If you were to ask Star Trek fans what the best Star Trek movie was,Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khanwould probably be the top pick. It remainsan immensely moving story40 years after its release, with one of the most compelling villains in Trek history and an ending that dovetails beautifully into the next film,Star Trek III: The Search For Spock. However, one person was displeased with the directionThe Wrath of Khantook, and that person was Star Trek creatorGene Roddenberry. Roddenberryactively tried to sabotageThe Wrath of Khanprior to its release,including leaking major plot points. But why did Roddenberry go to such lengths? And more importantly, how did Paramount and writer/directorNicholas Meyerget ahead of them?
‘Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan’ Was the First Star Trek Product Without Gene Roddenberry’s Input
The development ofThe Wrath of Khanbegan after the lackluster response toStar Trek: The Motion Picture, which was based on a story that Roddenberry had crafted for a sequel series toStar Trek: The Original Series(said series would eventually take the form ofStar Trek: The Next Generation). Paramount opted to go in a less expensive direction forThe Wrath of Khan,and forced Roddenberry out of a creative position. Harve Bennett, who was previously a Paramount TV producer before boardingThe Wrath of Khan, and Meyer ended up hammering the film into its final shape. Roddenberry, however, wasn’t a fan of the more action-packed direction thatThe Wrath of Khanwas going in and decided to do something drastic.
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Roddenberry leaked the massive detailthat Spock diesto the public, which worried Paramount sinceLeonard Nimoy’s science officer was such a beloved character.During an interview, Star Trek historianMark A. Altmanrevealed just how big of a deal this was:
The only other time [Paramount] really got worried was when Gene sorta leaked the fact that Spock was going to die. They were afraid then, ‘Well if we lose the Star Trek audience, then we have a problem.’ You know, a lot of people were saying, ‘If Spock dies, you die. If Spock isn’t there, I’m not coming.’ People forget, this was a very big deal, it was very vitriolic.
Altman also debunked a long-running fan theory that Roddenberry’s executive assistant at the time,Susan Sackett,had leaked Spock’s death, noting that everyWrath of Khanscript had a special code belonging to the person who read it, and the script that was leaked had Roddenberry’s code. This was hardly the first timeRoddenberry would take umbrage with the direction of a Star Trek film, but for him to actively try and sabotage a project isa troubling trend that continues to this day, thanks in no small part to the rise of social media. What saved Paramount’s collective bacon was a stroke of genius on Nicholas Meyer’s part.
Nicholas Meyer Managed To Keep Spock’s Death a Secret With a Last-Minute Script Change
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, in addition to killing off Spock and cementing Khan as an A-list Trek villain, is also famous for introducing theKobayashi Maruin its opening sequence. The Kobayashi Maru is a simulation that Starfleet officers take as a test of character, especially given that the entire sequence is designed to be a no-win scenario. But it was a win-win for Meyer,as he realized that he could hide Spock’s actual death with the Kobayashi Maru.Altman noted how Meyer came up with the idea, and how it kept Spock’s true death a secret:
The thing that’s so brilliant, that Nick Meyer did, he said ‘Let’s kill Spock in the simulator scene, and everyone’s going to think ‘Oh, it’s all a publicity gimmick. Of course he doesn’t really die. Spock is going to be fine.’ And they got us, they fooled us. Of course, it really tees up the ending of the movie, where Spock does in fact die for 20 minutes until Star Trek III.
By having the Kobayashi Maru fakeout,The Wrath of Khankeeps Spock’s true death a secretand also sets up the main theme of the movie: self-sacrifice. The Kobayashi Maru’s true purpose is to have a captain accept that there are some situations they can’t win, mirroring how Captan Kirk (William Shatner) cannot save Spock from death when Spock is exposed to radiation while fixing theEnterprise’s warp drive. It also serves as one of the most emotional moments in the franchise, with Shatner and Nimory giving top-tier performances as Spock tells Kirk “I have been, and always shall be, your friend.”
Gene Roddenberry’s Original Idea for ‘Star Trek II’ Would Show Up in Another Beloved Star Trek Movie
The Wrath of Khanremains one of the most influential entries in Star Trek canon, even to this day.Star Trek: Strange New Worldsfeatures one of Khan’s descendants, La’an Noonien Singh (Christina Chong) in a major role, andopened the door for more complex themesto be explored in future films and TV shows. But what exactly were Roddenberry’s original plans for a second Star Trek movie? InThe Fifty-Year Mission: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek: The First 25 Years, Mark A. Altman andEdward Grossdelved intothe original pitch Roddenberry had preparedprior to Paramount sidelining him.Kirk and the rest of theEnterprisecrew would travel back in timeto stop the Klingon Empire from changing history so that the United Federation of Planets never existed.
This idea was explored, but in a different fashion, inStar Trek: First Contact. ScreenwritersRonald D. MooreandBrannon Bragahad pitched the idea of bringing back the Borg, while producerRick Bermanwanted a time travel element;the final screenplaycombines both elements, as Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and hisEnterprisecrew travel back in time to stop the Borg from affecting the birth of the Federation.First Contactis also considered one of the best Trek movies, especially with how it flipsWrath of Khan’s premise; the protagonist is seeking revenge instead of the antagonist, andMoby Dickis referenced in both films! Despite Roddenberry’s efforts to sabotage it,The Wrath of Khanremains a great Star Trekentry, and an overall great movie.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a science fiction film that continues the adventures of the USS Enterprise crew, led by Captain James T. Kirk, as they confront the vengeful Khan Noonien Singh, a genetically engineered superhuman from the 20th century, who seeks revenge against Kirk for stranding him on a deserted planet.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khanis available to watch on Paramount+ in the U.S.
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