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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

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Watch Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan with a subscription on Paramount+, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

What to Know

Considered by many fans to be the best of the Star Trek movies, Khan features a strong plot, increased tension, and a sharp supporting performance from Ricardo Montalban.

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Nicholas Meyer

William Shatner

Admiral James T. Kirk

Leonard Nimoy

Captain Spock

Ricardo Montalban

Khan Noonien Singh

DeForest Kelley

Commander Leonard H. McCoy, M.D.

James Doohan

Commander Montgomery Scott

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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

• With the assistance of the Enterprise crew, Admiral Kirk must stop an old nemesis, Khan Noonien Singh, from using the life-generating Genesis Device as the ultimate weapon.
• It is the 23rd century. Admiral James T. Kirk is an instructor at Starfleet Academy and feeling old; the prospect of attending his ship, the USS Enterprise--now a training ship--on a two-week cadet cruise does not make him feel any younger. But the training cruise becomes a deadly serious mission when his nemesis Khan Noonien Singh--infamous conqueror from late 20th century Earth--appears after years of exile. Khan later revealed that the planet Ceti Alpha VI exploded, and shifted the orbit of the fifth planet as a Mars-like haven. He begins capturing Project Genesis, a top secret device holding the power of creation itself, and schemes the utter destruction of Kirk. — Gregory A. Sheets <[email protected]>
• It is the 23rd century. The Federation starship USS Enterprise is on routine training maneuvers, and Admiral James T. Kirk seems resigned to the fact that this may well be the last space mission of his career. But Khan Noonien Singh is back. Aided by his exiled band of genetic supermen, Khan--infamous conqueror from late 20th century Earth--has raided Space Station Regula One, stolen a top secret device called Project Genesis, wrested control of another Federation starship, and now schemes to set a most deadly trap for his old enemy Kirk... with the threat of a universal Armageddon! — Robert Lynch <[email protected]>
• In the year 2285, Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) oversees a simulator session of Captain Spock's (Leonard Nimoy) trainees. In the simulation, Lieutenant Saavik commands the star ship USS Enterprise on a rescue mission to save the crew of the damaged ship Kobayashi Maru. When the Enterprise enters the Klingon Neutral Zone to reach the ship it is attacked by Klingon cruisers and critically damaged. The simulation is a no-win scenario designed to test the character of Starfleet officers. Later, Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) joins Kirk on his birthday; seeing Kirk in low spirits, the doctor advises Kirk to get a new command and not grow old behind a desk. Meanwhile, the USS Reliant is on a mission to search for a lifeless planet for testing of the Genesis Device, a technology designed to reorganize matter to create habitable worlds for colonization. Reliant officers Commander Pavel Chekov and Captain Clark Terrell beam down to the surface of a possible candidate planet, which they believe to be Ceti Alpha VI; once there, they are captured by genetically engineered tyrant Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán). The Enterprise discovered Khan's ship adrift in space 15 years previously; Kirk exiled Khan and his fellow supermen from 20th-century Earth to Ceti Alpha V after they attempted to take over the Enterprise. After they were marooned, Ceti Alpha VI exploded, shifting the orbit of Ceti Alpha V and destroying its ecosystem. Khan blames Kirk for the death of his wife and plans revenge. He implants Chekov (Walter Koenig) and Terrell (Paul Winfield) with indigenous creatures that enter the ears of their victims and render them susceptible to mind control and uses the officers to capture the Reliant. Learning of Genesis, Khan attacks space station Regula I where the device is being developed by Kirk's former lover, Dr. Carol Marcus, and their son, David. The Enterprise embarks on a three-week training voyage. Kirk assumes command after the ship receives a distress call from Regula I. En route, the Enterprise is ambushed and crippled by the Reliant, leading to the deaths and injuries of many trainees. Khan hails the Enterprise and offers to spare Kirk's crew if they relinquish all material related to Genesis. Kirk stalls for time and uses the Reliant's prefix code to remotely lower its shields, allowing the Enterprise to counterattack. Khan is forced to retreat and effect repairs, while the Enterprise limps to Regula I. Kirk, McCoy, and Saavik beam to the station and find Terrell and Chekov alive (who feign innocence and say that they did not help Khan. They also tell Kirk that Khan tortured the station crew but could not get hold of Genesis as Dr Marcus and David were nowhere to be found. The data banks were empty as well), along with slaughtered members of Marcus's team. They soon find Carol and David hiding deep inside the Planetoid of Regula. Khan, having used Terrell and Chekov as spies, orders them to kill Kirk; Terrell resists the eel's influence and kills himself while Chekov collapses as the eel leaves his body. Khan then transports Genesis aboard the Reliant. Though Khan believes his foe stranded on Regula I, Kirk and Spock use a coded message to arrange a rendezvous. Kirk directs the Enterprise into the nearby Mutara Nebula; static discharges inside the nebula render shields useless and compromise targeting systems, making the Enterprise and the Reliant evenly matched. Spock notes however that Khan's tactics are two-dimensional, indicating inexperience in space combat, which Kirk then exploits to critically disable the Reliant. Mortally wounded, Khan activates Genesis, which will reorganize all matter in the nebula, including the Enterprise. Though Kirk's crew detects the activation of Genesis and attempts to move out of range, they will not be able to escape the nebula in time due to the ship's damaged warp drive. Spock goes to the engine room to restore the warp drive. When McCoy tries to prevent Spock's entry, as exposure to the high levels of radiation would be fatal, Spock incapacitates the doctor with a Vulcan nerve pinch and performs a mind meld, telling him to "remember". Spock successfully restores power to the warp drive and the Enterprise escapes the explosion, though at the cost of his life. The explosion of Genesis causes the gas in the nebula to reform into a new planet, capable of sustaining life. After being alerted by McCoy, Kirk arrives in the engine room and discovers Spock dying of radiation poisoning. The two share a meaningful exchange in which Spock urges Kirk not to grieve, as his decision to sacrifice his own life to save those of the ship's crew is a logical one, before succumbing to his injuries. A space burial is held in the Enterprise's torpedo room and Spock's coffin is shot into orbit around the new planet. The crew leaves to pick up the Reliant's marooned crew from Ceti Alpha V. Spock's coffin, having soft-landed, rests on the Genesis planet's surface.

