Star Trek Into Darknesswas voted the worstStar Trekmovie by fans, despite its 84% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Released on August 18, 2025,Star Trek Into Darknessis directed by J.J. Abrams. It is a sequel to Abrams’Star Trek(2009), which rebooted theStar Trekmovies and introduced a new, younger cast portraying the crew of the Starship Enterprise led by Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine).Star Trek Into Darknesswas followed by the Justin Lin-directedStar Trek Beyondin 2016, which completes theStar Trekmovie trilogy produced by J.J. Abrams.
A remake ofStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khanset in thealternate Kelvin timeline,Star Trek Into Darknesspits Captain Kirk and the USS Enterprise crew against Khan Noonien Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch), a diabolical genetically engineered superman. However, Kirk learns he and Khan are pawns in a greater conspiracy by Starfleet Admiral Alexander Marcus (Peter Weller). Marcus plots to weaponize Khan and use him to militarize Starfleet and plunge the United Federation of Planets into a war with the Klingons.Star Trek Into Darknessalso reversedWrath of Khan’s pivotal death, with Kirk sacrificing his life (and being quickly resurrected), instead of Spock (Zachary Quinto).
Star Trek Into Darkness Was Voted The Worst Trek Movie By Fans
Star Trek Into Darkness remains unpopular
As reported byThe Guardianin 2013,Star Trek Into Darknesswas voted as the WorstStar TrekMovie by fansat Creation Entertainment’s annual Las VegasStar Trekconvention. Contrary toStar Trek Into Darkness' 84% Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score, and its higher 89% audience score, this gathering of hardcore Trekkers booedStar Trek Into Darkness, with one even complaining that J.J. Abrams' reboots shouldn’t even be considered actualStar Trekmovies. Abrams radically updated theStar Trekmovies' visual effects, action, and pacing, creating true blockbuster experiences that are contrary to the more cerebral tales that classicStar Trekis known for.
While diehard fans at Las Vegas’Star Trekconvention had a bone to pick withStar Trek Into Darkness, Rotten Tomatoes' rankings tell a different story.Star Trek Into Darknessis the fifth highest-rated of the13Star Trekmoviesto date, behindStar Trek(2009),Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,andStar Trek Beyond. Surprisingly,Star Trek Into Darknessslots aboveStar Trek IV: The Voyage HomeandStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country,two of the more beloved films in the franchise. With a $467-million worldwide tally,Star Trek Into Darknessalso stands as the highest-grossingStar Trekmovie of all.
Star Trek Into Darkness Isn’t The Franchise’s Worst Movie - It Isn’t Even Close
There are worse Star Trek movies
Subjectively, there are twoStar Trekmovies that routinely rank as the worst, and both are responsible for nearly or actually ending theStar Trekmovie franchise.William Shatner’sStar Trek V: The Final Frontierwas a massive disappointment when it premiered in the summer of 1989, especially compared to the hit Leonard Nimoy’sStar Trek IV: The Voyage Homeproved to be with general audiences. Critically and at the box office,Star Trek V’s mission for the Starship Enterprise to find God was a failure, and its poor performancealmost led to the end of theStar Trekmovie franchise.
Every Star Trek Movie Ranked (From Worst To Best)
There have been fourteen Star Trek movies over the last 40 years, but which is the boldest big-screen adventure to go where no man has gone before?
The box office disaster of 2002’sStar Trek: Nemesisdid end theStar Trek: The Next Generationmovie franchise. Directed by Stuart Baird,Star Trek: Nemesissaw Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) face his evil clone,Shinzon (Tom Hardy). Borrowing plot points wholesale fromStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (11 years beforeStar Trek Into Darknessdid the same),Star Trek: Nemesiskilled off the popular android Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner), and was met by a displeased and dwindling audience. AnotherTNGmovie, 1998’sStar Trek: Insurrection,also isn’t generally popular and has none ofStar Trek Into Darkness' propulsive visual style.
Star Trek Into Darknessis visually stunning with pulse-pounding action, but it also squandered much of the goodwill fromStar Trek(2009). One crucial error J.J. Abrams and his team made wasobfuscating that Benedict Cumberbatch was Khan, and they outright lied to protect the movie’s secret.Casting Cumberbatch, and turning the South Asian Khan, who was originated by Ricardo Montalban, into a Caucasian was also a poorly received decision despite Benedict’s acting talents. Overall,Star Trek Into DarknessapingStar Trek IIjust a decade afterStar Trek: Nemesisdid the same betrayed a lack of imagination, considering the limitless potential the alternate Kelvin timeline affordedStar Trek.
Star Trek Into Darkness Ending & Problems Explained
Star Trek Into Darkness' chaotic ending belied the numerous issues that plagued J.J. Abrams' sequel, which rehashed Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
Upon release,Star Trek Into Darknesswas hit with another controversyinvolving a scene where Carol Marcus (Alice Eve) stripped to her underwear in front of Captain Kirk. Star Trek Into Darknesswas released just as the #MeToo movement was gaining steam, and Kirk gawking at Carol was a widely disliked moment. Other issues withStar Trek Into Darknessinclude the generalunlikeability of Captain Kirkin the film, Spock yelling"KHAAANNN!!“eliciting laughter, and the revamped Klingons.Star Trek Into Darknessgave detractors plenty of ammunition despite strong performances, thrilling action, and a tremendous musical score by Michael Giacchino.
Did Star Trek Into Darkness Cause J.J. Abrams' Movies To Fail?
8 years later and still no Star Trek 4
Star Trek Into Darknessmade serious bank at the box office, but theproblems that emanated from it may have photon torpedoedStar Trek Beyondand the continuation of J.J. Abrams’Star Trekmovies. AlthoughStar Trek Beyondcame the closest of the reboot films to recapturing the spirit ofStar Trek: The Original Series, Justin Lin’s sequel earned just $343 million worldwide - $120 million less thanStar Trek Into Darkness. This tally indicated thatStar Trekfans and general audiences grew less enamored with J.J. Abrams’Star Trekmovies in the three years betweenStar Trek Into DarknessandStar Trek Beyond.
Star Trek 4 remains in development hell with no end in sight.
Paramount Pictures has repeatedly failed to develop a J.J. Abrams-producedStar Trek 4,with directors like S.J. Clarkson, Matt Shakman, and even Quentin Tarantino walking away fromStar Trekover creative differences. Even as theStar TrekTV franchise came roaring back on Paramount+, and a newUntitled Star Trek Originprequeldirected by Toby Haynes was announced,Star Trek 4remains in development hell with no end in sight. It’s possible the downward trajectory of J.J. Abrams’Star Trekmovie franchise can be traced back toStar Trek Into Darknessand the umbrage that led to hardcoreStar Trekfans deeming it the franchise’s worst movie.
