USS Enterprise crew as they are dealing with the villainous Romulan commander Nero (Eric Bana) who's kinda threatening all of mankind. It's up to Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), and everybody else to defeat Nero before it's too late. Nothing too complicated here — just a simple plot to introduce newcomers to the franchise.

12. Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

• Release Date: May 16, 2013
• Extra Recommended Viewing: Star Trek (2009)

Capt. Kirk gets removed from his commander position by violating the Prime Directive, Admiral Pike replaces him, Spock gets transferred to another ship, and that's just the beginning. Khan is back, but he's actually kind of... somewhat... nice, and Kirk and the rest of The Enterprise team set out to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction which leads to a life or death battle. Fun stuff again.

13. Star Trek Beyond (2016)

• Extra Recommended Viewing: Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

And this is where the Star Trek movies (emphasis on movies) leaves us in this era until Star Trek 4 which is currently in development. Star Trek Beyond was about The Enterprise being deceived by Krall (Idris Elba), a vicious enemy who gets his energy from sucking the life out of his victims. Long story short, Krall needs an artifact that's on The Enterprise ship, and Kirk and the crew have got to battle against him. The events of Star Trek Beyond effectively serve as a prequel to the 1960s series, so you can actually watch Star Trek: The Original Series after this.

The Star Trek Movies in Release Order:

Unlike other franchises or universes , the Star Trek movies in order of release date is actually exactly the same as the chronological order.

• Star Trek: The Motion Picture - December 6th, 1979
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - June 4th, 1982
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock - June 1st, 1984
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home - November 26th, 1986
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier - June 9th, 1989
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country - December 6th, 1991
• Star Trek: Generations - November 18th, 1994
• Star Trek: First Contact - November 22nd, 1996
• Star Trek: Insurrection - December 11th, 1998
• Star Trek: Nemesis - December 13th, 2002
• Star Trek - May 7th, 2009
• Star Trek Into Darkness - May 16th, 2013
• Star Trek Beyond - July 22nd, 2016

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How to watch the Star Trek movies and TV shows in order

When the USS Enterprise first brought audiences aboard in 1966, few imagined that Star Trek: The Original Series ( TOS ) would spawn a media empire half a century later — including both live-action and animated Star Trek series, as well as more than a dozen Star Trek movies.

Star Trek: Enterprise

Star trek: discovery, seasons 1 and 2, star trek: the original series, star trek: the animated series, the original six star trek movies, star trek: the next generation, seasons 1 to 5, tng, seasons 6 to 7 and star trek: deep space nine, seasons 1 to 2, ds9, season 3; star trek: voyager, season 1, and star trek: generations, ds9, seasons 4 to 5; voyager, seasons 2 to 3; and star trek: first contact, ds9, seasons 6 to 7; voyager, seasons 4 to 5; and star trek: insurrection, voyager, seasons 6 to 7, and star trek: nemesis, star trek: lower decks.

• The Kelvin Timeline — Star Trek (2009) to Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Star Trek: Picard

Star trek: discovery, season 3.

• What’s next for Trek?

As the Star Trek universe expands, so does its fictional timeline, and for fans who want to know exactly what happened and when, it’s getting a little difficult to navigate. That’s why we put together a guide to enjoying all of Star Trek’s canonical films and series in chronological order .

If you’re new to Star Trek, be warned: We’ll do our best to avoid spoilers, but for the sake of clarity, here and there, a tribble-sized reveal will have to make its way through the cracks.

While Star Trek: Enterprise proved to be the last of the Trek revival series (it ended in 2015 after four seasons) until Star Trek: Discovery ‘s premiere 12 years later, ironically, it’s your first stop on any franchise-wide binge. Beginning in 2151 — a little over a century before the events of TOS — Enterprise  has no United Federation of Planets, no Prime Directive, and no shields.

Considering how often time travel comes up in Star Trek, it shouldn’t be a surprise that while most of the events of  Enterprise  take place long before any other shows or films, there are a few exceptions. Some leftover Borg from 1996’s  Star Trek: First Contact  show up in season 2, a season 3 two-parter connects with TOS ‘ The Tholian Web  episode, and the series finale surprisingly crosses over with the Star Trek: The Next Generation  ( TNG ) season 7 episode The Pegasus .

Star Trek: Discovery ‘s premiere takes place a little over a century after the Enterprise  finale and roughly a decade before TOS . The United Federation of Planets has been formed, and Discovery  opens with its first destructive war with the Klingon Empire.

If you’re doing a franchise-wide binge, make sure to schedule TOS ‘s pilot episode The Cage  before season 2 of Discovery . It’s Captain Christopher Pike in the Enterprise’s captain’s chair in the pilot, played by the late Jeffrey Hunter. Anson Mount plays Pike in season 2 of Discovery , and the events of The Cage  are critical to the plot.

At the end of season 2,  Discovery  jumps ahead over 900 years into the future, so you should probably wait a bit before getting back to it.

Finally, the series that started it all with its iconic trio: The always pensive and logical Spock (Leonard Nimoy), the always complaining Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), and between them, the adventurous James T. Kirk (William Shatner).

It can be a little jarring to watch The Original Series  after Discovery . Not only is it weird to see a spaceship run on dials, buttons, and paper printouts after witnessing a ship like Discovery — where every panel looks like it was designed personally by Tony Stark —  but particularly in season 1, it’s clear TOS  hadn’t yet worked out everything about the Federation and Starfleet. For example, in one early episode, McCoy makes a joke implying that rather than being Earth’s allies, the Vulcans were conquered by humans.

While the original crew’s live-action adventures went on hold after  TOS ‘ final season, in 1973, almost the entire regular cast — save for Walter Koenig, who played Pavel Chekov in TOS — returned to voice their characters in Star Trek: The Animated Series ( TAS ). They were joined by a couple of new alien crew members who would’ve been nearly impossible to make work in a live-action series of the time.

Even though it originally aired as a Saturday morning cartoon, TAS  is impressively faithful to the canon. We see the return of recurring characters like Harry Mudd and Spock’s father, Sarek, and even minor details from  TOS  — such as a brief mention of Spock’s childhood pet — are faithfully reproduced in  TAS .

If you get this deep into the Trek-wide binge and are getting tired of TV episodes, this will be a nice break. Kirk, now an Admiral, muscles his way back into the Captain’s chair in 1979’s  Star Trek: The Motion Picture  and the timeline continues through Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , and ending with 1991’s Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country .

TNG ‘s first five seasons enjoy the single longest chronology of all the franchise’s shows to go uninterrupted by other series or films. While there were plenty of naysayers who never thought the series would last or live up to the original,  TNG  outlives  TOS  by four seasons, and its success would help make even more spin-offs viable.

For its final two seasons,  TNG  shares time with the first two seasons of  Star Trek: Deep Space Nine  ( DS9 ). Still traumatized by the death of his wife at the hands of the Borg, Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) takes command of a space station overlooking the newly liberated Bajor.

Make sure to not start DS9  until at least after watching TNG ‘s Rascals  episode — chronologically, it’s Chief Miles O’Brien’s (Colm Meaney) final episode of TNG  as a member of the ship’s crew, after which he jumps ship to become the Chief of Operations on  DS9 .

Deep Space 9 enjoys precious little time at the end of its second season and the beginning of its third as the only Star Trek  game in town. Early in its third season, it’s joined by the beginning of  Star Trek: Voyager, and in fact, part of Voyager ‘s premiere episode takes place on the DS9 space station guarding the Bajoran wormhole.

Originally tasked with capturing the rebellious Maquis, Voyager ‘s Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) soon finds herself and her crew thrown across the galaxy, and both Starfleet and Maquis have to work together to begin the long journey home.

About midway through  DS9 ‘s third season comes the first film to feature the  TNG  crew — 1994’s  Star Trek: Generations , which features the first and only meeting between Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and TOS ‘s Captain Kirk.

Season 4 of  DS9  opens with the fan-favorite episode The Way of the Warrior , with Michael Dorn joining the show’s regular cast as Worf — but don’t worry, they keep sneaking him onto the Enterprise for the movies anyway. Seasons 4 and 5 of DS9  run fairly concurrently with seasons 2 and 3 of Voyager . Early in season 5 of DS9, the Starfleet uniforms change to gray, and that change is reflected on the Enterprise in  TNG ‘s first motion picture, 1996’s Star Trek: First Contact , pitting the TNG crew against fan-favorite villains the Borg, set toward the end of  DS9 ‘s fifth season and  Voyager ‘s third.

With  Voyager ‘s fourth season comes the game-changing addition of Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine, while back in the Alpha Quadrant on DS9 , open war rages between the Federation and the tyrannical Dominion. The Dominion War lasts until the very end of the series, which unfolds around the same time as the end of  Voyager ‘s fifth season. In the meantime, the eighth Trek film, 1998’s Star Trek: Insurrection , takes place fairly early in DS9 ‘s final season.

For its final two seasons,  Voyager  gets to fly all on its own. The lost ship’s journey culminates in the two-part Endgame , with the heroes confronting the Borg while making a desperate attempt to get back home.

And in the final Trek film before J.J. Abrams steps in to create the so-called Kelvin Timeline stories, 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis  takes place about a year after the  Voyager  finale, and the film doesn’t forget about the show. One of  Voyager ‘s lead characters makes a cameo, and since the show ended, they’ve gotten enough pips on their collar to give Captain Picard orders.

In 2020,  Trek  fans were introduced to one of the most unique series in the franchise — the animated  Star Trek: Lower Decks . Partly inspired by the  TNG  final season episode Lower Decks , focusing on the usually anonymous crew members we see milling in the background aboard Starfleet ships and space stations, the series feels like Star Trek with a couple of dashes of  Rick & Morty . In spite of its goofiness,  Lower Decks  is canonical, and its first season begins in 2380 — one year after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis .

The Kelvin Timeline — Star Trek (2009) to Star Trek Beyond (2016)

The films of what’s come to be known as the Kelvin Timeline have an interesting, if confusing, place in Trek chronology.

Rather than acting as a prequel, as some thought it would, 2009’s Star Trek introduces a whole new timeline. In the prime timeline’s 24th century, the Romulan sun goes supernova. Romulus is destroyed, and both Spock and the Romulan mining ship Narada are sucked into a black hole and sent backward in time. Coming out the other side in the 23rd century, the Narada — captained by the vengeful Nero (Eric Bana) — destroys the Kelvin, creating a new timeline.

So, in one sense, the three Abrams-era films — Star Trek , 2013’s  Star Trek Into Darkness , and 2016’s  Star Trek Beyond  — come between the events of Lower Decks and those of  Star Trek: Picard , because that’s when the Romulan sun goes boom. But in another sense, they run partly concurrent to the events of  Discovery ‘s first two seasons and between those seasons and TOS . We’re putting it here because, all things considered, it’s the less confusing option.

We can only imagine where (and when) the events of subsequent seasons will take Captain Picard and his new friends, but the first seasons of  Star Trek : Picard  are set at the end of the 24th century, in 2399. Since we last saw him in Star Trek: Nemesis , Picard’s been promoted to admiral, led an ultimately abandoned evacuation of Romulus, and left Starfleet in protest. In spite of the time that’s passed, the series’ opening episode makes it clear Picard is still not over a tragic loss he suffers in the final  TNG -era film.

While  Discovery  begins as a prequel series, in its third season, it becomes something different. At the end of season 2, the heroes jump forward over 900 years into the future, and the galaxy is a changed place.

A little over a century before the events of  Discovery season 3, a cataclysmic event known as The Burn destroys almost all the dilithium in the galaxy, killing untold numbers of space-bound people and making warp technology almost useless. As a result, while the Federation still exists, it’s fractured, with its number of member planets shrinking from around 350 to 38.

Among the major historical events to have occurred between the 24th and 32nd centuries, we learn that at one point, Spock’s dream of reuniting the Vulcan and Romulan people has become a reality, with both races giving Vulcan the new name of Ni’Var. There was also a series of conflicts known as the Temporal Wars, whose events led to such destruction that all forms of time travel have been banned within the Federation.

What’s next for Trek?

Along with future seasons of  Discovery ,  Picard , and  Lower Decks  on their way — not to mention the possibility of future films — the timeline of Star Trek is always changing. While there’s no firm release date,  Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is expected to release sometime in 2022. Anson Mount will reprise the role of Christopher Pike from season 2 of Discovery , and along with brand new characters, he will be joined by Ethan Peck as Spock and Rebecca Romijn as Number One. The series promises to take place between the events of  Discovery ‘s second season and  TOS , as well as reportedly giving fans a more episodic format reminiscent of Trek’s earliest series . 

Timeline-wise, as far as some of the upcoming Trek series are concerned, there are a couple of unknowns. First, there’s the animated kids’ series, Star Trek: Prodigy , in which a group of alien teens commandeers a derelict Starfleet ship. According to TrekMovie ‘s April 2021 report, Prodigy ‘s first season begins in 2383, placing it between Lower Decks and Picard , assuming Lower Decks — which begins in 2380 — doesn’t go past 2383. If it does, then eventually, the two timelines will intermingle.

Likewise, there’s  Star Trek: Section 31 , which is still in development. Michelle Yeoh will reportedly lead the series in her role as the Mirror Universe version of Philippa Georgiou, and Shazad Latif is also believed to be returning as Ash Tyler. Our best guess is that Section 31 ‘s timeline will intermingle with that of  Strange New Worlds , but it’s too early to tell. While she initially joins the Discovery crew in the 32nd century, Georgiou is sent back to an undisclosed point in time in season 3’s episode Terra Firma, Part 2 .

We know the Star Trek timeline keeps getting more complex — not only because new properties keep getting added, but because the franchise’s heroes use time travel almost as often as they do phasers. But don’t worry. As Trek keeps trekkin’, we’ll keep updating our timeline guide.

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As the summer scorcher continues, there's never been a better time to sit inside, enjoy the AC, and watch some great movies. But some movies just hit differently during the warmer summer months. Most of us are looking for fun and excitement, thrill and action. It's not exactly the season for slow-burn thrillers or gut-punch dramas.

Instead, summer is the time to celebrate big box office blockbusters, effects-heavy crowd-pleasers, and feel-good favorites. Netflix, being the powerhouse streamer that is, luckily has tons of great movies to watch during the summer, including a huge selection of sci-fi hits. Check out these five fantastic sci-fi movies that are perfect for summer, all streaming right now on Netflix. Godzilla Minus One (2023)

While the year is only half over, 2024 has already been great for science-fiction movies. Films from Marvel (Deadpool & Wolverine) and DC (The Batman 2) have yet to grace the silver screens, but other franchises have taken the opportunity to win over audiences and stake their claim in theaters worldwide.

