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The Star Trek franchise is growing rapidly, with plans of releasing some more titles under Paramount Pictures in the coming years. So believe us, now is the best time to explore all Star Trek movies in order if you haven’t already .
If you want to watch Star Trek movies in order, keep reading, the article includes a full breakdown of the 13 Star Trek movies in order and what are the 3 new Star Trek movies in order.
Star Trek is a sprawling series of 13 motion pictures & 9 TV shows. The ultimate saga of alternate timelines and multiple parallel universes could become overwhelming for newbie Trekkies.
Therefore, it’s better to watch the star trek movies in order so that you don’t lose track of the events happening in the series.
What is the Best Order to Watch Star Trek movies?
All Trek newbies can catch up on this 55-year-old science fiction saga of time travel and multiple parallel universes, either by watching star trek movies in release order or chronological order. However, it is better to stream this diverse Star Trek movie order.
Also, for your better understanding, the complete list of Star Trek movies in chronological order is as follows:
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
- Star Trek (2009)
- Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
- Star Trek Beyond (2016)
Star Trek Movies In Order Explained:
Without further ado; let’s get started with the Star Trek movies in order timeline in detail:
1. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
Writer: Gene Roddenberry
Director: Robert Wise
Cast: William Shatner, Leopard Nimoy, DeForest Kelly
This is the first motion picture of Star Trek Universe, in which Captain James T takes over the control of a renovated USS enterprise. He starts investigating a cloud of energy that is moving towards the Earth. Unfortunately, the Energy cloud could destroy a lot of things. But before Captain stops the cloud, he must learn to tame an unfamiliar USS enterprise.
2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Writer: Gene Roddenberry
Director: Nicholas Meyer
Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelly
Star Trek II has certainly grabbed the audience’s attention and is considered a successful entry in the StarTrek franchise. In this movie, Captain James T Kirk takes over the command of the USS enterprise to crack down on his notorious opponent Khan Noonien Singh & his super soldiers. Khan tries to steal the secret device Genesis while he attempts to escape the Planet. Captain Kirk must stop him before he flees.
3. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
Writer: Gene Roddenberry
Director : Leonard Nimoy
Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelly
When the USS Enterprise returns to Earth after its battle with Khan, Leonard “H” Bones, one of their members starts acting strangely. HE is detained because of his strange behavior. Upon investigating, Captain Kirk learns that Spock has transferred his Katra into McCoy before his death. The crew must discover Spock’s body to get rid of the Katra and save McCoy. Meanwhile, they have to fight Klington Kruge over the control of the Genesis device.
4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
Writer: Gene Roddenberry
Director : Leonard Nimoy
Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelly
A mysterious ship starts circling the world and destroys the Planet’s power sources. The ship makes a lot of strange noise, similar to that of a humpback whale, an extinct species. The crew travels back in time to 1986 to get a humpback whale because they believe the ship wants to listen back to the songs of a humpback whale.
5. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
Writer: Gene Roddenberry
Director: William Shatner
Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelly
Capt. Kirk, Bones, and Spocks are ordered to rescue hostages on a planet named Nimbus III. Soon after reaching the Planet, the trio realized that Spock’s half-brother keeps the hostages. He did this in order to lure a starship and plans to meet a God at a mythical planet, Sha Ka Ree. The crew must stop him before he carries out his plans.
6. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Writer: Gene Roddenberry
Director: Nicholas Meyer
Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelly
Captain Kirk is ordered to save the Klingon ambassador but is instead accused of his murder. The ambassador is murdered by the assassins who invaded the ship and killed him. Based on the accusation, Klingons sentences Captain Kirk and McCoy to life imprisonment on an asteroid. Spocks and the crew must save them and find out the culprits behind the murder.
7. Star Trek: Generations (1994)
Writer: Gene Roddenberry
Director: David Carson
Cast: Patrick Stewart, William Shatner, Malcolm McDowell
This movie introduced the crew of the new generation while still starring some from the old cast. The movie’s story revolves around an El-Aurin, known as Dr. Soran, and an energy ribbon ‘Nexus.’ Captain Kirk saves Soran. Later, Captain Jean Luc Picard learns Soran has a weapon capable of destroying stars.
8. Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
Writer: Gene Roddenberry
Director: Jonathan Frakes
Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner
The USS Enterprise helps to defeat a Borg cube attacking the Earth under the command of Captain Jean Luc Picard. Unfortunately, the Cube released smaller ships just before it is destroyed. The ships are released in the Vortex, followed by the USS Enterprise. Soon they realized that the Borg had traveled back in time to destroy the whole Planet. The movie also covers humanity’s first interaction with Vulcans, an alien race.
9. Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
Writer: Gene Roddenberry
Director: Jonathan Frakes
Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner
The story is about a planet that emits unique radiation to make its people (Ba’Ku) immortal. Brent Spinner’s data is sent to know more about the Ba’Ku people, but it begins to malfunction, forcing Captain Jean Luc Picard and the crew to investigate. They uncover a conspiracy that can cause Ba’Ku to leave their home planet, and the USS Enterprise must stop the conspiracy in order to save them.
10. Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
Writer: Gene Roddenberry
Director: Stuart Baird
Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner
Captain Picard and the USS Enterprise crew go to meet the leader of the Romulans, Shinzon. After reaching there, they get to know that Shinzon is a clone of Captain Picard, and Romulans planned to invade the Federation. However, the plan has been abandoned, and Shinzon is forced into slavery. While there, Shinzon created his own starship, Scimitar, and planned to destroy life by using poisonous radiation. The crew must stop Shinzon before he destroys the world with his evil plans.
11. Star Trek (2009)
Writer: Roberto Orci
Director: J.J Abrams
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg
Nero, a Romulan commander, has attacked the USS Kelvin. George, Captain Kirk’s father, is the first office aboard the starship and dies. After his death, it’s in Captain Kirk’s hands to save humanity & Earth. He must forget his rivalry with Spock, a logical Vulcan, and find a way to defeat Nero before he implements his plans of human race destruction. This is one of the best Chris Pine Star Trek movies in order.
12. Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Writer: Roberto Orci
Director: J.J Abrams
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana
USS Enterprises is dealing with issues that have ruined the organization and everything it stands for, leaving the world in a state of crisis. Meanwhile, Captain Kirk leads a mission to a war zone where he has to take control of a one-man mass destruction weapon. In addition, Kirk must fight emotionally to save his family: that is his crew. This is one of the best Star Trek movies in order.
13. Star Trek Beyond (2016)
There is a sudden surprise attack on outer space, due to which USS Enterprise has to crash-land on a mysterious planet. Krall is the one who planned and carried out the attack. He is a lizard-like alien dictator. His energy is refilled by sucking the life out of his victims. However, Krall needs an artifact present on the destroyed starship. The USS Enterprise crew, including Captain Kirk and Spock, must find a way to fight off the deadly alien race and move out of the hostile planet.
FAQS
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Which is better, Star Wars or Star Trek?
Wrapping Up:
That’s all about how to watch the Star Trek movies in order. We want to remind you that whichever order you choose to stream the Star Trek movie saga, will become an exceptional and memorable experience for you because of this series’ extraordinary content and storylines.
Read and learn about the science of Star trek quadrants to understand it
Happy Streaming!