Star Trek writer Nicholas Meyer shares his thoughts on why Khan mini-series hasn’t happened

Movie poster for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

MARCH 15, 2021 - Did you know that out there in the universe, there is a script for a new Star Trek miniseries from Star Trek writer and director Nicholas Meyer? Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that fans will be seeing it any time soon. No matter how you slice it, the television landscape is constantly evolving and the way people watch television is no exception. In an exclusive interview with TrekMovie last week, Meyer shared his thoughts on why he thinks his miniseries isn’t getting the green light.

In the 1980s, Nicholas Meyer was a powerhouse writer and director in the Star Trek community. Meyer wrote and directed two Star Trek films, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and  Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Meyer also wrote the screenplay for Star Trek IV: The One with the Whales. In 2016, while working as a consulting producer on the first season of Star Trek: Discovery, an idea from Star Trek executive Alex Kurtzman prompted Meyer to revisit the story of Khan Noonien Singh. Meyer set to work, penning the teleplay for a miniseries based on the exile of Khan and his followers on the planet Ceti Alpha V, prior to the events of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Unfortunately, by the time Meyer had finished his script, the world of television seemed to have moved on from the idea of the miniseries, and momentum on the project stalled. Meyer doesn’t see this as the end, but he does recognize some of the challenges to getting his Ceti Alpha V miniseries into production. “I don’t consider it dormant because I think it’s a terrific project,” Meyer told TrekMovie. “I think what happened [...] was that the business model for streaming was changing really fast. And what was originally commissioned as a three-hour or three-night event, by the time I finished writing it, three hours was not enough. They wanted longer stuff.”

One could argue that Meyer could simply expand on his script, filling out a full 10-episode arc, which is common for a streaming or limited series these days. While that idea isn’t impossible, Meyer doesn’t see it as the best move for the story itself. “I think if it went on and on and on about Khan and Ceti Alpha V, it risks becoming [kind of like] Gilligan’s Island. Which I think is a wrong idea,” Meyer said. “It was commissioned as a three-hour thing and there were certain parameters that were put down, to which I adhered.”

It’s hard to say if Nicholas Meyer’s “three-hour tour” of Ceti Alpha V will ever make it to television screens, but we’ll be sure to keep you up to date on any developments if and when they happen.