Star Trek: The Motion Picture to return to theaters for its 40th anniversary

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

It's been forty years since the first Star Trek film hit theaters, and Fathom Events and Paramount Pictures announced today that they will be bringing STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE back to the big-screen in order to celebrate its 40th anniversary.

The original series cast of William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, and James Doohan all returned to reprise their roles for a film which saw the U.S.S. Enterprise seeking to save Earth from a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud known as V'Ger. Fathom Events will be bringing the theatrical cut of STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE to theaters for two days only, on September 15th and 18th. There will also be a special presentation of The Longest Trek: Writing the Motion Picture, a behind-the-scenes documentary short, preceding the film. You'll be able to get tickets for the screenings this Friday. "'Star Trek—The Motion Picture' is a visual marvel and a film that even many ardent 'Star Trek' fans have never had an opportunity to see on a big screen. Fathom Events is honored to celebrate this cinematic classic’s 40th anniversary with this special theatrical presentation," said Tom Lucas, Fathom Events Vice President of Studio Relations.

In my younger days, I considered STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE to be rather boring, but I've definitely come to appreciate the film a hell of a lot more in the years since. Although it may not be the best Star Trek movie out there, it's a visually spectacular film and getting to see it on the big-screen would be quite the treat.

Trekkies may also be interested to learn that the Director's Edition of STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE may finally be coming to Blu-ray and 4K. During Comic-Con, Director's Edition producer David C. Fein announced that the remastering team are officially in discussions with Paramount about properly upgrading the Director's Edition. Post-production on the original film was quite rushed, and director Robert Wise was never happy with it, so in 2001, Paramount allowed him to re-edit the film, remix the soundtrack, and include new visual effects. The final product was better recieved than the original cut, but unfortunately, those new visual effects weren't rendered in high-definition, meaning that a lot of work needed to be done in order to get the film into shape for a Blu-ray/4K release. Nothing is 100% yet, but this is welcome news indeed, which also hopefully points the the rest of the STAR TREK movies receiving a 4K remaster.