Yesterday, Internet nerddom lit up with the new Uber Eats ad campaign with three commercials featuring Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Patrick Stewart facing off against Star Wars star Mark Hamill. In a new interview, the pair of sci-fi icons talk about the campaign and what it would be like if their franchises combined.
Stewart and Hamill on a Skywalker in Starfleet
Mark Hamill and Sir Patrick Stewart were asked by Men’s Journal how they felt about comparisons between Star Trek and Star Wars. Hamill replied first:
MH: I have to say that difference between Star Wars and Star Trek to me is that Trek is classic science fiction, with humans going out to space and encountering aliens. Star Wars was purposely set in a galaxy far, far away because it is fantasy, not science fiction. I remember a good friend that I had in the 1980s was up for a part in what was going to be a new Star Trek. I told him I was shocked they were doing another one, but he said it was going to be “this whole new thing.” I said good luck at the time, because the show was already so iconic that redoing it without Spock and Kirk seemed crazy. That friend was Brent Spiner, who not only got the part and had a wonderful career playing Data but proved me wrong as far as the ability to take the series and make it their own.
I have been asked on multiple occasions about a rivalry between Star Wars and Star Trek, but I have to say I feel like it is really apples and oranges. You can like either or both, or none of them. That is why this campaign struck me as funny, because I knew what they were doing pitting us up against each other.
For his part, Stewart didn’t see a rivalry, but a potential union:
PS: I will admit that, at least for us on Star Trek, we have fantasied about a combined universe between Star Wars and Trek movie. There have been a lot of ideas thrown about on putting together two iconic universes and having all of these great characters coming into contact. I would personally get such a kick out of that.
Fan art of Luke Skywalker as Starfleet officer (DeviantArt: BrandTK)
Stewart and Hamill went on to talk about what it would be like for Captain Picard and Luke Skywalker to meet:
PS: I would think that Picard would want Skywalker on his crew, but would be sure to keep a careful eye on him. Because he has a few personality traits that Picard might want to keep tabs on.
MH: [Laughs] I think Luke would very much respect Picard and the Starfleet force as a whole. The Rebel Alliance that he is a part of is much less organized, and would be put to shame as far as execution by what he would see on the Enterprise. I also believe Luke is a lifelong student, despite the fact he becomes a Jedi Master, and I think he would have a lot to learn from Picard.
According to Adweek, Stewart and Hamill filmed the spots in a warehouse in downtown Los Angeles in August. The production had to take “extra precautions” to deal with social distancing due to the coronavirus as well as wildfires. COVID-19 testing was required for those on set.
The Uber Eats online and TV campaign will will run in the USA, Canada, and Australia. There will also be a print campaign with the tagline “Tonight, I’ll be eating better than him.”
Stewart and Hamill in new Uber Eats campaign
Star Wars and Star Trek
While an official crossover of the two big Star franchises is almost certainly never going to happen, both franchises have referred to the other via Easter eggs. This leaves the crossing over to the Internet, which is where you can find this popular College Humor animation from 2015.
Keep up with all the Star Trek Great Links at TrekMovie.com.
I hope this never happens.
It never will.
Here’s hoping Disney never buys Paramount
This Trekkie and Star Woid (“Star Wars” fan) agrees.
It won’t, but if it does, so what?
Yeah, I’d be a whole lot of fun.
And I’d just hate that.
I said the same thing about trump.
Be gone, troll.
Sightings of R2D2 in the Kelvin universe. The Millennium Falcon present at the battle of Sol in First Contact. Scotty stealing the Millennium Falcon after taking a severe allergic reaction to a “one quarter portion” on Jakku… a Star Wars, Star Trek crossover movie has been in the works for years
Cute Easter egg homages and an actual crossover are two very different things, though.
Darth Vader’s tombstone in “Sub Rosa”…
How sure are we it wasn’t his candle?
^ Bev would have hit that, too!
