star wars universe vs star trek universe

10 Fundamental Differences Between Star Wars & Star Trek

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10 Perfect Film Trilogies Where All 3 Movies Are Flawless

10 star wars storylines that would make great new animated spinoff series, the acolyte is making the same point as star wars' most controversial film and they're both 100% right.

Star Wars has long been one of pop culture's biggest franchises, a juggernaut that brought sci-fi to the masses in a way few other movies or TV shows have.  Star Wars has left an indelible mark on the world with  over eleven movies , multiple TV shows, comics, and novels. However, for Star Wars to run, Star Trek had to walk.

RELATED: 10 Greatest Star Trek Villains Of All Time, Ranked

Whether it be its award-winning TV shows or its many movies, Star Trek has been a standard-bearer for complex sci-fi concepts. Star Trek and Star Wars are similar, but there are fundamental differences make it seem like they belong in two different genres.

10 Star Wars Takes Place In Another Galaxy And Time

Star Trek takes place in the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th centuries in the Milky Way galaxy, with humanity having joined other interstellar races to ensure peace and prosperity for as much of the galaxy as possible. Star Wars, on the other hand, doesn't take place in the Milky Way. It doesn't even take place close to contemporary times.

Each movie begins with the words, "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away." This huge difference sets the stage for every  Star Wars movie, but doesn't exactly clear up when it takes place.

9 Star Trek Feels More Futuristic While Star Wars Feels Weirdly Contemporary

Star Trek' s characters, especially the human ones, represent an evolution that completely recasts society. While not every species is as enlightened as those of the Federation, like the Klingon, Ferengi, or Cardassians, the characters don't seem like ordinary people. They act as if they come from a society that has evolved.

Even though it takes place in another galaxy, Star Wars feels contemporary in many ways – a dirty, corrupt galaxy with characters that the viewer can relate to. There are differences between  the Jedi and the Sith and how they comport themselves , but Star Wars  and Star Trek characters have massive differences in viewpoint.

8 In Star Trek, Technobabble Saves The Day

Star Trek  emphasizes the science in "science fiction" way more than Star Wars. Even the original series, which was more known for philosophy , used a lot of technobabble, something later shows and movies would lean into.  Star Trek shows even brought on science advisors to give the show's science some grounding as time went by.

RELATED: Star Wars: The Clone Wars: 5 Ways Season 7 Was Worth The Wait (& 5 It Wasn't)

"Reversing the polarity" of something is one of many tropes that Star Trek brought to the pop culture lexicon. There are so many episodes where Data, O'Brien, or Scotty employ some hardcore technobabble that saves the day, using science to solve problems.

7 Star Wars Is Way More Mystical

Star Trek likes to use realistic-sounding science to solve problems, but Star Wars goes in a completely different direction. While there is a lot of high technology in Star Wars , it's not nearly as important to the plots of the shows and movies as the mysticism is.

The main crux of Star Wars is the conflict between the light and dark sides of the Force, as exemplified by the Jedi and the Sith . While not every bit of Star Wars lore deals with mystical parts of the universe, it's much more prevalent than in Star Trek, where the amount of actual mysticism is just about nil.

6 Star Trek Plays With Philosophy And Questions Morality In Complicated Ways

The Star Wars Universe is a black and white place where there are good and evil, but very few shades of grey in between.  Star Wars is extremely simplistic with its outlook on things, and while it sometimes tries to grasp deeper topics, it rarely manages to do so in a thoughtful way.

Star Wars is as subtle as a brick to the head.  Star Trek has always been known for getting more philosophical, musing on the nature of morality.  Star Trek  delves into how a futuristic society should comport itself, how people should treat each other, and more.

5 Star Wars Is More About The Spectacle Than Anything Else

The limit of television production budgets means that Star Trek isn't as visually stunning as Star Wars . Some of the most memorable parts of Star Wars have been the explosive action, fantastic set pieces, and the lightsaber battles. Spectacle has always been one of the most important parts of Star Wars, overshadowing just about everything else.

4 Star Trek Characters   Are More Realistic

One of Star Trek's strengths over Star Wars is how realistic the characters can be in comparison. Part of this is how much more screen time Star Trek characters get than Star Wars ones. With Star Wars, there's not enough time to get too far into the characters – even the TV shows concentrate more on the action than the characters for the most part.

RELATED: 15 Strongest Star Trek Ships, Ranked

Star Trek 's characters go through so much more than Star Wars'  because there's more content . This makes the characters more realistic, allowing audiences to understand them and their complexities better.

3 Star Wars Is All About War

Star Wars has a big difference with Star Trek right in its name – the word war instead of trek. This focus on war has stayed with Star Wars throughout its existence; pretty much every piece of Star Wars media deals with conflict.

The only parts of  Star Wars canon that hasn't entirely dealt with war are  The Mandalorian and The Phantom Menace – both of which have conflict and looming war at their core. This focus on war limits the stories that Star Wars can tell. While it makes for exciting viewing, it doesn't make for diverse storytelling.

2 Star Trek Is About Exploration And Learning To Get Along

Star Trek has always gone in a different direction. Most Star Trek shows are about exploration and bringing people together, shining light on contemporary issues. While there are conflicts in Star Trek, it's not the focus, and even when it was – like in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – it was more about the price of war and how it affected those who fought it than the war itself.

While newer Star Trek shows get flack because they focus more on the action than the philosophy and exploration, for the most part, Star Trek is more humanistic in its approach to fiction and storytelling.

1 Star Wars Is Inspired By Joseph Campbell's Monomyth Structure

When George Lucas wrote  Star Wars and structured the story, he borrowed heavily from Joseph Campbell's Hero With A Thousand Faces. Campbell looked at myths from around the world and found a similar story structure. Lucas used this structure when creating the Star Wars narrative, which helped the stories resonate with audiences worldwide.

This familiar story structure helped the Star Wars Saga scratch an itch for heroic storytelling that made it appeal to a broader audience. Combining Campbellian monomyth with science fiction was an inspired choice, one that paid dividends.

NEXT: Star Wars: 10 Things Luke Skywalker Can Do Without His Lightsaber

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Star Trek vs Star Wars, which sci-fi universe is more interesting?

Source: Composite image by G_marius

Star Trek and Star Wars are the most influential sci-fi sagas. We debate these two universes and outline some of the best quotes. Also check out some of the most iconic scenes of Start Trek and Star Wars. Join our debate and vote!

Star Trek and   Star Wars  are the most influential sagas in the history of science fiction . Both sci-fi franchises  successfully created rich universes which have inspired multitudes of books, video games, toys, and TV series. We compare the two and select a few of the best quotes the characters of these sagas left us.

Star Trek vs Star Wars

Star Trek  is a science fiction franchise created by Gene Roddenberry.  The Original Series was released in 1966 and ran for three seasons on NBC. Star Trek narrates the space exploration and interstellar adventures of James T. Kirk, Captain of the starship USS Enterprise , and its crew, which included Spock, Leonard McCoy, Montgomery Scott, Pavel Chekov, Nuota Uhura, and Hikaru Sulu among others. The Enterprise explored the galaxy on behalf of the "United Federation of Planets". They searched new life and civilization, and often fought the extraterrestrial Klingons. The series were so sucessful that several  TV spin-off series were launched afterwards:  Star Trek: The Next Generation , Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise and Star Trek: Discovery, and Star Trek: Pickard. Ten films were also produced from 1979 to 2002.  In 2009, the film franchise underwent a relaunch with Star Trek, a prequel to the original series directed by JJ Abrams. A  sequel to this film, Star Trek Into Darkness, followed in 2013 and new one Star Trek Beyond has been anounced to mark the 50th anniversary of the interestellar saga in 2016. The trekkies are surely delighted that their favorite characters will be back soon.

Star Wars  is an epic sci-fi space opera franchise created by the film director and producer George Lucas. Star Wars Episode IV:  A New Hope  (1977) was the first movie of a trilogy that was completed with  The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). Star Wars   became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon. Iconic characters such as Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Yoda or Darth Vader have left a deep imprint on many of us. Some of the scenes and scenarios in the movies also stimulated our imagination, such as the Mos Eisley Cantina on Tatooine, the battle on the icy planet Hooth or the destruction of the Death Star. And what about its music? who doesn't recognize the fantastic John Williams soundtrack? A prequel trilogy was later released Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002), and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005). The first movie of a third trilogy,  Star Wars Episode VII:  The Force Awakens  was released 2015. It was followd by Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) and  Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). As with the reboot of Star Trek, for this new Star Wars JJ Abrams was chosen director to bring back to the big screen some of the most glorious elements of George Lucas saga.

Some of the best scenes of Star Trek and Star Wars

Some of the best Star Trek quotes

• "They seemed to have been spared the agony of your first three World Wars, doctor" . Mr. Spock
• "Live long and prosper."  Mr. Spock
• "Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before."   Captain Kirk
• "I have been, and always shall be, your friend ." Mr. Spock
• "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one ." Mr. Spock
• "You look quite well for a man that's been 'utterly destroyed', Mr. Spock." Captain Kirk

Some of the best Star Wars quotes

• "Luke, you can destroy the Emperor. He has foreseen this. It is your destiny. Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son." Darth Vader
• "You can’t win, Darth. Strike me down, and I will become more powerful than you could possibly imagine ." Obi-Wan Kenobi
• "It's a trap!"  Admiral Ackbar
• "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope." Princess Leia
• "Laugh it up, Fuzz ball ." Han Solo
• "No. I am your Father." Darth Vader

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General Question

Star wars vs star trek what universe would win if they fought.

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if they did fight how would triumph?

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95 Answer s

I’d have to go with Star Wars for winning in a fight. Jedi’s are bad business for anyone once they get into one of the Star Trek Ships.

The power of the force would be the deciding factor for me. I think that gives Star Wars the edge.

If we’re talking Kirk vs. anyone in Star Wars … it would definitely be a battle royale .

Still, I’d hafta give the nod to Star Wars . The Empire Strikes Back demonstrated navigation in three dimensions two years before Kirk explained it in Wrath of Khan … and with much more style.

Guys, I have to side with Star Trek. The technobabble alone trumps any Jedi. As an example, everyone knows that a quantum-fluxed nano-cooled temporal phased harmonic capacitor kicks some serious ass.

@sacaver, I agree, Trek owns the technobabble outright.

But… in every Star Wars episode, you’ll notice that they’ve applied their knowledge to the situation at hand. Look at the dedicated transports based on each planet’s unique properties. And at how many non-human-looking entities are able to mingle, cohabitate, and even communicate easily with each other… without English .