As we venture deeper into the second half of 2024, these five sci-fi films have stood apart from the pack and emerged as the best the genre has to offer so far in 2024. 5. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

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So with the free time they have for the Fourth of July, audiences should sit down and stream these five films, which make up the best sci-fi films that Netflix has to offer.

Every Star Trek Show And Movie In Chronological Order

As a media phenomenon, "Star Trek" began on September 8, 1966 with the airing of "The Man Trap" (the sixth episode in production order, but the first aired). Originally, the show's writers, including creator Gene Roddenberry, used the concept of "stardates" to ensure the show's actual timeline was left vague; for several episodes, all audiences knew was that "Trek" was set in the future and that the future was a pretty keen place. It wouldn't be until the episode "The Naked Time" (seventh episode produced, fourth aired, first aired on September 29, 1966) that the Gregorian year would be mentioned out loud, and an actual timeline could begin to be constructed. 

Since then, "Star Trek" has extrapolated an extensive, centuries long timeline of events, often skipping merrily back and forth through the centuries, adding more and more to the franchises complex chronology. The chronology of "Star Trek" is so complicated that entire books have been published tracking the various shows' and films' events. Because of the constant production of new "Star Trek," these books became dated immediately. 

" Star Trek: Strange New Worlds " is set to debut on Paramount+ on May 5, and it is set immediately before the events of the original "Star Trek," making it the third "prequel" series to the original. To keep matters as clear as possible, here is a (very brief, by the standards of "Trek") rundown of "Star Trek" chronology from within its own canon. 

NOTE : This list will not necessarily include single episodes wherein characters go back in time, but give an overall timeframe for each individual film and TV show.

1986: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Although beginning and ending within the proper chronology of the "Star Trek" future, Leonard Nimoy's 1986 feature film " Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home " is set largely in the earliest point in the franchise's timeline (again, excluding single time travel episodes of any given TV series, wherein Mark Twain, the 1950s, and other eras are regularly visited). In the film, the crew of the Enterprise must go back in time to rescue a pair of humpback whales from extinction in order to appease an enormous, inscrutable space monolith that has been draining future Earth of its oceans, looking for its own kind. 

The bulk of "Voyage Home" takes place in 1986, and the film gained a lot of critical and audience attention for its fish-out-of-water humor and light tone; the previous three films had been comparatively dour, downbeat, or cerebral.

2024: Star Trek: Picard (Season 2)

As of this writing, the second season of "Star Trek: Picard" is still being released weekly on Paramount+, so the ultimate conclusion of the story is as yet unknown. 

What is known is that the trickster god Q (John De Lancie), a playful villain from "Star Trek: The Next Generation," visited an elderly Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) to warn him of a parallel universe. In this parallel universe, Earth is a genocidal conqueror race that has wiped out most life in the galaxy. Picard must travel back in time, paralleling the story of "Voyage Home" in order to stop the fascist timeline from starting. Thanks to the limited information they have, they travel to the year 2024, and the bulk of the season's action takes place there. 

A bit of a continuity error already: In previously mentioned "Trek" canon, the Eugenics Wars — the conflagration that wrought Khan from "Star Trek II" — should have already happened by 2024 (I believe the original date for the Eugenics Wars was 1997), but, in "Picard," they had clearly been delayed. One of the subplots of the second season of "Picard,' however, involves a malevolent genetic engineer, so it looks like the Eugenics Wars may finally be nigh.

2063: Star Trek: First Contact

Although never directly filmed, there are constant references throughout "Star Trek" to World War III, an event that left the entire planet devastated. Despite destitution and technological ruin, an inventor named Zefram Cochran managed to invent an engine that allowed humanity to travel faster than light. This technology, when being tested for the first time in the solar system, attracted the attention of some Vulcans who just happened to be passing by. This was the First Contact mentioned in the title of the 1996 film " Star Trek: First Contact ." 

In that film, the characters from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" travel back in time to foil a plot by a malevolent species of cyborgs called The Borg, and find themselves in the year A.D. 2063 where they could witness First Contact themselves. This was the event that essentially kicked off creator Gene Roddenberry's vision of a peaceful future. In meeting intelligent space aliens, a hobbled humanity learned that war was churlish, and that unity as a species was preferable in the face of a suddenly occupied cosmos. 

"First Contact" is essentially the "Star Trek" origin story.

2151 - 2155: Star Trek: Enterprise

After first talking to Vulcans, humans were eager to take to the stars and join the galactic community. The conceit of the 2001 TV series " Star Trek: Enterpris e" (originally just called "Enterprise") was that the Vulcans, seeing how illogical and roughhewn humanity still was, encouraged them to stay on Earth for nearly a century before actually taking to the stars. In that century, humanity rebuilt, formed a Starfleet, and constructed its very first long-mission starship, the U.S.S. Enterprise NX-01. The show is about the adventures of the very first humans in space, circa A.D. 2151.

"Enterprise" took place before a lot of established "Trek" tech had been invented. There were transporters, but they weren't entirely safe for use on humans. There were no shields around the ship. There were no food replicators, and the Enterprise required a galley. Most notably, there wasn't a Prime Directive yet, so a lot of mistakes are bound to be made. It wouldn't be until 2161 — according to ancillary revelations — that the Federation would be formed. 

2254: The Cage

The unused "Star Trek" pilot has probably gained more canonical traction than any other unused footage from any other work of filmed fiction. "The Cage" didn't air in its complete form until 1986, 20 years after its making. Previously, footage from "The Cage" was incorporated into a two-part "Star Trek" episode called "The Menagerie" (November of 1966). 

In the pilot, we first meet Capt. Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) and his ship the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701. We were first introduced to Spock as well, although Spock would be the only character carried over into the second pilot that was eventually used. Majel Barrett played the Enterprise's first officer in "The Cage," and she would go on to play multiple other roles throughout "Star Trek," including Nurse Chapel, M'Ress, Lwaxana Troi, and the voice of the ship's computer. 

The events of "The Cage" would also be revisited in the second season of "Star Trek: Discovery."

2256 - 2258: Star Trek: Discovery (seasons 1 and 2)

Another cataclysm that had been mentioned multiple times throughout "Star Trek" was a war between the Klingons and the Federation. The first season of "Star Trek: Discovery," which debuted on CBS All Access (now Paramount+) in November of 2017, dramatized those events explicitly, as seen through the eyes of the U.S.S. Discovery. This new ship was a science vessel that had figured out a way to tap into a galaxy-wide network of near-undetectable, microscopic spores into order to teleport anywhere in the galaxy instantaneously. 

After surviving the Klingon war, the Discovery teamed up with the U.S.S. Enterprise while it was still being captained by Christopher Pike (now played by Anson Mount), putting the events of "Discovery" immediately after the original pilot. There were a lot — and I mean a LOT — of narrative excuses as to why the high-tech Discovery (realized with late-2010s special effects) didn't match the boxier, monochromatic world of "The Cage." 

The show's writers also needed to come up with an organic reason why a ship that can teleport — a technology that would have fundamentally changed the world of "Star Trek" — was never mentioned in any of the "Trek" shows made from 1966 until 2017. As such, at the end of the second season of "Discovery," the ship was thrown almost 1,000 years into the future in order to outrun an insidious computer intelligence that would spread throughout the galaxy if knowledge of it was passed around. As such, the Discovery more or less deleted itself from existence. As panicked, narrative ass-saving measures go, it's a 7.

2258: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

The appearance of Capt. Pike on "Discovery" was so well-received that Paramount+ elected to go back to the Enterprise, bring back the characters from "The Cage," lump in a few familiar faces from the 1966 "Star Trek," and make " Strange New Worlds ," a series that takes place only eight years prior to the events of the original TV series. 

"Strange New Worlds" brings back Anson Mount as Pike, as well as a young Spock, a very young Uhura, a young Nurse Chapel, one of Khan's ancestors, and Dr. M'Benga, who showed up in a few episodes if the 1966 show. It also, notably, will not have season-long story arcs, but a single-hour episodic structure, standing in contrast with most of the other Paramount+-era "Star Treks," with "Lower Decks" being the proud exception.

2258 (KELVIN): Star Trek (2009)

Thanks to "Star Trek," the notion of parallel universes is quite well-known to the public. Incidentally, it's been quite odd watching the films and TV shows in the Marvel universe slow-walk the notion of a multiverse over the course of multiple installments when we've already seen Spock with a goatee. 

Thanks to complicated studio politics, there was a split in Paramount in the mid-2000s, and the Paramount side of the schism — when wanting to make a new "Star Trek" feature film — was legally required to make something distinguishable from the TV shows. Enter J.J. Abrams and his 2009 feature film " Star Trek " which takes place at the same time as "Strange New Worlds," but in a parallel universe where the characters from the 1966 show now look like a new cast, the Enterprise looks brighter and sleeker, and everything is more intense and action-packed. 

This new timeline would be created when a villain went back in time interfered with James T. Kirk right when he was born.

2259 (KELVIN): Star Trek Into Darkness

Although taking place far before the events of 1982's "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," J.J. Abrams' " Star Trek Into Darkness " (2013) drew a lot of story parallels to the Nicholas Meyer film. Taking place almost immediately after the 2009 film, "Into Darkness" involved the character of Khan who, in the timeline of the 1966 series, wouldn't be resurrected from cryogenic sleep for a few years hence. In "Into Darkness," he was awakened early, became involved in a plot to smuggle other cryogenically frozen compatriots. 

Originally, the Eugenics Wars were meant to have started in the 1990s, but — as "Star Trek" persisted, and the '90s came and went in the real world — that timeline had to be altered several times. The timeline of the Eugenics Wars in "Into Darkness" are a little unclear. As we saw above in "Star Trek: Picard," we know that they'll now take place sometime after 2024.

2263 (KELVIN): Star Trek Beyond

In Justin Lin's " Star Trek Beyond " (2016), Kirk (Chris Pine) laments that his adventures have already become episodic. It's unusual that the 2009 film and the 2013 sequel are essentially origin stories about the young Kirk coming into his own, and "Beyond" skips ahead to the point where he's already tired of being on "Star Trek." We missed the actual "five year mission" part!

Another interesting wrinkle in "Beyond" is that it alludes to a time somewhere after "Star Trek: Enterprise": The evil Kroll (Idris Elba) was, in fact, a human captain named Edison who led his own starship in the "Enterprise" era. Before the film, he was mutated into an evil alien. "Beyond," in explicitly mentioning the Xindi wars and other events from "Enterprise," anchors the Kelvin films a little more solidly into the "Trek" timeline.

2265 - 2269: Star Trek

After "The Cage" was abandoned by Paramount, the studio and Gene Roddenberry reworked the show into the 1966 program we all know and love. As mentioned, Spock was the only character carried over from the original pilot, and "Star Trek" now featured William Shatner as Captain Kirk and a host of new characters besides. "Star Trek" began as a horror show — there are many monsters and scare moments in the first season — eventually tackling ethical issues in a sci-fi fantasy context. 

"Star Trek" ran for three seasons, ending its initial run on June 3, 1969. Thanks to the gods of syndication, "Star Trek" would remain in reruns for the following decade, building up interest, spawning Trek conventions, and allowing the show to grow into a full-blown cultural phenomenon.

2269 - 2270: Star Trek: The Animated Series

In the opening credits of " Star Trek ," Shatner brazenly informed the audiences that the U.S.S. Enterprise was on a five-year mission. Given that the show was canned after only three years, there was more mission left to witness. In 1973, Roddenberry teamed up with Filmation to make an animated "Star Trek" series that would, by dint of its two seasons, ostensibly complete the five-year mission. Chekov (Walter Koenig) was absent from this show, but other unusual aliens took his place, including a cat woman named M'Ress and Mr. Aryx, a being with three arms. The animated format allowed for wilder ideas, aliens, and ships to be employed, and there are stories featuring flying serpents, aliens made of plants, an undersea episode, and a story with a 50-foot Spock. 

This 1973 version of "Star Trek," in only running 30 minutes per episode, cut out a lot of extraneous character moments from the traditional "Trek" structure, and got straight to the story. It's a far more efficient show than the 1966 program, and it has a passionate following of fans. 

2273: Star Trek: The Motion Picture

The decade of syndication, "Trek" conventions, and the financial success of George Lucas' sci-fi serial epic " Star Wars " in 1977 led Paramount to start thinking about restarting "Star Trek" on TV. A project was put into production that was to be called "Star Trek Phase II," and would have reunited several familiar "Trek" characters as well as introduce some new ones. For various reasons, "Phase II" was abandoned and elements of it were transformed into what would become the 1979 theatrical release " Star Trek: The Motion Picture ."

If all you had prior to "The Motion Picture" was a failed, low-budget TV show and a little-regarded animated series, this movie would feel grand in ways that you couldn't previously imagine. A lot of time was devoted to the size of the Enterprise, the importance of the characters, and mind-bending notions about the unending vastness of the cosmos. Here was a "Star Trek" film that is often compared to 1968's "2001: A Space Odyssey." Good gracious was it enormous. 

"The Motion Picture" was successful enough to warrant a sequel, but not so successful that Roddenberry was welcomed back. Remember that detail when we get to "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

2285: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

2285 was a significant year. In the events of Nicholas Meyer's "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" (1982), a thawed out Khan — the version played by Ricardo Montalbán from the 1967 "Star Trek" episode "The Space Seed," not the version played by Benedict Cumberbatch in "Star Trek Into Darkness" — hijacked a starship called the U.S.S. Reliant and set out on a mission of revenge against Admiral Kirk. The good admiral, we find, had forgotten about a lot of irresponsible actions taken in his past and had to face them head on just as he was looking down the barrel of old age. "Star Trek II" didn't end well for Kirk or for Spock. In that film, Spock famously dies. 

Not wasting any time, however, Kirk and co. sprang back into action in Leonard Nimoy's " Star Trek III: The Search for Spock " (1984), which picks up immediately after "Khan" ended. Thanks to the fineries of Vulcan psychic powers, and a high tech radiation wave that can generate life out of nothing, Spock could potentially be resurrected, and Kirk hijacks the Enterprise in order to help a friend. In so doing, Kirk destroys the ship, rouses the ire of some Klingons, loses his son (killed by said Klingons), and possibly destroys his career in Starfleet. Oops. 

