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Star Trek: Enterprise ended 20 years ago, and now, Star Trek has to make Scott Bakula's proposed comeback series, Star Trek: United. Scott Bakula portrayed Captain Jonathan Archer for 4 seasons and 98 episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise from 2001-2005, but he has not appeared in Star Trek since Enterprise was canceled. In August, Star Trek: Enterprise writer-producer Michael Sussman stunned and galvanized fans at STLV: Trek to Vegas when he revealed that he had been developing Star Trek: United, a spinoff of Enterprise about Jonathan Archer as President of the United Federation of Planets, with Scott Bakula's blessing and participation. Since Star Trek: United became publicly known, it has caught fire and captured Star Trek fans' imaginations more than anything since the ending of Star Trek: Picard season 3 set up a continuation about Captain Seven of Nine's (Jeri Ryan) USS Enterprise-G, dubbed Star Trek: Legacy. Remarkably, Michael Sussman's ideas for Star Trek: United are farther along than anyone thought, and he previously presented the project to Paramount+ and Alex Kurtzman's Secret Hideout, which oversees all of Star Trek's television series. While they passed on Star Trek: United, changes at Paramount could lead to a different outcome. Paramount Skydance's new management under CEO David Ellison is making new Star Trek theatrical movies and TV series for Paramount+ a priority. The time is right for Paramount Skydance to heed the groundswell of fan support and greenlight Star Trek: United, for the following good reasons. Enterprise Actors & Characters Can Return In Star Trek: United Star Trek: Enterprise fans yearn for the actors and characters from the NX-01 to finally reappear, and Star Trek: United has emerged as the best chance for this to happen. Only Jolene Blalock has canonically reprised T'Pol on Star Trek: Lower Decks, while Connor Trinneer voiced Commander Trip Tucker in the non-canonical Star Trek: very Short Treks. However, unlike legacy actors from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Seven of Nine from Star Trek: Voyager, none of Enterprise's actors have returned in live-action. While Michael Sussman doesn't intend for Star Trek: United to be a full-fledged Enterprise reunion, he has hopes to have as many of President Archer's former crew to appear as possible. Mike Sussman has also teased that Trip Tucker's apparent death in Star Trek: Enterprise's controversial finale might not be the end of Trip's story. Sussman has ideas about how the popular Connor Trinneer could appear in Star Trek: United. Although it's another Star Trek prequel, Star Trek: United would cover fertile, unexplored ground: the late 22nd century era after Star Trek: Enterprise and before Star Trek: Discovery, when the nascent Federation is at its most vulnerable. It's an era Star Trek fans know virtually nothing about. Star Trek: United Has A Unique & Compelling Story Star Trek: United would take Star Trek into a fascinating new direction. While there would still be requisite Starfleet Officers and Federation starships, Star Trek: United is designed as a political thriller and family drama. Michael Sussman sees President Archer's mission in Star Trek: United as saving the Federation, a "project" he has a personal interest in and spent his career in and out of Starfleet building. With the still-young Federation in jeopardy, Archer must call upon the help of his adult children, who have various important roles in the galaxy. Sussman doesn't think of Star Trek: United as a flagship Star Trek series, meaning that it would work best as a counterpoint to an existing and more traditional Star Trek show about a starship exploring strange new worlds, but this would also be a strength of Scott Bakula's show. Despite Star Trek producing quality science fiction - and some of the greatest sci-fi stories ever seen on television - for 60 years, Star Trek: United could potentially capture the same type of acclaim that Star Wars enjoyed with Andor. Star Trek: United Already Has Intricate World Building The more Michael Sussman speaks about Star Trek: United, the more remarkable the amount of world-building and thought he has put into President Archer's comeback series becomes. Sussman agrees with fans that Star Trek: Enterprise ended before it got to tell its best stories: the Romulan War and the Federation's founding. Michael Sussman wants to open Star Trek: United with a scene from what would have been a later season of Star Trek: Enterprise, showing a glimpse of the Romulan war, and it would also introduce a pivotal new Star Trek: United character. President Archer's office, and the seat of power of the Federation, would be Babel, which was introduced but never seen in Star Trek: The Original Series. Sussman also hints that a devastating attack on Station Salem-One and the Federation's defense grid mentioned in Star Trek: The Next Generation could be seen in Star Trek: United and explain why Federation headquarters moved to Earth. Star Trek: United hasn't just excited Star Trek fans; legendary concept artist Andrew Probert, who designed the USS Enterprise-D and the Romulan Warbird in Star Trek: The Next Generation, volunteered to collaborate with Michael Sussman to design President Archer's new starship, dubbed Starfleet One or Federation One. President Archer’s Adult Children Can Become Star Trek’s Most Interesting New Characters Scott Bakula would share center stage in Star Trek: United with President Archer's adult children, who are four new characters designed by Mike Sussman with fascinating backgrounds and roles to play in the series' main story. Although Sussman hasn't named any of Archer's offspring, he has revealed that one of Jonathan's kids works for Federation Intelligence, another is in diplomacy, and a third is a son in Starfleet who uses the surname of his mother, Captain Erika Hernandez (Ada Maris), instead of "Archer." Sussman has also dropped the bombshell that President Archer's fourth child is a Vulcan who he and his wife adopted. Curiously, Mike is also playing coy about Archer's love live, who he married, and how many times Jonathan has been married. But it's already clear the Archer family will be complex and integral to Star Trek: United. Star Trek: United Will Make President Archer More Like Scott Bakula A profound and welcome change that Star Trek: United will make to President Jonathan Archer would be to make his character more like the real-life Scott Bakula. As a leading man of numerous TV series, Bakula's casts and crews have praised Scott as a kind, generous, and first-class person to work with. Scott Bakula portrayed Captain Archer for 98 episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise, but although Archer's character continuously evolved, he was still very different from the actor who portrayed him. Archer is a bold and compassionate Captain, but he was also hotheaded and made plenty of mistakes. Star Trek: United would present a wiser, more mature President Jonathan Archer that is closer to Scott Bakula. Decades after Star Trek: Enterprise ended, Star Trek: United would present a wiser, more mature President Jonathan Archer who is closer to Scott Bakula. Michael Sussman's decision for Archer to have four adult children also mirrors Scott Bakula's real-life family. President Archer becoming more like Scott Bakula also syncs with how other Star Trek Captains, like Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard and Kate Mulgrew's Kathryn Janeway, have taken on more and more of the traits of the actors who portray them. Star Trek Fans Want To See Scott Bakula Back As President Archer The defining reason why Star Trek fans wholeheartedly support the idea of Star Trek: United is the desire to see Scott Bakula return to Star Trek as President Jonathan Archer. Bakula's Star Trek comeback is an irresistible hook that instantly sells Star Trek: United. Star Trek: Enterprise only lasting for four seasons, and ending just when Enterprise was starting to fulfill its potential under showrunner Manny Coto, left fans feeling robbed. New audiences who discovered Star Trek: Enterprise on streaming in recent years also agree that Captain Archer's story unfairly ended right when it was starting to get good. After Patrick Stewart returned as Admiral Jean-Luc Picard and Kate Mulgrew brought back Admiral Kathryn Janeway, Star Trek fans feel that it's Scott Bakula's turn to bring back Jonathan Archer. This is also fueled by a greater desire to see Star Trek: Enterprise given the same comeback and respect as Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager.