Good point.

I always thought it was the universal translator built into each communicator which allowed the entire freakin’ universe to speak, not only English, but American English.

But what about the Borg? All they need to do is assimilate one Jedi, and I think you’re done. On both sides. Jedi Borg. Oh the horror!

GA, @sacaver, for Jedi Borg. Nice play!

I have to vote for Star Wars , but only because the transporter was never properly weaponized.

I dunno, Star Wars has such an odd mix of high and low tech. If I have to fight bad guys, I’d rather do it from a distance with a taser, rather than a light saber. I tend to think that Star Trek technology would win out.

a borg android is going to be severely waaaaaay to slow to ever assimilate a jedi.

@syz, Star Wars did have blasters , y’know?

True, but the Borg en masse, I think the Jedi don’t stand a chance. Look at what happened when they were surrounded by a bunch of droids.

@syz: I agree with you. From a purely technology basis, Star Trek has the upper hand.

@rob: blasters are sooo from a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.

Why has this debate become artificially limited to just the Jedis vs. the entire Star Trek universe?

Send the droids after the Borg.

Send the Empire (meaning clones ) after the Federation, Klingons, Romulans, etc.

Send the Jedi against the Q continuum.

The star trek universe would win outright. I don’t just mean against the jedi, I mean against everybody. Just looking at the borg, yeah, they would kick some serious ass, but everyone is forgetting about such formidable opponents as the Klingons, Cardassians, the Hirogen, and, last but not least Species 8472 . Also, the federation displays something that always seems to be lacking in the star wars universe: unity . How many times is there dissension in the ranks in star wars, hm? I mean, the biggest player went from being all out good to all out bad! I mean, sure, Picard went all Loqutus of the borg for a while, but the federation brought him back!

So, yeah, clearly my vote is for star trek.

@ jasongarret: while the transporter was never officially weaponized, the potential is still there. In an episode of Voyager, the Kazon get ahold of transporter technology and end up transporting themselves into walls and stuff like that.

And haven’t they used the transporter to send explosives either to a ship or to the general vicinity of a vessel? I’m looking for a reference to this, but I can’t find one.

@ jason, GA. I was in the process of typing up the list of other adversaries within the Star Trek universe. And good call on Species 8472.

Now, does this question assume that ALL entities within each respective universe will be fighting alongside others from that same universe? In other words, Sith and Jedi fighting with each other against Klingons/Federation/Borg?

And let’s not forget, the writers would just have Star Trek go back in time and make like it all never happened in the first place.

I vote Star Wars. But I might be bias.

@sacaver: I don’t think this assumes that all of the entities in each universe would be fighting alongside each other, but I think they just wouldn’t attack those from their own universe. The borg, for example, would recognize that maybe there is some technology that the jedi and/or the sith have that they don;t have so the borg would go after them. there is also the possibility that the federation would ally with the borg (as has been done in the past) to defeat the sith/jedi/trade federation/whatever. Also, the start trek universe is full of species/people who go for the kill whereas it seems the jedi don;t like to kill, but instead prefer to incapacitate. I mean, a lot of the time, they are just fighting droids.

ok, I’m not suggesting a Jedi would ever try and fight a fleet of ships from star trek, but they have the ability to sense what’s going on even if they are far away from what they’re tracking, like a sixth sense. You put one Jedi on each battle cruiser, and you’ll be able to do some serious damange.

Not to mention the Death Star!!! I mean come on!! I have seen nothing in Star Trek that would come close to the power and destruction that the death star carries with it.

Oh, and as far a a Jedi being surrounded by borg, again, most Jedi will have the intuition to know not to get themselves into a situation that would get themselves surrounded by some slow moving androids that are limited to melee attacks. I think it would only take a trio of Jedi in one borg cube, and that cube is going down, and fast.

@Random: Just to address the Death Star comment—what about the Genesis Device? Or the Xindi’s weapon? The beauty of these “destroyers of worlds” is their size. The Genesis Device was deployed from a torpedo bay, and the Xindi sphere used subspace to bypass defenses. So, unlike the Death Star (a lumbering white planetoid with the albedo of the Moon and subtlety of a drunk cow), both of these weapons are small and pack an earth-shattering wallop. When it comes to power and destruction, size apparently isn’t everything.

seriously, this thread has got to be pegging the nerd meter

what about a all out space battle. Star Wars seems to have more fighters for combat while star trek is all exploration. My vote for space fight. Star wars.

@willbrawn, yeah I agree, much more fighters than exploring ships in star wars, rather star trek….just look a the name of each “wars” and “trek”

On a whim, I thought I’d check what kind of supply chain there might be to support a war from either side.

Using a top-tier supplier, it looks like Star Wars toys outnumber Star Trek toys over five to one.

5,324 “toys & games” for Star Wars vs. 981 “toys & games” for Star Trek

Seems to me then that Star Wars would have a pretty deep bench when it comes to weapons and personnel selection.

@robmandu star wars figures FTW

oh and star wars has better land troops too

Wow. Would you believe that there was an actual battle royale ?

My vote would definitely have to go with Star Wars. They are just way more advanced in terms of ground forces of all kinds and space forces of any type. better weaponry, better vehicles. Star Trek is more of the exploring type, not to mention waaaaay more realistic, Star Trek has science on their side. In Star Wars ships explode in to huge fire balls, but there is no oxygen in space so how can there be fire. There is also no sound so how can you hear the sound of a TIE Fighter flying bye. Besides Star Wars is in a whole other universe where the word “Earth” is gibberish and it is a long time ago where as Star Trek is implied to be in the future. Star Trek is based from Earth. But maybe in that Star Wars universe there is oxygen in space or fire is not fueled by oxygen. Star Wars is way cooler and has been expanded waaaaaaaay more than Star Trek in terms of books and TV shows.

Technology will win wars. The United States is a good example of that in modern warfare.

I don’t know, is Picard in charge?

Is it the Clone Wars era or the Galactic Civil War era

I’m amazed no one brought this up yet; specifically where weaponry is concerned. Lasers are not nearly so powerful as phasers; proton torpedos may be as powerful as photon, but I doub’t it. Starfleet shielding seems far more powerful than Republic/Empire shields. I remember watching an episode of ST:TNG where a ship, somewhat comparable to a SW type vessel, couldn’t even penetrate the Enterprise-D’s navigational screens (that obliterate cosmic dust, debree, etc while they are warping across the galaxy) with their laser batteries, so say nothing of their defensive shields. Would there even be enough Jedi to span and confront the entire breadth of Federation planets and ships? Dunno. Remember also that Vulcan’s mental powers are formidable, and I recall reading that the ancient Vulcans practised disciplines as Psionic warriors, utilizing their mental prowess in martial form. SW ace in the hole would be the Death Star, but theres only one of these. the Imperial SDs again use only standard lasers, and a well placed phaser hit from a starship phaser could knock one out easily. Still, this is really apples and oranges; I like em BOTH for different reasons, but I’d have to go with TREK (sure they are about exploration mostly, but any that could stand toe to toe with the BORG and live to tell the tale, well . . .)!

@TheKNYHT The Empire and the Galactic Republic had control of almost the entire galaxy and i think the Federation is still exploring their galaxy, am i wrong. @all also from what ive seen there are no fighters shown in star trek and plenty powerful fighters in star wars. fighters can pin point and swarm an enemy’s week spot. there are also no anti fighter turrets in star trek, only the forward phasers which have a beam far to small to target smaller ships. The star wars ships are also alot bigger that star trek vessels.

@Blobman the TREK universe incorporates much more than what we see in TV and in films, there are also books and technical manuals. In these two latter cases (though I don’t own any tech manuals) there are instances of smaller fighter vessels used for closer range enemy craft. True the Empire has more hardware as they encompass a far greater territory, but as we learned in the Cold War era quality beats out quantity (referring to US quality military hardware compared with Soviet philosophy that says ‘more is better’). As far as phasers are concerned, the phaser banks are omni-directional, and photon torpedos have sophisticated tracking devices. Not to mention Imperial starships travel only at the speed of light, whereas most starships can attain speeds of warp 6 to 8 (thats 6 to 8x the speed of light, squared). Any way you cut it, it seems TREK is superior. This IS fun to talk about and conjecture though! I think fans from both have often wondered what would happen if these two universes collided. I even toyed with outlines for such a story!

I always thought that the SW’s term “light speed” was considered a misnomer. They also use the phrase “jump to hyperspace”. Having only seen the movies, and not read any of the books, I would guess that the rate of travel is undefined.

That said, the Empire is able to move “small moons” over great distances without waiting an extended time. I know in ST:TNG, there were instances where they traveled at top warp speed for days, even weeks. No mention of that kind of travel time in SW movies.

@robmandu well light speed would be ‘the speed of light’ or 186,000 miles per second. warp speed is altogether different. Warp 2 for example isnt twice the speed of light, its 2×2 the speed of light, warp 3 is 3×3 the speed of light, and so on.

@TheKNYHT , yah, I get that. One point I was making is that in SW, they use the term “jump to light speed” interchangeably with “jump to hyperspace”.

It’s nice that “warp” has a simple mathematical expression.

But another point I tried to make was that they don’t define the speed of “hyperspace” in SW movies. And they’re seemingly able to cross the entire galaxy in ridiculously short amounts of time – think of the end of Ep5-TESB where the medical ships are congregated within view of an entire galactic system.

Obviously star trek will win. They have the multi-vector assault mode that can destroy large vessels even republic cruisers, transphasic torpedoes that can totally destroy a huge vessel (borg cubes and stardestroyers for example). Star wars fans thought the federation had no planet killers, the feds also have them. Its General Order 24 which orders any starship to destroy all life on a planet. My most favorite is the armor technology from voyager. it is said that no weapons fire could penetrate it except for borg weapons fire

Even the jedi wouldnt stand a chance. the delta quadrant’s ocampa have powerful mental powers thatb can surpass the force. instead of a jedi/sith choking someone, an ocampa can burn their blood just like what happened to tuvok. and an ocampa can reflect also other mental powers so if vader wanted to choke kes from voyager, it would probably reflect back to vader, thus choking himself

@Trekkie “never underestimate the power of the force”

@willbrawn : “Make it so.”

“Never underestimate the power of the force”. Hmmmmm, ST already has the force long before SW was created. The Platonians from TOS “Plato’s Stepchildren”, possess Force-like powers and in the 24th century maybe, their planet is inside Federation space.

