'Star Trek' Fan Invited To Pitch 'Star Trek Uncharted' TV Series To Paramount

In what would likely be a dream come true for any Trekkie out there, Paramount Pictures has made the unprecedented move to invite Star Trek fan Michael Gummelt to pitch a new TV series that could allow him to boldly go where no fan as gone before.

Gummelt isn't an entertainment industry professional or anything like that, which makes this all the more incredible. But he has a thoroughly thought-out pitch for a new TV series called Star Trek Uncharted, formerly known as Star Trek Beyond, which would bring Star Trek into the 21st century, complete with an all-new crew, new technology, and a new Enterprise.

Find out more about Star Trek Uncharted after the jump!

Gummelt recently revealed this incredible opportunity at his official website, saying:

"I can now officially announce that I do, indeed, have an invitation to come pitch Star Trek Uncharted at Paramount this summer! As far as I know, this is the first time a fan (not an established industry insider) has been invited to pitch a Star Trek TV series. This is, obviously, extremely exciting and I'm doing my best to get support for it from industry professionals. One of my concept cast members has read the script and expressed interest in supporting it, which is fantastic!"

There's a lot of information at Gummelt's official website for his fan concept Star Trek Uncharted, but here's the basic plot description of the series, along with the mission of the new Enterprise:

A mysterious signal is received from the Andromeda Galaxy, claiming to be from the creators of life in the Milky Way, and inviting us to come meet them.

A new "space folding" technology developed– a Hyperwarp Gate constructed to warp jump 2.5 million light years to the Andromeda Galaxy.

Probes have returned successfully with data about Andromeda.

A new USS Enterprise is built. It is the first ship to bear the name since the original Enterprise was destroyed in the Galactic War.

The Enterprise is the first ship assigned to the new galaxy. Its Mission:

The Enterprise will occasionally return to Milky Way for staffing changes, refits, extended leave.

Meanwhile, Starbase A-1 is being built, will be complete at end of first year and two more ships will join the expedition. Admiral Oviedo San Lagos will be the commander of Starbase A-1.

Sounds like a pretty solid way to reinvent Star Trek for new audiences. If you go check out the Star Trek Uncharted website, Gummelt also has an entire list of main characters, detailed rather extensively. And there's even hypothetical casting for each character, including the likes of Scott Eastwood, Jay Baruchel and Natalie Portman. That sounds a little ambitious for a TV series, but this could also just serve as an example of the look that Gummelt envisions for each character.

This may be the first time that any non-industry professional fan has been allowed to make a real pitch to a studio, but it's likely a very rare occurrence that won't become a new trend. More often than not, fan-fiction and fan pitches for shows are pretty terrible. But there are plenty of gifted, passionate fans out there who have good ideas for the properties they love, and it's very cool to see someone like Gummelt at least get a chance to see his dream realized.

TrekMovie.com caught up with Gummelt who explained how this all came about:

"I think when the rumors of the naming coincidence came out, Paramount saw my website and the passion I had for Star Trek and the idea of it returning to TV, and for my specific concept. I think they felt I would gladly jump at an opportunity to come in and pitch it... which, of course, I did! I'm not under any illusions about my chances (and I realize CBS has the rights to produce any new Star Trek TV series), but it's a chance of a lifetime and I have nothing to lose. I have a great job and a great life, so why not take the chance?"

The creator also explained how he sees his idea, explaining that this isn't a reboot, and in his mind, it wouldn't have any ties to the original franchise or timeline, at least to begin with. Gummelt says:

"This concept has gone through a lot of different incarnations over the past 20 years since I first started working on it. But the way I look at it now is: it should, first and foremost, be a show that can stand on its own. It shouldn't rely too heavily on any deep, intimate knowledge of every past Trek show and movie. It would be very tempting to put in all sorts of references and trivia that only fans like me would get. But for Trek to return to TV after so long, it needs to be reinvented for a new generation. Not a reboot, that's already being done in the movies.

What I want for this series is for it to be the future – a Star Trek TV series that feels modern and feels futuristic relative to our current times. So, as I see it, "Star Trek Uncharted" is set sometime in the future, distant enough that it doesn't really matter which universe it takes place in. It's universe-agnostic. In my fantasy world where the series actually gets made, it would need to establish itself as its own show, with its own identity. Only once it's accomplished that would it need to establish its place in the lore. In any case, I imagine it would be up to Paramount, CBS and Bad Robot to decide if they wanted to use it as a "shared universe" show along the lines of Agents of SHIELD."

Gummelt changed the name of his project to Star Trek Uncharted after the rumored title for Star Trek 3 was said to be Star Trek Beyond. Thankfully the new title isn't worse than the original name, so Gummelt lucked out there.

If you really want to dive into this whole pitch that Gummelt has for a new Star Trek TV series, it's imperative that you check out the Star Trek Uncharted website. It's crafted by a hardcore Star Trek fan, and it really seems to have the spirit of the kind of show Trekkies would like to see, and it offers something modern and new for audiences who may not be familiar with the deep, rich mythology of the iconic sci-fi franchise.

No matter what happens, I think it's clear that Paramount and CBS need to figure out how to do a new Star Trek TV series sooner than later, because fans are hungry for more than the rebooted film franchise. Rumors were being kicked around back in March that CBS might make it happen, but we haven't heard anything yet. Next year is the 50th anniversary of the original series, so that would be the perfect time to make an announcement. Stay tuned.

Are you dying for a new Star Trek TV series? Would you like to see Star Trek Uncharted become a reality?