Perhaps one of the reasons "Star Trek IV" (which began in 2286) was so popular was that it was the first "Trek" film to end on a wholly positive note. 

2287: Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Often cited as the worst of the "Trek" movies, William Shatner's "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" (1989) starts with a promising concept, but was undone by a bad script hastily written during a strike, and a repeatedly cut FX budget. The film ultimately feels flimsy and ill-considered, not able to truly confront the interesting ideas it brings up. Shatner has apologized for the poor quality of his film, which was fraught with production troubles.

In "Frontier," a newly-built Enterprise is hijacked by Spock's half-brother Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill), who is leading a cult of brainwashed followers, freed from pain by their leader's psychic powers. He seeks a mysterious planet at the center of the galaxy where he believes God physically lives. The final frontier of the title is not space, but the soul, religion, or spirituality. Many "Trek" purists will point out that seeking the center of the galaxy, and finding a deity there, is similar to an Animated Series episode called "The Magicks of Megas-Tu," wherein Kirk found the planet at the center of the galaxy is actually home to Satan. 

Note : "The Magicks of Megas-Tu" is far better than "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier."

2293: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Made after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Nicholas Meyer's " Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country " (1991) was very clearly a metaphor for the end of the Cold War. In it, the Klingon Empire is crippled by the accidental explosion of one of their moons, leaving the entire government requiring Federation help. "Country" is about how difficult it is to give up being enemies, especially when so much of one's identity is tied in with hate. There's an assassination, a investigation, a trial, a prison break ... It's one of the best "Trek" movies. 

One might glean from the title of the previous film in the series that the entire Kirk era was meant to end with "The Final Frontier." One might also glean that the poor reception and bad box office of "Final Frontier" led to one last go 'round. Fans may be relieved that the final feature film in the Kirk era was actually, y'know, a good one.

2364 - 2370: Star Trek: The Next Generation

Throughout the 1970s, Gene Roddenberry made tours on the convention circuit, talking about his vision for "Star Trek," and interacting with fans who were inspired by the peace, diplomacy, and calm that "Star Trek" has written into its DNA. Looking back over the 1966 show, notions of optimism and diplomacy are present, but they are mixed in with a lot of violence, sexism, and other now-backward ideas. After Roddenberry was essentially barred from involvement on the "Star Trek" feature films, he decided to make a purer, better version of his old show, set another 80 years in the future, and even more devoted to intelligence and diplomacy than ever before. Hence, 1987's " Star Trek: The Next Generation ." 

Taking place on a new ship, the Enterprise NCC-1701-D, and featuring an all new cast, the update of "Star Trek" started a little clumsily, but eventually found its stride to become the best "Star Trek" has offered to date. The tech was more convincing than it ever was, and it featured professional, adult characters who deal with crises with stiff upper lips. More so, it more frequently addressed questions about the meaning of life that humanity will always, it seems, wrestle with.

"Next Generation" last for seven full seasons, and its characters ended up occupying just as large a place in the pop consciousness as the characters from the 1966 TV series. 

Yes, "Next Generation" went back in time several times.

In terms of chronology, "Next Generation" overlapped with...

2369 - 2375: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

" Deep Space Nine " (1993 – 1999) was an unusual animal in many ways. It was the first time two "Star Trek" shows would run concurrently, and would take place over the same time frame (Picard from "Next Generation" appeared in the show's pilot). It was not about trekking at all, as it took place aboard a space station. It was also not set in the world of the Federation, often revolving alien species who were not offered protection from the organization. It was a show of healing and animosity. Of war and death. It started with an ensemble of seven or eight people, and eventually expanded to include about 30 main characters. "Deep Space Nine" is "Star Trek" via a Russian historical novel. 

When taken as a unit, "Next Generation" and "Deep Space Nine," both excellent in their own rights, become a complementary mass that is greater than their sum. The strength of diplomacy vs. its breakdown. The avoidance of war vs. the involvement in it. The absence of fascism vs. its inevitable regrowth. 

Yes, "Deep Space Nine" went back in time several times. 

"Deep Space Nine's" chronology would overlap with "Star Trek: Voyager," as well as with...

2371: Star Trek: Generations

The 1994 feature film " Star Trek: Generations " was a strange excursion. Although "Next Generation" had already run for seven years, "Generations" was still insistent on "passing the torch" from Kirk to Picard, and it bent over backwards to create the means by which Kirk and Picard, separated by 87 years of history, could meet face-to-face. It was the fan crossover no Trekkie wanted. As such, "Generations" is a flimsy affair, speeding through a ridiculous plot about a mobile temporal nexus that serves as Heaven for the people it scoops up along its path. 

Trekkies were even-headed enough to realize that Kirk and Picard weren't meant to meet, and that "Next Generation" was its own entity. The decision to aggressively tie the two shows even more closely together was just baffling. 

Notable too: The Enterprise-D was destroyed in "Generations," and would be replaced by a big ol' ugly thing for three additional feature films.

2371 - 2378: Star Trek: Voyager

" Star Trek: Voyager " debuted in 1995 and ran concurrently with "Deep Space Nine" both on television and within the chronology of "Star Trek." To cleverly avoid any interference between the two shows, however — "Deep Space Nine" would eventually become embroiled in a galaxy-spanning war — "Voyager" was given a "Lost in Space"-style premise wherein the title ship was thrown all the way across the galaxy to a portion of space that has never been explored by Starfleet, and could otherwise only be reached by 70 years of space travel. 

While the premise would perhaps lead a viewer to believe that "Voyager" was going to be about resource allocation and survival, it quickly became more about the Borg, a character played by actress Jeri Ryan, and Captain Janeway's (Kate Mulgrew) steady slide into autocracy. 

"Voyager" struggled with ratings for years, but still managed to last seven seasons like "Next Gen" and "Deep Space" before it. The final episode of "Voyager," a time travel story called " Endgame ," would air in March of 2001.

2375: Star Trek: Insurrection

While "Voyager" and "Deep Space Nine" were running concurrently on television, the "Next Generation" crew were yukking it up in the overwhelmingly mediocre 1998 Jonathan Frakes film " Star Trek: Insurrection ." Like "The Final Frontier," "Insurrection" can be seen straining against the limits of its budget, with bad CGI, bland costumes, and locations clearly found in the California mountains. The cheapness of "Star Trek" has often served as a boon for its story, forcing writers to insert interesting and challenging ideas into their plywood sets. "Insurrection" has no such ideas, asking the ethical question of forced relocation, but never feeling threatening, and offering a magical curative radiation that would require study and collection. 

Although one can admit this: "Insurrection" captures the tone of the "Next Generation" TV series far better than any of the other movies in this part of the series. It's a pity, though, that after the grand finale of "Next Generation," we find ourselves with suck lackluster films. 

Speaking of lackluster films ...

2379: Star Trek: Nemesis

Released in 2002, Stuart Baird's " Star Trek: Nemesis " was poised to be the final gasp for "Star Trek." "Enterprise" was already taking the franchise in a new direction, and the "NextGen" cast was clearly too tired to handle a continued barrage of poorly planned action movies, and thrillers that didn't resemble the show they were inspired by. "Nemesis" is dark and action-packed and violent and takes a lot of structural cues from "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." 

In it, Tom Hardy plays a character named Shinzon who is, in fact, a clone of Captain Picard, grown in a Romulan lab, and eventually discarded into a Romulan mine. Shinzon escaped the mine, built an army, and is poised to take a giant death ship into Federation space to revenge all over people. "Nemesis" is also the film in which Data (Brent Spiner) dies, and Captain Picard drives a dune buggy. 

The sentiment of the time was reminiscent of T.S. Eliot's " The Hollow Men ." This is the way "Next Gen" ends. Not with a bang, but a whimper.

Worry not. There will be further whimpers for the NextGen crew.

2380 - ?: Star Trek: Lower Decks

Named after a seventh season episode of "Next Generation," and taking place in line with the end of "Nemesis" and "Voyager," " Star Trek: Lower Decks " debuted on Paramount+ in 2020 as part of a slew of "Star Trek"-related indicia that the company was desperate to exploit. And while the all-your-eggs-in-one basket approach to TV production affected by Paramount led to stinkers like "Discovery" and "Picard," it did lead to this surprisingly good animated program. 

One of the more appealing aspects of "Star Trek" is that it's essentially a series of workplace shows. The characters are typically vocation-forward, and take their duty to their ship very seriously. Where a "Star Trek" character works speaks powerfully to who they are. "Lower Decks" follows the people who have the worst possible jobs on a Starfleet vessel, often tasked with cleaning holodecks, sanitizing floors, and arranging widgets for the senior staff. It's rough going for ensigns. They sleep in the hallway and are typically not deemed important enough to include on more exciting missions. What's more, the central ship on "Lower Decks" is a tiny, crappy ship with substandard tech. Surely such jobs would exist in "Star Trek." 

"Lower Decks" is eager to make "Trek" references, and is clearly made by people who understand "Trek's" ethos, but who still have a raunchy sense of humor. The future is here. And it's still crappy for those on the bottom. 

2383: Star Trek: Prodigy

Produced under the auspices of Nickelodeon, " Star Trek: Prodigy " (2021) was the first Trek series to be made explicitly with a younger audience in mind. The series follows a ragtag group of alien youths as they flee a prison mine and discover an abandoned Starfleet vessel called the U.S.S. Protostar. On board is an instructional hologram of Captain Janeway from "Voyager," and she teaches the kids how to behave like Starfleet officers, the importance of duty and compassion, and how their trauma does not define them. The design and the creatures are more reminiscent of "Star Wars" than "Star Trek" (the series features an evil emperor and his powerful masked servant, invoking the Emperor and Darth Vader), but it certainly functions as a generic space adventure. The "Star Trek" stuff is mere window dressing. 

It's almost disappointing to include "Prodigy" on this timeline, as one of the show's central mysteries — at least for the first part of its first season, the only part to have aired as of this writing — is when and where it takes place. It was possible that "Prodigy" took place centuries or even millennia beyond the known Trek universe. The last we saw, however, the real Captain Janeway is still alive, giving "Prodigy" a known place in Trek chronology. 

2399: Star Trek: Picard (Season 1)

After nearly 20 years of a world without Picard, Paramount+ convinced Patrick Stewart to reprise his role in a new show named for him. " Star Trek: Picard " debuted on Paramount+ in 2020, taking place further in the future than any other Trek show to date. In the timeline of "Picard," the Federation had become soured by xenophobia and openly discouraged the evacuation of Romulus, historically an enemy world, but now in dire straits after their sun went supernova (something something J.J. Abrams). Picard had left Starfleet in disgust, and had now retired to his winery. 

The story of the first season is too convoluted to get into here, needless to say it involved a Romulan secret society, a planet of androids, a reclaimed Borg cube, and a robot Cthulhu. I'm not kidding. 

It's a pity that "Picard" did not roll with its future setting more, establishing new tech or positive sea changes in the "Trek" universe. Instead, everything is devoted to a chewy, awful story about androids. Indeed, by the end, Picard himself would have his consciousness shunted into an android body. What a snore.

3188 - 3190: Star Trek: Discovery (Seasons 3 and 4)

When last we saw the U.S.S. Discovery, it was being pulled through a time hole into the distant future. In the third and fourth seasons , Discovery's crew learns that they are stranded 930 years from home, and now must rediscover their function as Starfleet officers after the Federation went into hiding. A galaxy-wide disaster — The Burn — spontaneously destroyed millions of starships, and a fierce new criminal enterprise, The Emerald Syndicate, now rules the galaxy.

The 23rd-century ship now has to learn how to use 32nd-century technology. The Discovery was redesigned, and the new mission became to spread diplomacy in a galaxy unready for it. This is the premise, it seems, that Discovery should have started with two years prior. The writing is still rather weak, and the characters are callow and weepy, but "Discovery" does excel in one notable way: Queer representation. Seven of the main cast members are openly queer. After 55 years of a dodgy relationship with queerness, "Discovery" finally nailed it.

I just wish it were a better show.

How to watch Star Trek in order

Whether you're wanting to check out the Original Series or Discovery, figuring out how to watch Star Trek in order is a breeze with this easy guide!

Is it just us or is figuring out how to watch Star Trek in order getting more and more complex with each passing year? The prospect of watching Star Trek in order would be daunting for even the most decorated of starship captains with multiple series being brought to life on both the big and small screens. But fear not Trekkies - we've got you covered!

If you've ever tried to watch the Marvel movies in order , you'd be forgiven for thinking that was the most complicated franchise on the planet, but we kid you not - it has nothing on Star Trek. The 55-year-old sci-fi franchise includes nine (soon to be 11) TV shows and 13 movies and it spans 1000 years, making for one super complicated and vast timeline.

So, what is the best way to watch Star Trek in order? Well, that depends. For you purists out there, you might like to opt for viewing this franchise by release date, just like all the original Trekkie fans did back in the day. This will allow you to follow along as they did and get a similar experience. While the timeline does jump around, ( Star Trek: Discovery , for example, is set at the end of the 32nd century but was released before Star Trek: Picard , which is set in the 24th century), it gives you a more complete picture. 

Because the Star Trek franchise involves movies and TV series that take place at different times, another option is to watch everything in chronological order. This means you get to start with something a little bit more modern, but the one problem with this is that references will often be made to films you've not yet seen, which could make certain elements difficult to follow. 

To be honest, just like we recommend in our guide to how to watch the Star Wars movies in order , it really is a matter of personal preference. As long as you have one of the best TVs , you'll find you enjoy this franchise no matter what order you decide to watch it in.

So, without further ado, here's how to watch Star Trek in order - based on release date and in-universe continuity...

Star Trek TV shows and movies in chronological order

This is probably the list you're looking for if you're trying to figure out how to watch Star Trek in order. It's where things get really interesting, as Star Trek movies and TV shows have a habit of jumping around the franchise's chronology with sequels, prequels and bits in between. There are even two distinct timelines – but don't worry, we'll explain all that.

The original ‘Prime’ timeline was started by the Original Series, the Next Generation-era TV shows, and the first ten movies, The alternative ‘Kelvin’ timeline, meanwhile, was created in JJ Abrams’ first Star Trek (2009) to allow the familiar Enterprise crew of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Sulu, Uhura and Chekov to have new adventures without contradicting canon . To avoid confusion, we've defined the two timelines as separate entities below.