@Trekkie they had the force first? Do you know how old the Jedi date back to?

this is amusing, but I remember an email from years ago, that described the difference as how asteroid fields are navigated. Star Trek handles them at 1/4 impulse, while Star Wars puts the pedal to the metal.

@robmandu That is hilarious!

@sullyhet welcome to fluther lurve.

all nerds noted

I have read this thread again, and have since changed my mind about Star Wars winning. I now think Star Trek would win.

@RandomMrdan : Damn straight!

I’m very upset by the lack of the name Boba Fett in this thread. He could take on the entire Star Trek universe alone and dominate.

@rangerr True. I remember his only line in “Return of the Jedi”: Aaaahhhhh!!!!

In the grand scale of things I would have to go with Star Wars over Trek only because the Enterprise had the the Engines upside down on top with the bridge out in the open on top and vulnerable

By the way, for those still following this, here is a nice clip.

My vote is always for Star Trek. There are some issues though that some have brought up, such as the fact that Star Wars, being a long long time ago, would have become far more advanced by the era of Star Trek. I am going by the assumption that we are talking about the universes each in their own time periods (Star Trek is still in our future, Star Wars is still a long long time ago). I would also like to point out that the Borg are not limited to melee attacks, as someone mentioned on here. I can’t recall when, but I have seen them using some kind of green, ranged energy weapon. I also do not believe that simple laser based weapons of Star Wars would have much of an effect on Star Trek ships’ shielding, which is meant to withstand phasers (being significantly more complex than mere lasers). Also, the most ridiculous post I have read here thus far was one that said that the jedi would fight the Q continuum. I find this extremely unlikey, since the Q could snap their fingers and cause all the jedi to simply cease to exist. That’s a bit better than the jedi “force”, if I’m not mistaken. Don’t get me wrong, I actually love Star Wars. I’m always a fan of the biggest ships and the most powerful weapons, and I’ve always considered the star destroyers and death star and everything that Star Wars gets to be quite spectacular. However, even the death star wouldn’t last long if assaulted by a whole fleet of Borg Cubes (yes, it could certainly destroy one in an instant with its superlaser, but it also takes forever to recharge. In the meantime, the Borg are beaming inside on all levels and assimilating all the personel). And then, just imagine what would happen if a single ship snuck up on it and hit it with a genesis device… And finally there’s the argument of Star Wars fighters beating on the Star Trek capships. People don’t seem to be realizing the fact that generally, Federation vessels DO have point defence! Just because you don’t see a lot of fighters in Star Trek (although some games do feature them), doesn’t mean they don’t have to shoot down a missile or small asteroid or something every now and then. I’m sure the same point defence systems work decently enough against fighter to take care of it.

Oh… I also feel I should mention if we are basing our statistics on the novels and games and such for each, rather than just episodes or movies, that Star Trek ships can indeed carry fighters during times of war. Just look at the game Starfleet Command… Fighters are pretty important sometimes.

@ groo567 How do you know that phasers are stronger than lasers? And lasers are not the only thing that Star Wars vessels carry. What about all the missiles and ion cannons and such.

@Blobman there was an episode of Star Trek Next Generation, where Captain Picard encountered a ship that had lasers as it’s weapon system. The ship open fired on the Enterprise, and it did no damage at all. Also, missiles wouldn’t really do much to a Star Trek vessel, as they can use the phasers to shoot them on their way in, and they would have to make it past their shields as well.

We have hyperdrive. Your little Enterprise couldn’t even catch us.

Ya. What rangerr said!! HAHA @RandomMrdan And how do you know that say the turbo laser turrets of an Imperial Star Destroyer aren’t more powerful than those on the ship that Picard encountered. And: there are vessels smaller, faster, and more maneuverable than the Death Star that have super lasers. Take the Eclipse-class Super Star Destroyer for example, I’m sure that “Our [the star trek] cruisers can’t repel firepower of that magnitude!” – Admiral Ackbar

HyperDrive is = to Warp 1… anyway… The Q Continuum alone will be able to destroy All of Star Wars.. How are u meant to Force Grip someone when they can instantly Teleport away.. MindTrick won`t be able to work on the Q Continuum Because Q Are NOT Weak Minded…

Alssoo.. Anyone Seen the Episode on Star Trek – TNG where there is this Old Man that Accidentally Kills every Single Man, Women and Child From the Race that Killed his Wife..? Coz thats Pretty Freaky.. I`m Not sure but i don`t think that a lightSaber Will Be able to Deflect Death.. haha..

The latest battle:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgHhUZt8j98

its as easy as this star wars would get its ass kicked simply by one letter “Q” their is no refute for how star wars or Jedi or Sith would ever kicked a “Q’s” ass simply put Q is Omnipotent.

@Kingkaizer AI bet if a Jedi/Sith was powerful enough they could simply use The Force to keep them from teleporting. And they could predict is using The Force.

It is possible that the force doesn’t exist and possibly can not be used in the star trek universe. If the Federation, Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians and unimatrix zero ex-borg worked together with the Jedi to find a way to allow access to the Force using portable transdimentional or transuniversal tech in return for this favor the Jedi could offer to use the force to sever all the borg from the collective using the newly reacquired force to guide them to where they need to strike and using force powers that disable the borg crew and ships without hurting the the lifeforms themselves.

@borgranta sounds like you’ve got the makings for a good book.

Fact from fiction, truth from diction. It might go slightly to Star Trek I hate to say , though Star Wars have the Death Star but maybe only 2 at best there could be 100s if not 1,000s of Borg cubes and spheres. And I am not sure a Jedi could keep up with how fast the Borg could adapt their shields. Also Star Trek has cloaking, transporters, and Species 8472. The Jem’Hadar would overwelm the Stromtroopers, the Jem’Hadar don’t eat, don’t sleep, and so long as they are doped up, will fight to the end even worse than Klingons. for them victory isn’t everything, it is the only thing . And if that were not enough the Founder Changlings would have given the Jedi fits, and then you have the mother of all ace in the holes Q of the Q Continuum Jedi that! . Sorry Star Wars I love you but you don’t have the might to muscle Star Trek around .

If you think about it, Star Trek has obviously been thoroughly thought out. That means that Star Trek has limits. Star Wars on the other hand, leaves almost endless possibilities. I do not know that much about the Trek story so correct me if I’m wrong

And does anyone else find it amazing that 67 answers and two years later we are still pondering the same question.

Considering the question says universe , @Blobman , you’re right. The SW universe which I consider to include the extended universe is still being expanded on, and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.

I know very little about Star Trek, but I do know that it would be very unlikely that they would have something to defeat everything that the SW universe has to offer.

@rangerr I know very little about Star Trek, but I do know that it would be very unlikely that they would have something to defeat everything that the SW universe has to offer. From what I have seen there is, ST has Q of the Q Continuum, The Borg, and Species 8472. The onlything I seen in the SW universe that even had a chance was the Jedi and I don’t think even they had the umph to deal with the Q Continuum. The Stormtroopers were bad but I believe against the Jem’Hadar and the “Founders” they would have had their hands more than full, and would have been decimated by the Borg. Three Borg Cubes agains one Death Star would have given the name “death” to that star because the Cubes would win every time.

Having just educated myself on the Q, I see where the Trekkies are coming from. If the Star Wars universe took on the Q, as much as I hate to admit it, the Q would win. But , seeing as the original question does not say, “Star Wars vs. the Q who would win if they fought?” I think that the Q are out of the question. The Q ”...he arguably has humans’ best interests at heart…”— http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q_(Star_Trek )—Many of Star Wars’s organizations are contain many humans. So I believe that the Q might not want to get involved.

@Blobman Even with Q out of the picture pitting a Borg Cube against the Death Star is not much of a battle. The Death Star does not have the shields or the weapons to match. The Death Star might get two maybe three shots at best then the Bord will have modulated their shields and the Death Star or any Tie fighter is toast. And once the Borg tansports onto the Death Star and starts to assimilating Stormtroopers it is all over. Even Droid Destroyers won’t save them. Star Trak just has too man weapons. If the Borg were not enough toss in Species 8472 and Krenim Empire with their temporal weaponry would be hard for even the Jedi to keep up with.

And why is only the Death Star taken into account, If the Rebellion can destroy the it I’m sure the Borg can. What about the Republic and the Confederation?

+ the Yuuzhan Vong

You know what, taking this guy into consideration, I think just about any enemy might be able to defeat the Star Wars universe.

lol for two years! That’s crazy.

I really don’t know much about either. Lightsabers seem deadly though, but a phaser or wtv they have in Star Trek might be easier to use. I don’t know. The Vulcan Nerve Pinch is pretty awesome. But what the fuck’s that gonna do against the Death Star lol.

@Symbeline But what the fuck’s that gonna do against the Death Star lol. Borg in bu8nches of bunches. If one starship and one Borg sphere can’t handle a Borg Cube if you have dozens of Cubes the Death Star will be deflated like a beach ball.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGLAweqzEJI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJZbCNexctc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9bNnskewr4

I don’t even think the Jedi has that much umph, I mean they can only control one thing at a time and not over that great a distance.

@Hypocrisy_Central ”...they can only control one thing at a time and not over that great a distance.” Actually, Jedi can control multiple objects at once and the distance varies depending on the the Jedi’s knowledge of the force.

@Blobman A Jedi is not Data, they can’t focus on dozens of dozens of things all at once, if they could they could have disabled all the Stormtroopers in one swoop, or take down the blockage young Skywalker did when he took out the main craft. I love Star Wars and that world but head to head against Star Trek it would be like Iron Mike in his prime going up against Hattie, Star Wars would put up a good fight for all of 1:30 seconds then lights out.

Pretty sure Admiral Akbar would get any job done.

i wasn’t going to comment on this, but i am tired of reading thoughts along the lines of “in a race, star trek would win.” please remember that Star Wars uses Quantium Slipstream Technology, which according to the episode “hope and fear” is much faster than warp

there is much more to talk about, such as the utter lack of heavy assult in Star Trek. in impractibality of phasers, up to and including aiming and reloading. though in this i never mentioned Jedi, Sith, or the force. some will argue Q. though anytime your agrument equates to “God won’t let us lose,” you forfit a serious conversation. if you would like to know more contact me and i would be glad to discuss it

[mod says] Unattributed copy/paste answers have been removed.

@Hypocrisy_Central I’m not saying that any Jedi could disable hundreds of troops, but certainly not just one thing at a time. If there are several troops in a small area than they could be immobilized as a group and most of the Jedi I’ve seen have two hands or don’t need hands to use the force. skip to 0:35 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO6rIZDblio

Chewie was delicious.

