History WhatCouldHaveBeen / StarTrek

* The intention was to explain Worf's presence on the ''Enteprise-E'' as him taking a leave of absence from ''Deep Space Nine'' following the death of his wife, Jadzia Dax, but it was cut so international viewers wouldn't have Jadzia's death spoiled.

* Early in the development, Creator/RonaldDMoore and Creator/BrannonBraga were both approached to write the screenplay. However, Moore passed, happy to have ''First Contact' be his cinematic ''Trek'' swansong (in addition to being ensconced in ''Deep Space Nine''). Braga also declined, unwilling to work on the project without his old writing partner (and because as the then-new ''Voyager'' showrunner, he feared he wouldn't be able to give both projects his full attention).

* Delta Vega was originally supposed to be a desert planet with Kirk and Future Spock finding Scotty in a BarFullOfAliens but they thought it was too similar to how Luke and Obi-Wan found Han Solo in ''Film/ANeHope''.

* Saavik was supposed to be revealed to be pregnant with Spock's child from the scene in the previous film where she had to, ahem, help him through puberty, which was to explain why she didn't go back to Earth with the rest of the crew to serve as a witness on their behalf at the trial, but it was cut for unknown reasons (speculated reasons, even on this very wiki, include time, pacing, and {{Squick}}).

* Even the story they eventually went with could have been a lot deeper. In the novelization, the Klingons were responsible for a massacre on the Federation colony of Kudao (which the Klingon government claimed was a rogue action), and Chang's bird-of-prey attacked a science station on the planet Themis inside Federation space, which critically injured Kirk's love interest, Carol Marcus. Had they kept this in, it would have provided more recent context for why the Klingons were so mistrusted, and another personal reason why Kirk hates the Klingons so much--considering that David's death happened ten years or so before the events of ''Star Trek VI.''
* The original idea for the opening was to have Kirk and Spock round up the officers for their final mission. This would have shown their fates and why they were so eager to return. Spock would have originally been playing Polonius in a Vulcan production of ''Hamlet''. Scotty would be struggling to understand the cloaking device on the stolen Bird-of-Prey alongside Starfleet cadets. Uhura would be hosting a talk radio show. Chekov would be playing chess with higher life forms, gloating about his "superior Russian strategies". [=McCoy=] would be surrounded by insufferable doctors. Kirk himself would be in bed with Dr. Carol Marcus. And Sulu was originally a taxi driver on some backwater alien planet instead of being captain of the ''Excelsior'' who discovers the disaster befalling the Klingons in the opening. However, the budget would not allow for such a pricey sequence, so it was scrapped.

* [[spoiler:Spock's]] HeroicSacrifice was originally placed at the middle of the movie, in an attempt to mimic the ''Film/{{Psycho}}'' gambit. When they wisely decided to make it the emotional climax of the film instead, Peter Preston's sacrifice was put in its place instead. Relics of the original plan can still be seen in the finished film (this is why [[spoiler:Spock does not accompany Kirk, Bones, and Saavik to the planet - because in earlier drafts he was already dead!]]). Similarly, the whole ordeal was practically spoiled before the movie began filming because it was what lured him back to the franchise. The ''Kobayashi Maru'' sequence was intended as a way to throw off expectations. An early version of the script got leaked, including the fact that [[spoiler:Spock died]]. Afterwards, the ''Kobayashi Maru'' sequence, which included [[spoiler:Spock]] fake-dying, was added to fake-out moviegoers and make them think that that was the "death" that had been promised. [[spoiler:Kirk even point-blank asks Spock "Aren't you dead?" and gets a quizzical raised eyebrow in response.]]

* There was some debate as to [[spoiler:who would get killed off at the end, Saavik or David Marcus. Ultimately they chose to have David make a HeroicSacrifice to atone for the damage he had done with the Genesis Project and also to balance out the return of Spock.]]

* Perhaps the most famous WhatCouldHaveBeen element of the film was that [[spoiler: the role of Valeris in the final film was originally written as Saavik. This would have packed a ''much'' greater emotional wallop, as Saavik had previously appeared in three films and her betrayal would have been a huge shock. Creator/GeneRoddenberry, though in ailing health and near death, was able to apply ExecutiveVeto against this - even though Nicholas Meyer, the director and (uncredited) screenwriter of ''ST:II'', created Saavik and unsuccessfully argued that he knew her better than Roddenberry. Before this veto was applied, the production team attempted to entice Creator/KirstieAlley to return for the role (Robin Curtis, who replaced her for ''ST:III'' and ''ST:IV'', was apparently never considered); Alley was busy filming ''Series/{{Cheers}}'' at the time but both properties were owned by Paramount and the studio could have easily arranged a way for her to appear in both. She declined anyway before Roddenberry's veto made the point moot, but had Saavik reappeared she would have been played by a ''third'' actress in just four films.]]
** And if they'd gone with [[spoiler:Saavik as the one to betray Starfleet, ''and'' if the film versions of ''The Wrath of Khan'' and ''The Search for Spock'' had followed the novelizations by having Saavik and David fall in love, it would have provided an excellent personal reason for Saavik to wish the Klingons dead.]]
** Given that [[spoiler:Saavik]] was strongly implied to be [[spoiler:Spock]]'s lover (in ''ST:III''), and pregnant with his child (in the novelization of ''ST:IV''), it would have made [[spoiler: her betrayal of and extremely public Mind Rape by her husband]] much more distressing than the final script's version.

