By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Love it or hate it, there are few shows on television more influential than Rick and Morty. Not only did it shape the course of Western animation for years to come, but the writers of this series also shaped other franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now, it seems that Cartoon Network’s hilarious and vulgar cartoon has shaped the most influential sci-fi franchise in history for the better. Not only was it Lower decks created by former Rick and Morty writer Mike McMahan, but he confirmed in a recent interview that his old cartoon inspired what he hopes will be a bold new direction for Star Trek.
The Star Trek Multiverse
If you are more of a fan of Rick and Morty than Star Trek (or vice versa), you’ll need a quick refresher on the ending of Lower decks to understand this link. With the warning you will encounter some spoilers, here we go: Lower decks recently aired a series finale in which Starfleet acquired a stable wormhole in the multiverse. Now, instead of occasionally ending up in other dimensions due to cosmic happenstance or other bizarre space phenomena, the Federation can peacefully explore the multiverse whenever and however it chooses.
In a recent interview with CinemaBlend, McMahan explained how his experience writing for Rick and Morty shaped what he sees as the future of Star Trek. “I worked four seasons on Rick and Morty talk about the multiverse,” he said. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what could become as interesting in the multiverse as Warp travel.”
Ultimately, he came up with an idea we wish more franchise creators had: “Star Trek isn’t about meeting up, talking…I mean, it is, but it’s also about learning the possibilities of life itself, right? ” For this reason, he believes that “discovering the possibilities of humanity and having a map of the quadrant of the multiverse is really exciting for me.”
In other words, McMahan seems to believe that Rick and MortyStar Trek’s past should be Star Trek’s future and future spinoffs should focus more on exploring the multiverse than just warping from point A to point B. It’s unclear to what extent the ending of Lower decks will have on this franchise. Discoverywhich took place centuries later, certainly never made any mention of Starfleet easily roaming the multiverse. However, one or more future Star Trek series pick up where Lower decks left out could provide this aging franchise with a much-needed shot in the arm.
It’s easy to say because almost everything about the Trek horizon It looks quite disappointing. We are excited for the next season of Strange new worldsbut it’s hard to be that excited about Starfleet Academy (a spin-off of the film canceled prematurely Discovery) or the Star Trek origin film (which will apparently do nothing other than tread familiar ground). Live Action Desk-type show starring Tawny Newsome sounds intriguing, but there is currently too little information about it to get much hype.
Considering time and energy Primordial spills over into the Star Trek origin film, it’s safe to say that the studio is currently more interested in playing it safe than changing things up. It’s a shame, because the premature cancellations of both Discovery And Lower decks point to a franchise that needs a creative shake-up (the more dramatic, the better). Extract a page from Rick and MortyThe Book of Star Trek might be for the better if only because it allows Star Trek to do what it should have done all along: boldly go where the franchise has never gone before.
There is of course a certain irony about Rick and Morty potentially helping to shape the future of Star Trek. When Lower decks was first announced, there was a lot of questioning whether it would just be a Star Trek skin. Rick and Morty-a style narration. Fortunately, Lower decks quickly developed its own vibe of comedic nostalgia, but now we can’t help but hope that Star Trek embraces the endless possibilities of the multiverse with all the enthusiasm of Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith.
And if that doesn’t happen anytime soon, fans may have to ask Cartoon Network to lend Paramount a few copies of Mr. Meeseeks. Surely it’s easier to get Star Trek writers to write good Star Trek than it is to help Jerry take two shots off his golf game…right? If that doesn’t happen, fans will have to channel those demons who think pain is pleasure to enjoy an era of NuTrek more painful than anything we’ve experienced so far.
Source: CinemaBlend
