The Last Sci-fi Blog: Examining the Current State of 'Star Wars' and 'Star Trek

When it comes to science fiction, you don;t get much bigger than Star Wars and Star Trek. The grandfathers of modern popular sci-fi, these two franchises represent different sides of the same coin. One is fantastical and old-fashioned, telling stories of heroes and villains in an epic, operatic struggle. The other is optimistic and smart, telling tales of technology and ethics and diplomacy. Both have passionate fan bases. Both are essential pieces of modern popular culture. And both are in very, very interesting positions at the moment.In a bizarre turn of events, Star Wars and Star Trek have essentially switched places over the past few years and no one saw this coming.To fully understand the current status of Star Wars and Star Trek, it;s important to remember that the former has always been a massive mainstream success with audiences all over the world and that the latter has always catered to an obsessive niche. It;s also important to recognize the two years when that began to change.The first of those years was 1999, which saw the the release of Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace. Sure, the prequel films were all massive box office successes, but they also brought the franchise;s reputation to an all-time low. A couple of billion dollars in box office receipts feel like nothing next to the cultural impact. Suddenly, the most popular film series in the world was a laughingstock and with the ever-stubborn George Lucas at the reins, it was going to stay that way.The other important year to consider here is 2009. J.J. Abrams; controversial Star Trek reboot certainly seemed like a toxic idea from the start, but its actual release changed everything. Mostly glowing reviews and exceptional (but not mind-blowing) box office greeted the film, which felt like a shot of pure adrenaline into a series that a lot of people viewed as stodgy and dated. Suddenly, for the first time ever, Star Trek was cooler and more popular than Star Wars. The niche nerds still complained that they had to turn Star Trek into Star Wars to achieve this (and they are partially right), but for the first time in over a decade, Gene Roddenberry;s vision of the future actually felt relevant to real people.So what the hell happened in the past five years that flip-flopped both of these franchises into their previous states? The two-part answer is pretty simple: Disney bought LucasFilm and Star Trek Into Darkness happened.For the first time in nearly 16 years, Star Wars fans have a reason to feel good about the future of the series. George Lucas is no longer involved. Disney is actively avoiding the prequels and embracing the characters and tone of the original trilogy. Director J.J. Abrams (who fled Star Trek to make this movie) cast a bunch of really cool actors alongside the saga veterans. Everyone looked at the second and third prequels with nervous, forced optimism. Now, everyone is looking forward to Star Wars: The Force Awakens with genuine joy and enthusiasm.Meanwhile, people didn;t like Star Trek Into Darkness and fans haaated it. Like, really, really hated it, even voting it as the worst Stark Trek movie of them all at a fan convention. Add the middling box office into the equation and you have a series that squandered all of its goodwill on a sequel that made as many poor decisions as the original made right ones. Everyone felt betrayed by the film and Abrams began to look like a very smart man for running as fast as he could toward Star Wars.We are still watching Star Trek try to save itself. In the past month, Paramount has removed Roberto Orci from the director;s chair (a decision that was greeted with praise by fans) and replaced him with Justin Lin, the energetic mastermind behind the best films in the Fast and Furious series. It;s a decision that feels… well, I don;t know how that feels. Lin is an incredible director of action with plenty of experience handling large ensembles. However, his high-octane filmmaking doesn;t immediately scream Star Trek. This could be a Wrath of Khan shot in the arm or it could be a disaster. No one knows. Are we supposed to be optimistic or trepidatious? Who knows?As we enter 2015, one of the biggest science fiction franchises on the planet has found itself rejuvenated and the other has entered crisis mode. With Star Wars: The Force Awakens opening on December 18 of this year and Star Trek 3 arriving in the summer of 2016, both of these titans get to have a showdown. It;s not a David and Goliath story. Think of it as a Goliath and Goliath story, only one of the giants has taken a pretty devastating phaser blast while the other has found his second wind.Look at it this way: both franchises have something to prove at this point. Abrams and Lin have been tasked with repairing the tarnished images of the two most iconic series in the science fiction genre. They know they can;t blow this… and surely that;s a good thing for both projects.