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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

The peculiar thing about Spock is that, being half human and half Vulcan and therefore possessing about half the usual quota of human emotions, he consistently, if dispassionately, behaves as if he possessed very heroic human emotions indeed. He makes a choice in “Star Trek II” that would be made only by a hero, a fool, or a Vulcan. And when he makes his decision, the movie rises to one of its best scenes, because the “ Star Trek ” stories have always been best when they centered around their characters. Although I liked the special effects in the first movie, they were probably not the point; fans of the TV series wanted to see their favorite characters again, and “Trek II” understood that desire and acted on it. 

Time has passed since the last episode. Kirk has retired to an administrative post. Spock is commanding the Enterprise, with a lot of new faces in the crew. The ship is on a mission concerning the Genesis device, a new invention which, if I understand it correctly, is capable of seeding a barren planet with luxuriant life. A sister ship, the USS Reliant, is scouting for lifeless planets and finds one that seems to be dead, but its instruments pick up a small speck of life. Crew members investigate, and find the planet inhabited by an outlaw named Khan, who was exiled there years ago by Kirk, and has brooded of vengeance ever since. 

Khan is played as a cauldron of resentment by Ricardo Montalban , and his performance is so strong that he helps illustrate a general principle involving not only Star Trek but “ Star Wars ” (1977) and all the epic serials, especially the “James Bond” movies: Each film is only as good as its villain. Since the heroes and the gimmicks tend to repeat from film to film, only a great villain can transform a good try into a triumph. In a curious way, Khan captures our sympathy, even though he is an evil man who introduces loathsome creatures into the ear canals of two Enterprise crew members. Montalban doesn’t overact. He plays the character as a man of deeply wounded pride, whose bond of hatred with Admiral Kirk is stronger even than his traditional villain’s desire to rule the universe. 

There is a battle in outer space in this movie, a particularly inept one that owes more to “Captain Video” than to state-of-the-art special effects. I always love it when they give us spaceships capable of leaping across the universe, and then arm them with weapons so puny that a direct hit merely blows up a few control boards and knocks people off their feet. Somehow, though, I don’t much care if the battles aren’t that amazing, because the story doesn’t depend on them. It’s about a sacrifice made by Spock, and it draws on the sentiment and audience identification developed over the years by the TV series. 

Perhaps because of that bond, and the sense that an episode may be over but the Enterprise will carry on, the movie doesn’t feel that it needs an ending in a conventional sense. The film closes with the usual “Star Trek” end narration, all about the ship’s mission and its quest, and we are obviously being set up for a sequel. You could almost argue that the last few minutes of “Trek II” are a trailer for “Trek III”, but, no, that wouldn’t be in the spirit of the Enterprise, would it?

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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The starship Enterprise and its crew is pulled back into action when old nemesis, Khan, steals a top secret device called Project Genesis.

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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Khan, a genetically enhanced “super man” from Kirk’s past, returns to seek revenge on now-Admiral Kirk, the man who banished he and his followers to a dying planet 15 years earlier.

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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Directed by nicholas meyer.

