We seriously missed out on Noah Hawley's Star Trek

Star Trek was on the verge of something unique with Noah Hawley at the helm. Originally brought in after the failings of Star Trek: Beyond, Hawley was given the reigns to create a new Star Trek film. Everything seemed to be going fine to boot, yet eventually, executives at Paramount didn't like how "original" his idea was and took the project away from him.

We're still left a little uncertain about the premise of the film, but there were rumors that it would feature a brand new cast of characters. That may have been a tough enough sell, but apparently another major obstacle for him to get past was the alleged storyline. It would feature a virus that carved it's way through the Federation.

As this was either pitched right before, during, or after the COVID-19 pandemic, that angle was always going to be a hard sell. The plot had many of us wondering if Hawley was the right man for the job. We still have a question, but after years of JJ Abrams and Alex Kurtzman, anyone would be better.

Still, it was all a hard idea to sell. Then we heard who Hawley had lined up had he gotten his film; Cate Blanchett and Rami Malek. He was one of the most talented individuals he could land. Whether as the captain and commander, hero or villain, or romantic coupling, the pair would've been huge gets for the franchise.

Malek especially has really captivated fans with his broad range of character work, while Blanchett can monologue with the best of them.

We're not overly impressed with the story idea for the now-canceled film, but Hawley's ability to land major names has us regretting what could've been. If he could land those two, he likely could've had a who's who of stars in his film. If you're going with a wholly original story, with no returning characters, that's the kind of thing you'd need. Some of the best actors and actresses in Hollywood stepped in to bring an original story and original characters to life.