Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan has been, and likely always shall be, every Trekkers' favorite movie in the franchise. And now the man behind it – as well as a key contributor to two other popular films featuring the original Trek crew – has signed on to be part of Bryan Fuller's new Star Trek series for CBS All-Access.
Nicholas Meyer co-wrote and directed Wrath of Khan, filled the same roles on Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, and co-wrote the screenplay for the hugely popular Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Today, Fuller announced that Meyer will be a writer/producer on the new series:
https://twitter.com/BryanFuller/status/703316565555412992
“Nicholas Meyer chased Kirk and Khan 'round the Mutara Nebula and 'round Genesis' flames,” Fuller wrote, “he saved the whale with the Enterprise and its crew, and waged war and peace between Klingons and the Federation. We are thrilled to announced that one of Star Trek's greatest storytellers will be boldly returning as Nicholas Meyer beams aboard the new Trek writing staff.”
Between Fuller – who wrote for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager early in his career, and has plenty of geek cred besides (Heroes, Pushing Daisies, Hannibal) – and Meyer, the new series is two-for-two on hires that will give it instant credibility in the fan community, and make it that much more appealing for them to subscribe to All-Access, where all episodes after the first (which will air on CBS itself) will be running. As one TV writer noted, bringing Meyer on board is the Trek equivalent of J.J. Abrams hiring Lawrence Kasdan to help him write The Force Awakens. More than anyone else who's made a Trek film (including Abrams himself), Meyer understood how to balance sci-fi and technobabble with genuine human drama, and hopefully those impulses will still be sharp for this new project, whatever it winds up being.