It was all over in a matter of minutes.

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Star trek vs. star wars: ranking the 5 best ships from both universes.

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Every Star Wars Backlash I've Ever Seen Has Really Been About The Same Thing

Star wars just made yoda hiding from emperor palpatine totally unforgivable, i was a child of the star wars prequels, & now i'm watching history repeat itself.

Star Trek and Star Wars are considered tentpole franchises within the sci-fi genre, and they've carried the flag for over 50 years at this point. Along the way, audiences have been treated to the best that conceptual designers and their imaginations have to offer, from planets to weaponry and ships.

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Speaking of ships, it's time to break down the five best from both Star Trek , and Star Wars . These ships aren't just iconic in terms of visual spectacle - they're also formidable in their own unique ways. Whether it's laser or phaser, hyperdrive, or warp drive, every ship on the list is a winner.

Star Wars: Star Destroyer

The Star Destroyer was the symbol of the Galactic Empire's might following the end of the Clone Wars . It was fast, and extremely powerful thanks to its mammoth weaponry. Star Destroyers were typically deployed in multiples and housed multiple TIE fighter squadrons which could easily be deployed to overwhelm enemy forces.

The most iconic model was the Imperial II-class Destroyer. It was capable of orbital bombardment on a planet, as well as direct assaults in space. Despite its many design flaws (over 174,000), few got the chance to exploit them before they face obliteration.

Star Trek: U.S.S. Voyager

Voyager served as the flagship vessel for the entire spinoff series Star Trek: Voyager , and featured a design much different from most Federation vessels seen at the time. This Intrepid-class ship was far smaller than Galaxy-class ships like the Enterprise, capable of housing a little more than 1/10th the crew compliment.

Nevertheless, it was designed primarily for long-range exploration missions. It was also one of the few Federation ships with landing gear, which allowed it to set down on the surface of a planet. It was also quite fast thanks to its class 9 warp drive, allowing it to remain at a dizzying warp 9.975 for up to 12 hours without having to reduce speed.

Star Wars: TIE Fighter

The Galactic Empire relied on the TIE fighter as a means to strike terror into opposing star systems, while vastly reducing build costs in an effort to overwhelm enemies with sheer numbers. Its lack of deflector shields, hyperdrive, and life support mechanisms made it cheap to produce, with a focus on speed and weaponry.

TIEs were incredibly maneuverable, and their small shape made them difficult for unskilled pilots to hit. Their L-S1 laser cannons were not incredibly powerful, but their rate of fire combined with sheer numbers meant they could easily destroy their targets in very little time. TIE pilots were given a number designation rather than a name to remind them that they were expendable in service to the Empire.

Star Trek: Klingon Bird Of Prey

This menacing Klingon vessel was meant to resemble a football player due to the large formations on its back, giving it a more intimidating appearance. It consisted of several classes including the K'vort, B'rel, and D12 class, one of the most recognizable. It also served many functions including scouting, patrol, and raider operations.

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The ship's weaponry consisted of twin disruptor cannons on its wingtips, and two photon torpedo launchers located on its maw and aft sections. It was not the strongest ship in the Klingon fleet by far, but the Bird of Prey was quite deadly when paired with a group of several, and could easily overwhelm a Starfleet vessel.

Star Wars: The Death Star

This "weapon of ultimate power" was originally the brainchild of Sienar Fleet Systems, dubbed the Expeditionary Battle Planetoid, which was meant for large-scale conflicts. Company CEO Raith Sienar put the project on the backburner, only for the plans to be stolen by Darth Sidious and given to Separatist forces during the Clone Wars.

In turn, they expanded the concept into the Death Star, a weapon of mass destruction that could destroy an entire planet with its uber-powerful cannon. It quickly became the Rebellion's greatest threat before it was destroyed by Luke Skywalker at the Battle of Yavin. A second Death Star was developed shortly after, and used by Sidious as a trap to lure in the Rebellion, which nearly succeeded.

Star Trek: Romulan Warbird

The Romulans relied on many ships to strike fear into the hearts of their enemies, but the D'deridex class Warbird was undoubtedly the most infamous. This behemoth was as much about style as it was function, especially during a period of increased tensions between the Empire and the Federation in the year 2364.

The Warbird was a full-on battle cruiser that incorporated cutting edge cloaking technology with powerful weaponry, including multiple disruptors and torpedo launchers. In contrast to Federation vessels which used a matter/anti-matter warp core, Warbirds relied on a forced quantum singularity as their power source.

Star Wars: X-Wing

The main staple of the Rebellion's fleet during the uprising against the Galactic Empire was the X-Wing, developed by Incom-FreiTek. The most famous is the T-70 model which saw combat against the first and second Death Stars and remained in service for at least 3 decades after the Empire's fall.

The craft's signature feature was its trademarked S-foils which resembled an X when locked into attack position. Each one housed a laser cannon that could be fired successively for staggered fire, or universally for a heavier attack. While not as maneuverable as a TIE fighter, it was nonetheless fast and agile, with a hyperdrive and life support system included by default.

Star Trek: Borg Cube

To most galactic cultures, the Borg Cube was a psychologically terrifying image that usually meant certain doom. It was the most famous of the Borg's geometric-shaped vessels and was typically deployed both on reconnaissance and assimilation missions. The vessel itself was immensely strong and able to withstand the barrage of an entire fleet without taking any damage.

The key to the Cube's immense strength lies in its adaptation technology, allowing it to absorb weapons fire. Later advancements in weaponry (most notably quantum torpedoes) made the Cube more susceptible to damage, but it was still capable of operating with most of its mass inoperable.

Star Wars: Millennium Falcon

Dubbed "the fastest hunk o' junk in the galaxy" by Lando Calrissian , the Millennium Falcon is the most easily identifiable ship in the entire Star Wars universe. Originally a stock YT-1300 light freighter, the Falcon was heavily modified by Han Solo after winning it from Calrissian in a game of sabacc.

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While the Falcon could hold its own in a fight, it was more famous for its incredible speed which allowed it to evade Imperial vessels. This was accomplished by modding its Girodyne sublight engines with a SLAM overdrive for normal space while swapping its base hyperdrive unit for a modified Isu-Sim SSP05. While notoriously unreliable, the Falcon got Solo out of plenty of jams.

Star Trek: U.S.S. Enterprise

The U.S.S. Enterprise is the ship that launched an entire franchise. It was designed primarily as a ship of peaceful exploration to seek out new worlds and new forms of life, all for the sake of galactic unity. As such, it served as a beacon of optimism and hope for the human race as we progressed into the 23rd century, and beyond.

Originally commanded by James T. Kirk , the Enterprise would see several other models developed over the coming decades that were helmed by John Harriman, Rachel Garrett, and Jean-Luc Picard, respectively. It would serve as the flagship of the entire Federation in the years to come.

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Star Trek vs. Star Wars - to which universe do you belong?

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Star Trek vs Star Wars: An Epic Sci-Fi Showdown

Star Trek is about deep space exploration with the Enterprise, while Star Wars is about epic battles between good guys and bad guys.

Both Star Trek and Star Wars movies are world-class, featuring cool characters and captivating science fantasy stories. But which is the best movie? Let's take a look at what makes Star Trek vs Stars special!

In the world of science fiction movies, two franchises standout from the crowd: Star Trek and Star Wars.

Star Wars & Star Trek Compared

When you compare Star Wars and Star Trek, you'll notice some big differences.

Star Trek is all about exploring space with the Starship Enterprise to find strange new worlds and promote peace.

Conversely, Star Wars is more about mystical elements, like the Force, and battles between good versus evil, like the Galactic Empire fighting the Rebel Alliance.

The Star Trek universe emphasizes moral dilemmas and scientific exploration, while the Star Wars galaxy leans toward action-packed narratives and mythic storytelling.

Both franchises have made significant impacts, offering unique perspectives within the science fiction genre.

The film Star Trek was originally a television series [ 1 ]. It follows an altruistic crew facing moral dilemmas, often contemporary social and political concerns.

Star Trek series tackles imperialism, war, racism, feminism, and human rights.

The central Star Trek characters, including Captain Kirk, Spock, Scotty, Uhura, and Pavel Chekov, represent a blend of humans and humanoid alien species.

Despite its television roots, Star Trek achieved widespread recognition following the success of its films in 2009 and 2013.

Star Wars films draw heavily on fantasy archetypes like princesses, knighthood, and battles between the light side and the dark side.

The Star Wars universe incorporates political science elements and historical references.

The climax of the Rebel Alliance's struggle against the oppressive empire mirrors events from the fall of the Roman Republic and the rise of an empire.

Due to Star Wars' continued success, its creator, George Lucas, whom Hayden Christensen, a Star Wars actor called a "visionary," even produced an animated series, "Clone Wars."

It is a part of the franchise, set mainly between the events of Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002) and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005).

More on Star Wars vs Star Trek

Star Trek was created by Gene Roddenberry, which runs from 1966 to the present. In 1964, Gene Roddenberry began drafting the concept proposal.

While he pitched it as a space Western – a "Wagon Train to the stars" – privately, he revealed to friends that he drew inspiration from Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels."

His utopian vision aimed to create Star Trek episodes that functioned on two levels: as thrilling adventures and as moral tales.

As mentioned, George Lucas created Star Wars, which runs from 1977 to the present. The concept does not prioritize realistic science; it is more about fantasy than strict science fiction.

Although the battle conflicts within the franchise were inspired by the Vietnam War, the central narrative is the "Force," an energy that permeates all life and can be wielded by Star Wars characters with unique abilities.

The original series of Star Trek aired for three years in the late sixties after two pilots were made. Despite having dedicated fans, the show struggled with ratings and was eventually canceled.

There was only one cartoon series in the mid-70s [ 2 ] until the first Star Trek feature film revived the franchise in 1980.

This led to 11 more movies and several TV series until 2005. The 2009 and 2013 Star Trek reboot films by J.J. Abrams brought a fresh style and broad appeal.

In contrast, Star Wars is an original film in 1977, which became a global sensation. The Star Wars sequel trilogy happened followed every three years, with a prequel trilogy released 16 years later.

The sequel trilogy started from "Episode VII: The Force Awakens" (2015) to the "Episoce VIII: The Last Jedi" (2017) to the latest "Episode IX: The Rise of SkyWalker" (2019).

Check out our iconic Star Trek quotes here . 

The reception of both franchises reflects the unique qualities of each franchise and their impact on popular culture.