The force is strong in her….
God bless him for the enthusiasm, but HOW????
easy… if trek can blip into the mirror universe and worfs multiverses and we never leave our galaxy the you can have them end up in the star wars galaxy from the traveler or q or any number of magic aliens… it’s centuries later… everything is dead… they find relics… then time travel and they end up back in time during one of the time periods… or ghost luc visits picard when they are in their galaxy and sends picard on a mission to save them and makes things right… blah blah blah… not gonna happen but it’s totally doable and no dumber than a ton of things done on trk
🤦♀️🤦♂️
Facepalm for the actor who mainstreamed them, and for you tom riker.
The College Humour folks get it. Let’s hope the folks at Paramount take that in.
It would be a joy of they could stop wanting to imitate and instead appreciate the uniqueness of what they have.
dude its all a joke lighten up… no one’s taking it seriously… trek fans used to have a sense of humor
Let’s just say that the joke wasn’t apparent tom.
The thing is that one of the main vulnerabilities of the Trek franchise has been various leads (producers, creatives, talent) trying to either make it into the “hot new thing” or to overcompensate for fan complaints by coming up with a series that recapture a successful past Trek format.
This is the kind of uniformed Trek-illiterate imitation that led to Nemesis, and some of the struggles that Voyager and Enterprise faced when they tried to find their niche. So yes, it’s the kind of thing that I don’t have too much humour about.
True, every series of Trek has mixed in a taste of other genres and franchises (horror, mystery, Shakespearean theatre, action movies, comedy), but it’s worked best when the writers and actors ground it in their own Trek universe. Lower Decks succeeds for me and our household because it’s deeply Trek-literate. When it plays with Trek tropes and themes, we and the writers are in on it together.
At this point, with ViacomCBS seemingly increasingly dominated by Paramount, I am concerned that this kind of capricious “wannabe something else” will damage Trek just as the franchise is taking off again on the television side. I really do hope that the new head on the movie side continues to hang tough until she’s convinced that a Trek movie project is on-brand.
One of the things that I really appreciate about Alex Kurtzman is that, while he wasn’t originally a fan of Trek as a teen, as a writer and franchise lead he has clearly been doing the work to really understand what the franchise brand is and isn’t. He’s articulating that brand unapologetically.
He’s also trying to map out an array of Trek products that are first of all true to Trek, but also cover off the stylistic differences that appeal to different audiences. Strategically, Kurtzman is bloody brilliant.
More, he’s recruited and attracted a broad swath of talent that are Trek-literate and he’s letting them take risks and experiment. Yes, there have been “failures” and the usual Trek series teething pains, but Kurtzman has demonstrated a third great quality of analyzing failure and moving forward.
I’m sure that this is absolutely more of a response than you were looking for. Let’s just say that after the infamous “dune buggy” chase in Nemesis, Sir Patrick’s “fun ideas” are met by many with a hearty dose skepticism and little inclination to indulge him.
I think you just proved his point about Trek fans being humorless
No one is taking this whimsical concept seriously. Have fun with it or don’t. No need to critique everything.
Arathorn, the thing is, I don’t critique everything.
Sound like you haven’t seen my posts defending the humour in Lower decks. It’s full of informed whimsy, and I love it.
I tend to be criticized here for either being too positive or too critical depending on the opinions of others. So, on balance, balanced.
I will admit to too analytical though: I doubt that’s going to change at my age.
Agreed. It’s very, very clearly a joke.
Had?