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Description by Wikipedia

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a 1982 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the second film based on Star Trek, and is a sequel to Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). The plot features Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the crew of the starship USS Enterprise facing off against the genetically engineered tyrant Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán), a character who first appeared in the 1967 Star Trek television series episode "Space Seed". When Khan escapes from a 15-year exile to exact revenge on Kirk, the crew of the Enterprise must stop him from acquiring a powerful terraforming device named Genesis. This film is the beginning a story arc that continues with the 1984 film Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and concludes with 1986's Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

After the lackluster critical and commercial response to The Motion Picture, series creator Gene Roddenberry was forced out of the sequel's production. Executive producer Harve Bennett wrote the film's original outline, which Jack B. Sowards developed into a full script. Director Nicholas Meyer completed the final script in 12 days, without accepting a writing credit. Meyer's approach evoked the swashbuckling atmosphere of the original series, and the theme was reinforced by James Horner's musical score. Nimoy had not intended to have a role in The Motion Picture's sequel, but was enticed back on the promise that his character would be given a dramatic death scene. Negative test audience reaction to Spock's death led to significant revisions of the ending over Meyer's objections. The production used various cost-cutting techniques to keep within budget, including utilizing miniatures from past projects and re-using sets, effects footage and costumes from the previous movie. Among the film's technical achievements is it being the first feature film to contain a complete sequence created entirely with computer-generated graphics.

The Wrath of Khan was released in North America on June 4, 1982. It was a box office success, earning US$97 million worldwide and setting a world record for first-day box office gross. Critical reaction to the film was positive; reviewers highlighted Khan, the film's pacing, and the character interactions as strong elements. Negative reaction focused on weak special effects and some of the acting. The Wrath of Khan is considered by some to be the best film of the Star Trek series, and is credited with renewing substantial interest in the franchise.

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5 reasons wrath of khan was the best star trek film (& 5 why it's the voyage home).

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Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home have battled it out over the last few decades for the title of the best classic Trek film, and there's still no clear victor. It's not hard to imagine why, either. Both films are cinematic triumphs and sci-fi masterpieces, but for very different reasons. While Wrath Of Khan was essentially a nail-biting submarine action film set in space, The Voyage Home was a lighthearted comedy with strong social messaging.

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Both films continue to be fan favorites, making them winners in their own right, but that's no reason to refrain from pitting these two Trek titans against one another. There are 5 reasons why Wrath Of Khan could theoretically claim the crown, and 5 why The Voyage Home  can steal the win.

The Wrath Of Khan Had The Perfect Villain

It's hard to top Khan when it comes to Star Trek villains. The character made his original appearance in the first season of the Star Trek original series, in 1967. He would go on to remain one of the coolest, most charismatic and dangerous foes Kirk ever encountered. The final act of the episode saw Kirk giving Khan and his people a fighting chance, by exiling them onto the planet Ceti Alpha Five.

This set the stage for his return in The Wrath Of Khan, which revealed that Ceti Alpha Five had been turned into an inhospitable wasteland following the destruction of its nearby sister planet. It was the perfect justification for vengeance against Kirk, whose decisions regarding Khan's fate would definitely come back to haunt him.

The Voyage Home Had The Perfect Message

Both Star Trek II and Star Trek III had taken the series in a dark direction. The events of the former led to the death of Spock and several crew members, not to mention the lost crew of the Reliant, and the slaughter of Regula 1's scientific team. Star Trek III: The Search For Spock would incur a bleak tone throughout its entire running time, with only the end offering a glimmer of hope.

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The Voyage Home needed to lighten things up a bit, and it did so by featuring a film with no fight sequences, ship-to-ship battles or nefarious villains to vanquish. Instead, it was a light-hearted romp through time, all for the sake of a noble cause - saving two Humpback Whales from death, who would later go on to save the planet Earth from annihilation by a mysterious alien probe.

The Wrath Of Khan Was A Combat Film

Khan's campaign of vengeance against Kirk and the Enterprise crew was the perfect catalyst for a lot of excellent action scenes. The initial exchange of weapons fire quickly handicapped both ships, allowing director Nicholas Meyer to masterfully construct a series of clever and imaginative battle sequences, including a cat and mouse game in the Mutara Nebula.

The film took all the best elements of submarine epics, and changed the setting to outer space. This resulted in white knuckle tension for audiences who enjoyed watching these two strategic minds outflank each other.

The Voyage Home Was A Comedy

Star Trek had always incorporated comedic elements into its material, but The Voyage Home was the first time the franchise had embraced full-on comedy. It proved to be a massive payoff, turning the movie into perhaps the most charming Trek film ever made.