Star Trek has cultivated a devoted following, which was praised for its optimistic vision of the future, diverse characters, and thought-provoking themes.

Despite initial struggles, it spawned multiple successful spinoffs and films.

In contrast, Star Wars burst onto the scene with universal acclaim, which captivates audiences with epic storytelling and iconic characters, like Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Boba Fett [ 3 ], and more.

While the original series garnered widespread praise, the prequel trilogy faced mixed reactions.

Both franchises continue to thrive with ongoing expansions and adaptations.

Star Trek is admired for its mind-blowing storytelling, while Star Wars is celebrated for its epic adventures, which leave incredible marks on fans and movie critics.

Social Elements

When envisioning the first season, Roddenberry aimed to inspire with a forward-thinking, liberal perspective, which reflects the cultural shifts of the 1960s.

While not openly discussed with television networks, Star Trek embodied Roddenberry's new hope for humanity's potential evolution, which emphasizes the importance of learning from past mistakes.

So, the first film of Star Trek has notably featured racially diverse characters to explore strange new worlds.

In comparison, Star Wars presents a classic tale of good (Luke Skywalker) versus bad (Darth Vader), with the Jedi representing the forces of good and the Sith embodying evil.

While it does not directly address specific social issues, it explores broader themes of light versus dark and authoritarianism versus democracy.

Even so, many have sought to draw parallels between the franchise and real-world historical and political contexts.

Star Trek boasts a dedicated fanbase known as "Trekkies," who attend conventions worldwide, donning costumes and engaging in discussions about the show.

Some fans even immerse themselves in the show's fictional language, Klingon.

In fact, a Star Trek-themed attraction in Las Vegas entertained visitors for a decade, while museum exhibits featuring props from the show have toured globally.

What's even more notable is a NASA space shuttle named after the USS Enterprise [ 4 ], which is the crew's iconic ship.

On the other hand, the Star Wars franchise has evolved into a vast universe of spinoffs and merchandise, like books, video games, TV movies, comics, and cartoon series (Clone Wars).

Numerous animal species have been named after Star Wars characters , which highlights its cultural impact. References to Star Wars are commonplace in films and the media, showcasing its enduring influence.

What is more realistic, Star Trek or Star Wars?

Star Trek is more realistic. It leans towards realism with a focus on science and technology, aiming for a plausible depiction of the future.

On the other hand, Star Wars prioritizes fantasy elements like the Force, making it less scientifically grounded.

Is Star Trek linked to Star Wars?

Star Trek and Star Wars aren't directly linked despite both being iconic sci-fi franchises. They have separate universes, personas, and storylines. However, they share similarities in themes and fanbase enthusiasm for the genre.

Final Thoughts

Each movie franchise has its strengths and appeal, and determining the best one is subjective. If asked, we would prefer Star Trek's scientific exploration, diplomacy, and optimistic vision of the future.

We like how it offers a thought-provoking examination of humanity's potential evolution. The franchise's focus is on the development of the show's protagonist and intellectual storytelling.

But if you prefer a more fantastical theme, Star Wars is a good pick. The epic space opera storytelling, iconic protagonists and villains, and timeless mythology are captivating.

If you're like us who prefers Star Trek's journey, explore Toynk's Star Trek merch collection to bring Starfleet Academy to life. Check out various toys and stuff inspired by Captain Kirk and the Alpha Quadrant!

References :

• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gene-Roddenberry
• https://www.cnet.com/culture/entertainment/love-star-trek-lower-decks-give-the-70s-star-trek-animated-series-a-try/
• https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Boba_Fett
• https://www.nasa.gov/history/45-years-ago-space-shuttle-enterprise-makes-its-public-debut/

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Star Trek vs. Star Wars: which one is better in 2023?

For as long as both entities have existed, fans of science fiction and fantasy have debated the merits of Star Trek and Star Wars . But for most of the 45 years that the two franchises have overlapped, Star Trek and Star Wars haven’t actually had much in common, apart from their cosmic setting. Star Trek is an aspirational sci-fi series set in humanity’s future, while Star Wars is a bombastic fantasy adventure that takes place in a far-off galaxy. One has primarily lived on weekly television, while the other has broken big-screen box office numbers.

Star Trek and Star Wars have both leaned heavily into fan service

The streaming era has let both franchises experiment.

• The streaming bubble is forcing Star Trek and Star Wars to pump the brakes — and that’s good

However, in recent years, both Star Trek and Star Wars have become tentpoles for their parent companies’ subscription streaming services , Paramount+ and Disney+ , respectively, each pumping out a steady stream of content in an ever-widening array of formats. This has led them to encroach further into each other’s territory than ever before. Star Trek vs. Star Wars is no longer an apples-to-oranges comparison — they are directly competing products, sharing some of the same ambitions and struggling against the same environmental forces.

We will likely never settle on which space franchise is the greatest of all time, but we can take a moment to ask: Which is better right now?

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Studios have become increasingly risk-averse during the streaming era, and that’s meant relying on recognizable brands with loyal fanbases who will remain subscribed to a service as long as there are new releases within their favorite fictional universe. However, this dependence has also left streamers at the mercy of those same fans, who can now use social media to converse with creators or even make demands. While this can lead to crowd-pleasing moments like the return of popular characters or the inclusion of fan-promoted memes back into the product, it can also create a feedback loop in which creators continue to serve audiences slight variations on whatever fans say they like rather than expanding their worlds or telling new stories.

Over the past two years, both Star Trek and Star Wars have released series that are representative of this shamelessly fan-oriented approach. In 2022, Paramount+ released the first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , a prequel series set aboard the original USS Enterprise and starring Anson Mount as Captain Kirk’s predecessor Captain Christopher Pike. This series was prompted by a vocal fan campaign after legacy characters Pike, Mr. Spock, and Number One were featured in the second season of Star Trek: Discovery in 2019. A petition to give these characters their own spin-off received over 30,000 signatures, eventually leading to Strange New Worlds receiving a series order. Happily, the fans were right about this one, and Strange New Worlds has become more than just a nostalgic throwback to classic Trek , but exactly the shot in the arm the franchise needed. The series retains the episodic format of pre-streaming Trek series, but benefits from modern production values, a charming cast, and a sense of joy and wonder that the serialized Trek shows Discovery and Picard have yet to deliver.

The recent third season of Star Trek: Picard  has also been a serious crowd-pleaser, reuniting the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation for one last 10-hour adventure. Though certainly the most recursive and least imaginative new installment of Trek’s streaming era, it has been wildly popular among fans, well-received by critics, and is the first Trek series to make a dent into Nielsen’s weekly Top 10 streaming charts. A petition to launch a sequel series featuring Picard ’s younger cast members has surpassed the one that demanded a spin-off for Pike’s Enterprise, with over 44,000 signatures to date. There is a vocal online contingent that wants to hand the keys to the franchise to this season’s showrunner, gushing Star Trek fanatic Terry Matalas.  

The current state of the Star Wars Galaxy should be a warning against that particular future for Star Trek . While ascended fan and George Lucas apprentice Dave Filoni has produced some of the best Star Wars television, such as the animated Star Wars Rebels and the incredible final season of The Clone Wars , his insistence upon building every new series directly on the back of the last one has left the Star Wars galaxy feeling both smaller and more confusing than it has in decades. Characters’ stories weave between animated and live-action series, making each product harder to follow on its own. Important character beats for the main characters of The Mandalorian are resolved in The Book of Boba Fett . Ahsoka is a live-action spin-off for the popular Clone Wars character, but is also a sequel to Rebels , seeded in a number of Mandalorian episodes . Die-hard fans will have no trouble following this and delight in getting to see their favorite animated characters brought to life in live-action follow-ups, but this comes at the expense of what has always been Star Wars ’ greatest advantage over Star Trek : accessibility.

Meanwhile, the desire to tickle fans’ nostalgia glands with returning characters from the franchise’s past has resulted in creative misfires like the most recent Star Wars feature film, The Rise of Skywalker , the underwhelming Obi-Wan Kenobi streaming series, and the ghoulish practice of digitally applying the faces of young Mark Hamill or the late Carrie Fisher onto new actors. These are indications that even the unstoppable forces of time and death will not dissuade Disney from recycling the most popular Star Wars elements ad infinitum. That way lies madness.

Point: Star Trek

Prior to the streaming wars, Star Trek and Star Wars each had their own clearly defined lanes. Star Trek was weekly television that occasionally spun off into feature films, aimed at adults but also fostering a family audience; Star Wars was a film series that very rarely dabbled in TV, fun for all ages but plainly angling for a toy-buying audience. There had never been a Star Trek series specifically for kids (not even the short-lived 1970s Star Trek: The Animated Series ), nor had there been a Star Wars release that was made solely for adults. Over the past two years, however, both franchises have set their sights on the other’s target audience, with encouraging results.

In 2021, Paramount+ and Nickelodeon debuted Star Trek: Prodigy , a 3D animated action-adventure series aimed at kids under 12. Sporting a cast of colorful alien teenagers and a decidedly Star Warsian tone, Prodigy explores the Star Trek Universe from the perspective of complete outsiders, making it a perfect on-ramp for a young new fan. Prodigy is like no other Star Trek show before it, and yet it is still essentially Star Trek — a show about curiosity, cooperation, communication, and tolerance — winning it the enthusiastic approval of many adult Trekkies. It’s also a lot of fun, the sort of show that could easily capture the same sort of audience that The Clone Wars garnered during its earliest, most kid-friendly seasons. Naturally, it has spawned a toy line and a tie-in video game but is unlikely to compete with Star Wars to become a merchandising juggernaut.

Conversely, 2022 saw the release of Andor , the first Star Wars offering that feels totally adult-targeted. While still not explicitly sexual or any more graphically violent than the feature films, Andor is a slow, dense, character-driven drama that would bore most kids to tears. It is, nevertheless, one of the best new shows on television, the sort of series that could ably compete with Succession or Better Call Saul  in the acting, writing, and directing categories at next year’s Emmys. Even after the relatively gritty Rogue One: A Star Wars Story , to which Andor serves as a prequel, few fans predicted that a new Star Wars series would emerge that had so little interest in being commercial or toyetic.

And yet, its radical politics and revolutionary vigor are a perfect modern extrapolation of George Lucas’ original intent behind Star Wars , a film inspired by the Vietnam War in which the well-armed, well-funded government and military are the bad guys. It’s the side of Star Wars that was buried under mountains of merchandise as Lucas built his own Empire. Rival Star Trek has always been more overtly political, but with Andor , Star Wars has delivered an incisive dose of agitprop that would make Gene Roddenberry blush.

