IDW’s chief editor, Heather Antos, claimed that the Star Trek franchise effectively created the blueprint for shared cinematic universes like Star Wars and the MCU. IDW has been publishing a fan favorite line of comics for the past few years with the ‘God War’ line and Star Trek: Defiant. The stories have been quite popular among the fans.

The Star Trek franchise predates many of the biggest franchises at the moment. From the MCU to even the MonsterVerse, the idea of a shared universe was pioneered by Star Trek with its various crossovers and exploration of the multiverse. Antos mentioned that she believed that without the sci-fi series,there would not be an MCU or Star Wars.

While the Star Trek franchise has indeed impacted the pop culture of America and has also had some grassroots-level impact, the shows have also benefited from the wins of its successors, especially the Star Wars franchise.

The Star Trek franchise began in the ‘60s, with The Original Series, and has since turned into one of Hollywood’s biggest franchises. Still, it seems like an underrated and niche franchise compared to its contemporaries like Star Wars or its successors like the MCU. This is despite the franchise basically creating the blueprint for what franchises should look like.

Despite being canceled after its third season, Star Trek continued on through syndication, and after significant pressure from its cult following, The Animated Series was aired, with the TOS cast returning in their roles. This was the first indication for the studio that the show had franchise potential. Then came Star Wars, and the rest is history.

Even before the MCU, the Star Trek franchise tried the concept of a shared universe. Be it crossing over the TOS cast in The Next Generation or creating spinoffs from one show, Star Trek did it first and did a great job at that. The editor of IDW, which has been publishing several comics in the Star Trek universe, claimed that the MCU would not exist without the show (via AITP Comics).

Star Trek is the one that interested me the most, in part because without Star Trek, the comics industry would not be where it is today. The pop culture industry would not be where it is today. The MCU would not exist. Star Wars would not exist. Star Trek was effectively the first multiverse – the first books to movies to comics. The first fan conventions.

The impact of Star Trek on the general public in pursuing space exploration as a career and the push for diversity in organizations like NASA have their place. But Star Trek is credited with changing the movie and TV industry by pushing some boundaries in the way stories could be told.

The influence of Star Trek on the world has not been lost on anyone. Many of the tech that we have seen across shows have a real-life counterpart, with many of the inventors of said tech crediting the franchise for sparking interest in the STEM fields. Actors like Nichelle Nichols and Kate Mulgrew directly inspired women to take up jobs in the science field.

Star Trek’s cinematic blueprint has influenced contemporary franchises for sure. Star Wars would not have a ‘shoulder to stand on’ (according to George Lucas) without Star Trek, and many sci-fi franchises owe their creation to Gene Roddenberry’s show. Kevin Feige, the head of Marvel Studios, has spoken about some direct influences.

From hiring Star Trek: Picard showrunner Terry Matalas (via Inverse) for the upcoming MCU show Vision Quest to the early MCU structure being based on Star Trek movies, Feige has been vocal about the inspiration. He has also expressed his love for the movie Star Trek III: The Search for Spock multiple times over the years.

However, Star Trek is not just the pioneer of these contemporary franchises that they look up to. The success of the MCU and Star Wars has also equally impacted Star Trek. The success of George Lucas’ movies is what revived the franchise in the ‘70s and ‘80s, and now the MCU’s impact on Hollywoodas a whole has trickled down to Star Trek as well.

When a franchise can be revived and rebooted multiple times in Hollywood, it is natural to go forward with the thinking that influence is not linear and can be cyclical. There probably would not be an MCU without Star Trek, but the success of the MCU certainly helps Star Trek still be relevant and ongoing.