With the recent release of the third installment in the new Star Trek film series, Star Trek Beyond,  the future of the past continues to zoom into the future of the present. Even as that future continues to change around us. And just as our present vision of the future changes, so too the exploits and adventures of the crew of the USS Enterprise have changed. And that makes sense, especially when you consider the fact that this new iteration of the franchise has revolved almost entirely around time travel and alternate timelines. But if all this time talk has got your head spinning, stick with me here, it’ll all make sense.

Plus there are a lot of great pictures by a lot of talented artists to look at if it gets too complicated.

The Star Trek of the past was all about science and exploration, and a future where the human race had moved beyond our self-imposed ideas of “difference” and realized that we all benefit from working together and helping each other. Sure, there was action and adventure in there too, not to mention drama and comedy, but ultimately, Classic Star Trek was about the idea that, through unity, we could reach the stars. It was a radical idea in the 1960s.

Over the years, as tastes changed, the various Trek films and series tried to change along with them to varying degrees, but nothing quite so radical as when J.J. Abrams and company were given the keys to the Enterprise and allowed to inject it with a healthy dose of Star Wars. There’s still plenty of recognizable Star Trek in there, but this new timeline is unquestionable more about “space action” than exploration. Whether you enjoy this take or not, it’s clear the three films have given Trek a new lease on life, with new comics, games, and television shows following in the films’ wake.

When I was growing up you had to pick a side. Nintendo or Sega. Marvel or DC. Transformers or Go-Bots. Okay, that one wasn’t really much of a choice. But one of the most important young geek decisions was Wars or Trek. Thankfully, I don’t think people are quite so worried about that now, and I think it’s safe to enjoy all kinds of different types of Star Trek too. So take a look at this collection of just a small sampling of the fan art from all corners of the Star Trek Universe and enjoy it all. Gallery Viewer… Engage!

 

 

 

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