Paramount/CBSCould the Star Trek franchise be heading for another prequel? Amid its Skydance merger, Paramount’s Star Trek commitment appears safe. In fact, all reports suggest that the merger will make the Trek franchise a major priority. In terms of streaming TV, we already know that Starfleet Academy is coming in 2026, Strange New Worlds Season 4 will follow it, and that Strange New Worlds Season 5 will likely conclude the series in 2027. In addition to those confirmed shows, a former Trek star and producer has a pitch for something completely different. Twenty years after the prequel series Star Trek: Enterprise ended in 2005, writer-producer Mike Sussman is talking about an idea for a sequel series, which he developed with Scott Bakula, about what happened to Captain Archer after he became President of the United Federation of Planets. What is Star Trek: United?Archer (Scott Bakula) in the final moments of the Enterprise finale, “These Are the Voyages...” | Paramount/CBSIn an exclusive podcast interview with TrekMovie, Mike Sussman — who wrote for Enterprise, as well as Voyager, and 12 Monkeys — has revealed the details of a pitch called Star Trek: United, an Enterprise spinoff set in the late 22nd century.Sussman says the show would be unlike most Trek shows, comparing it to Andor or The West Wing. It would also echo Bakula’s own life, as he has four adult children. “I gave Archer four adult kids, and the story is as much about them as it is about him,” Sussman said.These characters would include someone in the Federation’s diplomatic corps, someone in Starfleet, and someone who works for “Federation Intelligence.” “His adult kids could be brought into this story in a way that felt very organic,” Sussman said. “They would be integral to the story we were telling.”Picking up Enterprise’s Romulan threadsTalok (Todd Stashwick) at the end of the Enterprise episode “Kir'Shara.” | Paramount/CBSSussman also noted that United could connect details about the Romulans, which were a canon grey area in Enterprise. Although the first Romulan War occurred from 2156 to roughly 2160, the Enterprise finale, “These Are the Voyages...” skipped over it, taking place in 2161. Season 4 of Enterprise did introduce the idea that Romulan spies were active in the 2150s, including one named Talok, disguised as a Vulcan and played by Todd Stashwick years before his role in Picard Season 3. Sussman told TrekMovie that he hopes to continue that storyline, complete with a hypothetical return of Talok.“I’d love to see that character come back,” Sussman said. “I would want to see where he is now and what he is up to. I am sure it is no good, because I think he’s still undercover [as a Vulcan], causing trouble.”Sussman is aware that Stashwick is busy with Marvel’s Vision Quest, and that fans also want the actor to return as Liam Shaw in a hypothetical Picard Season 3 sequel series, Star Trek: Legacy. But wouldn’t it be ironic if he returned to this deep-cut Trek role first?Star Trek: United is merely hypothetical for now; Sussman made it clear that it’s “just a delightful little fantasy.” But if the Trek streaming empire were to expand again, this pitch would almost certainly be in the mix. As Sussman said: “I don’t know what their [Paramount’s] plans are, but if their plans involve expanding the footprint of Star Trek on streaming, then perhaps something like this could be a part of it. I mean, for me, crazier things have happened.”Star Trek: Enterprise streams on Paramount+.Phasers on Stun!: How the Making — and Remaking — of Star Trek Changed the WorldAmazon -