With the announcement of the release date for Strange New Worlds, Star Trek may be reviving its rivalry with Star Wars. Reprising their roles from Star Trek: Discovery, Strange New Worlds will star Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn, and Ethan Peck as Captain Pike, Number One, and Spock, respectively. The new show will serve as a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series and follow the adventures of the original crew of the USS Enterprise on its maiden voyage through space. Set to premiere in May 2022, Strange New Worlds will be available for streaming on Paramount+.
Also occurring each May, fans will celebrate Star Wars Day. As a pun of the Star Wars saying, “May the Force be with you,” Star Wars fans honor the franchise on “May the Fourth.” While the observance of Star Wars Day on May 4 was started by viewers rather than Lucasfilm, the day has become a global celebration and has even been recognized as an official holiday in California. Lucasfilm, and its parent company Disney, have fully accepted the holiday, releasing new content and offering special merchandise deals on Star Wars Day, which has made the date important to the Star Wars franchise.
However, Star Trek recently announced that Strange New Worlds will premiere the day after Star Wars Day on May 5, 2022. While Strange New Worlds’ release is probably not meant to overshadow Star Wars Day, it is still an interesting choice. By placing Strange New Worlds’ premiere so close to the Star Wars celebration, Star Trek could be renewing its feud with Star Wars.
The Star Trek versus Star Wars debate has become one of popular culture’s most iconic rivalries. Star Trek: The Original Series premiered in 1966 and aired for three seasons. When A New Hope was released in 1977, many Star Trek viewers were frustrated by its success while they were unable to renew Star Trek, sparking the rivalry. After the initial Star Wars trilogy finished, both franchises continued to grow through other forms of media, such as comics, books, and games. While the science fiction stories seemed similar, both featuring aliens and galactic travel, the two remained fundamentally different. Star Trek was a science fiction series that explored specific issues in modern society. In contrast, Star Wars was a fantasy tale in outer space, which examined broader themes of good versus evil. These key differences helped maintain Star Trek and Star Wars’ feud as the two grew into today's popular media franchises.
Now, Star Trek and Star Wars are still following similar development paths. Both franchises are expanding through original series on streaming platforms. For example, Star Wars has released shows like The Mandalorian, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, and The Book of Boba Fett on Disney+. Comparatively, Star Trek has released Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, and Star Trek: Lower Decks on Paramount+. Strange New Worlds will be Star Trek’s next addition to the streaming platform, while Star Wars has already announced the upcoming shows Obi-Wan Kenobi and Star Wars: Ahsoka. However, the rivalry between Star Trek and Star Wars has always been for fun rather than an actual feud. Both franchises use science fiction settings to tell inspiring stories and explore important themes. Due to this, Star Trek’s decision to release Strange New Worlds on May 5, directly after Star Wars Day, may simply present an opportunity for both franchises to gain more attention through some friendly competition.