Sorry. All those ideas sound horrendous. No knock on you, just saying that they sound totally unwatchable. The most interesting crossover idea i saw was a comic from a short awhile ago that had Indiana Jones finding the falcon buried somewhere in 1940s US. Han piloted the falcon into a wormhole (…or something) and they crashed on Earth 100 years earlier and were attacked by Native Americans. Indy finds Han’s skeleton and Chewie turns out to be Bigfoot. It was a super cool and clever way to do it, buy it works as a 25 page comic book. I would not sit through a whole movie of that.
like half of trek… it’s all nonsense. no one can have fun anymore
Come on, the crappiest Trek movie ever, Generations, gave is the Nexus, allowing you to go wherever the hell you wanted. Past. Future. Alternative future. Alternative past. Make it so….
i hated what they did with the nexus… but like most poorly done ideas the idea itself a doorway a rip in space that moves where you can enter this other magical universe is kinda cool… but geeze… picard could travel back to any time he wanted and just gives himself a few seconds to fight that bad guy? kirk could have dreamed back his son which was such major impact and loss for him in half the movies. but no he dreams of a hot chick or something. yeah the really stank that one up.
Chronometric particles are a very close second. Cheap ass plot devices abound in Trek, unfortunately. Further, Enterprise E used them to move forward in time. It’s all canon (and nonsense) now, so, hey, the possibilities are endless.
Why is any of this necessary? Star Trek has the holodeck/holosuite. There is nothing saying the Star Wars franchise doesn’t exist in the Star Trek universe, too. Just have Jurati go to the holodeck and say “Computer, run Star Wars Episode 11” which of course promptly malfunctions, forcing Picard, Rios, and Seven to go in to rescue her.
yes – its the same approach that gave us the Star Trek / Sherlock Holmes crossover episodes, Star Trek / Beowulf, Star Trek / Robin Hood, etc etc.
And the injuction from the Conan Boyle estate that prevented TNG from making Data playing Holmes episodes until it was settle.
I would love to see the Enterprise, in all her iconic glory, suddenly finding herself facing a Star Destroyer coming out of hyperspace… and of course blasting it to oblivion, because we all know Starfleet shields can widthstand turbolasers whereas Imperial shields would buckle facing quantum torpedoes!
That, and for the technological glory that is the Empire, fire control computers just seemed to evade them for some reason.
Seeing the turbo-lasers being aimed manually always baffled me.
no need to waste torpedoes, just beam the entire imperial crew to a point 1 km away
Set phasers to tickle. Don’t waste power now….
My calendar says September, but it must be April 1st.
Given we now have animated sitcom cartoons, we might as well go full bore on lowering our standards to do this.
Heck, Jar Jar Binks would be perfect for Lower Decks.
Jar Jar would be in the Pakled fleet, not Starfleet
It would be silly to do a REAL crossover…but a screwball comedy with the TNG cast with some Star Wars rival actors thrown in would be GREAT.
No, Just… no. It’s a monumentally stupid idea.
We agree on this one!
Then you’re a wise person.
Ok Rios, there have to be some things we agree on.
This is one of them.
It was bound to happen eventually. Law of averages.
It’s a couple of actors, having a chat. Relax. The possibilities….are endless.
Proof positive Stewart has lost the plot. First he thought Picard was an acceptable sequel to the shows from the 80s/90s, now he wants to crush further the unique spirit of Trek with endless dumb pew pew space battles.
I think it’s fairly clear that this is all very much tongue-in-cheek. What you might get, possibly, is something like the ET aliens making a background cameo, thus linking the two universes for those who want to see linkage.
Well, Stewart remembers Holodeck episodes like “Elementary, Dear Data” where TNG characters became Sherlock Holmes characters and “Q-Pid” where the TNG cast became Robin Hood and Co. There is no reason this can’t be done with Star Wars, assuming Disney agrees (for which there is zero chance they ever will.)
Alzheimer’s
Why is Pete Buttigieg wearing a Starfleet uniform?
In any of the above discussion items come to fruition, meesa think it only fitting that JarJar Binks be given his own command.
Sir Patrick loses some of his credibility if he honestly believes a Star Wars crossover into Star Trek is a good idea. But in reality, he’s just riffing during a stupid cheesy interview. Maybe in a comic book? That’s where that mash-up belongs.
