PROJECT HAIL MARY Author Andy Weir Blasts New STAR TREK Show as “Sh*t” After Rejected Series Pitch

There’s no denying that Project Hail Mary has landed in a big way. The film adaptation of Andy Weir’s novel is crushing it at the box office, pulling in the strongest opening weekend of 2026 so far.

Between this and the massive success of The Martian, Weir has cemented himself as one of the most exciting voices in modern sci-fi. With sequel chatter already heating up and Artemis waiting in the wings, the guy is on a serious roll.

But while Weir thrives creating his own sci-fi worlds, it turns out he once tried stepping into one of the most iconic universes ever created with Star Trek, and let’s just say… it didn’t go the way he hoped.

During an appearance on the Critical Drinker podcast hosted by Will Jordan, Weir revealed that he actually pitched his own Star Trek series to Paramount. Not only that, he got pretty far into the process, even sitting down with franchise architect Alex Kurtzman and the team behind the current slate of shows.

It didn’t pan out, and Weir didn’t hold back when talking about it:

“I pitched a Star Trek show to Paramount and I was in Zoom with the showrunners with all the shows and spent a lot of time talking to [executive producer Alex Kurtzman].

“I don’t like a lot of the new Trek. He, as a person, is a really nice guy. But at the same time, those shows are shit. He is a nice guy. But they didn’t accept my pitch so, you know, f*ck ’em.”

Yeah… that’s about as blunt as it gets.

For context, Star Trek has gone through multiple eras. It started with Star Trek: The Original Series back in the ‘60s before evolving into fan-favorite entries like Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise.

The modern era kicked off with Star Trek: Discovery in 2017, which opened the door for newer shows like Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.

That newer batch has sparked a lot of debate among fans, and Weir’s take lands right in the middle of that ongoing conversation. When Jordan suggested wiping everything from Enterprise onward out of canon, Weir didn’t fully agree but still made his stance clear:

“Okay, you’re a little more severe than I am. I’ll give you my opinion and I’m just a consumer. I like Strange New Worlds. I think it’s pretty good. I didn’t hate Enterprise. I thought it was kind of weird. Lower Decks I thought was entertaining and fun. All the others, they can go."

He also echoed a criticism that’s been floating around fandom circles for years, pointing out how strange it is that modern Star Trek doesn’t seem to reflect the very influence it once had on the genre:

"I wish I could remember who it was who said it, some analyst — he said something like: ‘All modern science fiction TV shows and movies have been heavily influenced by the original Star Trek — except for the current batch of Star Trek shows.'”

And when it came to Starfleet Academy getting the axe, he didn’t sound disappointed:

“It’s gone baby! It’s all gone.”

Of course, the current era of Star Trek has been a lightning rod for discussion. Some fans argue the newer shows lean too heavily into social commentary, while others point out that Star Trek has always pushed boundaries.

The original series famously featured one of TV’s first interracial kisses between Captain Kirk, played by William Shatner, and Uhura, played by Nichelle Nichols, which was groundbreaking at the time.

So yeah, this debate isn’t new, but voices like Weir’s definitely add fuel to the fire.

As it stands, Star Trek still has a couple seasons of Strange New Worlds on the horizon, along with the final season of Starfleet Academy. Beyond that, things are a bit unclear. The franchise isn’t going anywhere, but what it looks like next is anyone’s guess.

Meanwhile, Weir is busy dominating sci-fi on his own terms. And after the success of Project Hail Mary, it’s hard not to wonder what his version of Star Trek might’ve looked like if Paramount had said yes.

One thing’s for sure, it probably would’ve been a wild ride.