Why You’ll Never See a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Remaster

Star Trek fans have been asking two different questions lately: why can I still not watch Deep Space Nine in crisp HD, and what on earth is going on with the movies? Let’s hit both, because there’s a lot happening on the TV and film sides of the quadrant.

Why DS9 still isn’t remastered like TNG

Star Trek: The Next Generation made the leap to high definition years ago. Deep Space Nine did not, and there’s a very specific, very nerdy reason for that.

Back in 2013, TrekCore checked in with folks who actually built DS9’s effects, including Robert Bonchune — a former senior CG supervisor who worked across the post-TNG era shows and picked up multiple Emmys along the way. He explained that DS9’s effects were split between two shops, Digital Muse and Foundation Imaging, and the later seasons are where things get gnarly.

It is much more difficult for the last three seasons because of the combination of CG and motion control — and when there was CG, it was usually those massive, full-blown war scenes. Going back and revisiting it isn’t as simple as just hitting render.

Translation: those big Dominion War battles mixed digital ships with footage shot on motion-control rigs. To remaster that for HD, you’re not just upscaling — you’re digging up or rebuilding old 3D assets, redoing composites, and re-marrying everything with the original photography. TrekCore also flagged Voyager as facing the same kind of headache. In short, DS9 and Voyager would be expensive, time-consuming, and messy to redo properly, which is why they haven’t magically appeared in HD the way TNG did.

A quick DS9 refresher (and yes, the cast ruled)

Deep Space Nine premiered in 1993 and ran seven seasons. The ensemble is stacked: Avery Brooks (you’ve seen him in The Big Hit and American History X), Nana Visitor, Terry Farrell, and Alexander Siddig (credited on projects like Hannibal and Deliver Us) are all in the mix. Over on TNG, you’ve got the now-legendary crew led by Patrick Stewart, plus Michael Dorn and Jonathan Frakes.

The movie side: a new era, but not the one you’re expecting

On the film front, there’s movement — and it’s not what long-time Kelvin timeline fans were hoping for. In November, ComicBook.com reported that after the Skydance-Paramount merger, the studio is prioritizing new Star Trek movies. But the long-discussed fourth Kelvin film? Reportedly shelved. Instead, Paramount is steering into a different Trek project with a new cast. So yeah, sounds like it’s goodbye (for now) to Chris Pine’s Kirk, Zoe Saldana’s Uhura, Zachary Quinto’s Spock, and the rest of that crew.

Also worth noting: with the Mission: Impossible series winding down, Paramount may be looking to plant the Star Trek flag as its main event franchise again. That tracks.

Where to watch the existing Kelvin trilogy

• Star Trek (2009) — IMDb: 7.9/10, Rotten Tomatoes: 94%, streaming on Paramount+
• Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) — IMDb: 7.7/10, Rotten Tomatoes: 84%, streaming on Paramount+
• Star Trek Beyond (2016) — IMDb: 7/10, Rotten Tomatoes: 86%, streaming on Paramount+

Bottom line: DS9 in HD is still a heavy lift because of how the show mixed practical and digital effects during those war-heavy later seasons. Meanwhile, the movies are shifting into a new phase without the Kelvin cast. Not the update everyone wanted, but at least it means fresh warp trails on the horizon.