Andy Weir Has A Fascinating Idea For A Star Trek And Star Wars Crossover

You can add “The Martian” and “Project Hail Mary” author Andy Weir to the long list of folks who’ve imagined how the “Star Trek” and “Star Wars” franchises could crossover. Really, all sci-fi nerds and pop culture aficionados have likely spitballed some kind of story where these properties overlap. I myself have fond memories of debating what would win in a fight between a Galaxy-class starship and a Star Destroyer in high school. The “Star Trek” and “Star Wars” franchises are similar in many ways, and the debate over which is better will never, ever end.

Speaking to Inverse, Weir admitted that he pitched an idea for a “Star Trek” show, although he refused to talk about it in the hope that he’ll be able to make it a reality someday. He was, however, eager to talk about his fanfic ideas for a “Star Trek”https://www.slashfilm.com/”Star Wars” crossover and where it would take place in the timelines of each franchise.

Recall that “Star Trek: The Original Series” takes place in the Milky Way galaxy in the 23rd Century, whereas every “Star Wars” story is set roughly “a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.” Thus, a lot of reality-bending would be required to bring these two universes together. So, how to do it? Weir’s proposal is to unite the events of 1977’s “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope” and 1982’s “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” through the combination of a massive explosion and experimental terraforming technology. In other words: What if the activation of the Genesis Device in “The Wrath of Khan” and the destruction of the first Death Star in “A New Hope” caused a mutual rip in space-time?

“In my mind, I call it ‘Star Star,'” Weir added, clearly being cheeky.

Just to do my due diligence, I will remind readers that George Lucas’ “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope” climaxes with brave Rebel Alliance pilots exploiting a weakness in the wicked Galactic Empire’s planet-destroying space station, the Death Star, and reducing it to space rubble. Meanwhile, Nicholas Meyer’s “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” climaxes with the revenge-obsessed superhuman Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán) activating an experimental terraforming device called the Genesis Wave in an effort to destroy the USS Enterprise and Starfleet Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) with it.

As Andy Weir explained:

“The idea is that the Genesis device going off at the end of ‘The Wrath of Khan’ rips a hole in the fabric of reality. And so did, too, the Death Star exploding in ‘A New Hope.’ It becomes the Yavin/Mutara wormhole. Then I imagine the Enterprise goes there, and so from that point forward, the stories diverge from canon.”

Continuing, Weir explained that the heroic Rebel Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and the cruel Imperial Darth Vader (David Prowse and James Earl Jones) would then end up in the “Star Trek” universe since they’re in their spaceships when the Death Star gets blown up. As he sees it, this would be a real coup for Vader, whose physical injuries could readily be healed by the Enterprise’s chief medical officer, Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), using Starfleet’s medical tech. And though he didn’t say what would happen next, it’s possible that Vader would see the error of his ways upon being shown such compassion. That would certainly be in keeping with the general optimism and diplomatic forwardness of the “Star Trek” franchise.

Notably, Luke doesn’t know Vader is actually his father, Anakin Skywalker, when “A New Hope” takes place. So, just imagine how differently things would’ve gone for Luke if he’d learned the truth after McCoy had managed to heal Vader both physically and spiritually.

And that’s not the end of it. Andy Weir also pictured what might happen once the Enterprise finds itself in the distant “Star Wars” galaxy. By his estimation, the Force is local to the “Star Wars” universe. So, if we skip the debate for now and simply assume that’s accurate, then certain crew members on the vessel would suddenly become sensitive to the Force. Weir wasn’t done yet, either:

“(W)hen the Enterprise goes to the ‘Star Wars’ universe, Spock (Leonard Nimoy) is dead, because it’s the end of ‘The Wrath of Khan,’ but then Spock becomes a Force ghost. And Sulu (George Takei) has inherent Jedi abilities which manifest once he goes there.” 

So Spock, in ghost form, could communicate with the Enterprise crew. As for all that stuff about Sulu’s Force abilities? It seems kind of random, but I’ll allow it. The fact that this is all predicated on some time-space hijinks feels appropriate as well. After all, when it comes to Weir, he’s first and foremost a “Doctor Who” super-fan at heart.