Paramount and Skydance executives want Star Trek back on the big screen in the future, and I’ve read a lot of conversations about how that should happen and with whom. On the heels of many thinking Andor Season 2 is the best thing sci-fi has done in a while, I heard some pining for Trek to become more like Star Wars. Well, the good news is there’s already an Andor director making the franchise’s next movie, but even then, I feel like Trek‘s been down that road before.
I recently watched Star Trek III: The Search for Spock with my Paramount+ subscription, and I feel like it’s the most Star Wars-coded Trek movie we’ve seen to date. I maintain its ranking as a middling Trek movie now that I’ve finally seen it, and I think the fact I feel it tries to channel Star Wars plays into both why it’s different in both a good way and bad way.
The Whole Heist Sequence Of The Enterprise Gives Big Star Wars Vibes
If there’s one thing I’d never accuse the bulk of TOS Trek films of, it’s for being action-packed. Frankly, the action in the average Star Trek project, outside of the Kelvin films and Discovery, is pretty minimal. I think that’s why The Search for Spock sticks out like a sore thumb to me, because stealing back the Enterprise feels so much like a Star Wars subplot.
Having to shanghai the Enterprise from the space dock gave me the same vibe as Luke and the crew escaping the Empire with Han when they were in need of a ship. I think it’s also fair to say it felt entirely foreign to things I’d seen in TOS to that point, which had me wondering if it took some inspiration for a galaxy far, far, away.
All this to say that I’m aware that heist sequences are not exclusive to Star Wars. However, considering this movie came out around the same time frame as those movies, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some requests from executives or a want from creatives to draw some parallels between the things Star Wars does really well, and see if it could also apply to Trek. That can work in small doses, but overall I like most of the tension in my sci-fi to come through in the dialogue.
The Plot Feels Similar To Return Of The Jedi
One of the stranger things about Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is how closely it is tied to The Wrath of Khan. Sure, it’s playing into a major plot point of the second movie, but to include characters like Saavik, Kirk’s son David Marcus, and plot devices like the Genesis Device makes this movie feel a lot more than trying to recapture the magic of the previous film.
It reminds me of Return of the Jedi in the sense that there are callbacks to previous things in other movies, but in that context, it made sense since Star Wars was a trilogy of stories. In the case of The Search for Spock, I understand there being some ties to the previous movie, but the extent to which it’s done feels a bit unnecessary.
Using the Genesis device as a means to bring back Spock is pretty much all that’s needed, but other things, like David Marcus and Saavik, are shoved back in to force some sort of resolution when I’m not sure anyone needed one. I’m sure in hindsight, a lot of Trek writers are glad David Marcus didn’t stick around to be a greater part of the universe. I guess if anything, the third movie deserves some credit for closing that plot thread left hanging in Wrath of Khan.
Spock’s Resurrection Reminds Me Of How Star Wars Characters Inexplicably Survive
I think back to the Fortnite event and the iconic line by Oscar Isaac, “Somehow, Palpatine has returned,” which reminds me of how wild it was to believe that the villain had returned. Even reading the official explanation makes me scratch my head, though when it comes to Star Wars, this franchise has a habit of inexplicably bringing back characters despite improbable odds. Boba Fett and Darth Maul are two other notable examples.
Those returns happened long after Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, however, so I point to the returns of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and, of course, Anakin Skywalker. While these characters were Force Ghosts, they were still technically living through the Force and able to remain a part of the story in that manner. As I mentioned earlier, The Search for Spock came out a year after Return of the Jedi, so it has me wondering if the plan to bring back Spock was inspired by how the Force Ghosts were used in those Star Wars movies.
For the most part, people in Star Trek who die tend to stay dead. Granted, I know that at the time, a good chunk of people believed The Wrath of Khan was Leonard Nimoy’s exit from the franchise, but as someone who watched the movie later in life, I’m curious as to how, despite some of the clues indicating he’d return.
Even so, this is a rare instance of Star Trek bringing one of its main characters back from what felt like an all but assured death. I should also point out they kept Kirk’s death (in canon at least) in Generations after this movie. We’ve seen a few resurrections in the shows, but nothing quite like this in the movies in quite a while.
So, if you’re one of the crowd who is wishing Star Trek would emulate shows like Andor, just keep in mind that it feels like it already took a crack at being like Star Wars a long time ago. The result of how that worked out depends on how you feel about the third movie. Personally, I’m fine with the style of the more modernized episodes, and hopefully we see the same when the movies finally return.
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is available to stream on Paramount+. Check it out today, be it for the first time or as someone who hasn’t watched it in a very long while. I’d love to see if anyone else got the same Star Wars vibes from watching it that I did.