Whether it's watching Spock's confusion regarding exact change for the bus, or Kirk talking about "L.D.S.," the laughs are plentiful and non-stop. The Enterprise crew are the ultimate fishes out of water as they struggle to figure out the hustle and bustle of 1980's San Francisco, much to our enjoyment.

The Wrath Of Khan Featured Spock's Death

It was important for Star Trek II to show some sort of consequence for Kirk's decision to exile Khan to Ceti Alpha Five, and the death of Spock seems fitting. In fact, the transition between the original episode "Space Seed" and Wrath Of Khan is so good, that one gets chills watching the former.

The death of Spock was supposed to be permanent, but actor Leonard Nimoy wasn't ready to give the character up, taking up directorial duties for the next film which brought the character back. Nevertheless, Star Trek fans were in uproar over the initial decision, which is exactly what the franchise needed.

The Voyage Home Featured Spock's Return

While Star Trek III: The Search For Spock focused on Kirk and the Enterprise crew openly violating Starfleet to save the life of a resurrected Spock, The Voyage Home was forced to deal with the aftermath. Spock was essentially forced to re-learn everything all over again, and the result was a much different Vulcan than the one audiences remembered.

This Spock was almost child-like, but no less an intellectual. It was his theory regarding Humpback Whales that set the story in motion. Getting to watch him attempt to adjust to life on Earth in the 1980s was simply the icing on the cake.

The Wrath Of Khan Had A Bittersweet Ending

The ending of Star Trek II wasn't completely bleak, but it was a crushing blow to fans who were forced to accept the possibility that their beloved Spock had finally been killed off. The film did offer a sense of optimism in the final scene, when Kirk and the crew marvel at the creation of the Genesis planet, and Kirk's reconciliation with his son.

Both of these elements would be destroyed in the next film, but that's neither here nor there. The Wrath Of Khan wasn't nihilistic, but it did show real-time consequences for the battle which just took place.

The Voyage Home Had An Upbeat Ending

After two very dark films featuring a number of high profile deaths, and the destruction of the newly formed Genesis planet, audiences were effectively soaked in downbeat vibes. Leonard Nimoy must have realized this when he decided to direct The Voyage Home, quickly shifting the focus to a lighthearted story.

It would also prove to pay off in the end. Not only would the Humpback Whales survive and return with Kirk and crew to the future, but they would also repopulate the species, and save Earth from certain doom. The dropping of charges against Kirk and his crew for their actions in Star Trek III, plus the demotion of Kirk to the rank of Captain (something he wanted), were reasons for fans to celebrate. The crisis had been averted. Star Trek was back!

The Wrath Of Khan Had Fantastic Action Sequences

Nicholas Meyer pulled out all the stops when it came to generating some of the best ship-to-ship battles in Star Trek history. Future films would speed up this kind of combat, which somehow detracted away from their impact. Nay, Wrath Of Khan wasn't going to take the easy way out!

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The clever use of tense, exciting military-themed music, battle tactics and Starfleet procedures would prove to be a perfect mix. This film wasn't about crew members pushing buttons. It was about out-thinking one's opponent using strategy and intuition!

The Voyage Home Had A Fantastic Premise

Star Trek IV could have taken the easy way out by continuing the chronology of events in the same time period, but it didn't. The entire focus shifted to time travel back to 1980's San Francisco, to save two Humpback Whales so they could speak to an alien probe that was ravaging Earth in the future. It was, in a word, brilliant.

Not only did it get to set up one of the most outrageously funny Trek films of all time, but it also allowed the film to make a social statement to we, the audience living in modern times, all without being offensive. Classic Trek  was able to do this in a way that modern-day Trek has completely failed, and it's a shame this technique has been lost over the years.

NEXT:  Star Trek: 5 Reasons The Final Frontier Is The Worst Film (& 5 It's Insurrection)

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One of the most celebrated and essential adventures from the STAR TREK universe, STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN comes to 4K UHD with HDR-10 and Dolby Vision, boldly remastered from the original film elements. On routine training maneuvers, Admiral James T. Kirk seems resigned that this may be the last space mission of his career. But an adversary from the past has returned with a vengeance. Aided by his exiled band of genetic supermen, Khan (Ricardo Montalban)—brilliant renegade of 20th century Earth—has raided Space Station Regula One, stolen the top-secret device called Project Genesis, wrested control of another Federation starship, and now schemes to set a most deadly trap for his old enemy Kirk… with the threat of a universal Armageddon. Both the original theatrical cut and the Director’s cut are included, alongside an array of special features.