This list doesn't, however, include all of the brief Short Treks – short stories which are mostly set around the Star Trek: Discovery era – and adventures where Starfleet crews time-travelled to the eras before any of the shows/movies are set (eg visits to 1986 in The Voyage Home and 2063 in First Contact). We've also left out upcoming Discovery spin-off Star Trek: Section 31 , since it's not yet in production. (Also, we're not entirely sure exactly when it'll be set.)

Let's start with everything in one big list. 

• Star Trek: Enterprise (seasons 1-4)
• ‘The Cage’
• Star Trek: Discovery (seasons 1-2)
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
• Star Trek: The Original Series  (seasons 1-3)
• Star Trek: The Animated Series 
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture 
• Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan 
• Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock 
• Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home 
• Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier 
• Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country 
• Star Trek: Generations (opening sequence)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation (seasons 1-5)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation (seasons 6-7), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (seasons 1-2)
• Star Trek: Generations
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (seasons 3-4), Star Trek: Voyager (seasons 1-2)
• Star Trek: First Contact 
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (seasons 5-6), Star Trek: Voyager (seasons 3-4)
• Star Trek: Insurrection 
• S tar Trek: Deep Space Nine (season 7), Star Trek: Voyager (season 5)
• Star Trek: Voyager (seasons 6-7)
• Star Trek: Nemesis 
• Star Trek: Lower Decks
• Star Trek: Prodigy
• Star Trek (2009) – Prime timeline sequences
• Star Trek: Picard
• Star Trek: Discovery (season 3-)
• Short Treks: 'Calypso'

If you watch in the order given above, you'll get a continuous ‘history’ of the 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 32nd centuries according to the Star Trek timeline. That said, you will notice some odd discrepancies – thanks to the time in which respective shows were made, the technology in prequel show Star Trek: Discovery is significantly more advanced than what Kirk and Spock used in the Original Series.

Below, we'll explain how the different eras of the shows and movies break down for context. 

Note that Gene Roddenberry's original pre-Kirk Star Trek pilot, 'The Cage', is counted as an instalment of the Original Series. You'll usually find it listed as a bonus episode as part of season one when you're watching it on streaming services.

Star Trek: Enterprise era (22nd century) Begins and ends with: Star Trek Enterprise seasons 1-4

About a century before James T Kirk and his crew embark on their famous five-year mission in Star Trek: The Original Series, Captain Jonathan Archer leads Earth's first steps into the wider universe.

Star Trek: The Original Series era (23rd century) Begins with: 'The Cage' Ends with: Star Trek: Generations (opening sequence)

For many this is the most familiar era of Star Trek, since it involves Kirk, Spock and the classic Enterprise crew.  

This section of the Trek timeline kicks off with the original unaired Star Trek pilot, 'The Cage' . Next up in franchise chronology are the first two seasons of Star Trek: Discovery , which work as a prequel to the Original Series (they even feature a younger version of Spock), but it's all change in season 3 – the events of the season 2 finale send the crew into the distant future of the 32nd century. More on that later...

Upcoming spin-off Strange New Worlds will follow the adventures of Captain Pike, Number One and Spock on the Enterprise after the USS Discovery travelled to the future. And at some point after that, Captain James T Kirk will take command of Starfleet's most famous ship – a role he filled throughout The Original Series , The Animated Series and the first six Star Trek movies ( Star Trek: The Motion Picture , The Wrath of Khan , The Search for Spock , The Voyage Home , The Final Frontier and The Undiscovered Country ).

The latest point we've seen (so far) in the 23rd century era is James T Kirk being taken away by the Nexus ribbon in the prologue of Star Trek: Generations . This is the event that allows Kirk to meet Picard when the Next Generation crew take on the mantle of headlining the big screen franchise.

Star Trek: The Next Generation era (24th century) Begins with: Star Trek: The Next Generation Ends with: Star Trek (2009) – Prime timeline sequences

The richest, most complicated period in Star Trek chronology. During The Next Generation era, Star Trek was experimenting with the idea of a shared universe years before Marvel got in on the act, with three TV shows (TNG, Deep Space Nine and Voyager ) and four movies ( Generations , First Contact , Insurrection and Nemesis ) interweaving through the same timeline – Voyager's Captain Kathryn Janeway even shows up in Star Trek: Nemesis as a newly promoted admiral.

New animated comedy spin-off Lower Decks is set a year after Picard and the Next Generation crew's final mission in Star Trek: Nemesis, while Nickelodeon kids' cartoon Star Trek: Prodigy will see Kate Mulgrew reprising her role as Voyager's captain, Kathryn Janeway. That suggests it will presumably be set at a similar point in the Star Trek timeline.

In JJ Abrams' first Star Trek movie (2009), the destruction of Romulus and Spock Prime's accidental trip back to the pre-Original Series era (in the Kelvin timeline) also take place after the events of Nemesis.

In the list above, we've shown how the movies (roughly) fit into the chronology of The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager. 

Picard era (turn of the 25th century) Begins with: Picard Ends with: ???

Aside from glimpses of the destruction of Romulus in JJ Abrams’ Star Trek (2009), Star Trek: Picard gives us our first post-Star Trek: Nemesis look at what the United Federation of Planets has become. 

Since we last saw Jean-Luc Picard, he's retired to his vineyard in France, an android uprising on Mars has led to a ban on all synthetic life, and a disabled Borg Cube (known simply as the 'Artifact') is being mined for technology.

Distant future (32nd century) Begins with : Star Trek: Discovery season 2 (finale) Ends with: ???

In order to save the galaxy, the brave crew of the USS Discovery set off on a one-way mission 900 years into the future in Star Trek: Discovery 's season 2 finale. Their 32nd century destination is new territory for Star Trek – thanks to the mysterious 'Burn', most of the dilithium in the galaxy has been destroyed, making warp travel impossible. As a result, the Federation is a shadow of its former self – even Earth has decided to go it alone.

This isn't, however, the furthest Star Trek has ventured into the future – Short Trek ' Calypso ' is set on the Discovery in a distant future where the ship's computer has become sentient.

Star Trek's alternate 'Kelvin' timeline explained

In 2009's Star Trek movie directed by JJ Abrams, Spock Prime tries to save Romulus from a supernova, inadvertently creates a black hole while doing so, and gets pulled into the past, along with Romulan mining vessel the Narada. Once there, the Narada attacks the USS Kelvin on the day James T Kirk is born. The ship is destroyed as Kirk's father, George, sacrifices himself to save the rest of the crew. 

When all that happens, the alternative ‘Kelvin’ timeline is created, with events unfolding in parallel (but with remarkable similarity) to the original Prime timeline.

Got all that? There are just three movies set in the Kelvin timeline:

• Star Trek (2009)
• Star Trek into Darkness
• Star Trek Beyond

Star Trek TV shows and movies in release date order

• Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969)
• Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1974)
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
• Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
• Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock (1984)
• Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home (1986)
• ‘The Cage’ (previously unavailable Star Trek pilot from 1965, given VHS release in 1986)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)
• Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier (1989)
• Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)
• Star Trek: Generations (1994)
• Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001) 
• Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
• Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
• Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)
• Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
• Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
• Star Trek Beyond (2016)
• Star Trek: Discovery (2017-)
• Short Treks (2018-2020)
• Star Trek: Picard (2020-)
• Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020-)
• Star Trek: Prodigy (2021, TBC)
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (TBC)

Considering The Original Series was cancelled after just three seasons in 1969, it's remarkable that Star Trek is still around half a century later. But as the show's popularity grew in syndication on US TV, Trek fandom became a big enough force for the five-year mission to resume via Star Trek: The Animated Series in 1973. Most of the original cast – with the notable exception of Walter Koenig (Chekov) – were enticed back to voice their characters. 

Then, helped by Star Wars turning sci-fi into the hottest genre in Hollywood, Star Trek beamed onto the big screen with 1979's The Motion Picture . The original crew headed up five more movies ( The Wrath of Khan , The Search for Spock , The Voyage Home , The Final Frontier and The Undiscovered Country ) before bowing out in 1991. The ’80s also gave the world a hint of the Star Trek that never was when 'The Cage' , the original unaired pilot, was released on VHS in 1986 (it appeared on TV two years later). Of the pilot crew, only Leonard Nimoy's Spock went on to reprise his role in the TV show, though footage from 'The Cage' was used extensively in the Original Series’ only two-parter, 'The Menagerie'. 

While the Enterprise was making it big in cinemas, the franchise returned to its TV roots in 1987 with The Next Generation . Set over 70 years after Kirk and Spock's final mission, it featured a new crew – led by Captain Jean-Luc Picard – on board a new starship Enterprise. The Next Generation was arguably even more successful than the Original Series, spawning two spin-off series: Deep Space Nine (which began in 1993) played with the Trek format by focusing on a space station, while Voyager (1995) dumped its crew on the other side of the galaxy, hundreds of light years from home. 

The Next Generation crew also fronted four movies of their own ( Generations , First Contact , Insurrection and Nemesis ) between 1995 and 2002.

After Voyager came to an end in 2001, Star Trek left the Next Generation era behind, and went in a completely different direction – Star Trek: Enterprise was a prequel set a century before Kirk and Spock's adventures. Enterprise lasted only four seasons, however (The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager all made it to seven), and was canceled in 2005.

These were also dark times for the movie branch of the Trek franchise, as the disappointing box office performance of Nemesis had put the film saga on hiatus – it wasn't until 2009 that Star Trek warped back onto the big screen. 

Future Star Wars: The Force Awakens director JJ Abrams (already hot property as director of Mission: Impossible 3 and co-creator of Lost) gave the franchise an action blockbuster makeover, recasting Kirk, Spock and the rest of the original crew as rookies on their first mission. The reboot, simply titled Star Trek , made more than twice as much at the box office as any of its predecessors, and two sequels ( Star Trek into Darkness , Star Trek Beyond ) followed. 

Star Trek belatedly returned to TV in 2017 with Star Trek: Discovery . Set a decade before the Original Series, it was a darker, more serialized Trek than we’d seen before – more in tune with the prestige shows of the so-called Golden Age of TV. As it’s turned out, it was just the beginning of Star Trek's renewed assault on TV...

A series of brief Short Treks appeared online ahead of Discovery's second season, while The Next Generation follow-up Star Trek: Picard left spacedock in January 2020. Animated series Lower Decks followed in August 2020, and Discovery spin-off Strange New Worlds – featuring Anson Mount's Captain Pike, Rebecca Romijn's Number One and Ethan Peck's Spock on the pre-Kirk Enterprise – is now in production. 

There's also another cartoon offering heading for the Alpha Quadrant, in the form of animated kids show Star Trek: Prodigy.

And there's potentially even more to come, as the much-talked about Michelle Yeoh vehicle Section 31 is still in development. But with Paramount Plus programming boss Julie McNamara telling Variety that the streaming service's current aim is to debut "a new Trek every quarter", we may have to wait for Discovery, Picard, Lower Decks and/or Strange New Worlds to stand aside before we get a new TV iteration of Trek.

To keep things simple, all the shows above are listed by the date their first episode aired. While the chronology does jump around if you watch Star Trek in order of release date, there are some benefits. For example, the prequel shows assume a fair bit of knowledge of earlier series, like the Borg's appearance in Star Trek: Enterprise episode 'Regeneration', or Star Trek: Discovery's revelations about the ultimate fate of Christopher Pike (the Enterprise captain in 'The Cage', who later shows up in 'The Menagerie'). Moments like that undoubtedly make more sense in the context of later events in the Star Trek timeline. 

How to stream Star Trek TV shows and movies

If you just want to know how to stream the 13 Star Trek movies and eight TV shows in the US and the UK, we've laid it out below. 

In the US, the newly rebranded Paramount Plus (formerly CBS All Access) is definitely the place to go, with every TV show available to watch. In the UK, Netflix hosts all the Star Trek series except for Picard and Lower Decks.

Watching the 13 Trek movies is a rather more complex affair, with the films spread across numerous streaming services in the US and UK – and some of them you'll have to pay to rent/buy.

The TV shows

• Star Trek: The Original Series ( US: Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime Video UK: Netflix)
• Star Trek: The Animated Series ( US: Paramount Plus UK: Netflix)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation ( US: Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime Video UK: Netflix)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ( US: Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime Video UK: Netflix)
• Star Trek: Voyager ( US: Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime Video UK: Netflix)
• Star Trek: Enterprise ( US: Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime Video UK: Netflix)
• Star Trek: Discovery ( US: Paramount Plus UK: Netflix)
• Star Trek: Picard ( US: Paramount Plus UK: Amazon Prime Video)
• Star Trek: Lower Decks (US: Paramount Plus US: Amazon Prime Video)
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture ( US: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu UK: Only available to rent/buy)
• Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan ( US: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu UK: Sky Cinema/Now TV)
• Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock ( US: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu UK: Sky Cinema/Now TV)
• Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home ( US: Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime Video UK: Sky Cinema/Now TV)
• Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier ( US: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu UK: Only available to rent/buy)
• Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country ( US: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu UK: Only available to rent/buy)
• Star Trek: Generations ( US: Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime Video UK: Sky Cinema/Now TV)
• Star Trek: First Contact ( US: Paramount Plus UK: Only available to rent/buy)
• Star Trek: Insurrection ( US: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu UK: Only available to rent/buy)
• Star Trek: Nemesis ( US: Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime Video UK: Only available to rent/buy)
• Star Trek 2009 ( US: DirectTV UK: Sky Cinema/Now TV)
• Star Trek Into Darkness ( US : FX Now UK: Amazon Prime Video)
• Star Trek Beyond ( US: Amazon Prime, Hulu UK: Amazon Prime Video)

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Richard is a freelance journalist specialising in movies and TV, primarily of the sci-fi and fantasy variety. An early encounter with a certain galaxy far, far away started a lifelong love affair with outer space, and these days Richard's happiest geeking out about Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel and other long-running pop culture franchises. In a previous life he was editor of legendary sci-fi and fantasy magazine SFX, where he got to interview many of the biggest names in the business – though he'll always have a soft spot for Jeff Goldblum who (somewhat bizarrely) thought Richard's name was Winter.