Point: Star Wars

The streaming bubble is forcing Star Trek and Star Wars to pump the brakes — and that’s good

As recently as 2022, both Disney and Paramount were betting the farm on streaming, spending unbelievable sums to pump out new installments of their most expensive franchises year-round. Disney+ debuted three live-action event series ( The Book of Boba Fett , Obi-Wan Kenobi , Andor ) and a set of animated shorts ( Tales of the Jedi ), totaling 23 weeks of new Star Wars content on the app. That same year, Star Trek hit critical mass, with a whopping 51 new episodes premiering on Paramount+ across all five of their ongoing series ( Discovery , Picard , Lower Decks , Prodigy , and Strange New Worlds ). As both services continue to hemorrhage money, it’s become clear that this breakneck pace of new content is not sustainable. Returning Disney CEO Bob Iger has ordered Lucasfilm and Marvel to slow the rollout of their planned streaming series in favor of more theatrical releases, and a trio of new Star Wars films was announced at 2023’s Star Wars Celebration event. Meanwhile at Paramount, Star Trek: Section 31 , once planned as an ongoing series, is being retooled as a TV movie, with plans for new standalone Trek specials every two years . This strategy may allow Executive Producer Alex Kurtzman’s “Phase Two” of streaming Star Trek to explore new angles for the franchise without committing each of them to a pricey ten-episode season order.

While it’s true that a more conservative approach to either franchise could result in fewer big swings like Andor , it could also strike a blow against mediocrity. During the peak streaming era, mediocre installments like Picard season 2 or The Book of Boba Fett did little damage to their streamers’ credibility, as there was always another release right around the corner that might potentially make up for it. This pattern could continue uninterrupted for years, with a steady stream of good, fine, or outright bad Star Trek or Star Wars and very little great Star Trek or Star Wars . The less we get, the more valuable each new chapter will be, and the more invested everyone — from creators to fans — will be in its quality.

Individually, both upcoming franchises’ upcoming slates represent an exciting variety. Star Trek ’s most uneven pillars, Discovery and Picard , are wrapping up, but Strange New Worlds , Prodigy , and the animated sitcom Lower Decks continue to go boldly in markedly different directions from each other (though Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks have a crossover episode coming up this year). Section 31 promises to be something totally new for Trek , a spy-fi adventure starring Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh. A new series, Starfleet Academy , is also in early development. Across the divide, Star Wars has the hotly anticipated Ahsoka coming out this summer, with more Andor  and The Mandalorian on deck. Star Wars: Visions , the exciting anthology of animated shorts created by studios around the world, is back for another season this year, and the trailer looks positively dazzling. Middling animated series The Bad Batch is coming to an end, seemingly putting the Clone Wars-adjacent era to bed for a while, while upcoming series The Acolyte and the three unnamed feature films will each take place in a different time periods, expanding a galaxy that has started to feel strangely claustrophobic.

Both of these upcoming slates look promising, but the sheer variety of announced Star Wars projects is simply too enticing to deny. However, whatever your individual preference, fans of space sci-fi will have plenty to argue over for years to come.  

Point and overall winner: Star Wars

Editors’ Recommendations

• Quentin Tarantino talks failed Star Trek movie and why he’ll never watch Toy Story 4
• The Acolyte is over, but I still have some questions about the divisive Star Wars series
• Shawn Levy’s Star Wars movie finds a writer
• Star Wars: The Phantom Menace is better and worse than you remember
• 5 things we need to see in The Mandalorian & Grogu Star Wars movie
• The Mandalorian

In 2022, Disney+ and Lucasfilm unveiled Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, a six-part series of animated shorts. A second season was announced soon after, and it's now just a month away. However, the show has undergone a name change to Star Wars: Tales of the Empire, and it's about to dive into even darker territory. Disney+ has dropped the first trailer for Tales of the Empire, and it chronicles the story of two women who embrace the Dark Side of the Force.

Tales of the Empire | Official Trailer | Disney+

Since the launch of Disney+ in 2019, there have been four live-action Star Wars series, including The Mandalorian and Andor. But the one thing that each of those shows had in common was that they followed the hero of the story. This summer, The Acolyte is flipping the switch on that by putting the spotlight on Mae (Amandla Stenberg), a former Padawan in the Jedi Order who seems to have quite a grudge against her onetime masters. That may be why Mae is attacking and apparently killing Jedi with knives in the first trailer for The Acolyte.

The Acolyte | Official Trailer | Disney+

The great thing about a hit movie is that you tend to find out things during interviews, premieres, and press conferences that would have never surfaced otherwise. Dune: Part Two is one such movie. In the lead-up to the movie's blockbuster opening weekend, we've discovered Josh Brolin's hidden talents as a poet and photographer, Javier Bardem's dedication to his children, Zendaya's love for the sci-fi classic Metropolis, and Austin Butler's appreciation for The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

The most recent revelation, however, tops all of those. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Christopher Walken, who plays Shaddam IV, the film's fearsome Emperor, explains why he came out of a four-year break from acting in films and joined Dune: Part Two. One reason was due to his admiration for the first film, which cemented Denis Villeneuve's status as one of the best sci-fi directors ever, and his appreciation of the sequel's impressive cast, which also includes Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, and Dave Bautista.

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Why Star Wars, and Doctor Who, had to go into the wilderness to survive

Every endless franchise needs to get weird to survive

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by Adam Garcia

During the Mandalorian panel at Star Wars Celebration Chicago, executive producer Jon Favreau promised that the new Disney Plus series would not only take inspiration from the films, but would also be “pulling stuff in from Legends.”

That promise was met, unsurprisingly, with thunderous applause.

Star Wars Legends — a catch-all term for any and all licensed Star Wars media produced between 1978 and 2014 — has been something of a sore spot for Star Wars fandom in the wake of Lucasfilm’s acquisition by Disney . Check any Star Wars debate on Twitter or the darker sections of YouTube, and you’ll find a vocal fan base that feels forgotten after Disney reset what was called the Star Wars Expanded Universe in order to focus on the new canon of movies, TV shows, novels, comics, and the rest of the now-Disney-owned Star Wars machine.

Yet in many ways, the Expanded Universe was never truly abandoned. If anything, its birth, growth, and death were necessary for Star Wars to remain relevant for decades to come. If you want a franchise to last forever, in fact, the best thing you can do from time to time is send it out into the wilderness.

What is, or was, the Star Wars Expanded Universe?

The Expanded Universe (or EU) began in 1978, with Marvel’s Star Wars comic books featuring original stories that built upon the movies as well as Alan Dean Foster’s book Splinter of the Mind’s Eye . From there, the EU slowly grew with prequel novels about Han Solo and Lando Calrissian, the made-for-TV Ewok films Caravan of Courage and The Battle for Endor , plus two animated spinoff series: Ewoks and Star Wars: Droids – The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO . Star Wars was always too big to stay contained in the core movies.

And it was the release of the Star Wars pen-and-paper RPG from West End Games in 1987, Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game , that marked the most significant development of this embryonic universe. Since it was the first licensed role-playing game set in a galaxy far, far away, its designers had to expand on what little information the films and early novels provided about a number of topics. The goal was to build a coherent universe of content in which players could begin their own campaigns.

Everything from character backstories to the specific modifications Han Solo made to the Millennium Falcon required definition in the RPG’s sourcebooks. Aurebesh , the fictional language found all over Disney Parks’ Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge , was formalized for the game. So much of what we love about Star Wars came from these side stories and projects, only to be brought into the main canon much later.

The breadth of detail contained in these sourcebooks was vast — so vast that they would be refined and effectively used as the “ series bible ” for the next major evolution of the EU. Fans know this as the post- Return of the Jedi era, which began with Timothy Zahn’s 1991 novel Heir to the Empire . Set five years after Return of the Jedi , the series that would become known as the Thrawn Trilogy not only gave us our first glimpse of what happened to Luke, Han, and Leia after the fall of the Empire, but also marked a dramatic rise in popularity for ancillary Star Wars content.

All three books were New York Times bestsellers, and to this day, they’re considered by many fans to be some of the best Star Wars trilogies of any media. The Thrawn Trilogy’s success led to a tsunami of books, comics, and games that would tell Star Wars stories that spanned literally tens of thousands of years.

With decades’ worth of content, the quality of the EU naturally varied somewhat wildly, and it was often outright weird . It featured characters such as Jaxxon, the green-furred rabbitlike smuggler, and Triclops, Emperor Palpatine’s long-lost three-eyed mutant son. From Death Stars that were refashioned into giant lightsabers to transdimensional blobs, this extra content often felt as if its authors were trying to test the boundaries of what could be defined as a Star Wars story, to varying success.

While Star Wars creator George Lucas had very little — if any — direct involvement with the EU , he did outline some specific restrictions, such as:

• the entire prequel era was initially out of bounds
• Yoda’s species could never be revealed
• Luke, Leia, and Han couldn’t die

Yet for as occasionally bad or weird as the EU got, it was beloved by an incredibly passionate section of the fan base, myself included. And while we may have been a smaller overall audience, many of us bought all of it. This was the wilderness period of Star Wars canon, and we were happy to explore it, even when things went out there. There were strange warriors who enjoyed pain and didn’t seem to exist within the Force , for instance. Chewbacca died . It was a weird time.

Disney, not wanting to be beholden to decades worth of (often contradictory) chronology, chose to wipe the slate clean in 2014 when it acquired Lucasfilm for $4 billion . Executives declared that any Star Wars story that wasn’t in some capacity directly overseen by Lucas (i.e., the theatrically released films and the TV series The Clone Wars ) would now be considered non-canon and named “Legends.” The stories still existed in our hearts and on our bookshelves, but not in any official capacity, where they might impact the future movies.

Disney tasked J.J. Abrams, director of The Force Awakens , to not only create a film that felt like the Star Wars that general audiences wanted, but also pushed the narrative forward. Weaving in decades of chronology that Lucas himself actively ignored might have been an impossible task.

He and the other directors — Gareth Edwards ( Rogue One ), Rian Johnson ( The Last Jedi ), and Ron Howard ( Solo ) — needed to evolve the franchise beyond what came before. They needed to challenge the original characters so that these new films could move beyond the pure nostalgia that defined the era. The carefree days of strange spinoffs and franchise-defining role-playing sourcebooks had to come to an end. The adults were back in control.

In other words, Star Wars needed to return from the wilderness.