* Creator/ShohrehAghdashloo's character (and the subplot of [[spoiler:Kirk attempting to become the Vice-Admiral for Starbase Yorktown]]) was only alluded to in the screenplay and initial edits of the film, with her actual on-screen appearances being added in reshoots.

* Before he left the show, Bryan Fuller’s concept was that it would be an anthology with each season having an entirely new cast in different periods across the franchise’s history. [[spoiler:The move to the far future at the end of Season 2 actually retains some spirit of this idea.]]

'''Kirk:''' I cut [sic] your new orders personally. By the first of this month, you'll have your first command: ''USS Excelsior''.\\

* This film's script was intended to be the pilot episode of ''Star Trek: Phase II'', a SequelSeries to the original show that never materialized (primarily because the planned Paramount TV network it was supposed to be the anchor for didn't happen, as the head of Gulf & Western, Paramount's owner at the time, thought it would lose too much cash; Paramount would eventually launch Creator/{{UPN}} with ''[[Series/StarTrekVoyager Voyager]]'' as its first series). The fact that it was written for a 90-minute (at most) pilot episode explains all the [[LeaveTheCameraRunning padding]] in the filmed version. Also, Decker and Ilia would have been major characters in the show, which is why they get more lines than half the actual people the audience came to see. The project had sets built, test footage shot and scripts for thirteen episodes written before being scrapped. The latter ended up coming in handy when the second season of ''Next Generation'' was able to pull several of the scripts out of storage during the 1988 writers' strike.
* Also, What Could Have NOT Been: Creator/LeonardNimoy was in a production of ''Theatre/{{Equus}}'' and by then, hated Creator/GeneRoddenberry, Spock, and ''Star Trek'' (in Roddenberry's case, it was due to his refusal to support Nimoy in a lawsuit over unauthorized use of his likeness in merchandising). Nimoy had earlier turned down ''Phase II'' due to not wanting to have just a guest role, and wouldn't read the script offers due to the aforementioned lawsuit, feeling it would be inappropriate to do so. Eisner's protege Jeffrey Katzenberg was on his hands and feet to bring Nimoy back into the picture, agreeing to settle the lawsuit if he at least read the script. He finally accepted, which gave the character of Spock new life.

* Creator/WilliamShatner pitched a script to Paramount where Kirk was resurrected by the Borg and the Romulans as part of a revenge scheme by both parties against Kirk and Picard (the former by the Romulans for their humiliation, and the latter for the Borg for their defeat). This script would have seen Kirk team up with Spock, Scotty, and [=McCoy=] one last time, along with Picard and his crew, before giving his life to destroy the Borg once and for all (in response to the backlash against Kirk's death in ''Generations''). Paramount rejected this script, as they were no longer interested in doing films with the ''TOS'' cast, so Shatner instead rewrote it into a novel, ''The Return'', with the aid of Judith-Reeve Stevens.

* Picard and Riker's roles were to be switched, and more emphasis was going to be placed on the Earth storyline. Part of the reasons for the switch were apparently because Patrick Stewart felt Picard should have more of an active role in defending the ''Enterprise'', while Jonathan Frakes wanted to have more time to focus on directing. Picard was also the one who had been assimilated by the Borg, so it made more sense for him to be the one to confront them. According to Braga and Moore's commentary, the ''Enterprise'' plot was mostly unchanged but the Earth-based story was completely altered. Also Lily (who was called Ruby in the early script) would have stayed on Earth with Picard in the original story.

** Following the rewrite, Creator/LeonardNimoy and DeForestKelley declined to make an appearance. Kelley was in ill health at the time and would have difficulty in getting insurance, while Nimoy felt that Spock's lines were so generic they could have been spoken by anyone and when he wasn't allowed to rewrite them, he passed. In any event, both felt that the last film was a fitting end. Their roles were given to Scotty and Chekov, respectively.

* Creator/RickyGervais was offered the role of Scotty before Creator/SimonPegg was cast, but turned it down due to his lack of familiarity with the franchise.