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This Is The Correct Order In Which To Watch The Star Trek Franchise

Don't look now, but "Star Trek" is a thing again. It's been a while — after redefining television in the 1960s and enjoying a resurgence in the '80s and '90s, the final episode of ""Star Trek: Enterprise" in 2005 marked the beginning of a dark period in which there was simply no "Trek" to be had. Then, in 2017, the drought ended with the premiere of " "Star Trek: Discovery ," and when it rains, it pours. "Discovery" heralded the arrival of a whole new era of ""Star Trek," and that's just the beginning — Paramount+ will soon play host to two new "Star Trek" shows, with three more currently in development, and there's a new movie scheduled for release in 2023 . Suddenly, we are awash in "Trek," which means that if you're unfamiliar with Gene Roddenberry's universe, it's a pretty good time to jump on board. Only where do you start with a franchise this big — and more importantly, what's the proper watch order?

These are the questions we're here to answer. While it's tempting to try and watch "Star Trek" chronologically, using either the fictional timeline or release dates, we recommend an order that's a bit of a blend of both. Following this list should result in an experience that provides a complete picture of what "Star Trek" is while also remaining easy to binge. With that in mind (and with the understanding that a few spoilers are unavoidable ), it's time to boldly go where every previous "Star Trek" installment has gone before!

The Original Series

When you watch "Star Trek," you really need to begin at the beginning. Not with Enterprise, which is set earlier in the "Trek" timeline than any show, but with "Star Trek" — or as it's lovingly called these days, "The Original Series." This is the show that ran on NBC from 1966 to 1969, forever altering the television medium, the science fiction genre, and the experience of being a fan. While some viewers may find the special effects laughable or the political themes unsubtle, the most astonishing thing about "TOS" is how well it holds up, even more than 50 years later. The first two seasons, in particular, are absolutely riddled with classic episodes, and while the third season is significantly worse due to changes in the creative team, it's still fun to watch William Shatner ham it up as Captain Kirk, Leonard Nimoy raise a single Vulcan eyebrow as Mr. Spock, and the original Starship Enterprise soar through space. Most importantly, though, those first 79 episodes introduce rules, concepts, and even characters that "Star Trek" is still playing with today, from Class M planets and the Prime Directive to Khan and the Klingons.

The Animated Series

The unofficial fourth and fifth seasons of "Star Trek," "The Animated Series" aired on NBC from 1973 to 1974, after tempers had cooled somewhat between NBC and Roddenberry, who left "Star Trek" after its second season out of frustration with the network. Not only was the entire original cast back (minus Walter Koenig), but so was Roddenberry, and so was D.C. Fontana, Roddenberry's longtime assistant who had grown into one of the most celebrated "Trek" writers and had also departed after Season 2. Between the return of some of the show's original creative minds and cast, and the fact that animation allowed them to do so much more than live action special effects of the era, "TAS" is pure, undiluted "Star Trek."

It's never been made explicitly clear whether "TAS" is canon, but considering the number of "TAS" ideas re-used in later live-action shows, plus the introduction in "TAS" of canon pieces of backstory, like Kirk's middle name, it's silly at this point to believe otherwise. And it's required viewing for completists who want to see every televised adventure undertaken by the original Enterprise crew.

The first six films

"Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was released by Paramount in 1979, and while it's not an especially good film, it holds historical importance as the launching point for the "Star Trek" movie franchise. The real highlights in this part of the list, though, are the three films that followed. The Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock, and The Voyage Home essentially form their own trilogy of movies within the larger "Trek" saga, and are some of the most popular and critically acclaimed installments in the franchise. "The Wrath of Khan," in particular, tends to show up near the top of "best science fiction films in history" lists, making the titular Khan such an iconic villain that he was recast for the J.J. Abrams reboot movies, while "The Voyage Home" is probably the most charming "Star Trek" film, as the Enterprise travels to the past to rescue the humpback whale species from extinction.

Even the most dedicated binge-watcher can safely skip the horrendous fifth movie, "The Final Frontier," but "The Undiscovered Country" is an absolute masterpiece, and taken together, these six films provide a worthy capstone to the franchise's inaugural era.

It might seem counterintuitive to follow up the oldest "Star Trek" series with one of the newest, especially given that "Star Trek: Discovery" actually takes place prior to "The Original Series." But there's a good reason to jump from the tales of Kirk and Spock to the tales of Michael Burnham and...well, and Spock, who shows up in Season 2. "The Original Series" and its accompanying animated and film extensions are foundational to "Discovery," which is set shortly after the events of the rejected "Star Trek" pilot "The Cage." And characters from "The Cage" show up in Season 2 and are also appearing in their own spinoff, "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds."

While an in-universe chronological watch order would put the first two seasons of "Discovery" before "TOS" and the third season at the very end (as the crew travels forward in time to the far future) it makes more sense to us to treat "Discovery" as its own story. The third season does occasionally reference "past" events from other shows, but that does lead nicely into the next "Trek" installment...

The Next Generation (Seasons 1-5)

For many Trekkies today, "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was their introduction to the franchise, and for good reason. If any one series beyond the original can lay a claim to being the single most iconic "Star Trek" story, it's Next Generation, which premiered in 1987 and went on to not only have seven seasons of its own, but to jumpstart a chain of interlocking "Star Trek" shows that would thoroughly dominate the 1990s. Before that, though, the first five seasons of Next Generation stood alone, and if you're trying to get somebody instantly hooked on Trek, this might actually be the place to start, despite the fact that the first couple of seasons don't hold up incredibly well.

If you're absorbing all of "Star Trek," though, "Next Generation" has to be the place to start. After all, it's the next generation of what, exactly? The answer is the Starship Enterprise, which comes with an entirely new cast and crew, introducing the world to Worf, Data, Counselor Troi, and Geordi LaForge, and permanently branding the hearts of a thousand Trekkies with the image of Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard .

The Next Generation (Season 6) / Deep Space Nine (Season 1)

Okay, this is where it gets weird. "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" debuted in January 1993, just a few months after "Next Generation" kicked off its sixth season — a season full of unmitigated classics, incidentally, from the return of Montgomery Scott in "Relics" to the legendary two-parter "Chain of Command." Picard even makes a cameo in the first episode of "DS9," which takes place aboard a space station and uses the ideas and events of earlier "Next Generation" episodes to inform characters like Commander Benjamin Sisko and Quark. It's essentially impossible to understand Sisko's backstory, for example, without first having seen the "Next Generation" episode "The Best of Both Worlds."

Despite the fact that they take place over roughly the same time period, we recommend watching the entirety of Season 6 of "Next Generation" followed by the entirety of Season 1 of "DS9," if for no other reason than the former has more episodes than the latter, making it a complicated process to intercut between them. But however you choose to do it, these two seasons really should be watched back to back.

The Next Generation (Season 7) / Deep Space Nine (Season 2)

Similarly, the second season of "DS9" coincides with the last "Next Generation" season. While it might lack the standout episodes of earlier seasons, Season 7 manages a few achievements. For one thing, it puts a bow on one of the most beloved shows in television history with a flourish, ending the program with an ambitious, timeline-jumping two-parter that ties directly into the events of the very first episode. It also inadvertently lays the groundwork for a much more modern "Trek" show with an episode about junior officers called "Lower Decks." But most importantly, it ties into and reinforces "Deep Space Nine," most notably in the penultimate episode "Preemptive Strike," which deals with concurrent "DS9" problems like the Cardassians and the Maquis.

By the end of Season 2, "DS9" has already proven capable of standing on its own, having picked up and ran with the Maquis threads from earlier "Next Generation" episodes, returned to the Mirror Universe first introduced in the original series, and introduced the Dominion and the Jem'Hadar, who will serve as the series' primary antagonists. But the stories of Picard and company were far from over...

Generations

The four feature films built around the cast of "Next Generation" are a direct continuation of the movies that came before, not least because the first one, 1994's "Generations," serves as a bridge between "TOS" and its descendant, and between Kirk and Picard, in about the most literal way you could imagine. This movie marks the final appearance of several characters from the original show, including Kirk himself (the one played by William Shatner, at any rate) which makes it a crucial piece of the "Star Trek" timeline, as does the introduction of Data's emotion chip. Of course, some might consider the movie worth it just to see Malcolm McDowell chew the scenery like he hasn't eaten in three days, and we can't say they're wrong.

"Generations" launched Picard's crew onto the big screen almost immediately after their exit from the small one, meaning they would continue to be the face of "Star Trek" for the remainder of the decade. But back in the realm of "Trek" TV, things were only heating up, as a new series prepared to take the field and challenge "DS9" for television dominance.

Deep Space Nine (Season 3) / Voyager (Season 1)

Once again, it's time to switch between two seasons of "Star Trek," as the third season of "DS9" overlaps with the debuting "Star Trek: Voyager." The first "Trek" series to feature a woman (Kathryn Janeway) in the captain's chair, "Voyager" also had a unique and fascinating premise. Much of the "DS9" action is driven by the existence of a nearby wormhole that leads to the Gamma Quadrant, a section of space far away from the Federation's native Alpha Quadrant. This allows the titular space station and its intrepid crew to encounter any number of new and dangerous alien species. "Voyager" goes even farther, literally — a solitary ship finds itself transported to the even more distant Delta Quadrant and spends the rest of the series trying to get home.

Due to this premise, there's no reason whatsoever to jump between individual episodes of these two seasons, as the events of one show don't affect the other in any way. But jumping between shows by the season provides a fun and accurate experience of what it was like to watch the interlocking "Star Trek" programs of the 1990s.

Deep Space Nine (Season 4) / Voyager (Season 2)

Like most "Star Trek" shows, "Voyager" takes a couple of seasons to find its feet, and Season 2 in particular contains some of its most notoriously bad episodes, from the tone-deaf Native American implications of "Tattoo" to Janeway and Voyager pilot Tom Paris turning into salamanders and having salamander babies together in "Threshold" to the utter abomination that is "Tuvix." At least it has the consideration to get them all out of the way early on.

"DS9," meanwhile, was encountering its own problems in Season 4, which took a sharp turn away from the burgeoning conflict with the Dominion and instead spent most of its time dealing with the newly antagonistic Klingon Empire. Fortunately, even as the overarching plot went briefly off the rails, the writing was getting better and better, and the diversion is, if nothing else, entertaining. As a bonus, Season 4 features one of television's first lesbian kisses, and also brings in Worf, the Klingon security officer from "Next Generation" — until Picard, Michael Dorn was the only actor to star in the main casts of two different "Star Trek" shows.

First Contact

As a result of his dual roles, Worf would spend the next several years hopping back and forth between television and the movies. One reason it's important to watch Season 4 of "DS9" prior to watching "First Contact," the second film starring the "Next Generation" cast, is because in order to include Worf in the story, the latter is obligated to include a scene in which the Enterprise rescues another ship called the Defiant, introduced in "DS9" and captained by Worf himself. Future "Next Generation" movies, which decline in quality moving forward, come up with increasingly hand-wavy reasons for his presence on the Enterprise bridge.

"First Contact" itself, however, is by far the best of the "Next Generation" films and one of the best "Star Trek" films in general, as the crew travels back in time to prevent the cybernetic hive mind known as the Borg from altering history. Not only is "First Contact" a great movie (and the film directorial debut of Jonathan Frakes, who plays Commander William Riker), it also kicks off a spectacular "Star Trek" run that can stand up against any other period in franchise history.

Deep Space Nine (Season 5) / Voyager (Season 3)

With Season 5, "DS9" gets back on track after the previous outlier season, quickly focusing around a single unified threat thanks to an alliance between the show's original antagonists the Cardassians and the Dominion. The presence of the sinister Changelings adds an intrigue element to the story, as any character could potentially be a Changeling in disguise — a concept that would be used to great effect years later in the 2004 reboot of "Battlestar Galactica." The season concludes with the official start of the Dominion War, a conflict that would dominate the remainder of the show.

"Voyager," meanwhile, was also getting back on track in its third season, which generally sees an uptick in quality — particularly toward the end, with episodes like "Before and After," "Real Life," and "Worst Case Scenario." Robert Picardo, who plays Voyager's holographic doctor, also gets to make a cameo in "DS9" as the Doctor's creator, Lewis Zimmerman, in the episode "Doctor Bashir, I presume." And Season 3 ends with the first installment of "Scorpion," which catalyzed "Voyager's" official rise to greatness in part thanks to a memorable new character.

Deep Space Nine (Season 6) / Voyager (Season 4)

These two overlapping seasons, airing in late 1997 and early 1998, represent the pinnacle of "Star Trek's" '90s golden age. In "DS9," the Dominion War is in full swing, the series' much-discussed religions themes are building in prominence, the mysterious Section 31 is introduced, foreshadowing its prominent role in both "Enterprise" and "Discovery," and most memorably, the showrunners do what almost no iteration of "Star Trek" has ever dared to do: permanently kill off a member of the main cast.

Casting changes are also a major part of Season 4 of "Voyager," which jettisons the little-loved character of Kes and officially introduces Seven of Nine , a liberated Borg drone played by Jeri Ryan who quickly joins the ranks of the franchise's most widely known characters. It's an oversimplification to suggest that the overall brilliance of Season 4 is the direct result of Ryan joining the cast, but no matter how much of it you attribute to her, it's a phenomenal season of television, filled from start to finish with some of the best "Voyager" episodes (and also "Retrospect," but we don't talk about that one).

Insurrection

It's not "First Contact," but 1998's "Insurrection" is still a pretty good "Next Generation" movie, another solid offering from Jonathan Frakes. While "Insurrection" doesn't interact much with the events of "DS9" or "Voyager," watching it at this point in the "Trek" timeline provides an overall context for the state of the Federation, which has been intermittently challenged, as the movie's primary villain points out, by the Borg, the Cardassians, and the Dominion. A sense of the Federation being assailed from all sides isn't strictly necessary for the film's story of familial betrayal on a planet that confers immortality, but it does make viewing it a more interesting experience (though again, the perfunctory inclusion of Worf simply because he's expected to be in "Next Generation" movies is potentially jarring for "DS9" fans who have become invested in his character development, which "Insurrection" largely ignores).

"Insurrection" is Frakes' last "Star Trek" movie as director (though he would later direct episodes of "Discovery" and "Picard") and marks the beginning of the end of the '90s "Trek" boom. There's still plenty of great "Trek" ahead, but the curve is now pointing down.

Deep Space Nine (Season 7) / Voyager (Season 5)

The final season of "DS9" represents one of the single greatest creative accomplishments in "Star Trek" history, as no "Trek" show to date has managed to stick such an ambitious and satisfying landing. In a unique move, the last 10 episodes of the season form a single, series-ending story, and the feature-length finale, "What You Leave Behind," is considered one of the greatest "Trek" episodes of all time. "DS9" had been great for at least two seasons prior to this one, but the success of Season 7 cemented it as a foremost jewel in the crown of the "Star Trek" franchise.

