A Guide to Star Trek's Production & Working Titles
The naming of a Star Trek film has always been more than just marketing shorthand. Working titles, the temporary code names on call sheets and clapboards, often reflect the tension between secrecy and ambition, between mythmaking and the production grind. Some are blunt placeholders, others speak in riddles, and a few carry hidden nods to franchise canon or signal shifts in thematic direction.
Star Trek, like its galactic rival Star Wars, has long operated in a space between franchise stewardship and film secrecy, where even a production name becomes part of the lore. While Star Wars leans toward ironic camouflage like "Blue Harvest," Star Trek often threads legacy into its titles. They are quiet breadcrumbs, suggesting character arcs, the status of a starship, or the weight of Starfleet politics.
To boldly go where no one has gone before.
- The Original Series Films
- The Next Generation Films
- The Kelvin Timeline Films
- The Modern Television Era
The Original Series Films
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)Working Titles: Phase II, Planet of the Titans
Before becoming a feature film, this project was conceived as Star Trek: Phase II, a TV series intended to launch a new Paramount network. Key characters like Willard Decker and Ilia were created for this series and ported directly into the movie when the show was scrapped. Planet of the Titans was another, earlier film concept that was abandoned, which would have involved the mythical Titans of Greek lore and a time-travel plotline. These early titles show a franchise scrambling for direction but determined to achieve a new level of grandeur.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)Working Title: The Undiscovered Country
This title, a quote from Shakespeare's *Hamlet* referring to death, was originally considered for this film and would have been deeply thematic given Spock's ultimate sacrifice. However, the studio opted for a more action-oriented title. The return of Khan Noonien Singh, a powerful villain from the original series, gave the film a personal stake for Kirk and signaled a shift back towards character-driven continuity, which many felt was missing from the first film.
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)Working Title: Return to Genesis
This working title was a dead giveaway for fans who knew the ending of *The Wrath of Khan*. The Genesis Planet, created by the powerful but unstable Genesis Device, was not just a location but a moral and scientific consequence. The title betrayed that the entire story would hinge on the metaphysical quest to resurrect Spock, grappling with the boundaries between life, death, and the very definition of a soul.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)Working Title: The Save the Whales Movie
Affectionately and widely called the "whale movie" even by the cast and crew during production, this title leaned into the film's accessible environmental themes. However, the true "voyage" was not just across time to 20th-century Earth, but a thematic journey home for the crew. After the heavy, operatic drama of the previous two films, this lighter, more comedic adventure brought the characters back to their humanistic, hopeful baseline.
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)Working Title: An Act of Love
Directed by William Shatner, this film was envisioned as a deeply spiritual quest. The working title, An Act of Love, pointed to the film's central plot device involving Spock's half-brother, Sybok, who uses the Vulcan mind-meld to "heal" his followers' emotional pain. The story's focus on finding God at the center of the galaxy was a bold thematic swing, but the final film is often remembered for its troubled production and ambitious overreach.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)Working Title: Star Trek VI
The title, recycled from an early idea for *Star Trek II*, perfectly suited this film's themes. The Shakespearean reference to death ("the undiscovered country") not only foreshadowed the end of the original crew's cinematic journey, but also referred to the film's Cold War allegory. For old warriors like Kirk and the Klingons, a future of peace was an unknown and terrifying territory they were being forced to navigate.
The Next Generation Films
Star Trek: Generations (1994)Working Title: Generations
The title was straightforward but thematically loaded, signaling the literal passing of the torch from Captain Kirk to Captain Picard. The name also directly references the Nexus, an extra-dimensional ribbon where time has no meaning, which serves as the plot device allowing the two iconic captains from different generations to meet and fight alongside one another.
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)Working Title: Resurrection
The original working title, Resurrection, was thematically perfect, alluding to the return of the Borg and Picard's own resurrected trauma from his assimilation. However, it was scrapped to avoid confusion with Fox's upcoming *Alien: Resurrection*. The final title, First Contact, works on two levels: it refers to the historic first meeting between humans and Vulcans, a pivotal moment in Star Trek lore, and the Borg's violation of that sacred timeline.
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)Working Title: Revolution
The working title Revolution was morphed into Insurrection to maintain the 'ion' naming convention from the previous film. The story, about Captain Picard and his crew defying Starfleet orders to protect the peaceful Ba'ku people from a forced relocation plot, perfectly matches the title's theme. It is a story of internal rebellion, where the crew must uphold the Federation's highest ideals by committing an act of mutiny against it.
Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)Working Title: The Enemy Within
The working title was a direct reference to a classic Original Series episode where Captain Kirk is split into his good and evil halves. This was deeply relevant, as the film's villain, Shinzon, is a clone of Captain Picard. The final title, Nemesis, is more operatic, but the original idea of "The Enemy Within" better captured the psychological nature of the conflict, as Picard was literally forced to confront a darker version of himself.
The Kelvin Timeline Films
Star Trek (2009)Working Title: Corporate Headquarters
J.J. Abrams' production was famously secretive. The working title Corporate Headquarters was a deliberately bland misdirect designed to hide location filming from the public and press. The final title was simply Star Trek—bold, clean, and without subtitles or numbers—a clear statement that this was a full reset of the mythos, starting from zero for a new audience.
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)Working Title: Vengeance
The working title Vengeance was a literal plot point, as it was the name of the massive, black, predatory Starfleet vessel commanded by the film's antagonist, Khan. The final title was chosen to reflect the moral darkness that Starfleet itself was descending into, embracing militarism and pre-emptive strikes in a way that challenged its core philosophy.
Star Trek Beyond (2016)Working Title: Washington
Another generic title used purely to hide location shooting details. Director Justin Lin chose the final title, Beyond, to signal a thematic break from the previous two films' earthbound and nostalgia-heavy plots. His goal was to capture the spirit of a classic Original Series episode, pushing the crew beyond familiar territory and into the true unknown.
The Modern Television Era
Star Trek: Discovery (2017–2024)Working Title: Green Harvest
This title was a playful, direct homage to Star Wars' "Blue Harvest," placing it within a long tradition of sci-fi production camouflage. The final title, Discovery, refers not only to the starship USS Discovery and its experimental spore drive, but also to the series' theme of its characters rediscovering the core values of the Federation in a fractured, post-war era.
Star Trek: Picard (2020–2023)Working Title: Drawing Room
This working title perfectly matched the show's initial tone, which was quiet, introspective, and rooted in character memory rather than high-concept spectacle. A "drawing room" is a place for conversation and reflection, fitting for a series that begins with a retired Jean-Luc Picard living in his chateau, haunted by his past.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022–)Working Title: Lily & Isaac
This was a rare, sentimental codename. "Lily" likely referred to actress Jess Bush's character, Nurse Christine Chapel, and her significant character evolution. The final title, Strange New Worlds, is a direct quote from Captain Kirk's iconic opening monologue from The Original Series, signaling a deliberate and celebrated return to the classic episodic format of exploration and adventure.
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