J.J. Abrams, the director of “Star Trek: The Original Series”, decided in 2009 to bring it back to cinemas. In order to avoid making a sequel, J.J. Abrams decided to create a story set before “Star Trek: The Original Series.” Though, he did not plan to simply give context to the events in the legendary series. Abrams’ goal was to completely rewrite the history of “Star Trek”, using, yes, that is right, time travel, to make a new timeline. It happens when the black hole that is created by the Romulan supernova takes a Romulan called Nero (Eric Bana), from 2387, back to the year 2233. He then attacks the USS Kelvin inadvertently creating an alternate universe.
The Kelvin Timeline, which is named for George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth), has enough of a difference from the familiar continuity to be able to stand by itself. The sequels to 2009’s “Star Trek,” — “Star Trek Into Darkness” and “Star Trek Beyond” — keep this timeline going, and, should it come to fruition, a third sequel would likely do the same. New “Star Trek”, such as “Star Trek: Picard,” and “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” have continued the original timeline. The Romulan Sun Disaster is specifically mentioned in “Picard”, tying both universes, even if only loosely, together.
In fiction, time travel can be a very tricky concept. It is capable of causing all sorts of plot contradictions and holes. It is a problem that even the science fiction giant “Star Trek”, with all its baggage, has not been able avoid.