Star Trek has been in a bad state for several years, and Section 31 star Robert Kazinsky stated that Alex Kurtzman told him point blankly, “Star Trek is dying.”
Trek fans have had a rough time over the last several years, starting with Alex Kurtzman’s Star Trek: Discovery, followed by a pile of shows that didn’t feel like Trek whatsoever. The shows are mired with identity politics and bad story choices that have left fans baffled as to why they’re being made.
Robert Kazinsky was very candid before Section 31 aired that it wasn’t what the Trek people wanted, and he reiterated that in a recent interview with TrekCulture.
“I said it in the press tour that the Star Trek the people want is a thousand more episodes of TNG. We ain’t giving them that. The expectations that people have is then are also saying—I’ve seen a lot of people saying online—this is the first movie we’ve had since Star Trek: Beyond, and it’s not even a shadow of that.”
“Well, it’s not gonna be like that,” he continued. “First off, that was a $200 million movie that had an unlimited run time; it could have been as long as they wanted. We had what essentially two episodes of a Strange New Worlds budget to make an entire movie starring Michelle Yeoh, and it had to be limited to ninety-five minutes and fifty-nine seconds, not a second longer; it’s an unfair comparison.”
He then reacted to reviews of Section 31, saying, “I knew people would have an extreme reaction to it when it came out. Am I disappointed at the cruelty? Yes, because we are meant to be better than that in the Star Trek Fandom, we’re not Star Wars… …we’re meant to be kinder. We’re not meant to be online trying to hurt people’s feelings.”
He reiterated his disdain for online criticism, saying, “I’m a firm believer that if you love Star Trek, you must be a good person, and if you’re a good person, you don’t do things like that. Is it disappointing to see some of that reaction? Of course, it is. Is it surprising? No.”
He then doubled down on the mantra that we hear so much when Hollywood actors are upset by the criticism, “Star Trek isn’t for you, it’s for everyone. That means if you don’t like Star Trek, that’s fine, don’t like it, don’t ruin it for everybody else.” He then seemed to signal to the modern audience. “I’m seeing a lot of positive reactions from people who don’t really know Star Trek that well. Those are the people that we were trying to hit.”
“I encourage everyone to view it not with lower expectations but with new expectations,” he then said.
After TrekCulture’s interviewer spoke further on the topic, he started on what he thought of Alex Kurtzman, saying, “When I got this job I was like, why are they doing a Section 31 movie? It’s going to going to be hated from the get-go, no one’s going to want to watch a Section 31 movie, and we’re doing a TV budget movie. This isn’t going to be what people want. Then I spoke to Alex [Kurtzman] and I spoke to Olatunde [Osunsanmi, director] and they explained to me that Star Trek is dying. I don’t know if people know that.”
“I was talking about Star Trek at my gym…” he elaborated. “…none of them knew what Star Trek was. Can you imagine that?”
“Star Trek’s fan base has never been enormous. It’s always been a small and dedicated group,” he said. “That dedicated group is aging and we are going to lose Star Trek if we don’t bring in new fans, new eyes, and new ways of getting people to love what we love.”
He then elaborated on Kurtzman’s explanation again, “They explained to me very clearly, and once I heard this I was one hundred percent behind this movie, was you have to make different flavors of Star Trek for a different time. You have to try to bring in new people.”
“This film, it wasn’t made for people who love Star Trek,” he concluded.
He was certainly correct about that, as Section 31 seemed to be hated by critics and fans alike, widely regarded as the worst of the Star Trek universe, even as it’s been a tough few years for fans. Is Star Trek dying? Part of it is because of the low-quality offerings under Kurtzman, like Section 31, which gives no reason for new fans to tune in and no reason for old fans to return.
What do you think of Rob Kazinsky’s comments on Star Trek dying? Leave a comment and let us know.
For a great alternative to modern Star Trek, with sci-fi spy thriller action, read The Stars Entwined on Amazon!
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Star Trek isn’t dying. It’s dead. Outside of the “Unification” short from the Roddenberry Archive, there hasn’t been any new Star Trek made since 2005.