Where To Watch Star Trek Movies

Summary Paramount+ is the official streaming home for Star Trek, but not all movies are available due to streaming rights issues.

The Star Trek movie timeline spans 13 films, with different casts starring in the movies released between 1978 and 2016.

Consider owning the Star Trek movies on physical media to guarantee access amid changing streaming availability and licensing agreements.

Due to the wealth of services on offer, and the vagaries of streaming rights, it can sometimes be hard to know where to watch and stream all the Star Trek movies. Paramount+ is ostensibly the official streaming home for the entire Star Trek timeline, but the collection is incomplete. For example, Star Trek: Prodigy was sold to Netflix, which is where fans will be able to stream seasons 1 and 2 later in 2024. Because of the differences between who owns the movie and the TV rights to the Star Trek franchise, 10 of the movies aren't currently available to stream on Paramount+.

There have been 13 Star Trek movies in total, released in theaters between 1978 and 2016. The Star Trek: The Original Series cast starred in six movies between 1978 and 1991. The Star Trek: The Next Generation cast picked up the baton in 1994, starring in four movies that largely failed to recapture the TOS movies' success. By contrast, J.J. Abrams' three movies were the Star Trek movies with the best box office. It's now eight years since a Star Trek movie was released in a movie theater, which means that streaming is the new home of the various big-screen adventures of the starships Enterprise.

Related Every Star Trek Movie Ranked (From Worst To Best) There have been thirteen Star Trek movies over the last 40 years, but which is the boldest big-screen adventure to go where no man has gone before?

Star Trek: The Original Series Movies Are Streaming On Max

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All six Star Trek: The Original Series movies are currently streaming on Max, transferring from Paramount+ in January 2024. HBO are also airing the Star Trek movies on their channel, if viewers want to chance upon one of the movie adventures for Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the Enterprise crew. Max's collection of the TOS movies also includes the recent 4K Director's Edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, so fans can see the Enterprise's confrontation with original movie villain V'Ger as director Robert Wise intended.

It's unclear how long this arrangement between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery is in place, but a similar temporary licensing deal was struck back in November 2022. The lack of the six original Star Trek movies will be disappointing to Paramount+ subscribers who were sold the service on the promise of it being the home of the franchise. However, it's a sign of the times, as now the streaming bubble has burst, many services have reverted to the licensing agreements that were in place in the early days of streaming.

For UK-based fans, all 13 Star Trek movies, plus the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine documentary What We Left Behind are available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: The Next Generation Movies Are Streaming On Max

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Completing the collection of the first ten Star Trek movies on Max are the four Star Trek: The Next Generation movies. The TNG movies are part of the same licensing deal between Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery, meaning that HBO viewers and Max subscribers can watch everything from 1994's Star Trek Generations to 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis. While the TNG movies certainly have their flaws, Star Trek: First Contact is a thrilling sci-fi action movie that can be enjoyed all year round.

As Star Trek: First Contact and Alice Krige's version of the Borg Queen plays a key role in the plot of Star Trek: Picard season 3, it may be frustrating for fans to switch services halfway through a TNG-era marathon. The decision to place the Star Trek: The Next Generation movies on Max felt counterintuitive in light of Picard continuing the TNG-era's story over on Paramount+. However, the first 10 Star Trek movies do come as a set, which is why the TNG and TOS movies were a package deal for Max.

Related Every Star Trek TNG Movie Ranked (Including Picard Season 3) The movies starring the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation are notorious for their wildly varying quality, with plenty of highs and lows.

J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Movies Are Streaming On Paramount Plus

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Due to the involvement of Star Trek's current creative director Alex Kurtzman, it's no surprise that all three of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movies are available to stream on Paramount+. Without them, Star Trek's Kelvin Timeline would be non-existent on Paramount+, which would be a huge oversight. The cast of Star Trek 2009 perfectly embody each member of the legendary crew of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701, making the three J.J. Abrams-produced movies well worth revisiting.

The three Star Trek movies are also notable for bringing the story of the Prime Universe's Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy) to a close. This means that fans could watch Spock's appearance in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5, episodes 7 and 8, "Unification" and then find out how his Romulan mission progressed by picking up the story in Star Trek (2009). While the J.J. Abrams movies take place in an alternate timeline, there's no denying that their story has its roots in the prime Star Trek timeline, as proved by their prominence on Paramount+.

Where To Watch Future Star Trek Movies

It's hoped that Star Trek 4 will join its predecessors on Paramount+ after a theatrical release. However, the fourth Kelvin Timeline movie is once again undergoing rewrites, with The Flight Attendant's Steve Yockey on script duty. Meanwhile, a Star Trek origin movie, written by Seth Grahame-Smith and directed by Andor's Toby Haynes is slated for release in late 2025. Not much more information has been released about the cast or story, but fans are understandably skeptical in light of the many delays to Star Trek 4. However, the mysterious origin story isn't the only upcoming Star Trek movie in production.

...if it's successful, Section 31 could lead to more streaming exclusive Star Trek movies on Paramount+.

Michelle Yeoh's Star Trek: Section 31 movie wrapped production in March 2024, and will be released exclusively on Paramount+ at a later date. Set in the decades between Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and Star Trek: The Next Generation, Section 31 will see Emperor Philippa Georgiou (Yeoh) rejoin Starfleet's covert intelligence agency for a top secret mission. Very little has been revealed about the movie, beyond the involvement of a younger Captain Rachel Garrett from TNG. However, if it's successful, Section 31 could lead to more streaming exclusive Star Trek movies on Paramount+.

Related 6 Star Trek Lost Era Questions Section 31 Movie Can Answer Michelle Yeoh's upcoming Star Trek: Section 31 could provide answers to several lingering questions about Star Trek's lost era.

Why You Should Own Star Trek Movies On Physical Media

When Star Trek: Prodigy was canceled, the only way to watch the show was to buy the DVDs or Blurays. The only problem with this was that Prodigy wouldn't be released on physical media for another four months after the cancelation announcement. It was a harsh reminder that a streaming subscription isn't ownership, it's access to whatever movies and TV shows are available on services like Paramount+ or Max. Streamers are essentially rental services, subject to corporate whims and licensing agreements between studios and streamers. If content doesn't live up to corporate projections, then the streamer may deign not to renew the license, or delete it altogether.

While the cost of a 4K boxed set of 13 Star Trek movies may be more expensive than a $9.99 monthly payment, it's an investment in the long run.

The only way to guarantee that Paramount+ won't take Star Trek: Insurrection away from you is to buy it and the other, better, 11 movies on physical media. All 13 Star Trek movies are available on DVD, Bluray, and 4K, making them accessible at various price points. While the cost of a 4K boxed set of 13 Star Trek movies may be more expensive than a $9.99 monthly payment, it's an investment in the long run. Chasing the Star Trek movies around the various streaming services from Paramount+ to Max will surely rack up a much larger expense than a one-off purchase of a big boxed set that guarantees you access all year round.

You can buy all 13 Star Trek movies in a variety of formats from Amazon.