Star Trek Movies in Chronological Order
All 13 movies from 1979 to 2016, arranged by when their stories happen rather than when they came out. The timeline moves 13 of 13 away from release order: Star Trek (2009) is #11 by release but #1 in the timeline, and Star Trek Into Darkness is #12 by release but #2 in the timeline. The full Star Trek Movies guide has both orders, the reasoning, and a free progress tracker.
| # | Title | Year | Release order |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Star Trek (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. | 2009 | #11 (later) |
| 2 | Star Trek Into Darkness Set in 2259, the Kelvin crew hunts the terrorist John Harrison, a reimagined Khan played by Benedict Cumberbatch. | 2013 | #12 (later) |
| 3 | Star Trek Beyond 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. | 2016 | #13 (later) |
| 4 | Star Trek: The Motion Picture 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. | 1979 | #1 (earlier) |
| 5 | Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan 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. | 1982 | #2 (earlier) |
| 6 | Star Trek III: The Search for Spock 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. | 1984 | #3 (earlier) |
| 7 | Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home The crew time-travels from 2286 to 1986 San Francisco to save the humpback whales. The lightest, funniest entry and a big mainstream hit. | 1986 | #4 (earlier) |
| 8 | Star Trek V: The Final Frontier 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. | 1989 | #5 (earlier) |
| 9 | Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country 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. | 1991 | #6 (earlier) |
| 10 | Star Trek Generations 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. | 1994 | #7 (earlier) |
| 11 | Star Trek: First Contact 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. | 1996 | #8 (earlier) |
| 12 | Star Trek: Insurrection 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. | 1998 | #9 (earlier) |
| 13 | Star Trek: Nemesis 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. | 2002 | #10 (earlier) |
Track Star Trek Movies in this order → The guide's tracker follows whichever order you pick, chronological (in-universe) included.