Product details

• Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ Unknown
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.89 x 5.47 x 0.51 inches; 0.02 ounces
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ 4K
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 116 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ September 6, 2022
• Actors ‏ : ‎ William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Kirstie Alley, James Doohan
• Dubbed: ‏ : ‎ French, Spanish, Portuguese
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English, French, German
• Language ‏ : ‎ German (Dolby Digital 2.0), English (Dolby Digital 2.0), French (Dolby Digital 2.0)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ PARAMOUNT
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B4G37JKG
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 2
• #505 in Action & Adventure Blu-ray Discs

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• August 28, 2024 | Interview: Nicholas Meyer On Why ‘The Wrath Of Khan’ Endures, And His “Toxic” Memos With Gene Roddenberry
• August 27, 2024 | Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery – The Final Season’ On Blu-ray Comes To A Satisfying Conclusion
• August 27, 2024 | See Spock Imprisoned By Sela In Preview Of ‘Star Trek: Defiant’ #18
• August 26, 2024 | Edgar Bronfman Drops 11th-Hour Bid For Paramount; Skydance Merger Set To Complete In Early 2025
• August 26, 2024 | Production Begins For ‘Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’

Interview: Nicholas Meyer On Why ‘The Wrath Of Khan’ Endures, And His “Toxic” Memos With Gene Roddenberry

| August 28, 2024 | By: Anthony Pascale 10 comments so far

This Labor Day weekend the Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills is running a Star Trek movies marathon for the six films with the original crew, shown in 70MM. There will be discussions after each film with stars and creatives from each film, including the director (and uncredited writer) of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , Nicholas Meyer. In addition to getting an update on his Star Trek: Khan – Ceti Alpha V audio drama podcast ( see previous article ) TrekMovie had a chance to talk to Nick in depth about the making of Star Trek II , why it endures, Trek’s connections to Sherlock Holmes (including his new novel Sherlock Holmes and the Telegram from Hell ) and much more.

After 42 years, are you no longer surprised that we’re still talking about Wrath of Khan ?

No, I’m surprised. Artists are not the best judges of their own work. We also know that art goes in and out of fashion. Things may be considered deathless at one time, and then they vanish into obscurity, or the reverse is true. Le Sacre du printemps [ The Rite of Spring ] created a riot when it premiered in 1913 and less than 30 years later, it’s the soundtrack to Fantasia , and nobody finds anything wrong with it… So when you ask me about The Wrath of Khan , I am pleasantly flabbergasted every day that that movie is still around and giving pleasure and moving people. That’s beyond anything that I could have ever anticipated.

As you note, the art of movies has changed over the last four decades. So what do you see as the enduring qualities of Star Trek II that work with modern audiences?

I’ll answer you in a different way. I have a theory which may be slightly counterintuitive to what I was saying a minute ago. And don’t take this the wrong way as sort of self-inflating, but I think all great art has one thing in common, and that’s the “great” part it. The fact that it does stand the test of time, that it does not grow old, but at the end, things that are terrific always seem to come back. Bach has never gone out of fashion. Shakespeare has never gone out of fashion. I don’t compare myself to Shakespeare. I don’t compare myself to Bach, but I suspect that there are some timeless qualities involved in Khan and I can’t say I was aware of what they were or even of putting them there, but it’s just like the dog whistle or something. It landed on a frequency that no one seems to be able to resist. I can only be happy that I was part of it.

The movie has become so iconic, it even got a nice nod in the new movie Deadpool & Wolverine – a quick homage to the Spock death scene. Had you heard about that?

[Laughs] No. That’s nice to hear.

Khan Noonien Sigh is held up as one of cinema’s greatest villains, yet he and the hero – Kirk – are never in the same room together. When you were making the film, was that ever a concern? 

Well, I don’t know how good I am at analyzing my own stuff. I do know that they wanted to have a mano a mano, a fight between Kirk and Khan. And I said, “Well, they tried that in ‘Space Seed’ and it looked phony and stupid to me.” Khan is a superman. Kirk wouldn’t stand a chance against him. It just seemed kind of corny… So I resisted the idea of this mano a mano shootout, or whatever it was supposed to be, in favor of cribbing from one of my favorite movies, The Enemy Below which is a World War II duel between a destroyer and a U-boat, and Robert Mitchum, who’s the captain of the destroyer, and Curd Jürgens, who is the captain of the U-boat, they never meet. It’s just their weapons that meet.

Nicholas Meyer on Star Trek II set with Ricardo Montalban (Paramount Pictures)

For the Fine Arts movie marathon, they are showing the Trek movies in 70 millimeter. How do you feel your Star Trek movies benefit from the big screen experience?