This cycle is healthy for long-running franchises

What Star Wars went through in this period is actually common.

Nearly every major franchise in science fiction has experienced some kind of wilderness period: a time when the main source of the franchise, whether it be a film or television series or even books, no longer produced content, allowing licensed media to continue narratives left unfinished or explore the edges of a complicated fictional world.

Star Trek has had a near-constant run of original novels since 1970 — one year after the original series’ cancellation, but before the later TV shows were created or the movies were rebooted.

The X-Files , Farscape , Ghostbusters , Firefly , Buffy the Vampire Slayer , and Angel have all had comic book continuations, as well as video game adaptations and other spinoffs in some cases.

Doctor Who has a wilderness period that most clearly resembles that of Star Wars — indeed, the term originated to describe when the British science fiction series was off the air. Virgin Books’ New Adventures novels featured stories that were larger, more complex, and, frequently, more mature than what fans were used to from the original series. Audio drama company Big Finish Productions hired erstwhile Doctors as well as the “current” Doctor, Paul McGann, to reprise their roles for audio plays. These recordings thus became the de facto home for new Doctor Who content until the series’ revival in 2005, 16 years after the previous episodic series went off the air.

Novels, comic books, video games, and other secondary material can help make a fictional world more real in the eyes of the audience. Countless elements that have defined franchises — from kryptonite to Harley Quinn — were introduced in spinoffs or adaptations and have since been worked into canon. Exploring new ideas away from the core competency of a franchise can be a healthy way to try new things with less risk to the main story.

As with the Star Wars Expanded Universe, these wilderness periods tested the boundaries of their respective franchises, trying out new ideas while being limited by some significant rules:

• Star Trek novelists could write stories that explored Kirk and Spock’s relationship, but couldn’t explore their homo-erotic subtext
• X-Files comics could feature a shapeshifting alien disguised as the Cigarette Smoking Man, but could not give concrete answers about the larger mythos
• In novels like Lungbarrow , Doctor Who writers could reveal that the Doctor was the reincarnation of a founder of Gallifrey and grew up in a giant house filled with towering robotic parents, but they couldn’t say that was the Doctor’s definitive backstory

The creators of Star Wars Legends material showcased massive, galaxy-altering stories featuring new characters such as Mara Jade and Dash Rendar whom fans came to love. While these characters played vital roles in the ongoing narrative, and even acted as protagonists in various media, they were never elevated anywhere near the main characters. In fact, they often ended up being expendable.

Both Mara and Dash were killed off to further the plots of specific stories, while Luke, Leia and Han had “plot armor.” Their lives were never at risk, no matter what they did, and their personalities couldn’t evolve much further from the characters we left at the end of Return of the Jedi . They could do new things, but they couldn’t change, nor could they die. (Chewbacca excluded, I guess.)

So while these wilderness periods superficially push the boundaries of their respective franchises in different ways, introducing some new characters or ideas, they are rarely, if ever, allowed to make lasting changes to the central canon. Wilderness periods look and feel weird, and they may help the overall world evolve, but the core characters remain static, kept safe until the next movie or TV show. They remain, in the ways most fans care about, stagnant.

Writers working in the wilderness need to be willing to add to the universe or change things around within the rules

Which is why, in order to survive, each franchise needs to return from the wilderness, ready to piss a few people off. And that’s what happened when The Force Awakens was released. The wilderness was left behind, and suddenly all the sacred cows were in danger. The story could move forward, refreshed with new ideas and experiments from its time away from blockbuster releases.

Within two movies, both Han Solo and Luke Skywalker would be dead. It was time for the franchise to change, even if some fans were taken back by just how much would be changing with it.

The new ways run deep

This is not to say that the lessons learned during wilderness periods should be forgotten or left behind. If anything, a wilderness period acts as a petri dish for a franchise. It can serve as an experimental playground for creators to better understand what a franchise is or what it isn’t.

Lieutenant Uhura’s first name, Nyota, first originated in the novel Star Trek II: Biographies , and wasn’t said on screen until Abrams’ 2009 reboot, Star Trek . That detail stuck.

Doctor Who’s wilderness period showed that the series was more than a children’s show. Future showrunner Russell T. Davies wrote New Adventures novels before taking over the show itself, and fellow author Paul Cornell would adapt his novel Human Nature during the revival’s third season.

The stories told in Big Finish Productions’ audio dramas were so influential that showrunner Steven Moffat canonized many of the Eighth Doctor’s audio companions in The Night of the Doctor . In fact, both the destruction of Gallifrey and the Doctor as a romantic figure found their origins in licensed media. The wilderness was very kind to Doctor Who, and the show returned to the BBC ready to shake things up now that these creators were able to play with larger stakes. The stories sometimes became scarier, or more emotional, and we’re now in the era of Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor. Big Finish continues to produce dramas to this day, now telling stories the cut across all eras, including periods long left off-limits, such as the seismic Time War that set off the show’s modern era.

The best wilderness periods keep the main story safe and looked after while experimenting with what a franchise might be. That allows the core creative team to examine these ideas and the fan’s reactions to them, before deciding how to evolve the franchise itself when it’s ready to come back in its most potent form. Writers working in the wilderness need to be willing to add to the universe or change things around — within the rules — whereas writers working on the main franchise need to be willing to break stuff. It’s a back-and-forth rhythm that can’t be rushed.

Lucasfilm has been slowly weaving Legends elements back into the new Star Wars canon. Grand Admiral Thrawn was reintroduced in the animated TV series Star Wars Rebels . Timothy Zahn himself has since written a new trilogy of canonical stories with the character.

Ben Solo’s dark turn as Kylo Ren bears a number of similarities to Jacen Solo’s descent into Darth Caedus from the books. Jacen’s turn to the Dark Side was simply the road to hell paved with good intentions, but Ben’s story is proving to be not only much more complex, and also turned Luke Skywalker from a standard hero into a flawed and fascinating character. The books experimented, and the movies began to play for keeps.

If the sort of transformation that happens after a wilderness period is disquieting to a section of the audience, that’s all the better. It means that the franchise is no longer bound by the limitations of nostalgia, that it can move forward while still looking back, that it can grow beyond giving the audience what it wants and give them — and the franchise — what it needs.

Special thanks to Steele Filipek, lead producer and executive editor at Starlight Runner Entertainment, for research assistance.

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Star Trek vs. Star Wars

Star Trek , originally a TV series, is a space western science fiction that centers around a crew who serves in Starfleet , a space-based peacekeeping and humanitarian armada. Star Wars , originally a trilogy, is a space opera fantasy franchise set in the distant past of a fictional galaxy, revolving around princes, princesses, knighthood, and chivalry. Both these highly popular and successful franchises are now being revived with new movies directed by J.J. Abrams.

Until the recent movies, Star Trek has been more of a cult phenomena than Star Wars , and therefore did not have the same level of mainstream fandom and cultural influence. Star Wars is grander in scope and has a complex web of political agendas, alien species, personal feuds, and galaxy-wide domination. The Star Trek world is modern, sleek, and shiny, while some of Star Wars' settings are dirty and grimy.

Comparison chart

Originally a television series, Star Trek has generally used the same basic plot setup: an altruistic crew is placed in situations of moral dilemma, which are often allegorical nods to current social and political issues. Issues covered include imperialism, war and peace, racism, class warfare, feminism, and human rights. The core characters, Captain Kirk , Spock, Scotty, Uhura, and Pavel Chekov, comprise humans and humanoid alien species. Star Trek only gained mainstream fame after the release of its films in 2009 and 2013. The video below briefly touches on the history of Star Trek :

Star Wars uses archetypes of the fantasy genre, such as princesses, knighthood, and chivalry, and action unfolds in a contest between good and evil. The Star Wars universe is laden with political science elements and historical inspiration. The plot climax of the Rebel Alliance fights for freedom from the Galactic Empire was drawn from the fall of the Roman Republic and the formation of an empire. This 10 minute video gives a retrospective look into the original trilogy of Star Wars :

Science and Fantasy

Common belief is that Star Trek is science fiction, while Star Wars is science fantasy. The technology in Star Trek is supposed to be at least loosely grounded in science or potential future science , rather than supernatural forces or magic. The most visible technologies include personal communication and triangulation devices (inspirations for modern day smart phones), warp drive travel for space ships, and teleporting ( “Beam me up, Scotty” ). The chief technologist for Google Earth has said that the tricorder’s mapping capability was one inspiration for Google Earth.

Star Wars , on the other hand, is not focused on the real-world viability of its science, as it is more science fantasy than science fiction. One of the core elements of its stories is the existence of the “Force”, an omnipresent energy that surrounds all living things and that can be harnessed by those with special abilities. The Force allows for acts of telekinesis, mind control, clairvoyance, and precognition, and can also make a person more physically capable.

Production History

After two Star Trek pilots were made, the original series aired for three years in the late sixties. Despite a fervent fan base, ratings were disappointing, and the show was canceled. Except for an animated series in the mid 70s, no new Star Trek productions were released until the first feature film in 1980. This revived the franchise , and 11 more movies followed, along with overlapping television series running until 2005. The Star Trek reboot films in 2009 and 2013 directed by J.J. Abrams brought a new style to the franchise, and functioned as broad-appeal blockbusters, rather than just being events for long-standing fans of the show.

Unlike Star Trek , Star Wars began as a motion picture rather than a television series. Universal Studios first agreed to make George Lucas’s Star Wars in 1971, but it took several years and multiple script revisions for the project to begin. The original film was finally released in 1977 to worldwide fanfare and became a pop culture phenomenon. Two sequels were released at three year intervals. 16 years after the third film, the first film in a new prequel trilogy was released. A third trilogy has recently been announced: Star Wars Episode VII will be released in 2015, and is being directed by J.J. Abrams, the same director who was in charge of the Star Trek reboot.

Political and Social Elements

When Roddenberry conceived the original show, he did so with a highly progressive, liberal agenda in mind, reflecting the counter culture movement sweeping the nation in the 1960s, although he was not totally forthcoming with the television networks about this element of the show. Star Trek was Roddenberry’s vision of what society could become in the future if humanity learned from its past mistakes. It was one of the first shows to have a mixed race cast.

