It is official. Paramount's world famous "Star Trek" franchise and Lucasfilm's uber-popular "Star Wars" empire have merged.
Breaking News: Star Trek and Star Wars to merge
"Breaking News: Star Trek and Star Wars to merge"
Just last month, Time Warner, the parent company behind the major film studio Warner Brothers, merged with independently owned studio, New Line Cinema. For those unaware, New Line Cinema is the studio responsible for "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and the popular "Nightmare on Elm Street" franchise. Due to several creative and marketing mistakes, virtually all of New Line's 2007 slate was met with dismal box office performance--from "Rush Hour 3" to this fall's action spoof, "Shoot 'Em Up."
The final blow to New Line came this past Christmas with the release of "The Golden Compass." Mediocre reviews, an angry religious backlash and poor timing lead to a decent, but underwhelming box office performance for the expensive fantasy epic.
The collapse of New Line has sparked numerous talks of merging among other major companies, studios and franchises. In fact, two major film franchises finished merging discussions just three days ago, and I was lucky enough to cover the event.
It is official. Paramount's world famous "Star Trek" franchise and Lucasfilm's uber-popular "Star Wars" empire have merged.
"Trek" sales have sunk farther than ever before. Their last TV venture, "Enterprise" fell in the ratings and was cancelled, and "Star Trek: Nemesis," the tenth "Trek" outing, saw poor box office reception.
"It was time," said one Paramount executive. "We just can't compete with 'Star Wars' and their massive enterprise…no pun intended."
As always, "Star Wars" creator George Lucas declined to comment. However, I was able to track down a few of his executives who seemed very excited about the merger.
"It's great business," remarked one Lucasfilm executive. "Lucas is already hard at work re-tinkering and re-editing all 79 of the original 'Star Trek' episodes. Each episode, when finished, will feature brand new visual effects and scenes that weren't there before. We've even got a great idea for Jar Jar! Fans just love him and want to see more of him. Lucas has heard their call and will provide."
In fact, I was able to take a sneak peak at some of Lucasfilm's current work on the classic "Trek" series. Take a look at these exciting DVDFuture exclusive pictures below:
Numerous fansites are claiming that the next "Star Wars" film, the CG animated adventure "The Clone Wars" (due this summer) will feature several key "Star Trek" characters, including one age-old captain and a logical pointy-eared fellow. One studio executive hinted that the Enterprise-E will be used during a key battle sequence.
"'Star Trek' and 'Star Wars' have always acted like quarreling brothers for years. Now it's official—they are brothers, and the fight's finally over," one Paramount executive happily sparked.
So what will become of J.J. Abram's lavish "Star Trek" reboot due next summer? Online rumors seem to speculate that intense re-shoots are currently underway--with more rumors claiming that the Enterprise itself will be shot into a galaxy far far away in the upcoming film, a la "Star Trek: Voyager."
"Certainly, the Enterprise will remain a staple of the series," claimed another Lucasfilm executive, "but I don't think "Star Trek" [the show] will continue, at least not in its regular form. Rather, Lucas wants to go in a whole new direction with the 'Star Trek' series. He feels that C-3PO, R2-D2 and maybe Data have a future together on primetime television."
Those collecting toys should save some room for excitement. A new line of "Trek Wars" toys (the poster is pictured above next to "Trek" icons William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy) will arrive this summer. Included among the toys will be a Captain Kirk action figure, equipped with lightsaber and phaser. These toys will probably fly off of Wal-Mart's shelves quickly, so start saving your money now.
Addressing the news, both William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were on-hand. "Whatever pays the bills," noted an excited Shatner, "is fine with me."
Actor Leonard Nimoy, who appears in Abram's "Trek" reboot was not as excited. "It seems like bad timing, but it was apparently the logical choice. At least that's what they told me."
As for Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart declined to comment), he and Yoda will meet in coming novelizations, the first of which should arrive early summer. Apparently, it will serve as a tie-in to "The Clone Wars" feature film.
"Star Trek" isn't the only franchise Lucasfilm is eying now that this merger has become official. Rumors of a "Lost in Space" and "Battlestar Galactica" merge are also reportedly underway.
As for franchises outside the sci-fi realm, "Lord of the Rings" executive Peter Jackson has sworn off rumors that they have been propositioned by Lucas.
"No way! Frodo's journey is done. I'll be damned if he holds a lightsaber by the end of the year!" Jackson screamed.
"This is a really exciting time," said "Star Wars" and "Trek" fan Barry Luzar "Both 'Star Trek' and 'Star Wars' are hella-cool, and I can't wait to see what they will do together. Hopefully Luke Skywalker can find his way into the heart of T'Pol. [laughs alone] That would be awesome!"
This writer has nothing but excitement for the future's of both New Line Cinema and "Trek Wars." Either way you look at it, nothing will ever be the same.
This column is a parody and none of the quotes and/or statements made about Star Wars or Star Trek are true.
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----R. L. Shaffer