I think movies are more fun when they’re big. I think we go to the movies, I go to the movies to sort of lose myself in something that is larger than me, not smaller. And even if I have wide screen in my house, it isn’t as much fun as having the popcorn and sitting with a lot of people. You don’t know them, they don’t know you, and you are having an experience that is simultaneously personal and intimate, but also collective. And you are looking at what is larger than life, and 70 mil is definitely larger than life! That’s the fun of it.

Let’s go back to 1982, what was it like when you first saw Khan on a big screen with an audience? Were you nervous, excited? All of that?

Well, I was exhausted by that time because the amount of delays in getting the movie going. As you may already know, I wrote what became the screenplay of the movie in 12 days, We were so far behind. There wasn’t time to draw up contracts. And I said to Harve [Bennett] and Bob Sallin, his co producer, “Look, if you want the movie, we got to make up our minds now.” We had five other screenplays which had no relationship to each other… and ILM, which was the special effects house, said they couldn’t guarantee delivery of the shots in time for the June opening, unless they had it within 12 days. This was only the second movie I directed, and I said, “What June opening? … You booked the movie into theaters, and there’s no movie?” And they said, “Well, I that’s the way it’s always done.” New one on me, but then everything was a new one on me. So it was all done at a breakneck pace. I was shooting in the day and editing all night. The first screening was at what’s now called the Sherry Lansing Theater at Paramount, which is their little theater which held about 400 people. We had no idea how this thing was going to play, and it went through the roof.

Was that just Paramount people?

No. People roped up. It was the first – That’s my recollection. I’ve discovered that my memory is good, but it’s not perfect. For example, people asked me for years have what was my interaction with Gene Roddenberry. And I said, well, you met him. You had to shake his hand and so forth, but he wasn’t part of making the movie, which was certainly true. But when I went back to my alma mater, the University of Iowa in Iowa City, I went to the library where they have all my papers, and I was stunned to see an exchange of memoranda between me and Gene Roddenberry that I had totally blocked out. Once I read them, I understand why I blocked them. It was very toxic, very venomous. He hated the script. I guess I didn’t know any better, so I was intemperate. I responded intemperately. And I had just blocked all memory of this.

So my memory is not perfect, but my memory tells me that it was a general audience. It was not Paramount people who were at that. What I remember is the reconciliation scene between Kirk and his son received applause. And I had argued with some of the executives about that scene and insisted that it remain. After the screening was over, I saw one of these execs, and he said, “Yeah, yeah, I know what I’m supposed to say, but I still don’t think it works.” And I remembered saying, “Well, it doesn’t matter what you think, just what they think, we’re of it now.” So the scene stays in. I think a lot of fathers and sons connect to this movie, because it is about fathers and sons, among the other things that it’s about.

Speaking of sons, Wrath of Khan is in a double bill with For The Love of Spock with Adam Nimoy speaking. Can you talk a little bit about working with Leonard Nimoy and the importance of his contribution to Star Trek II ?

Well, I’m not sure quite how to answer that question. What I can remember about Leonard on this movie, and I worked with him three times because I did [ Star Trek ] II , IV (as a writer), and VI . And Leonard didn’t want to do [ Wrath of Khan ]. He did the movie because Harve Bennett promised him a great death scene, which I then had to write. So I remember that very vividly. I also remember I never had to direct Leonard as Spock. He knew cold what that was all about. I worked a lot with Ricardo Montalban, who was a very great actor, but he said to me, “I don’t know what I’m doing up there, so, help me.”… And I directed Bill [Shatner]. But I did not direct Leonard. He didn’t need it. He just knew. He paid me a great compliment. He said I knew how to write Spock. In a way, I sort of modeled it a lot on Sherlock Holmes. And I write Sherlock Holmes novels. And if you know how to write Sherlock, then you’ll know how to write Spock because they’re very similar. And in fact, in Star Trek VI , I had Spock claim descent from Sherlock.

Director Nicholas Meyer on the Star Trek II set with Leonard Nimoy (Paramount Pictures)

You happen to have a brand-new Holmes book, Sherlock Holmes and the Telegram from Hell . For for this one you are moving the action into World War I era, what can readers expect?

Well, Holmes and Watson, who are no longer young – Holmes is 66 – are dispatched to America. They have to cross the Atlantic and dodge German U-boats, because Holmes has learned that there is a German plan to defeat England. Remember that America is not in the war as of 1916 and there is a German plan to win the war in 12 weeks and it involves starving England by blockading the island with a submarine fleet. But they don’t know the details of the plan, and they are dispatched to America in search of a mysterious coded telegram that was routed through the German Embassy in Washington. And the telegram was sent by German Foreign Minister Zimmermann, and there’s actually two non-fiction books about it, because most of this whole novel is all true. I didn’t have to make up much.

This year marks the 50 th anniversary of your first Holmes novel. This is now your sixth, what keeps bringing you back to Holmes?

