Star Trek 2009 Into Darkness 2013 Beyond 2016 -... Jun 2026

The series of films featuring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, known as the Kelvin Timeline

Oh, Into Darkness . You beautiful, frustrating mess. Benedict Cumberbatch’s “John Harrison” was magnetic—until the reveal that he was actually Khan Noonien Singh. The decision to hide his identity (then lie about it to fans) backfired. Worse, the film recreated Wrath of Khan ’s death scene with Kirk and Spock swapped. It felt like homage as theft. But beneath the lens flares and controversial twists was a sharp question: How far will our heroes go to win a war? The USS Vengeance and Section 31’s shadow war were genuinely prescient of post-9/11 paranoia. It’s a flawed sequel, but it swung for the fences.

After two JJ Abrams blockbusters, we got Justin Lin’s Beyond —and it’s the hidden gem of the trilogy. Simon Pegg’s script understood Trek better than anyone. No superweapon. No universe-ending threat. Just the Enterprise crew stranded, broken, and learning to trust each other again. Idris Elba’s Krall was a unique villain: a lost Federation soldier who became what he hated. And the final act—using the Franklin , playing Sabotage, and the Enterprise rising from the ashes—was pure joy. This film felt like a 2-hour Original Series episode. It’s the one that got Star Trek.

The film’s central twist—that the terrorist John Harrison is actually Khan Noonien Singh, the genetically engineered tyrant from the original series episode "Space Seed" and the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan —was met with a mixed reception. Benedict Cumberbatch brought a chilling, physical menace to the role, but the optics of casting a white British actor as a character originally conceived as Sikh (played by Ricardo Montalbán with Latino flair) remains a point of contention.