Star Trek: Planet of the Titans, also known as
Star Trek: Planet of Titans, is an unproduced film based on
Star Trek, which reached the script and design phases of pre-production.
Following the success of
Star Trek: The Original Series in
broadcast syndication during the early 1970s and the popularity of the series at
science fiction conventions,
Paramount Studios made several attempts to produce a feature film based upon the series.
In 1975,
Star Trek: The God Thing was proposed by franchise creator
Gene Roddenberry but was not picked up by the studio.
The following year, pre-production began again on a film with a treatment called
Planet of the Titans and subsequent script produced by British writers
Chris Bryant and
Allan Scott with the intention of keeping costs down by filming in the United Kingdom.
There were difficulties in ensuring that both
William Shatner and
Leonard Nimoy were signed to the film as Shatner's deal with Paramount had expired and Nimoy was concerned with unauthorized merchandising.
Philip Kaufman was signed up to direct, after several others were asked first.
The plot would have seen the crew investigating the homeworld of the mythical Titans, and in escaping through a black hole are hurled into the prehistoric past where they teach early man how to make fire.
After their script was rejected, Bryant and Scott quit, and Kaufman created a new script treatment, but it too was rejected, and the project was killed on May 8, 1977, some two weeks before the release of
Star Wars.
Various reasons have been cited for the cancellation, including regime change at Paramount, and that executives thought they had missed their window due to
Star Wars' imminent release, believing science fiction fans would not pay to see two such films.
Paramount immediately changed course and launched a plan to take
Star Trek back to television via a new TV network as
Star Trek: Phase II.