And I just fished writing the seventh!… Well, I only write them when I get an idea that seems to be worthy of a Holmes story. I have gone 20 years without writing one. 1974 was The Seven-Per-Cent Solution –where Sherlock meets Sigmund Freud and undergoes a cocaine withdrawal cure. The second one, which was written very shortly thereafter, because they said, “Oh, this was such a hit.” It was 40 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. So I did The West End Horror , which was Holmes in the theater world. And that was a best seller in 1976. And then I was doing movies, but in 1992 a movie deal that I had been working on for a year fell apart, and I had to make money. So I did The Canary Trainer , which is Sherlock Holmes and the Phantom of the Opera. And then I didn’t do anything for another bunch of years, until I became interested in the most famous and vicious hoax of all time, the “ Protocols of the Elders of Zion ,” which people like Vladimir Putin are still fond of quoting, and that’s the hoax that was put out about the minutes of a secret meeting of Jews plotting to take over the world. And that was like 10 years just thinking about that [for The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols ]. After that was Holmes in Egypt in 1911 and that’s called The Return of the Pharaoh .

You talked about blocking out your exchanges with Roddenberry. Do you ever envision what it would have been like to have exchanges with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?  

You know, it’s very seldom that I’m asked a question I’ve never heard before, and you just asked it. And the answer comes instantly to mind, because when the American actor William Gillette bought the rights to turn Sherlock Holmes into a play, he sent telegram to to Doyle for his adaptation and said, “May I marry Holmes?,” meaning have him get married in the in in the play. Doyle cabled back, “You may marry him, or murder him, or do what you like with him.” Doyle had very ambivalent relations with Sherlock Holmes. He tried at least twice to kill him off… but even on some unconscious level, he must have felt ambivalent about killing him, because they never produced the body. And so when Holmes comes back, it’s like, “Yes, I didn’t wind up in the in the waterfall.”

Doyle identified with him, for sure. Holmes and Doyle bank at the same bank, and they’re offered knighthoods in the same year. Doyle wanted to turn his down because he thought it would make him an establishment patsy, but his mother said he had to accept as to not offend the crown. Holmes turns his down without a backward glance. So, I think Doyle wouldn’t care. He said about Holmes, “He takes my mind from better things.”…  Artists frequently get pissed off because they’re recognized for the wrong thing. In my obituary, upcoming, is it going to say “Star Trek” and how do I feel about that? And the answer is: I’m happy if I’m remembered for something. So I’m not going to bitch and moan that these movies seem to have made a lot of people happy. I think that’s great. That’s the point of art, is you’re supposed to make people laugh and or cry, preferably both. And if I’ve done that, I feel lucky.

New Holmes book and tour

Nicholas Meyer’s sixth Sherlock Holmes novel Sherlock Holmes and the Telegram from Hell arrived on Tuesday, August 27, kicking off a nationwide book tour where he will be doing readings from the book along with discussions. The thirteen-stop takes him to cities across the USA, returning to LA for an event on Monday, September 30th. More details at nicholas-meyer.com .

Sherlock Holmes and the Telegram from Hell is available now at Amazon in hardcover, Kindle eBook, Audio CD, and Audible .

Meyer at Labor Day weekend 70MM TOS movies marathon in Beverly Hills

Nicholas Meyer will be one of the Star Trek vets appearing during a special Star Trek screening series at the historic Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills, CA. They will be showing the TOS era movies in Super 70MM starting on Friday, August 30st, wrapping up on Sunday, September 1st. Other luminaries lined up for the event include actresses Robin Curtis (Saavik) and Catherine Hicks (Dr. Gillian Taylor), executive producer Ralph Winter, producer Steven-Charles Jaffe and composer Cliff Eidelman. Leonard Nimoy’s son will also appear to discuss his film For the Love of Spock .

Tickets are available on the Fine Arts Theatre website, fineartstheatrebh.com and on the Fine Arts App available on Google Play Store and the Apple App store, as well as at fandango.com and  atomtickets.com. Free Parking is available at the Beverly Hills City Garage, 321 South La Cienega Boulevard.

Keep up with news for the  Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com .

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Ceti Alpha V

Exclusive: ‘Star Trek: Khan – Ceti Alpha V’ Audio Drama Podcast Is Currently Casting

Very nice interview!

Morbidly curious to see that intemperate correspondence now…

Great interview with the man who saved Star Trek! Khan is easily in the top 20 scifi films of all time.

You just cannot diminish the huge contribution Nicholas Meyer made to Star Trek, a property he wasn’t even into initially. Leonard Nimoy credited Meyer as the guy who saved ST because if TWOK failed, that would’ve most likely been it.

