A new Star Trek origin movie set in the decades before J.J. Abrams’ reboot is in development at Paramount, which could enable Scott Bakula’s return as Star Trek: Enterprise‘s Jonathan Archer. The Chris Pine movies take place in an alternate timeline that diverged from the Prime Star Trek timeline with the destruction of the USS Kelvin in 2233. The announcement that Paramount is working on a movie set before the Kelvin Timeline movies does imply that it could take place in the Prime Star Trek universe. Billed as a “Star Trek origin story”, the movie will be directed by Andor and Doctor Who director Toby Haynes from a script by Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter‘s Seth Grahame-Smith.

The new Star Trek origin movie isn’t the first time that the franchise has explored the earliest days of Starfleet and the Federation. In 2001, Star Trek: Enterprise depicted the first five-year mission of Captain Jonathan Archer and the crew of the Enterprise NX-01 in the mid-22nd century. Enterprise was sadly canceled after season 4, and came to an end with a controversial finale. With the announcement of a movie set in the decades before J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek timeline, there’s a possibility to right this wrong and give Scott Bakula’s Archer a proper send-off.

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Could Scott Bakula’s Archer Return In The New Star Trek Movie Origin Story?

Star Trek: Enterprise never got the chance to properly tell the story of how the Federation was eventually founded, due to being canceled after season 4. A Star Trek origin movie could, therefore, provide a chance to fill in the gaps between Enterprise season 4, episode 21 “Terra Prime” and the controversial finale. Focusing on this time period would allow for Archer and the Enterprise NX-01 to feature in some way. Alternatively, production artwork for Enterprise‘s Mirror Universe episodes revealed that Archer went on to become Federation President, meaning that he could be in office at the time of the new Star Trek origin movie.

While there are plenty of opportunities for Scott Bakula’s Jonathan Archer to appear in the new movie, it’s also possible that the production may completely sidestep Star Trek canon to tell a brand-new story with a fresh cast of characters. The new Star Trek origin movie is aimed at a theatrical audience, so it would make sense to avoid deep-cut references to avoid alienating a general audience. Scott Bakula’s return as Federation President Archer is therefore more likely as a Paramount+ exclusive in the vein of Michelle Yeoh’s Star Trek: Section 31.

Enterprise’s Archer Was Referenced In J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Movies

As the only piece of established lore in the Kelvin Timeline, Star Trek: Enterprise was frequently referenced in J.J. Abrams’ Trek movies. In Star Trek (2009), Simon Pegg’s Scotty’s miraculous transwarp beaming experiments put him on the wrong side of Admiral Archer. While trying to solve the conundrum of beaming a person from one planet to another, Scotty used “Admiral Archer‘s prize beagle” and lost the ill-fated dog. Archer exiled Scotty to the Federation outpost on Delta Vega, where he first meets Kirk and the older Spock (Leonard Nimoy).

The plot of Star Trek: Beyond revolved around a deep-cut reference to Star Trek: Enterprise. The movie’s villain, Krall (Idris Elba) was actually a former Starfleet officer called Balthazar M. Edison, who commanded the USS Franklin before it was lost. For the general audience, this was just a compelling backstory for Idris Elba’s Star Trek villain, but for fans it was a thrilling callback to Scott Bakula’s Archer, the Xindi War, and Star Trek: Enterprise. Perhaps a similar balance can be struck with the script for the new Star Trek origin movie, allowing Scott Bakula to make a return as Jonathan Archer.