“Strange New Worlds” concludes with season 5? One pitch could throw the franchise even further into the past to the late 22nd century, the earliest years of the United Federation of Planets.
The idea comes from actor Scott Bakula, former star of “Star Trek: Enterprise,” and “Enterprise” writer/producer Mike Sussman. “Enterprise” was a prequel set in the 2150s, a decade before the Federation was founded. Bakula played Jonathan Archer, captain of the first starship Enterprise. Unfortunately, “Enterprise” ran only four seasons — a true shame, since the show spent seasons 3 and 4 spreading its wings after a rough start.
“Enterprise” revealed that Archer would eventually serve as President of the Federation from 2184 to 2192 as a background detail. Bakula and Sussman have made that the crux of their pitch, “Star Trek: United,” which (if picked up) will follow Archer during his presidential tenure. In comments to TrekMovie (who first broke the news of the pitch), Sussman said he thinks “United” could be not just “The West Wing” in space, but also the “Star Trek” answer to “Andor,” i.e. a more political and grounded series.
Sussman revealed some further details about the pitch, including what he envisions as the series’ opening scene: Archer and his crew fighting in the Earth-Romulan War. Or, as Sussman puts it, a scene from the “Enterprise” season 7 that never was:
“Something that has become clear to me from feedback since we first started talking about this, is fans saying they never got to see the Romulan War. We were waiting for it, and you guys just kind of skipped over it [in the ‘Enterprise’ series finale]. And I share their frustration. So I would want to show [some of] that, and a particular pivotal moment that’s not just pure fan service. The scene would actually introduce a very important character for the show moving forward.”