* Robert Duncan [=McNeil=] was approached to reprise his role as ''Voyager's'' Tom Paris in season 1 but was unable to do so due to scheduling conflicts. [[WordOfSaintPaul As McNeil recalled]], it would have only been a couple of scenes but would have seen Paris interact with Picard, whether via a viewscreen or in his office.

[[folder:''Star Trek'']]
* Creator/JoshuaJackson, Creator/ChrisPratt and Creator/MikeVogel screen-tested for the role of James Kirk before Creator/ChrisPine was cast.

* The role of Lt. Marla [=McGivers=] (smitten with Khan in [[Recap/StarTrekS1E22SpaceSeed "Space Seed", and who goes into exile with them on Ceti Alpha V]]) was considered to be included in the script. She was eventually dropped either because her character's death would give Khan more motivation and justification for his RoaringRampageOfRevenge (as she is obviously his "beloved wife" who had perished), or because the actress who played Lt. [=McGivers=], Madlyn Rhue, had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and was not up for the physical demands of such a role (although her other credits from the time period show her retaining her mobility, she would eventually be confined to a wheelchair by the mid-1980s).

* The original plan was to have ''all'' the TOS cast appear at the start, before it was just three.
** Originally, Kirk was to be accompanied by Spock and [=McCoy=], but Creator/LeonardNimoy and DeForestKelley declined to make an appearance, feeling that the last film was a fitting end. Furthermore, Nimoy felt that Spock's lines were so generic they could have been spoken by anyone and when he wasn't allowed to rewrite them, he passed. Kelley was in ill health and the time and couldn't get insurance. Their roles were given to Scotty and Chekov, respectively.
** Creator/GeorgeTakei declined to return, feeling that Sulu wouldn't give up command of the ''Excelsior'', so his role was given to Sulu's daughter.
** Had Uhura appeared (Creator/NichelleNichols wasn't asked), a lieutenant at an aft console reported difficulty with obtaining a transporter lock on one of the jeopardized vessels (namely, the SS Lakul), Uhura "sweetly" commented to the lieutenant, "Honey, a transporter's just like a man... if you want him to work for you, you gotta boost your gain and modulate his signal." She then began to help work the lieutenant's console. Uhura later made a couple of announcements, declaring how many El-Aurians had managed to be beamed to safety aboard the Enterprise-B, and vocally issuing a damage report for that ship once it had escaped the anomaly.

* JoshuaJackson, Creator/ChrisPratt and Creator/MikeVogel screen-tested for the role of James Kirk before Creator/ChrisPine was cast.

* The original script had Kirk congratulating Sulu for being assigned as Captain of the ''US Excelsior'' in a month. This occured right after Sulu's "any chance to go aboad the ''Enterprise'' line:

** The original script had Kirk congratulating Sulu for being assigned as Captain of the ''US Excelsior'' in a month. This occured right after Sulu's "any chance to go aboad the ''Enterprise'' line:
--->'''Sulu:''' However briefly, is always an excuse for nostalgia.\\

*** It then picks up from Kirk's line about being happy having Sulu on the helm for three weeks, because "I don't think these kids can steer."

* In an early draft, Carol Marcus' role was taken by Janet Wallace, a different scientist OldFlame of Kirk's who had appeared in the TOS episode [[Recap/StarTrekS2E12TheDeadlyYears "The Deadly Years"]]. Creator/NicholasMeyer decided to invent the character of Carol Marcus specifically so he could cast Bibi Besch, an actress he had long admired, in the part (the two would work together again in ''Film/TheDayAfter'', and note that Besch does not return for the third film, which Meyer had no involvement with).

** Creator/GeorgeTakei declined to return, feeling that Sulu wouldn't give up command of the ''Excelsior'', so his role waas given to Sulu's daughter.

* One such example was Jonathan Frakes, who attempted to pitch a series, going by his comments, focusing on the now-Captain Riker of the U.S.S. ''Titan'', alluded to during ''Film/StarTrekNemesis''. Paramount execs vetoed it to prevent "franchise fatigue", which Frakes agreed made sense. Riker, Troi and the ''Titan'' would go on to "star" in a line of tie-in novels, before appearing as themselves in the animated ''Series/StarTrekLowerDecks''.

* According to [[https://observationdeck.kinja.com/holy-crap-khan-had-a-baby-son-1728117002 this Kinja post]], a 1982 article from the long-defunct sci-fi magazine ''Starblazer'' had pictures showing a young child looking out the window of one of the ''Botany Bay'' cargo modules on Ceti Alpha V, and being filmed in front of the powered-up Genesis Device prop. Supposedly, the toddler in these cut scenes was the son of Khan himself.