Posted in: Movies, Paramount Pictures, Star Trek, TV | Tagged: star trek, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Star Trek: How Simon Pegg Got Us Thinking About a TOS/SNW Crossover

Simon Pegg believes Star Trek should move on from "dark and gritty" and back to its "TOS" roots. Why not a "Strange New Worlds" crossover?

If Star Trek IV ever leaves space dock as Paramount's final Kelvin universe timeline film, at least one star has a strong suggestion on how to take that final bow in Simon Pegg, who played Lt. Montgomery "Scotty" Scott., the U.S.S. Enterprise's chief engineer for all three films since 2009's J.J. Abrams Star Trek soft reboot, returning for 2013's Into Darkness and 2016's Beyond. The franchise has since been in limbo as it found its way back to TV thanks to the studio's streaming platform, Paramount+. Participating in the quiz-oriented video for Variety, the actor, who's promoting Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, went through some of his most iconic roles in Does Simon Pegg Know His Lines?. You can skip to the 4:13 mark to get to his Trek segment.

Why Simon Pegg Wants a Back-to-Basics Approach for His Final Star Trek Film

With the 2009 film, it was Paramount's first attempt to revisit The Original Series characters, focusing on their early years on Starfleet, including the notion of how James T Kirk (Chris Pine) can miraculously leapfrog his way to the captaincy by the end of the film. While far less cerebral or nuanced than the original TOS films, the Kelvin films opted for a far more action-oriented and adventurous approach, and less on the scientific and exploratory route. It's certainly not a trend that's specific to the newer films, but it's a creative decision that's largely been embraced throughout the TNG films since 1996's First Contact and much of the Paramount+ canon.

"These days, everything becomes very gritty, and I think it's this weird kind of justification of 'How do we make this thing, which is essentially quite youthful?' Although I would argue that the original 'Star Trek' series wasn't childish,'" Pegg, who co-wrote Beyond, told Variety. "It was actually quite sophisticated. Things don't have to be gritty and dark to be for adults. Science fiction doesn't have to be full of death and swearing and questionable morals to be consumed by adults; it just has to be thoughtful and imaginative. I'd like to see 'Star Trek' kind of get back to the spirit of 'The Original Series' a little bit, and get out there on that five-year mission, although we've completed our five-year mission. So if we did another one, it'll be interesting to see what we do next."

Coincidentally, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is currently on that five-year mission in the Prime universe. As long as there are two seasons to go, why not have the Prime and Kelvin universe crossover just once? At least give the fans something while they wait for that fourth film that may or may never come, especially when SNW can crossover with the animated Lower Decks? It doesn't even have to be the entire crew. I can see Martin Quinn and Pegg's dual Scotty's combining their engine-uity…see what I did there, trying to get the Kelvin counterpart. Pegg wouldn't even have to be alone, like how we saw Jack Quaid's Boimler and Tawny Newsom's Mariner make their way to live-action. It would be wonderful to see Pine, Zachary Quinto, or Zoe Saldana take the trip with Pegg. Hell, John Cho's Sulu can come over and compete with Melissa Navia's Ortegas in piloting skills before the new Prime Sulu arrives. For more on Pegg's career, you can check out the video.

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