Captain James T. Kirk's Starship Enterprise has never fought the Borg, and Star Trek 4 is the only way it can happen. Currently mired in development hell, Star Trek 4 is in need of a new director and a workable story that can draw audiences into theaters. An abandoned idea of Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) teaming up with his father, Lt. George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth), could have been a big ticket, but it's now unknown what direction the long-delayed next film in the J.J. Abrams-produced movie saga will be.
Kirk's Enterprise taking on the Borg has the benefit of having never been tried canonically. It can't happen in Star Trek's Prime Timeline; the Borg don't appear in the Alpha Quadrant until the 24th century, thanks to the machinations of Q (John de Lancie). However, the Kelvin Timeline operates by its own set of rules where key Star Trek events can happen much sooner if it's convenient for a movie's story. A case in point is Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch) being awakened in Star Trek Into Darkness to face Kirk years before it happens in Star Trek: The Original Series. There would certainly be a novelty and a box office appeal to Chris Pine's Kirk, Zachary Quinto's Spock, and their Starship Enterprise facing the Borg, who could threaten the 23rd century for the first time in a big-budget, blockbuster movie.
How The Borg Can Appear In Star Trek's Kelvin Movies
Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Enterprise conveniently left behind creative leeway for the Borg to appear in the Kelvin Timeline movies. The Borg time traveled to the 21st century in First Contact, and Enterprise revealed that some Borg who crashed in the Arctic came online, assimilated humans, and tried to return to the Delta Quadrant. Captain Jonathan Archer's (Scott Bakula) NX-01 Enterprise intercepted and destroyed the Borg (without learning that they are the Borg to preserve canon), but the aliens sent a signal to the Delta Quadrant.
Luckily, Star Trek: Enterprise is canon in both the Prime and Kelvin Timelines since its events occur 80 years before 2233 when the destruction of the USS Kelvin by the time traveler Nero (Eric Bana) sparked the creation of an alternate reality. Enterprise has even been directly homaged in Star Trek 2009 and Star Trek Beyond. It would be a simple matter for Star Trek 4 to say that the signal the Borg sent in Enterprise did reach the Delta Quadrant. Or that there were more dormant Borg on Earth after Star Trek: First Contact who came back online and tried to assimilate the planet.
Kirk Vs. Borg In Star Trek 4 Would Work
While another Borg story in a Star Trek movie seems derivative, the idea of Chris Pine's Captain Kirk battling the Borg has an inherent appeal, especially since Kirk vs. the Borg can't happen in Star Trek otherwise. J.J. Abrams' action-oriented Star Trek movies are especially reliant on having great villains, and the Borg are arguably the greatest antagonists in all of Star Trek. It would likely also mean the Borg would be redesigned to suit the Kelvin movies' aesthetic, but that could also be beneficial to potentially shake up the Borg's look, which has mostly remained the same since they were introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation over 30 years ago. Star Trek 4, if it happens, needs a concept worthy of a blockbuster film and, if done properly, Kirk vs. the Borg could be it.