Jonathan Frakes Calls Star Trek Fans “Trolls” While the Franchise Quietly Moves Forward Without Him
Jonathan Frakes has joined what increasingly looks like a coordinated blame campaign against Star Trek fans, citing “trolls” as a contributing factor in Starfleet Academy’s cancellation while simultaneously lamenting that no Trek is currently in production, a claim that CinemaCon 2026 directly contradicts.
Speaking to TrekMovie’s All Access Star Trek podcast, Frakes revealed that showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau personally called him to deliver the news. “They were calling people to let them know that the show was kind of ‘on ice,’ I think was the phrase they used,” Frakes explained. But he didn’t stop at reporting the news. He went further, echoing Kurtzman and Landau’s own framing of the cancellation: “They couldn’t not mention as a factor, the trolls.”
Frakes elaborated on his theory of why the show failed, pointing to critics who hadn’t watched the series. The implication is clear: audiences who rejected Starfleet Academy did so unfairly, driven by bad faith rather than legitimate creative criticism.
This conveniently ignores that Starfleet Academy’s viewership numbers told their own story, independent of online commentary.
Frakes then lamented the broader state of the franchise: “I think, sadly, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of our incredible franchise, it seemed very unfortunate that they’ve chosen this moment to not have any new Trek in production.” He expressed genuine puzzlement at the situation, adding: “I’m very optimistic about the future. I just wish that something was percolating now.”
Something is percolating. Several things, actually.
Paramount confirmed at CinemaCon 2026 that a new Star Trek film featuring entirely new characters is in active development, directed by Toby Haynes — the man behind Andor’s most acclaimed episodes. Seth Grahame-Smith wrote the screenplay with Simon Kinberg and J.J. Abrams producing. Separately, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, who directed Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, were confirmed for a second distinct Star Trek film. A Kirk-era origin story remains in discussion as a third project.
Frakes himself acknowledged some of this, albeit with characteristic vagueness: “I know that there’s talk of another movie. I don’t think it’s going to be one of the J.J. movies. It seems it’s going to be a brand-new [idea].” He added: “All I’ve got is rumor and innuendo, and none of it is encouraging.”
Three confirmed Star Trek films in active development at a major studio isn’t rumor and innuendo. It’s a franchise moving forward — just without the television infrastructure that employed Frakes as a director.
His comments didn’t exist in isolation. Robert Picardo, who had a guest role on Starfleet Academy, separately attributed the cancellation to the show being “out of step with today’s changing political and cultural climate” — a framing that assigns responsibility to the cultural moment rather than the show’s creative execution. Picardo described the news as “sad” while noting fan backlash that labeled Season 1 “too woke” as part of the cancellation narrative.
Two Star Trek actors. Same week. Same framing. Same deflection toward audience toxicity rather than creative accountability.
Frakes at least expressed genuine warmth for the franchise’s legacy. “The power that Roddenberry invested in it seems to have made it through six decades,” he said, and offered measured hope: “I’m sure that Trek will resurface, it always has, and it always will.”
That’s true. Trek is resurfacing. At the movies. With fresh directors, new characters, and creative teams unburdened by the streaming-era Trek apparatus that produced Starfleet Academy.
Frakes closed with a practical observation: “In truth, there will be a Star Trek on the air through 2027. That gives us a lot of time to get something else in the oven, if you will.”
What do you think of Star Trek actors blaming fans for Starfleet Academy’s cancellation?
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