"Voyager," meanwhile, continued its stellar run of episodes, capping off a three-year rehabilitation effort that saw one of the franchise's shakiest shows become one of its best. It was good timing, too, because with "DS9" wrapping up ("What You Leave Behind" aired the week after the Season 5 "Voyager" finale, "Equinox"), Captain Janeway and her crew were suddenly the only starship in the galaxy. And you, intrepid binge-watcher, can finally stop switching between two different shows.

Voyager (Seasons 6-7)

Unlike "DS9," the final seasons of "Voyager" are not its best, though admittedly, after Seasons 4 and 5, that's a high bar to clear. Season 6 comes close with a steady stream of classics, introducing both the popular Holodeck scenario Fair Haven and the "Pathfinder" storyline that sees "Next Generation" vets Reginald Barclay and Deanna Troi join up as recurring characters. By Season 7, however, the quality of "Voyager" has begun to dip noticeably — the final season contains few memorable episodes and at least one extremely ill-conceived romantic subplot. It earns some redemption, however, with the two-part series finale "Endgame," which, whether you like it or not, at least fulfills the promise of the show's premise and comes to a definitive conclusion about whether the ship and its crew are ever getting back to the Alpha Quadrant. It's a moment that would have been easy to shy away from, and "Voyager" meets it head on.

"Endgame" aired in May 2001, and in retrospect, the title didn't only apply to "Voyager." The continuous story that "Star Trek" had been telling for the past 14 years over the course of three different shows and three different movies was over. There was, however, one last (incredibly depressing) chapter to get through.

The final "Next Generation" film, released in 2002, is by far the worst of them, and the worst "Star Trek" movie in general since 1989's "The Final Frontier." It was so bad, in fact, that it notoriously killed "Star Trek" — plans for a fifth "Next Generation" movie were scrapped after "Nemesis" bombed at the box office, and creatively, it's an absolute nightmare, introducing a Romulan sister planet with the unfortunate name of Remus, blatantly attempting to restart Data's entire character arc via a literal copy with the also unfortunate name of B-4, and tying these and other unfortunate decisions together with a nonsensical plot featuring Tom Hardy as a secret clone of Picard. After "Nemesis," the scuttling of future franchise installments can honestly be seen as a mercy killing.

"Star Trek" wasn't quite dead in 2002, however. While we've now officially made it through the combined stories of "Next Generation," "DS9," and "Voyager," there's one more show, independent from the others, that now enters the viewing order. And watching it involves going back to the very beginning... and even before that.

In a chronological viewing, "Star Trek: Enterprise" would actually be the first show you watch, since it takes place a hundred years prior to "The Cage." Indirectly spinning off from the events of "First Contact," it tells the story of Earth's first warp starship, appropriately named the Enterprise and captained by Scott Bakula's Jonathan Archer, and of humanity's early relationships with alien species like the Vulcans, Klingons, Romulans, and Andorians. Despite its status as a prequel, the sheer degree to which "Enterprise" relies on its audience having knowledge of other "Star Trek" properties makes it almost impossible to recommend as an entry point. It fits much better here, as the official end of the franchise's second major era, especially given that the final episode, "These Are The Voyages...," frames itself as a holodeck simulation being watched by the Enterprise crew from "Next Generation."

"There Are The Voyages..." aired on May 13th, 2005. There wouldn't be another "Star Trek" show for more than 12 years. At this point, our watch order breaks away from order of release, but we feel strongly that it's how "Star Trek" from 1987 to 2005 should be watched.

Lower Decks

If you think 12 years is a long gap between "Star Trek" installments, that's nothing compared to the 45 years that went by between "Trek" stories told via animation. "Short Treks" was technically the first "Trek" show since "The Animated Series" to include animated episodes, and that aired in 2019, but 2020 gave us the first season of "Lower Decks," an entirely animated show about the people who don't get to hang out on the bridge.

The first franchise installment to ever concern itself primarily with characters who are not in command of a starship or space station, "Lower Decks" is the "Star Trek" equivalent of shows like HBO's "Harley Quinn" — an irreverent, adult-oriented comedy that revels in its TV-MA rating, delivering violence, sex, and swearing at warp speed frequencies. Chronologically, it's set shortly after the events of "Nemesis," but more importantly to the binge-watcher, it's the dessert following a feast — a vital dose of pure fun after absorbing almost four full decades of space drama.

The Kelvin timeline

After the box office failure of "Nemesis" brought an abrupt end to the "Next Generation" movies, there wasn't a new "Trek" film until 2009. And far from being a continuation of the existing movie franchise, this new version, simply called "Star Trek," was a reboot of "The Original Series," casting new, younger versions of Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the first Enterprise crew. Sequels to the reboot followed in 2013 and 2016.

Watching these three movies as part of a "Star Trek" binge is pretty much entirely optional, since they take place in an alternate timeline created when the USS Kelvin was destroyed in battle with time-traveling Romulan ship from the 24th century, leaving an infant James T. Kirk without a father in the process. Moreover, the trilogy is widely considered to be of uneven quality (though the third movie, "Star Trek Beyond," is considerably better than its predecessor, possibly due to the departure of director J.J. Abrams). Still, if you're going to watch them, this is the place in the viewing order to do it, as a key plot point of the first film — the Romulan sun going supernova — plays a major role in "Picard."

Short Treks

The Kelvin movies might not exert much direct influence over the larger plot of "Star Trek," but they played a major role in the future of the franchise by bringing in Alex Kurtzman. Kurtzman is the showrunner on "Discovery," and with the exception of "Lower Decks," he has been directly involved in every modern "Trek" series. In 2018, after the successful first season of "Discovery" led to a new expansion of the "Star Trek" franchise, Kurtzman and co-creator Bryan Fuller (formerly a writer on "DS9" and "Voyager") premiered "Short Treks," an anthology series of short, unrelated stories. As of this writing, there have been two seasons and 10 total episodes, some live-action, some animated.

"Short Treks" spans almost the entire "Star Trek" timeline — two episodes are set in the period of time between "Enterprise" and "The Original Series," while a third takes place in the far future. As a result, watching it requires a sense of the entire scope of the "Trek" universe. It's the penultimate entry in this watch order, however, because the Season 2 finale, "Children of Mars," leads directly into the final entry: "Picard."

"Star Trek: Picard" is the first of the modern "Trek" offerings to look forward rather than back, giving us a story set after the events of "Next Generation," "DS9," and "Voyager." Indeed, not only does the series follow up with Jean-Luc Picard 20 years after we last saw him (and 12 years after the Romulan sun went supernova) but it also brings in an older version of Seven of Nine, once again portrayed by Jeri Ryan. As mentioned, Picard also ties into the most recent installment of "Short Treks," which involves a terrorist attack by synthetic life forms that eventually leads to a ban on their creation — one of the many plot elements of "Picard" that has drawn criticism for being inconsistent with the original utopian vision of "Star Trek."

With so many new "Trek" shows on their way, this list will quickly become outdated. But all the upcoming series will reward previous "Trek" viewing, from Janeway's return on "Star Trek: Prodigy" to a show focused entirely on Section 31. So if you're going to binge all of "Star Trek," you might want to get started now!

The Chronological Star Trek Saga

1. Star Trek: Enterprise

2. Star Trek: Discovery

3. Star Trek

4. Star Trek: The Animated Series

5. Star Trek: The Motion Picture

6. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

7. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

8. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

9. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

10. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

11. Star Trek: The Next Generation

12. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

13. star trek: the next generation, 14. star trek: deep space nine.

15. Star Trek: Voyager

16. Star Trek: Generations

17. star trek: deep space nine, 18. star trek: voyager, 19. star trek: deep space nine, 20. star trek: voyager.

21. Star Trek: First Contact

22. star trek: deep space nine, 23. star trek: voyager, 24. star trek: deep space nine, 25. star trek: voyager, more to explore, recently viewed.

Star Trek movies in order: chronological and release dates

For fans of the iconic Star Trek franchise, understanding the proper order to watch the movies can be a bit challenging. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the different ways to enjoy the Star Trek movies, whether by chronological order or by their release dates. By following this guide, you will be able to fully appreciate the rich history and evolution of the Star Trek universe.

From the original series movies to the reboot films set in the Kelvin Timeline, this article will provide you with a complete overview of how to watch the Star Trek movies in order to maximize your viewing experience.

What is the chronological order of Star Trek movies?

The chronological order of Star Trek movies aligns with the timeline of events within the Star Trek universe. This approach allows fans to follow the story as it unfolds over the centuries, starting from the early days of Starfleet to the adventures in the distant future.

Begin your journey with “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” which sets the stage for the original series movies. This is followed by the subsequent films featuring the original crew, such as “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” and “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.”

Next, move on to “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home,” “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier,” and “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.” These films continue the adventures of Captain Kirk and his crew.

After completing the original series movies, transition to “Star Trek: Generations,” which bridges the gap between The Original Series and The Next Generation cast. Then, follow the Next Generation films, such as “Star Trek: First Contact,” “Star Trek: Insurrection,” and “Star Trek: Nemesis.”

How to watch Star Trek movies by release date?

Watching the Star Trek movies by release date allows fans to experience the franchise as it evolved over time. Start with “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” released in 1979, and continue through the years to see how the storytelling, special effects, and character development have changed.

The release order begins with the original series movies and progresses to The Next Generation films. Here is the release order for your convenience:

• “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” (1979)
• “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” (1982)
• “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock” (1984)
• “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” (1986)
• “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier” (1989)
• “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country” (1991)
• “Star Trek: Generations” (1994)
• “Star Trek: First Contact” (1996)
• “Star Trek: Insurrection” (1998)
• “Star Trek: Nemesis” (2002)

Star Trek original series movies timeline

The Star Trek original series movies feature the beloved characters from The Original Series, such as Captain Kirk, Spock, and Dr. McCoy. These films are a continuation of the adventures from the television series and delve deeper into the relationships and challenges faced by the crew of the USS Enterprise.

Start with “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” (1979), where the crew reunites to save Earth from a massive alien entity. This film sets the stage for the subsequent original series movies.

The second film, “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” (1982), introduces one of the franchise’s most iconic villains, Khan Noonien Singh. The story continues with “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock” (1984), which deals with the aftermath of the previous film’s events.

Following these, “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” (1986) offers a lighter tone as the crew travels back in time to save Earth’s whales. The original series movies conclude with “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier” (1989) and “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country” (1991), which provide thrilling and thought-provoking finales to the saga.

The Next Generation movies in order

The Next Generation movies feature the crew of the USS Enterprise-D, led by Captain Jean-Luc Picard. These films build on the success of the television series, taking the characters on new adventures and exploring deeper themes within the Star Trek universe.

Start with “Star Trek: Generations” (1994), which serves as a bridge between The Original Series and The Next Generation. In this film, Captain Picard teams up with Captain Kirk to stop a deadly threat.

Next, watch “Star Trek: First Contact” (1996), where the crew travels back in time to stop the Borg from assimilating Earth. This film is a fan favorite for its action-packed storyline and character development.

Follow this with “Star Trek: Insurrection” (1998), which explores moral dilemmas and the consequences of defying Starfleet orders. The Next Generation movies conclude with “Star Trek: Nemesis” (2002), where the crew faces a formidable enemy with a personal connection to Captain Picard.

What are the three new Star Trek movies?

The three new Star Trek movies, also known as the Kelvin Timeline or reboot films, offer a fresh take on the franchise while maintaining core elements that fans love. Directed by J.J. Abrams, these films introduce an alternate timeline, allowing for new stories and character dynamics.

The first film, “Star Trek” (2009), reimagines the origin story of the original series characters. This movie sets the stage for the rebooted universe and features a young Captain Kirk and Spock.

Next, watch “Star Trek Into Darkness” (2013), which continues the adventures of the rebooted crew. This film delves deeper into the conflicts and relationships within the team, featuring a formidable antagonist and high-stakes action.

The third film, “Star Trek Beyond” (2016), explores new challenges and adventures as the crew continues their mission in deep space. This movie offers a mix of action, humor, and heart, making it a fitting conclusion to the Kelvin Timeline trilogy.

For an engaging visual experience, check out the following video that delves into the intricacies of the Star Trek movie timelines:

Frequently asked questions about Star Trek movies order

What is the order of the star trek films.

The order of the Star Trek films can be divided into two main categories: chronological and release order. Watching the films chronologically involves starting with the prequels and following the timeline as events unfold within the Star Trek universe. This order includes “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” followed by movies like “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” and continues through the various sequels and reboots.

Watching Star Trek films in release order follows the actual release dates of the movies. This method starts with “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” released in 1979, and continues sequentially through the years. This approach allows viewers to experience the franchise as it evolved over time, appreciating the changes in storytelling, special effects, and character development.

What is the chronological order of the Star Trek series?

The chronological order of the Star Trek series begins with “Star Trek: Enterprise,” which is set before the events of the original series. This series explores the early years of Starfleet and its initial forays into deep space exploration. Following “Enterprise,” the next in chronological order is “Star Trek: The Original Series,” which introduces iconic characters such as Captain Kirk and Spock.

After “The Original Series,” the timeline continues with “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” which takes place about a century later. Following this, “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and “Star Trek: Voyager” expand the universe further. More recent additions include “Star Trek: Discovery” and “Star Trek: Picard,” which continue to build on the established timeline and characters.

How to watch Star Trek in order of release?

To watch Star Trek in order of release, begin with the original television series, “Star Trek: The Original Series,” which aired from 1966 to 1969. This series set the foundation for the entire franchise, introducing key characters and concepts. Following this, move on to “Star Trek: The Animated Series,” which aired in the early 1970s and continued the adventures of the original crew.

Next, proceed to the Star Trek movies, starting with “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” (1979). Watch the movies in their release order, up to the latest releases. After the original series and movies, watch “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” followed by “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” “Star Trek: Voyager,” and then the more recent series like “Star Trek: Discovery” and “Star Trek: Picard.”

What are the three new Star Trek movies in order to watch?

The three new Star Trek movies, also known as the Kelvin Timeline or reboot films, begin with “Star Trek” (2009). Directed by J.J. Abrams, this movie reimagines the origin story of the original series characters in an alternate timeline, providing a fresh take on the franchise while maintaining core elements that fans love.

