The original Star Trek series was revolutionary. It changed how people thought of sci-fi on television, and it pushed the envelope in other ways as well. It was social commentary, and it wasn’t pulpy or campy like what had come before.
The influence of Star Trek is clear to see in much of the sci-fi that came after. Either explicitly, or in a more subtle way that even the creator might not realize. So I thought I’d boldly suggest a list of movies that have a little bit of the genes created by the late, great Gene Roddenberry.
I haven’t only included movies on this list with a more official or generally-accepted Star Trek inspiration, but also ones that I personally just feel have something in common with the franchise. This list isn’t ranked, by the way, except for the number one movie, which is the best one in my opinion.
10
Star Wars: Episode IV–A New Hope
Release Year
1977
Runtime
2 hours 1 minute
Given that there’s sometimes this weird rivalry between Star Trek and Star Wars fans, you might be surprised to hear that the first Star Wars film has any connections to Star Trek. After all, Star Wars is (by George Lucas’ own admission) a science-fantasy franchise rather than being science fiction.
And yet, Lucas is on record saying that Star Wars stood on the shoulders of Star Trek. It’s not that Star Wars was inspired so much by it narratively, but that the popularity of Star Trek created fertile ground for something like Star Wars to happen. Today, we get to enjoy both franchises and it doesn’t look like either of them are going anywhere.
9
Silent Running
Release Year
1972
Runtime
1 hour 29 minutes
Silent Running is one of my favorite classic sci-fi films, and it has a mundane and straightforward connection to Star Trek through its director Douglas Trumbull. He’d later go on to create special effects scenes for Star Trek: The Motion Picture. So much of the visual language of Silent Running would end up in the DNA of the first Trek film.
However, that’s inspiration in the opposite direction, so how exactly do I think that the original Star Trek inspired this film? To me, it’s all about the message and vibe. Silent Running isn’t a guns-blazing space opera. It’s a slow-paced eco-warrior film that gently wags a finger at us collectively. I really think that Star Trek’s more cerebral vibe and focus on social issues of the day, like racism or the futility of war, really does make it feel like Silent Running is part of post-Trek sci-fi landscape on screen.
8
Enemy Mine
Release Year
1985
Runtime
1 hour 48 minutes
Based on a 1979 novella by Barry Longyear of the same name, Enemy Mine did poorly at the box office, but later became an influential cult-classic. This is another personal favorite, but how is it inspired by Star Trek? Well, I can’t speak to whether Longyear was inspired by Trek directly, but the plot of Enemy Mine is very in-line with the types of stories that Star Trek told.
Humans are at war with an alien race, and a human and alien pilot are stranded together on a desolate planet, forced to work together in order to survive. By learning about each other, and understanding each other’s perspective, the two races make progress in their conflict because two individuals took that first step.
Longyear’s novella itself was pretty influential, and, ironically, I think you can see its influence in later Trek episodes, such as “Darmok”, the legendary 1991 TNG episode where captain Picard and a Tamarian ship’s captain have to overcome a communication barrier in order to avoid death. The Tamarians even have a strong resemblance to the aliens in Enemy Mine.
7
The Questor Tapes
Release Year
1974
Runtime
1 hour 32 minutes
The brainchild of Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek screenwriter Gene L. Coon, The Questor Tapes isn’t so much inspired by Star Trek than birthed from the same womb. There’s also a fair bit of Asimov’s Foundation in there as well, but it starts off with a mysterious missing professor who leaves behind an advanced android no one else can understand. You know, sort of like Dr. Noonien Soong and a certain android named Data.
The plot of The Questor Tapes could easily have been a Trek episode, dealing with the upliftment of more primitive species, but without direct interference. Ancient civilizations working in the background, and a fish out of water learning what it means to be human. This made-for-TV movie was actually a stealth TV pilot for a series that was in fact greenlit, but disagreement between Roddenberry and the network led to the project being dropped. Interestingly enough, Leonard Nimoy was considered for the role of the titular android, doing makeup tests. Considering that Data was effectively the Spock stand-in in TNG, that just makes this pre-TNG Roddenberry film all the more interesting.
You can buy The Questor Tapes on Blu-ray or DVD or watch it for free on The Internet Archives.