Star Wars is a classic epic of good versus evil. The Jedi use the Force for good, while the Sith use the Force for evil. Star Wars functions less as commentary on specific social issues, but operates on the grander operatic struggle of dark vs light, dictatorships versus democracies, etc. However, many have attempted to draw parallels between Star Wars and the reality of history and politics , as seen in this video :

Pop Culture and Legacy

Star Trek has a devoted cult following of hardcore fans known as “Trekkies”. There are various Trekkie conventions all over the world where fans dress up in costumes and may have a chance to meet cast members, or to discuss the issues of the show. Some Trekkies even learn the show’s constructed language , Klingon. There was a Star Trek -themed attraction in Las Vegas for 10 years. Two museum exhibits of props travel the world. A NASA space shuttle was named after the crew’s ship , the Enterprise.

The Star Wars movies have expanded into a massive web of spinoffs and products, including books, video games , made-for-TV movies, comic books, animated series, theme park attractions. Even several animal species have been named after Star Wars characters. References to Star Wars are common in movies and the media.

Famous Quotes

• "KHAAANNNN!" -Captain Kirk
• "It can be argued that a human is ultimately the sum of his experiences." --Benjamin Sisko
• "I would be delighted to offer any advice I can on understanding women. When I have some, I'll let you know." -Captain Picard
• "Excuse me… Excuse me. I’d just like to ask a question… What does God need with a starship?" -Captain Kirk
• "What we leave behind is as important as how we’ve lived. After all, Number One, we’re only mortal." -Picard "Speak for yourself, sir. I plan to live forever. -Riker
• The truth is usually just an excuse for a lack of imagination. -Garak
• "May the Force be with you."
• “Do. Or do not. There is no try.” -Yoda
• “Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.” -Luke Skywalker
• “You don’t need to see his identification … These aren’t the droids you’re looking for … He can go about his business … Move along.” - Obi-Wan Kenobi
• “Use the Force, Luke.” - Obi-Wan Kenobi
• “I find your lack of faith disturbing.” -Darth Vader
• “Fear is the path to the dark side…fear leads to anger…anger leads to hate…hate leads to suffering.” -Yoda
• “When I left you, I was but the learner, now I am the master.” -Darth Vader “Only a master of evil, Darth.” -Obi-Wan Kenobi
• “I’ve got a very bad feeling about this.” - Han Solo
• “Wars not make one great.” -Yoda
• “A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack.” -Yoda

Star Trek Stills

Star wars stills.

• Wikipedia: Star Wars
• Wikipedia: Star Trek
• Wikipedia: Comparison of Star Trek and Star Wars
• The Official Star Wars Blog
• The Official Star Trek Website
• The 10 Best Yoda Quotes - Star Wars Blog
• Top 10 Star Trek Quotes - Science Channel
• Star Trek Trivia - IMDB
• Star Wars: Episode IV Trivia - IMDB

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Friday Poll: Would you choose a 'Star Wars' or 'Star Trek' universe?

One has Ewoks, the other has Tribbles. Would you rather be a denizen of "Star Wars" or a resident of "Star Trek?"

I've gotten together with my friends Chewbacca and Scotty to unveil a little machine we've been working on. This combination of a transporter and souped-up Millennium Falcon allows passengers to travel to a sci-fi universe. We're handing the controls over to you. Where would you like to go?

This week, we shared an of "Star Wars" and "Star Trek," and it sparked a spirited discussion among fans of the famous franchises.

Reader methos2000 brought up an interesting point: "The best argument I ever read regarding Star Wars vs Star Trek came from the perspective of which universe would you rather live in."

Personally, I could see myself as a tenured teacher at Star Fleet Academy, taking the occasional tourist space jaunt and running a Tribble ranch in my spare time. Other folks are much more inclined to jump into Jedi training and pick up a lightsaber.

Reader Melanthrus strongly prefers "Star Wars," but would rather live in the Trek universe if it came down to a choice. Melanthrus cites Trek's optimism and Wars' poverty and crime as factors in the decision.

You will have your own arguments in support of your choice. Would you rather live in the "Star Wars" or the "Star Trek" universe? Vote in our poll and back up your decision in the comments.

Marvel and 'Star Wars' take note. 'Star Trek' is now Hollywood's ultimate shared universe

From 'Discovery' to "Strange New Worlds' via 'Lower Decks' and 'Prodigy', 'Star Trek' is leading the way.

Shared universes go back way further than Tony Stark, Steve Rogers and co sitting down for some post-Chitauri shawarma. Superheroes have been moonlighting in each other's comic books for decades, while Cheers regulars frequently paid Frasier a visit in Seattle. It wasn't until Marvel Studios launched the MCU ( Marvel Cinematic Universe ), however, that the concept started to gain serious mainstream traction. 

By incorporating the contrasting adventures of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and Black Widow into one gigantic, overarching narrative, Marvel successfully blended cinematic spectacle with the "must-watch-every-episode" ethos of serialised TV. The MCU's famous end-credits stings also had the unexpected side-effect of convincing us all to stick around until the end of the closing titles of every movie, y'know, just in case. 

From a business point of view it's one of the shrewdest creative decisions ever made in Hollywood, a move that helped turn the MCU into the most lucrative franchise in history, while spawning an army of imitators. Some fell quickly by the wayside — Universal's planned Dark Universe didn't survive beyond its first release, "The Mummy" — while others (most notably DC's original answer to the MCU) simply felt tired in comparison. But with apologies to box-office behemoths Marvel, Star Wars and the Monsterverse home of Godzilla and King Kong, the most exciting shared universe of them all is currently located somewhere on the final frontier.

It's not quite "Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations" (sorry, Mr Spock), but " Star Trek "'s guiding principle since "Discovery" brought the franchise back to TV in 2017 has been variety. "Discovery" started out as an "Original Series" prequel, before warping off to the even-more-distant future of the 32nd century. That left a gap in the timeline for the less serialized voyages of a pre-Kirk Enterprise in " Strange New Worlds ". "Picard" picked up the story of the ageing Jean-Luc Picard two decades after "The Next Generation" crew's final voyage, while a pair of animated series — kids' show " Prodigy " and all-out comedy "Lower Decks" — were given freedom to take the most daring swings in "Trek" history. 

Throw upcoming spy adventure " Section 31 " and cadet-themed "Disco" spin-off " Starfleet Academy " into the mix, and it's clear that — beyond the obligatory warp drives, phasers and frequent violations of the Prime Directive — the main element unifying these very different series is their shared universe. Even their settings are far enough apart — geographically and chronologically — that there's little danger of storylines colliding in Spacedock. 

The contrast between the Alpha Quadrant and a certain galaxy far, far away is stark. Until " The Acolyte ", every canonical "Star Wars" movie and TV show had been set within a few generations of the Skywalker family tree. But even ignoring the limitations of that brief timeline, there's a creeping homogeneity to much of the saga's storytelling and dialogue. 

Scenes from "The Acolyte" (set around a century before "The Phantom Menace") feel interchangeable with moments in " Ahsoka " (several years after "Return of the Jedi"), while the powers-that-be at Skywalker Ranch seem more preoccupied with plugging holes in existing lore than telling stories for their own sake. What was the final episode of "The Acolyte" season one if not a prequel to the prequel trilogy?

"Star Wars" should be an exhilarating interstellar playground capable of supporting any story you can imagine, but it's increasingly constrained by strict rules that must, it seems, never be broken. "Star Wars" is calling out for its own "Lower Decks"-style comedy" , while the upcoming "'Goonies' in space" " Skeleton Crew " could be the kid-oriented launchpad that Prodigy has been for "Trek". "Star Wars" arguably needs both because right now, all that canon could easily feel daunting to anyone eager to take those precious first steps into a larger world.

Not that the current iterations of "Star Trek" deny the franchise's rich past. The glorious final season of "Picard" was a nostalgia-fest from start to finish, bringing back familiar friends and foes to give the "TNG" crew the send-off they deserved — if it's possible to replicate your cake and eat it, that season showed the way. "Prodigy" also goes big on the deep cuts, but crucially, it doesn't matter if you have no idea that the name of the USS Voyager-A's resident whale (Gillian) is a reference to "Star Trek IV". Or that a mention of the "dysfunctional" crew of the Cerritos is a callback to "Lower Decks". All of the in-jokes are simply window dressing holding the universe together, without excluding newcomers. 

That's the genius of the modern "Star Trek" universe, whose guiding lights clearly understand that expecting every viewer to be up-to-speed with the more than 900 episodes and 13 “Star Trek” movies in the back catalogue would be a surefire route to failure. The MCU and "Star Wars" lived charmed lives when they were built around a relatively small number of movies, but both franchises are now too vast and unwieldy to demand that even casual viewers become completists. 

Nobody should have to watch everything , so surely it's better for everyone if we accept that some people will set their targeting computers on "The Mandalorian" but avoid " Andor ", just as some "Discovery" fans can skip "Picard" without feeling they're missing out. 

Besides, we probably shouldn't be surprised that it's "Trek" leading the way, because this isn't Starfleet's first away mission to a shared universe. Back in the ’90s "The Next Generation", "Deep Space Nine", "Voyager", four movies and even prequel series "Enterprise" shared characters and plotlines, to the extent that after hundreds of hours of TV, planet Earth was losing interest in shows that were becoming increasingly formulaic. Sound familiar? The franchise's latest overseers have boldly taken note — now "Star Wars", the MCU and the rest should follow in their warp trails.

"Discovery", "Picard", "Strange New Worlds" and "Lower Decks" are all available to stream on Paramount Plus, along with "The Original Series", "The Next Generation", "Deep Space Nine", "Voyager" and "Enterprise". "Prodigy" is available on Netflix.

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Richard's love affair with outer space started when he saw the original "Star Wars" on TV aged four, and he spent much of the ’90s watching "Star Trek”, "Babylon 5” and “The X-Files" with his mum. After studying physics at university, he became a journalist, swapped science fact for science fiction, and hit the jackpot when he joined the team at SFX, the UK's biggest sci-fi and fantasy magazine. He liked it so much he stayed there for 12 years, four of them as editor. 

He's since gone freelance and passes his time writing about "Star Wars", "Star Trek" and superheroes for the likes of SFX, Total Film, TechRadar and GamesRadar+. He has met five Doctors, two Starfleet captains and one Luke Skywalker, and once sat in the cockpit of "Red Dwarf"'s Starbug.  

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• Mars Tafts I have been a Star Trek fan since 1966 and even I don't believe this article. Reply
• Amin Abakery Is this some kind of Joke? Paramount did worse to Star Trek than they did to Halo, than Disney ever did to Star Wars, its an insult not just to science but to morality and human decency. I used to grow up watching star trek, proud that it was written by scientists and good people like her. Now it seems to be written by your average twitter user. With an adulterer Spock and mushroom drive spinning ships. Reply
• View All 2 Comments

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