Project Hail Mary author Andy Weir reveals he once "pitched a Star Trek show to Paramount" that never materialized

What if one of the most scientifically grounded sci-fi minds almost reshaped Star Trek?! That’s the kind of “what could have been” story that instantly hooks fans.

This phenomenon remains an inspiring force for ideas from great science fiction writers! Star Trek has defined the sci-fi genre for decades, so it's no wonder that many who appreciate science, space exploration, and humanity's future are inspired by the very concept of this show.

In fact, it's no surprise that Andy Weir, famous for his hard, scientific fiction, admitted to pitching a Star Trek series at one point or another. That being said, Weir did note his dislike of the recent Star Trek programs under Paramount's purview.

"It's gone, baby! It's all gone."

Weir made this comment after the announcement that Star Trek: Starfleet Academy would end with its second season. During the discussion, Critical Drinker podcast host Matthew Marsden suggested that every Star Trek series from Star Trek: Enterprise onward should be removed from canon.

As per ScreenRant, Weir said,

"Lower Decks I thought was entertaining and fun. All the others, they can go. And here’s another thing: I pitched a Star Trek show to Paramount, and I was in Zoom with the showrunners with all the shows and spent a lot of time talking to [executive producer Alex Kurtzman]. I don’t like a lot of the new Trek.

Even though Weir has opened up to revealing that his Star Trek idea was not developed, this doesn't give us any more insight into what the show would have actually entailed, due to the fact that nothing concrete about the project has been revealed to the public.

Andy Weir's Star Trek pitch

Andy Weir pitched the idea for a Star Trek show to Paramount, and it did not go any further than this point. All this has come from Weir's direct admission of proposing the series. The truth of the matter is, the proposed Star Trek series simply reached the pitching stage and was never officially announced as a potential series, or even put into the next stage of production. Much like other TV pitches, this one was purely theoretical.

What we know now is the plot, setting and even characters of Weir's proposed Star Trek project have never been revealed and when asked about this, Weir admitted he could not say much due to the information being tied to his work and it is unlikely that we will ever know what this particular plot would have actually been, as there are clearly no confirmed details yet to share with us.

A lack of explicit details

What's interesting about Weir's Star Trek pitch is that there hasn't been any explicit reason why this idea hasn't gone any further than the pitching stage. There's been no mention of disagreement, of creative differences, scheduling issues, or even a lack of common interests that could have been in play for these two parties.

All we are able to confirm so far is that, essentially, the proposal was made, and it wasn't developed. As there's no proof to back up any other claims, anything other than a statement saying the project simply wasn't followed up would be pure speculation, which is extremely common in the realm of television shows, and especially so with the highly-popular Star Trek franchise.

The views Andy Weir holds on the franchise itself

While news of his own rejected pitch has come to light, Andy Weir has also recently opened up about his thoughts and opinions on Star Trek as a franchise, even in its modern forms. This insight into his feelings is interesting because Weir has often been quite critical. He has said that, in his view, modern-day Star Trek is very different from the science-based exploration and optimistic ideas he loved in the original Star Trek and its earlier versions.

Although he can be critical, he does admire certain recent series, such as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: Lower Decks, which he feels offer a more positive take on what the Star Trek universe should represent.

A look at the constantly changing world of Star Trek

It's important to remember that the landscape that Star Trek itself is a part of is ever-changing. Early on, Star Trek episodes featured a more self-contained plot, with more of a character-driven narrative compared to later Star Trek shows, which have more narrative-driven plots to support the complex and often mature stories the shows tell.

This reflects the broader trend of many shows in the television universe, with themes of science still firmly rooted in Star Trek's universe, and so the future possibilities for Star Trek are truly endless. The reality of Star Trek and television production is that Andy Weir’s proposed Star Trek series shows how the industry really works.

Many ideas are considered when making a show, especially for big and long-running franchises like Star Trek. There are many factors involved in turning an idea into a series, and since there are many directions a Star Trek show can take, not every project ends up getting made.

Why is Andy Weir's Star Trek pitch interesting?

We can see how popular and well-loved the franchise is due to the fact that writers are continually putting their ideas forward and proposing them; Andy Weir's Star Trek pitch was an example of a unique prospect that offered the possibility of a new installment within this classic series, which will always have its fans.

As Andy Weir has been able to make a name for himself writing detailed and hard scientific fictions, it would have been fascinating to hear his take on creating something with the scientific aspect that Star Trek is famous for; nonetheless it is crucial we stay on the factual side of things and at the end of the day the idea was only just a pitch which was never developed.

All in all, these two things stand out clearly in all this, that, on one hand, Star Trek is a magnet for significant creative talents and on the other, all the great ideas are not produced to their final potential on screen.