Posted in: CBS, Star Trek, streaming, TV | Tagged: alex kurtzman, Nicholas Meyer, Space Seed, star trek

Star Trek: Nicholas Meyer Is Still Interested in Khan Prequel Series

Writer & director Nicholas Meyer has been a part of some of Star Trek's biggest milestones as a cinematic franchise, notably as director of what many argue is the best of The Original Series films in The Wrath of Khan (1982). He also helmed their final sendoff in 1991's The Undiscovered Country. While it might come as a surprise to some, Alex Kurtzman, who's one of the primary creative forces behind the franchise's resurgence at Paramount+ came up to him to pitch a project that's near-and-dear to Meyer's heart but found himself in a scenario where life is imitating art in a video Meyer posted on Twitter.

Nicholas Meyer on Alex Kurtzman's Star Trek Spinoff Prequel Pitch

The Star Trek line I always wanted to pursue. In fact, I did pursue was about what happened to Khan on Ceti Alpha V after Kirk marooned him there. As we remember from [The Original Series] episode 'Space Seed', Khan tried to take over the Enterprise after being rescued in space with his followers, who are of course, genetically engineered supermen from the late 20th century. He tried to repay Kirk's hospitality by hijacking his ship. The hijacking was ultimately foiled and Kirk marooned Khan and his followers on a lovely planet so they give him a chance to put his utopian dictatorship into place. The episode ended with them saying, 'Well, it would be interesting to see what we planted here…to come back one day' in 'Space Seed'.

Then of course, we know from watching 'The Wrath of Khan' that things went horribly wrong when a nearby planet exploded and threw Ceti Alpha V out of its orbit and turned the planet into a wasteland. Then when Terrell and Chekov show up, Khan makes his escape and he's very very angry Kirk…'Admiral Kirk never bothered to check on our progress', etc. So Alex Kurtzman said to me, 'What about doing a three-night or three-hour series, a limited series about what happened to Khan in those intervening 15 years once he was left on the planet.' I said, 'Gee, I think it is a great idea' and I wrote it. I thought it came out pretty good, but I never heard from anybody again. It's just sitting there, but that's the line I pursue.

The timing coincides with conventions currently going on, particularly Star Trek: Mission Chicago and surrounding fanfare. Should Kurtzman actually circle back on the project, there's also a matter of who will play Khan in the limited series since Benedict Cumberbatch is more an exclusive to J.J. Abrams' Kelvin Universe, not to mention probably out of Paramount's price range and likely too old to play the younger Khan. The late Ricardo Montalban played the role in TOS and the 1982 sequel film. Who do you think should be the new Khan?

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