Good interview although I was curious to see if Meyer had any opinion on Khan as seen in Into Darkness or as a child as seen in Strange New Worlds. I was hoping that question would of been asked. (SNW more so]

He did speak about it.

“It is, on the one hand, nice to be so successful or beloved or however you want to describe it that somebody wants to do an homage to what you did and I was flattered and touched,” Meyer says. “But in my sort of artistic worldview, if you’re going to do an homage you have to add something. You have to put another layer on it, and they didn’t. Just by putting the same words in different characters’ mouths didn’t add up to anything, and if you have someone dying in one scene and sort of being resurrected immediately after there’s no real drama going on. It just becomes a gimmick or gimmicky, and that’s what I found it to be ultimately. This is just one person’s opinion, mine…but I found it more clever than satisfying.”

That’s must have been painful to JJ Abrams if he heard it, since Meyer knew him as a kid and I think Abrams has a lot of respect for Meyer.

I really liked Into Darkness, but I don’t think Abrams played fair with the audience regarding the whole John Harrison is Khan reveal. If you’re going to do Khan, then do Khan. Get an actor who resembles Montablan and don’t hide it. I just think that was a mistake.

And, yeah, the Khan blood bringing Kirk back to life is probably too deux ex machina. I know Khan probably heals fast, but isn’t that a little extreme after Kirk was irradiated? Whatever. I still really liked the film.

i think JJ wouldnt be pained… it’s art and opinion and hollywood moves fast… you just get over it and move on. he’s made like 50 tv and movie projects since then. professionals don’t obsess over this stuff like some fans do.

clearly meyer is haunted by the words between him and roddenberry… i went to 50th anni screenings of the films and he came for khan or the whales and he talked about the relationship between him and roddenberry… he really looked haunted and embarassed as he talked about it. sounded awful. like a young punk hurting an old guy but who’s now old himself and realizes what the old guy was feeling back then.

I’d love to know what Meyer thought of Kahn as the poor guy trying to get his family back from the evil Starfleet Admiral. There is just no parallel with TWOK there in my humble opinion. Now imagine if we got Into Darkness where a desperate starfleet facing the Klingons and Romulans post Vulcan recruit Kahn for strategy only to be manipulated to his ends?

Still made the best Star Trek movie out there nearly 40 years later. Pretty incredible.

I feel for Meyer in that he saw some magic in Trek you can see in the movies that Roddenbery basically wanted to bury Horatio Hornblower in Space, “Wagon Train to the Stars”, the Enterprise as having to represent the Federation as the only ship in the quadrant, Saavik and David Marcus as “a new generation”, starships as capital ships that aren’t a dime a dozen, the Federation as NATO in IV, even small things like the Romulans as Vulcans (in VI you have a Romulan that looks like a Vulcan, I don’t know WTF happened with the Romulans in TNG).. all this epicness that was in TOS that pretty much 60’s Roddenbery came up with (in his writer guide they compare Captain Kirk as the Captain of a modern day US destroyer in Vietnam) that ended up being rejected by the prophet Roddenbery of the 70s. I figure either Roddenbery knew he’d eventually get nailed by the Me Too movement and thus had to sell his soul or he just enjoyed being seen as a grand visionary vs. an action/adventure TV producer. I love stories of Meyer wanting the bridge to be full of activity, corridors to be smaller, buttons/clocks, more functional, etc. All moorings clear, etc.And he was not afraid of conflict and grey areas. I think TWOK works because Meyer got Trek better than visionary Roddenbery and the long decline in Trek we’ve since since was the result of Meyer (and TOS Trek) slowly giving way to the cartoon visionary. Centuries from now though I think Trek will be remembered for TWOK where as Season One TNG will be long forgotten as dull, boring and lifeless at worst, a good setup for the comedy Lower Decks at best (and of course some great stuff where Picard is compromised by the Borg, that really saved TNG). Perfect people with free energy, thousands of starships and no conflict isn’t just hard to relate to – it’s boring.DS9 fixed that up a bit, but we ended up with starships being on par with star wars snub fighters. Really arguable but I think Trek would have done better in the long run had Spock stayed dead, Saavik been allowed to emerge as a Romulan/Vulcan hybrid with her and David Marcus, Sulu and the Excelsior, etc. setting up the next generation. Also the Enterprise-A should have looked like the Enterprise we got in Picard S3 or an Excelsior. ST III, while part of the awesome Genesis arc, resulted in TWOK ending up peak Trek (detoothing the Klingons making them Romulans was a huge mistake too IMHO). See the DC Comics at the time as a hint of what could have been.

‘7% solution’ also a darn good holmes/watson film