Welcome to DISTANT WORLDS, a work-in-progress...
I've made no secret of my goal to staff on a STAR TREK show, but these days the odds of that happening are... well, slimmer than getting a Royal Fizzbin.
Streaming TV is contracting. The Skydance-Paramount Merger in limbo. Paramount ending the voyages of four STAR TREK series. STRANGE NEW WORLDS warping toward the end of its five-year mission. Only one new Trek show on the horizon that's fully staffed — STARFLEET ACADEMY. No STAR TREK 4 on the slate for the reboot cast. Finally, Secret Hideout's TREK contract comes to a close soon.
Once again, the STAR TREK Franchise's long-term future is stuck in the transporter's pattern buffer, waiting to materialize.
Not to mention, I've written as much STAR TREK as I can without getting paid for it yet. And done pretty well, I think. My STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS spec "Have Phaser — Will Travel!" made it to the 2023 Austin Film Festival Finals. I wrote an original STAR TREK stunt pilot after a social media challenge from Gates "Dr. Freaking Crusher" McFadden. One that is now in her hands and was the most downloaded script on THE STUNT LIST 2024.
So STAR TREK might be outta my system and reach for the time being. But what's a screenwriting to do in the meantime?
Keep creating. Me and my writing/producing partner Hannibal Tabu have a multitude of projects on the launchpad. We got stuff coming atcha fast and furiously.
But, more importantly, to finally envision the world I want to see. To become a Gene Roddenberry or J. Michael Straczynski myself.
Becoming Gene Roddenberry... without the problematic stuff
Ever since childhood, I wanted to create my own science-fiction property. A rich universe of humans, aliens, and starships venturing out into the farthest depths of outer space. The OG STAR TREK, TNG, and BABYLON 5 stoked the flames of that dream.
BABYLON 5's Opening Titles from its pilot, "The Gathering"
I half-assed a space opera in high school about a lost alien starship retrofitted by humans, which then propelled them to the other end of the galaxy. This was right before they announced STAR TREK: VOYAGER. In college, I tried to turn that germ of a pastiche into a trilogy of books.
A few years ago, I tried for something more gritty, which asked the question: what if STAR TREK was about Lt. Uhura and not Captain Kirk? After I wrote the pilot, STAR TREK: DISCOVERY was announced and apparently Bryan Fuller asked the same question.
Nevertheless, I still wanted to create an adult space adventure with all the sophistication of a prestige contemporary drama. MAD MEN meets STAR TREK, and make it queer AF.
But what would that be?
One day, Hannibal said to me:
"You've written a lot about the world as it is, maybe it's time you write the world as you want it to see."
The World I Want to See
He was right. I no longer wanted to write a grim, militaristic space adventure. It needed to be something more hopefully, especially for the times we live in. I want to point to the horizon and say, "This is where we can go, where we must go."
With Hannibal's statement, an optimistic future of space exploration with a truly non-militarized service and a socialist "utopia in progress" percolated. Like my last effort, a question and pitch sprung to mind:
What if Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock were former lovers competing to command the first deep-space exploration starship?
It's called DISTANT WORLDS.
TOP GUN meets STAR TREK. Except the queer subtext is text.
I'm still putting it all together, but this is the one that'll change everything. Whatever final form it takes. A sophisticated adult space adventure that's unabashedly queer and me.
A love story of a Filipino starship officer and an alien from a volatile world as they compete for The Chair. They will journey to distant worlds and find themselves in what's out there.
This newsletter and site will be the place where I'll share tidbits, character bios, world-building details, and short prose set in the universe, as I create DISTANT WORLDS. I'll also share my thoughts on all things pop culture and the Industry, as well as some other projects I'm working on.
I'd love it if you gave me a subscribe in the meantime so you can stay up to date and receive emails when new content is published!