Following “Star Trek” (2009) is “Star Trek Into Darkness” (2013), which continues the adventures of the rebooted crew. This film delves deeper into the conflicts and relationships within the team, featuring a formidable antagonist and high-stakes action. The third film in this series is “Star Trek Beyond” (2016), which explores new challenges and adventures as the crew continues their mission in deep space.

How (and Where) to Watch Every Star Trek Movie and TV Show In Order

Published on.

Shaurya Singh Thapa

Official JustWatch writer

“Live long and prosper.”

This iconic line from Star Trek holds true for the franchise as well. Starting from the original 1966 series and continuing with big-budget films by JJ Abrams, Star Trek has endured for decades. Perhaps only rivaled by Star Wars , it remains one of the biggest and most diverse sci-fi franchises of all time. The original series and reboot movies revolved around the interplanetary adventures of the spaceship USS Enterprise, introducing unforgettable crew members like Captain James T. Kirk and his loyal First Officer Spock. However, since then, the franchise has also gone on to incorporate many other storylines with sequels, prequels, and spinoffs.

Confused about starting your Star Trek journey? Let our streaming guide show you how and where to watch all Star Trek movies and TV shows in India using services like Netflix and Prime Video !

How to watch the Star Trek franchise in chronological order 

Following the numerous Star Trek movies and TV shows can be quite confusing for beginners. But if you want to stick to chronology, here is the order in which you should watch Star Trek:

Star Trek: Enterprise 

Star Trek: Discovery (Seasons 1-2)

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Star Trek: The Original Series

Star Trek: The Animated Series 

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan 

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock 

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home 

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier 

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country 

Star Trek: The Next Generation 

Star Trek: Generations 

Star Trek: First Contact 

Star Trek: Insurrection 

Star Trek: Nemesis

Star trek: deep space nine.

Star Trek: Voyager 

Star Trek Lower Decks

Star Trek Prodigy

Star Trek: Picard 

Star Trek: Discovery (Season 3-4)

Alternate Timeline/Reboot Movies:

Star Trek 

Star Trek Into Darkness 

Star Trek Beyond

The multiple Star Trek properties would be too much to take in so, it’s best to divide them into multiple continuities.

The Pre-Original Series Continuity

The TV show Star Trek: Enterprise is set a hundred years before the adventures of Kirk and Spock. Instead of the USS Enterprise, the crew of the series steers an older version of the Enterprise in the year 2151.

The events of the series are then followed by the first two seasons of Star Trek: Discovery (set aboard the USS Discovery) and the ongoing TV series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

The Original Series Continuity

The original Star Trek series kicks off in the year 2265 and was followed by an animated series which in turn was followed by six films. The cast and crew is mostly recurring throughout this continuity. This glorious first run of the franchise is regarded as the very best by many within the fandom.

Star Trek: The Animated Series

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock 

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Star trek v: the final frontier, star trek vi: the undiscovered country, the star trek reboot continuity .

The three Star Trek movies by JJ Abrams reboot the entire franchise and take place in an alternate timeline. Expect Easter Eggs and cameos from the Original Series but still remember this is a whole different continuity. In this sense, even beginners with no prior Star Trek knowledge can watch this trilogy. 

Star Trek Into the Darkness

The Next Generation/Picard Continuity 

After The Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation covered the events from 2364 onwards. With Patrick Stewart playing the heroic Enterprise captain Jean-Luc Picard, this series appealed to a new generation of fans and was followed by successful movies like First Contact and Nemesis. The Prime Video series titled Picard is set two decades after the events of Nemesis and continues the future whereabouts of Picard and his crew. 

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek Generations

Star Trek: First Contact

Star Trek: Picard

Deep Space Nine Continuity 

Taking place mostly in the titular spacecraft, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is chronologically set between the events of Nemesis and Picard. It was followed by a direct sequel series Star Trek Voyager.

Kate Mulgrew’s Captain Kathryn Janeway was the lead of Voyager, a role she reprised in the 3D animated series Star Trek: Prodigy (that introduced a younger generation of Star Trek heroes). 

Star Trek: Voyager

Star Trek: Prodigy

How to watch all Star Trek movies and TV shows online online

The list below offers you the correct order to watch all the Star Trek movies and TV shows in order of their release date. We also provide you with offers to stream, buy, or rent these sci-fi favourites in India. It’s time… to boldly go where no one has gone before!

Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship USS Enterprise and its crew. The show is set in the Milky Way galaxy, roughly during the 2260s. The crew is headed by Captain James T. Kirk, first officer Spock, and chief medical officer Leonard McCoy. Shatner's voice-over introduction during each episode's opening credits stated the starship's purpose: The series was produced from 1966-67 by Desilu Productions, and by Paramount Television from 1968-69. Star Trek aired on NBC from September 8, 1966 to June 3, 1969. Although this television series had the title of Star Trek, it later acquired the retronym of Star Trek: The Original Series to distinguish the show within the media franchise that it began. Star Trek's Nielsen ratings while on NBC were low, and the network canceled it after three seasons and 79 episodes. Nevertheless, the show had a major influence on popular culture and it became a cult classic in broadcast syndication during the 1970s. The show eventually spawned a franchise, consisting of five additional television series, 12 theatrical films, and numerous books, games, toys, and other products.

The animated adventures of Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and the crew of the Starship Enterprise.

When an unidentified alien destroys three powerful Klingon cruisers, Captain James T. Kirk returns to the newly transformed U.S.S. Enterprise to take command.

The starship Enterprise and its crew is pulled back into action when old nemesis, Khan, steals a top secret device called Project Genesis.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

A surprise visit from Spock's father provides a startling revelation: McCoy is harboring Spock's living essence.

When a huge alien probe enters the galaxy and begins to vaporize earths oceans, Kirk and his crew must travel back in time in order to bring back whales and save the planet.

Follow the intergalactic adventures of Capt. Jean-Luc Picard and his loyal crew aboard the all-new USS Enterprise NCC-1701D, as they explore new worlds.

A renegade Vulcan with a startling secret hijacks the U.S.S. Enterprise in order to find a mythical planet.

After years of war, the Federation and the Klingon empire find themselves on the brink of a peace summit when a Klingon ship is nearly destroyed by an apparent attack from the Enterprise. Both worlds brace for what may be their deadliest encounter.

At Deep Space Nine, a space station located next to a wormhole in the vicinity of the liberated planet of Bajor, Commander Sisko and crew welcome alien visitors, root out evildoers and solve all types of unexpected problems that come their way.

Star Trek: Generations

Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D find themselves at odds with the renegade scientist Soran who is destroying entire star systems. Only one man can help Picard stop Soran's scheme...and he's been dead for seventy-eight years.

Pulled to the far side of the galaxy, where the Federation is 75 years away at maximum warp speed, a Starfleet ship must cooperate with Maquis rebels to find a way home.

The Borg, a relentless race of cyborgs, are on a direct course for Earth. Violating orders to stay away from the battle, Captain Picard and the crew of the newly-commissioned USS Enterprise E pursue the Borg back in time to prevent the invaders from changing Federation history and assimilating the galaxy.

Star Trek: Insurrection

When an alien race and factions within Starfleet attempt to take over a planet that has "regenerative" properties, it falls upon Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise to defend the planet's people as well as the very ideals upon which the Federation itself was founded.

Star Trek: Enterprise

During the mid-22nd century, a century before Captain Kirk's five-year mission, Jonathan Archer captains the United Earth ship Enterprise during the early years of Starfleet, leading up to the Earth-Romulan War and the formation of the Federation.

En route to the honeymoon of William Riker to Deanna Troi on her home planet of Betazed, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise receives word from Starfleet that a coup has resulted in the installation of a new Romulan political leader, Shinzon, who claims to seek peace with the human-backed United Federation of Planets. Once in enemy territory, the captain and his crew make a startling discovery: Shinzon is human, a slave from the Romulan sister planet of Remus, and has a secret, shocking relationship to Picard himself.

The fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of bitter rivals. One, James Kirk, is a delinquent, thrill-seeking Iowa farm boy. The other, Spock, a Vulcan, was raised in a logic-based society that rejects all emotion. As fiery instinct clashes with calm reason, their unlikely but powerful partnership is the only thing capable of leading their crew through unimaginable danger, boldly going where no one has gone before. The human adventure has begun again.

Star Trek Into Darkness

When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

The USS Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a mysterious new enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test.

Star Trek: Discovery

Follow the voyages of Starfleet on their missions to discover new worlds and new life forms, and one Starfleet officer who must learn that to truly understand all things alien, you must first understand yourself.

How to watch the Star Trek movies in order

What’s the best order to watch all star trek movies.

by Christian Saclao June 1, 2023, 6:34 am

The  Star Trek   franchise has been around for more than five decades and even though the sci-fi IP has recently been focusing on expanding its universe through different television series, the beloved property created by Gene Roddenberry has actually released a number of feature films in the past. If you haven’t seen any of those yet and are planning to binge-watch all of them, continue reading this article to learn more about the different  Star Trek movies , including the best order to watch them.

How many Star Trek movies are there?

As of June 2023, there are a total of thirteen films in the Star Trek  franchise. These films are categorized into two: the Prime Timeline Star Trek movies and the Kelvin Timeline Star Trek movies .

The Prime Timeline  Star Trek movies are films that are set in the same universe as the original Star Trek television series. This category includes both The Original Series (TOS) movies and  The Next Generation (TNG) movies .  The former are movies starring the principal cast of  Star Trek: The Original Series , while the latter are films starring the cast of the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation.

The Kelvin Timeline  Star Trek  movies, on the other hand, are a series of J.J. Abrams-produced films that rebooted the franchise for the big screen.

What is the recommended order to watch the Star Trek movies?

While there are different ways to watch  Star Trek  movies, the recommended order to watch the films is in chronological order, which is the order in which the events of the movies take place. Here’s how to watch the Star Trek movies in chronological order:

1. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Timeline: Prime

Cast: Star Trek: The Original Series

Where to watch:  HBO Max

Directed by Robert Wise, this is the first installment in the Star Trek film series and stars the cast of the original television series. Set in the 2270s, the movie opens with V’Ger (Persis Khambatta),  a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud that is approaching Earth and destroying everything in its path. Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) assumes command of the recently refitted Starship USS Enterprise, to lead it on a mission to save the planet and determine V’Ger’s origins. Also starring in the movie are Leonard Nimoy as Spock, DeForest Kelley as Leonard McCoy, and James Doohan as Montgomery  “Scotty” Scott, among many others.

The film received mixed reviews, many of which faulted it for a lack of action scenes and over-reliance on special effects. Its final production cost ballooned to approximately $44 million, and it earned $139 million worldwide, short of studio expectations but enough for Paramount to propose a less expensive sequel. 

Despite its mixed reception, Star Trek: The Motion Picture is considered a cult classic by many fans of the franchise. The film’s special effects were groundbreaking for their time, and the film’s score by Jerry Goldsmith is considered one of the best in the Star Trek series. The film’s flaws may have overshadowed its strengths at the time of its release, but it has since been re-evaluated by many fans and critics, and it is now considered to be an important part of the Star Trek legacy.

2. Star Trek  II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Directed by Nicholas Meyer, this movie is a sequel to the original series episode  Space Seed (1967). The plot features Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the original crew of the starship USS Enterprise facing off against the genetically engineered tyrant Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán).

The film opens with the Enterprise on a training mission with Starfleet Academy cadets. Khan, who was exiled to the planet Ceti Alpha V in the original series episode, has escaped and is now seeking revenge on Kirk. He has stolen the Genesis Device, a powerful weapon developed by the United Federation of Planets that can create a new planet in a matter of hours. The Genesis planet featured in the movie was the first planet created by the device. Kirk and crew must race against time to stop Khan and save the galaxy.

The movie was praised for its action, suspense, and character development.

3. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

Directed by Leonard Nimoy, this is the second part of a three-film story arc that begins with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) and concludes with Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986). The film follows the crew of the USS Enterprise as they try to accomplish the prime directive of recovering the body of Spock (Nimoy), who was killed in the previous film. The Klingons, led by General Chang (Christopher Plummer), are also searching for Spock’s body, and the two sides clash in a battle that threatens to destroy the Enterprise.

4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

This movie completes the story arc that began in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) and continued in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984).  Intent on returning home to Earth to face trial for their actions in the previous film, the former crew of the USS Enterprise finds the planet in grave danger from an alien probe attempting to contact now-extinct humpback whales.

The film follows Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley), and the rest of the Enterprise crew as they travel back in time to 1986 San Francisco to rescue two humpback whales, which they believe are the only beings who can communicate with the probe and send it away from Earth. Along the way, they must contend with the challenges of living in a world that is vastly different from their own, and they must also learn to work together as a team once again.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home was a critical and commercial success. It was praised for its humor, its heartwarming story, and its positive message about the importance of protecting the environment.

5. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

The film begins with the Enterprise on a mission to rescue a group of scientists who have been stranded on a planetoid. However, the Enterprise is attacked by a mysterious ship, and the crew is forced to abandon the ship. They are rescued by Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill), a Vulcan and Spock’s half-brother who is searching for God at the center of the galaxy.

Claiming to be a powerful being who can lead them to God, Sybok takes the crew to the planet Sha Ka Ree. On Sha Ka Ree, the crew encounters a powerful energy barrier that prevents them from entering. Sybok believes that he can use his powers to break through the barrier, but he is unsuccessful. The crew is then forced to confront Sybok and his followers, who are determined to find God at any cost.

The movie was criticized for its weak plot, its poor special effects, and its lack of focus on its original release. However, the film has since gained a cult following, and it is now considered to be one of the more enjoyable films in the Star Trek franchise, thanks to its themes about faith and the search for meaning in life.

6. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

The movie follows Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley), and the rest of the Enterprise crew as they race against unseen conspirators with a militaristic agenda. It opens with the destruction of the Klingon moon Praxis, which has caused widespread environmental damage to the Klingon Empire. The Klingons, led by Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner), are forced to sue for peace with the United Federation of Planets. Kirk and the Enterprise are tasked with transporting Gorkon to Earth for the peace negotiations. However, Gorkon is assassinated, and Kirk and McCoy are framed for the crime.

Kirk and McCoy are imprisoned in Rura Penthe, a penal colony in the Klingon Empire. They are rescued by Spock and the rest of the Enterprise crew, and they set out to find the real assassin. The investigation leads them to a group of Klingon extremists who are opposed to peace with the Federation. Kirk and the Enterprise crew are able to stop the extremists and prevent a war between the Klingons and the Federation. The film ends with the signing of a peace treaty between the two sides, and Kirk and McCoy are pardoned for the murder of Gorkon.

