Film · in order

Star Trek Movies in Order

By the Bingerun team · How we choose the order →

All 13 theatrical Star Trek films in release and in-universe chronological order: six original-cast movies (1979-1991), four Next Generation movies (1994-2002), and the three Kelvin timeline films (2009-2016).

≈ 25h 18m to watch all 13 films about a week of movie nights

0 / 13 done
  1. Star Trek: The Motion Picture 1979

    The original cast reunites to intercept a vast alien cloud calling itself V'Ger; set in 2273. Famously slow-paced, the most skippable film for newcomers.

  2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan 1982

    Khan, introduced in the 1967 episode "Space Seed," returns for revenge in 2285. Widely regarded as the best Star Trek film and the classic starting point.

  3. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock 1984

    Picks up directly after The Wrath of Khan as the crew steals the Enterprise to recover Spock. The middle chapter of the tight II-III-IV trilogy.

  4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home 1986

    The crew time-travels from 2286 to 1986 San Francisco to save the humpback whales. The lightest, funniest entry and a big mainstream hit.

  5. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier 1989

    Spock's half-brother Sybok hijacks the Enterprise on a quest to find God. Directed by William Shatner and generally ranked the weakest of the 13.

  6. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country 1991

    A Cold War allegory about peace with the Klingons, set in 2293. The original cast's send-off, released in the franchise's 25th-anniversary year.

  7. Star Trek Generations 1994

    The baton-pass film: it opens in 2293 with Kirk, then jumps to Picard's crew in 2371. The only movie where the two captains share the screen.

  8. Star Trek: First Contact 1996

    The Borg travel back to 2063 to stop humanity's first warp flight, and Picard's crew follows. Widely considered the best Next Generation film.

  9. Star Trek: Insurrection 1998

    Set in 2375, Picard's crew defends the Ba'ku and their rejuvenating homeworld against forced relocation. Lighter in tone, closer to a long TV episode.

  10. Star Trek: Nemesis 2002

    Picard faces Shinzon, a young clone of himself, in 2379. The Next Generation cast's final film; its box-office failure ended this era, and the story later continued in the Picard TV series.

  11. Star Trek (2009) 2009

    J.J. Abrams' reboot: a Romulan ship from 2387 destroys the USS Kelvin in 2233, creating an alternate timeline where young Kirk and Spock meet in 2258. A fresh start that requires no prior viewing.

  12. Star Trek Into Darkness 2013

    Set in 2259, the Kelvin crew hunts the terrorist John Harrison, a reimagined Khan played by Benedict Cumberbatch.

  13. Star Trek Beyond 2016

    Set in 2263, three years into the five-year mission, with the Enterprise ambushed and destroyed over the planet Altamid. Released in the franchise's 50th-anniversary year.

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Why this order?

Release order is the way to watch the Star Trek movies, and it is our default. The 13 theatrical films fall into three clean blocks that never interleave: six films with the original 1966 crew (The Motion Picture, 1979, through The Undiscovered Country, 1991), four with the Next Generation crew (Generations, 1994, through Nemesis, 2002), and three Kelvin timeline films (2009-2016). Watch each block front to back and you cannot go wrong. The one exception newcomers should know: you do not have to start at the beginning. The Motion Picture is slow, stately, and divisive, and skipping it costs you almost nothing. Starting with The Wrath of Khan (1982) is the single most common fan recommendation, and films II, III, and IV form one continuous trilogy: the franchise's best run. Circle back to The Motion Picture later if you get hooked. Do you need the TV shows first? No. The films introduce everyone you need. There are two soft dependencies: The Wrath of Khan is a sequel to the 1967 Original Series episode "Space Seed" (worth 50 minutes if convenient, not required), and Generations lands harder if you already care about Picard's crew. Our companion guide to the Star Trek TV series covers that side of the franchise. The Kelvin films are the genuinely confusing part, because they are both a reboot and a prequel era at once. In 2009's Star Trek, a Romulan ship from the year 2387 travels back to 2233 and destroys the USS Kelvin, splitting history into an alternate timeline; the three films then follow young Kirk and Spock from 2258 to 2263, earlier on the calendar than The Motion Picture's 2273 but in a different universe. Our chronological toggle therefore sorts by in-universe era, Kelvin first, with that asterisk firmly attached. Release order sidesteps the headache entirely. Finally, the famous even-odd curse: fans long joked that the even-numbered films (II, IV, VI, First Contact) are great and the odd ones weak. The pattern held embarrassingly well through First Contact, the eighth film, until Nemesis (the tenth) broke it for good. Treat it as a triage tool, not a law.

Timeline 1979-2016

Every entry by release year: rows that share a year are a cluster, and the long droughts are called out on the rail.

  1. 1979 The Motion Picture
  2. 1982 II: The Wrath of Khan
  3. 1984 III: The Search for Spock
  4. 1986 IV: The Voyage Home
  5. 1989 V: The Final Frontier
  6. 1991 VI: The Undiscovered Country
  7. 1994 Generations
  8. 1996 First Contact
  9. 1998 Insurrection
  10. 4-year gap
  11. 2002 Nemesis
  12. 7-year gap
  13. 2009 (2009)
  14. 4-year gap
  15. 2013 Into Darkness
  16. 2016 Beyond

Where to play it today

Availability changes often and varies by region - links search each platform for Star Trek Movies.

Frequently asked questions

How many Star Trek movies are there?

There are 13 theatrical Star Trek films: six with the original cast (1979-1991), four with the Next Generation cast (1994-2002), and three Kelvin timeline films (2009, 2013, 2016). The 2025 streaming movie Section 31 is a made-for-TV film outside this theatrical run.

What order should I watch the Star Trek movies in?

Release order, from The Motion Picture (1979) to Star Trek Beyond (2016). The three cast eras never interleave, so you can also treat them as three self-contained blocks and watch each block front to back.

Can I start with The Wrath of Khan?

Yes. It is the most recommended entry point. The Motion Picture is skippable for newcomers, and The Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock, and The Voyage Home form one continuous trilogy.

Do I need to watch the Star Trek TV shows before the movies?

No, the films stand on their own. The Wrath of Khan does follow up on the 1967 episode "Space Seed," and the Next Generation films mean more if you know that crew from TV, but neither is required.

What is the even-odd Star Trek movie curse?

A long-running fan joke that the even-numbered films (The Wrath of Khan, The Voyage Home, The Undiscovered Country, First Contact) are good while the odd-numbered ones are weak. It held through the eighth film, First Contact, before Nemesis (the tenth) finally broke it.

Are the Kelvin timeline movies reboots or prequels?

Both. They restart the franchise with a new cast, but they are set in 2233-2263 (earlier than The Motion Picture's 2273) inside an alternate timeline created when a Romulan ship from 2387 changes history. That is why they sit first in our chronological order, with an asterisk.

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Last verified · Sources: en.wikipedia.org, space.com, en.wikipedia.org (individual film articles, BBFC-sourced runtimes)

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