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The Internet Archive Is the Web’s Best Kept Movie Secret
It’s a hoarder’s paradise!
6
Spaceballs
Release Year
1987
Runtime
1 hour 36 minutes
OK, so clearly this cult-classic parody by Mel Brooks is largely riffing off Star Wars, but thanks to the hilarious transporter gag and the character Snotty, this technically counts, and it gives me a legitimate excuse to put Spaceballs on this list so that people who haven’t watched it can correct this regrettable gap in their pop culture knowledge.
5
Battle Beyond the Stars
Release Year
1980
Runtime
1 hour 45 minutes
This Roger Corman cult classic (featuring visual effects by a young James Cameron) is largely “inspired” by Star Wars, as anyone will tell you. However, although the plot echoes much of George Lucas’ film, it’s not really that bit that Corman plucked from a galaxy far, far away. Since both films draw heavily on Kurosawa films such as The Hidden Fortress and Seven Samurai, it’s more like they both draw inspiration from the same source. No, for me the biggest Star Wars influence is in the visuals. It’s the look and sound of the blasters. The cinematography of the space battles, and the epic parts that are most obviously trying to look and feel like Star Wars, but on a much smaller budget.
It’s when we switch to the interior of the ships, in scenes between the multi-species crew, that I get strong Trek TV series vibes. It might be completely accidental, but this movie, from a purely visual and production perspective, feels like Star Wars on the streets, but Star Trek in the sheets. As an aside, this movie shares a composer with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan in the form of James Horner, and you can hear similarities for sure.
4
Arrival
Release Year
2016
Runtime
1 hour 56 minutes
Yes, despite being a relatively recent film, I absolutely consider Arrival a classic sci-fi film, albeit a modern classic. It’s based on a 1998 short story titled Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang and tells the story of an alien race that makes first contact with humanity, bearing gifts, but expecting us to help them in the future. That sounds a lot like how the Vulcans made first contact with Earth in Star Trek, and then later formed a federation with humans and other species.
I also think it’s very Trek to have the heroes be academics and scientists. I have no idea if Chiang actually likes Trek or was directly inspired by it, but his writing definitely echoes the same progressive themes as Trek, so I think Gene Roddenberry would have liked his work.
3
Serenity
Release Year
2005
Runtime
1 hour 59 minutes
Serenity is a film meant to bring some closure to fans of the beloved Firefly TV series, which was infamously canceled after what looked like network sabotage. Honestly, I think the strongest influence on the show and film was probably Cowboy Bebop, but for me the connection with Trek is that this universe is basically the anti-Trek. It feels like a reaction to a similar premise. Star Trek was also envisioned as a space Western, or at the very least the space version of explorers on the frontiers of civilization. You know, the “final frontier”.
In the world of Serenity, however, it’s the Wild West, and humans haven’t made any progress towards moving beyond their greed, fear, and prejudice.
2
Avengers: Endgame
Release Year
2019
Runtime
2 hours 21 minutes
I bet you didn’t expect to see the climactic resolution to the grand superhero movie arc that started with the first Iron Man film here, but Endgame draws from a broad spectrum of influences, and Star Trek is, in my mind, undoubtedly one of them.
Endgame’s second half is a full-blown Star Trek time travel episode. From the science-talk-heavy mission briefings to the “don’t touch the past, or you’ll mess up the timeline” rules, it plays out like a crossover between The Avengers and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
1
Galaxy Quest
Release Year
1999
Runtime
1 hour 42 minutes
Before The Orville there was Galaxy Quest. A parody not just of Star Trek, but also of the culture of the fandom and the lives of the actors that became famous for a somewhat cheesy yet influential sci-fi show.
The thing about this movie is that, while it pokes fun at Star Trek and its fans, it also manages to be an excellent Star Trek movie, which often lands it an unironic honorary spot on lists of the best Trek movies. It has the right spirit, the performances by the cast are phenomenal, and there’s a reason that, as a core Trek fan, I watch this movie at least once a year.
Trek continues to evolve and influence sci-fi to this day, whle being influences by fresh voices in the genre itself. I’ll always love TNG as “my” Trek, but I’m open to almost anything. Well, except for Lower Decks. One must have some sort of standard.