7. Star Trek: Generations (1994)

Cast: Star Trek: The Next Generation

Where to watch: HBO Max

This movie follows Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) of the USS Enterprise-D as he teams up with Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) to stop a renegade scientist from destroying a planetary system.

Featuring the cast of actors from the  Star Trek: The Next Generation  TV series, the film begins with the crew of the Enterprise D on a mission to investigate a mysterious energy ribbon. The ribbon is revealed to be a doorway to an extra-dimensional realm known as the Nexus, a place of peace and tranquility. The ribbon is also revealed to be unstable, and it is slowly destroying the star system it is located in.

Captain Kirk, who was presumed dead after the events of Star Trek: The Voyage Home , is rescued from the Nexus by the Enterprise-D. Kirk agrees to help Picard stop the scientist, Tolian Soran (Malcolm McDowell), from destroying the star system. Soran is obsessed with returning to the Nexus, and he is willing to sacrifice anything to do so.

Picard, Kirk, and the Enterprise crew are able to stop Soran and save the star system. However, Kirk is killed in the battle. The film ends with Picard eulogizing Kirk, and the Enterprise-D departing on a new mission.

8. Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

Directed by Jonathan Frakes in his film directorial debut, the movie finds the crew of the USS Enterprise-E traveling back in time from the 24th century to the mid-21st century to stop the cybernetic Borg Queen from conquering Earth. 

The film  opens with the Borg attacking Earth in the year 2063, just moments before Zefram Cochrane is set to make the first flight powered by a warp drive. The Borg assimilate Cochrane and destroy the Enterprise-D, killing most of its crew. Six years later, the Enterprise-E is on a mission to investigate a Borg cube that has been disabled by a strange energy field. The crew soon discovers that the cube is from the future, and that the Borg needed to go back in time to prevent Cochrane from making his flight.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his crew must race against time to stop the Borg and save Earth. Along the way, they must also confront their own fears and doubts, and learn to work together as a team.

9. Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)

The film opens with the Enterprise-E on a mission to the planet Ba’ku,  home to a peaceful and idyllic community of people. The Ba’ku live in harmony with nature and are unaffected by aging. The Enterprise’s mission is to study the Ba’ku and their planet, which is located in a region of space that is rich in subspace fields. These fields are believed to have healing properties, and the Federation is interested in using them to develop a new medical treatment.

However, the Enterprise soon learns that the Federation is not the only one interested in the planet of Ba’ku’s. A group of aliens known as the Son’a are also interested in the planet’s healing properties. The Son’a are a dying race, and they believe that the Ba’ku’s planet is the only hope for their survival.

When the Son’a have begun to take steps to take over the Ba’ku’s planet, Picard must decide whether to help the Ba’ku relocate to another place or reclaim their home planet.

Although the film was praised for its special effects and its positive message about the importance of protecting nature, it was criticized for its slow pace and its lack of action.

10. Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

Set in the 24th century, the crew of the USS Enterprise-E are forced to deal with a threat to the United Federation of Planets from a clone of Captain Picard named Shinzon, who has taken control of the Romulan Star Empire in a coup d’état.

The film begins with the Enterprise-E on a mission to escort a Romulan delegation to a peace conference. However, the mission is interrupted when the Enterprise is attacked by a Romulan warship. The attack is led by Shinzon, a clone of Captain Picard who was created by the Romulans as a weapon. Shinzon has taken control of the Romulan Star Empire and is planning to attack the Federation.

The Enterprise crew must race against time to stop Shinzon and prevent him from starting a war. Along the way, they must also deal with the personal implications of facing a clone of their captain.

11. Star Trek (2009)

Timeline: Kelvin

Cast: John Cho, Ben Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, etc.

Where to watch:  Paramount+

Starring a set of new cast members, the film follows James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) aboard the USS Enterprise as they combat Nero (Eric Bana), a Romulan from their future who threatens the United Federation of Planets. It begins with the destruction of the Romulan homeworld, Romulus, by a supernova. Nero, a Romulan commander, blames the Federation for the destruction of his homeworld and sets out to destroy them. He travels back in time to the year 2258, where he encounters the USS Enterprise, a newly-commissioned starship under the command of Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood). Nero attacks the Enterprise and kills Pike, leaving James T. Kirk, a young cadet, in command.

The movie was praised for its action sequences, visual effects, and performances, particularly those of Pine, Quinto, and Bana. It was also praised for its modern take on the Star Trek franchise, which was seen as a breath of fresh air by many fans.

12. Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Cast: John Cho, Benedict Cumberbatch, Alice Eve, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, etc.

Set in the 23rd century, the movie follows the crew of the starship Enterprise as they investigate a series of attacks on Starfleet vessels. The attacks are carried out by a mysterious figure known as John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch), who is revealed to be a Starfleet officer who was presumed dead. Harrison is seeking revenge on Starfleet for the death of his people, and he plans to use a powerful weapon to destroy Earth.

James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and his crew must race against time to stop Harrison before he can carry out his plan. Along the way, they must deal with personal conflicts and challenges, and they must learn to work together as a team in order to save the world.

13. Star Trek Beyond (2016)

In this movie, the crew of the USS Enterprise is on a five-year mission of exploring new worlds when they are attacked by Krall (Idris Elba), a ruthless alien warlord who seeks to destroy the Federation. The Enterprise is badly damaged and forced to crash-land on a desert planet. James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), and the rest of the crew must find a way to repair the ship and defeat Krall before he can destroy the Federation.

How to watch Star Trek movies in release order

The chronological order and the release order of Star Trek  movies are the same, so if you want them in order of their release dates, you can follow the list below:

Here is the list of Star Trek movies in release order:

• Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
• Star Trek: Generations (1994)
• Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
• Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
• Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
• Star Trek (2009)
• Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
• Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Does Paramount+ have all the Star Trek movies?

Though Paramount Plus has called itself the streaming home of the  Star Trek  franchise, the service doesn’t have all the  Star Trek  movies. As seen above, only the Kelvin Timeline Star Trek movies are available for streaming on Paramount+ while all the films set in the Prime Timeline are streaming on HBO Max .

Why are some Star Trek movies not on Paramount+?

While October 2022 saw the biggest exodus of Star Trek movies from Paramount+ in over a year, TrekMovie.com reported that the departure of the films from the platform is simply due to licensing deals cut with other streaming services several years ago. The website pointed out that the six films featuring the original cast of  TOS and the four films featuring the cast of  TNG left Paramount+ for AMC in 2022 only to come back to the former a few months later.

Where to watch Star Trek movies for free

You can watch the Kelvin Timeline Star Trek  movies on Paramount+ for free by taking advantage of the streamer’s 7-day free trial. HBO Max, on the other hand, doesn’t offer any trial, so there’s no way to stream  TOS   films and TNG  films in its library without paying for a subscription plan.

Are there upcoming Star Trek movies in the work?

Star trek 4.

A fourth movie in the Kelvin Timeline is in the works. Star Trek 4 was officially announced at the Paramount Global Investors’ Day event in February 2022. Production of the film started in the spring of 2022. No director is currently attached to the project, but the main cast members from the first three movies are expected to return to their respective roles.

The project will be a joint-venture production between Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot Productions, with J. J. Abrams and Lindsey Weber signed on as producers. Josh Friedman and Cameron Squires were recently hired to do a rewrite of the previous draft of the script created by Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet.

Untitled Kalinda Vasquez film

In March 2021, it was announced that Kalinda Vasquez, who previously worked  on Star Trek: Discovery  is writing a new  Star Trek  film. The project is also a joint-venture production between Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot Productions, with J. J. Abrams serving as producer.

Untitled Nicholas Meyer film

Nicholas Meyer revealed in March 2021 that he and Steven Charles-Jaffe had written a concept for a Star Trek movie set between   Star Trek:  The Motion Picture  and  Star Trek: The Wrath  of Khan . They pitched the idea to Alex Kurtzman, J.J. Abrams, and Emma Watts from Paramount Pictures last year.

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Set Phasers to Stream: Here’s Every ‘Star Trek’ Show and Movie You Can Watch on Paramount+

By Sage Anderson

Sage Anderson

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission.

From low-budget romps to high-energy blockbuster films,  Star Trek  has become one of the most influential sci-fi franchises of all time. While  Trek  has decades worth of TV, film, and animated iterations that might rival  Star Wars , it also has its own unique legacy and long-time, passionate cult following (and merch ).

In the past few years, the Trek television universe has become one of the highlights of original programming on Paramount+ . Helmed by Alex Kurtzman, series like  Star Trek : Lower Decks  and  Picard  have pushed the boundaries of what can be done with the universe’s canon in their first seasons so far.

This year for Star Trek Day, with the premiere episodes of several Trek series and “Short Treks” will be available to view for free from Sept. 7-13. The episodes can be watched from Paramount+’s partner platforms Amazon, Apple and Roku, their official YouTube page, Pluto TV and the Paramount+ free content hub (U.S. only).

From the new releases like the second season of Strange New Worlds , to the old adventures of the Enterprise ,  Deep Space 9 ,  Voyager , and more, here’s how to watch Star Trek in order online.

How Can I Watch Paramount+ Free Online?

When you sign up for a Paramount+ subscription , you can actually choose between two plans to watch Paramount+ online. Pricing for Paramount+ plans include Essential (with limited commercials) for $7.99/month, or ad-free with Showtime for $12.99/month. But if you’re still not sure about committing to a full subscription, you can always stream Paramount+ for free with a 7-day free trial .

For a limited time, the streamer is also slashing the price on its annual plan by 50%, bringing the cost down to just $29.99 a year . Normally $59.99, the new Paramount+ deal gets you access to its full library of content  for just $2.50 a month . Check out the latest Paramount+ deals here .

Buy Paramount+ Free Trial

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What  Star Trek TV Shows Are Available on Paramount+?

Premiering on September 8, 1966 on NBC-TV,  Star Trek  brought in a new era of programming for the science fiction genre. Though it wasn’t a critical success at the time it aired, with all 79 episodes of the original series running in syndication, a devoted fan base grew. Decades later, there are eight TV series with hundreds of episodes, all currently streaming now on Paramount+ .

Here’s an updated list of all the  Star Trek shows on Paramount+. Note that this isn’t the official timeline for when these shows take place in canon — Enterprise  is actually the “earliest” Trek series—but we’ll cover that below.

• Star Trek: The Original Series  (1966-1969)
• Star Trek: The Animated Series  (1973-1974)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation  (1987-1994)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine  (1993-1999)
• Star Trek: Voyager  (1995-2001)
• Star Trek: Enterprise  (2001-2005)
• Star Trek: Discovery  (2017-Present)
• Star Trek:  Short Treks  (2018-Present)
• Star Trek: Picard  (2020-Present)
• Star Trek: Lower Decks  (2020-Present)
• Star Trek: Prodigy  (2021-Present)
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022-Present)
• Star Trek: Section 31  (TBA)
• Star Trek: Starfleet Academy  (TBA) 

What  Star Trek Movies Are Streaming on Paramount+?

Paramount+ is the home to all the films featuring the cast of the Original Series, while many other Trek films are also hosted on other streaming services. Here are the  Star Trek movies streaming on Paramount+ right now. 

• Star Trek: The Motion Picture  (1979)
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan  (1982)
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock  (1984)
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home  (1986)
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier  (1989)
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country  (1991)
• Star Trek: Generations (1994)
• Star Trek: First Contact  (1996)
•   Star Trek: Insurrection  (1998)
• Star Trek: Nemesis  (2002)
• Star Trek  (2009)
• Star Trek Into Darkness  (2013)
• Star Trek Beyond (2016)
• Building Star Trek  (2016)  —  Documentary
• Woman In Motion  (2021) — Documentary 
• Trekkies 2  (2004) — Documentary 

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• Star Trek: The Original Series: “The Cage”
• Star Trek: The Next Generation: “Encounter at Farpoint, Part I & II”
• Star Trek: Voyager: “Caretaker, Part I & II”
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: “The Emissary, Part I & II”
• Star Trek: Enterprise: “Broken Bow Part I & II”
• Star Trek: The Animated Series: “Beyond the Farthest Star”
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: “Strange New Worlds”
• Star Trek: Lower Decks: “Second Contact”
• Star Trek: Discovery: “The Vulcan Hello”
• Star Trek: Picard: “Remembrance”
• Star Trek: Short Treks: “The Girl Who Made the Stars,” “The Trouble with Edward,” “Ask Not,” “Runaway,” and “Ephraim and Dot”

How to Watch Every Star Trek Movie and Show In Timeline Order

Figuring out chronological timeline of  Star Trek  over can be overwhelming for even the most seasoned of Trekkies. With over 50 years of mirrorverses, time traveling back and forth, alternate timelines and spin-offs, we’ve created a guide for how to watch every  Star Trek  series and film in order. We’ve organized it by Stardate instead of year of release for optimal accuracy, but note that some series like  TNG  and  DS9  run concurrently.

• Star Trek: Enterprise  (2151-2161)
• Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1 and 2  (2255-)
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2255-) 
• Star Trek: The Original Series  (2265-2269)
• Star Trek: The Animated Series  (2269-2270)
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture  (2273)
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan  (2285)
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock  (2285)
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home  (2286/1986)
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier ( 2287)
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country  (2293)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation  (2364-2370)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine  (2369-2375)
• Star Trek Generations  (2371)
• Star Trek: Voyager  (2371-2378)
• Star Trek: First Contact  (2373/2063)
• Star Trek: Insurrection  (2375)
• Star Trek: Nemesis  (2379)
• Star Trek: Lower Decks  (2380)
• Star Trek: Picard  (2399-)
• Star Trek: Discovery Season 3  (3155?)
• Star Trek: Short Treks  (2239-3300 Prime Timeline)

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• Star Trek  (2258 Kelvin Timeline)
• Star Trek Into Darkness  (2259 Kelvin Timeline)
• Star Trek Beyond  (2263 Kelvin Timeline)

Every Star Trek Series Coming To Paramount+ This Year (And Beyond)

• Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 (2024)
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 (2024) 
• Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 (2024) 
• Star Trek: Lower Decks  Season 5 (October 2024)
• Star Trek: Section 31  (TBA)
• Star Trek: Starfleet Academy  (TBA)

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