The entire Star Trek franchise - that's right, all of it - gets an official timeline. When Star Trek: The Original Series first premiered in 1966, there wasn't a franchise to speak of. It's a testament to the world that Gene Roddenberry created, as well as the passion of the fan base, that Star Trek has been able to grow as much as it has. Through numerous television shows and movies, Star Trek has grown into one of the biggest franchises of all time. Each new project typically takes place within the same universe, but there have been notable instances were alternate timelines were introduced that has muddied up the timeline.
The biggest example of this stems from J.J. Abrams' 2009 Star Trek film. While that film and its two sequels center on younger versions of The Original Series cast, they take place in what has been deemed the Kelvin Timeline, or a branch reality that was created after the Romulan Nero (Eric Bana) traveled to the past and changed key events. Much of the Star Trek television shows exist outside of this bubble, however, as well as the first batch of films in the franchise.
Now fans have a handy timeline featuring every piece of the Star Trek franchise to help them sort through events. As part of Star Trek Day, set on the anniversary of The Original Series' premiere, StarTrek.com has unveiled the official franchise timeline in a nearly three-minute video that can be viewed here. The timeline is incredibly detailed, singling out select episodes and events when needed to orient the time period. It also takes care to show when the Kelvin Timeline branches out, as well as how the CBS All Access series Star Trek: Discovery recently made a pretty massive time jump. Check out the full timeline below.
As the Star Trek franchise continues to expand, this timeline will no doubt need some further updates. CBS All Access has several more shows on the way, from Strange New Worlds to the Discovery spin-off Section 31. Additionally, an animated series geared towards children, Star Trek: Prodigy, will debut on Nickelodeon. On the film side, future plans still remain unclear, but Paramount is reportedly considering several ideas for their next big screen venture.
It's rather interesting to see the massive, decades-spanning Star Trek franchise laid out in a concise timeline, and makes one wonder just how long it took to work it all out. Some franchises have struggled with keeping their timelines straight, so it's impressive that Star Trek has its events arranged neatly. As to where it will go next, fans are probably quite eager to see.
Source: StarTrek.com