I think by now it is plain that Patrick Stewart should not be allowed to influence storytelling. Love the guy as an actor; as a writer, he’s not one, and should be barred from pretending.
First all the comments I am seeing here are taking what Stewart said way too seriously. Come on guys do you really think this crossover is gonna happen? Secondly if they can start filming in LA again why is the second season of Picard not up and running yet?
If you were serious about your second point: This ad was probably shot in a day with only a small crew. Shooting the second season of Picard would involve a lot more people, both in terms of actors and crew. Plus, once you start, the shoot would take several months. So safety protocols would need to be a lot more complex. And still, just given the time it takes, there is a good chance somebody will bring in the virus at some point which would probably force a shutdown of the production.
I am not from the US so I don’t know if the LA area was officially opened for filming so I just assumed that when the article said that it was filmed in LA that people could begin to film there. This is why I was saying why Picard wasn’t up and running yet.
SW and ST have both jumped so many sharks that anything further of any sort from either one should be called Quantum Sharkvortex, or Sharknexus, or perhaps Sharkwormhole. Those are stupid names, and that’s the point.
It could happen if they wanted to. Picard season 2 might be preproduction right now.
Sir Stewart is only having fun in the interview. He isn’t serious.
Even if a crossover did happen it will not ever be considered an official part of the canon of either franchise, it would be an independent spoof movie or something, likely animated and produced by Disney, as they have all the money and tech wizardry to do such a production justice.
I say why not if that happened. It wouldn’t be at all have any effect on the official canon. If they released such a thing over Christmas it would be a big hit I reckon!
Get JJ Abrams to direct it. Said absolutely no one ever.
Aside from whining about lens flares, I have no problem with Abrams’s direction. The writing needed work, though. Three “angry guys bent on revenge” movies in a row. C’mon. “Force Awakens” which was an unapologetic remake of “New Hope” for the first two-thirds of the movie and then killed off Han Solo for no particular reason? Ugh.
JJ isn’t hurting for work. There are a half billion reasons why Warner won’t let it happen, though.
geez…. some comments here are like:
“Daddy said he wants to remove the moon, but I dont want daddy to remove the moon. Its bad to remove the moon”
Trekkies don’t like to have actual fun.
I think a crossover would be enormous fun! Just a like a freaking free for all party, no limits, free booze for all. How cool that would be.
I could imagine it like a TV-Special with a very comedic tone. Oh boy… why not.
Can I say SW Holiday Special?
I’m sure those that produced that said “Why not?”
SW holiday special doesn’t matter in Star Wars canon.
It shouldn’t happen
This shouldn’t happen. Star Trek and Star Wars never mix. Patrick Stewart is getting it wrong.
Keep balance in the force.
It could if handled like Captain Proton on Voyager.
Hamill and Picard as Captain Proton’s arch nemesis? And let them ad lib away? That would be either an epic fail….or just epic.
Captain Proton and Star Wars are not the same thing Thorny!
Not really, but their influences come from the same place. Both the Captain Proton stories and Star Wars was inspired by the Flash Gordon serials from the 1930s. So he kind of has a point comparing them.
George Lucas was being derivitive when JJ Abrams was still being bounced on his daddy’s knee. Agreed, Star Wars lifed heavily from the Flash Gordon serials, he also spoke of being heavily influenced by WWII combat movies, and just a bit on the disturbing side, the closing sequence is a riff on Triumph of the Will. It’s a good comparison, and Hamill and Stewart in a Captain Proton serial could be epic…..
In Captain Proton, implying but not stating their well-known franchise leading roles, would be great.
This is a sequence of Short Treks that we need.
When I was in 6th grade, in… 1979(?) I was writing a Star Trek script, but I also wrote a short story where Luke Skywalker lands his X-Wing in the shuttle bay of the Enterprise and I think there were Cylons and I think Buck Rogers. My teacher really loved me and I read it out loud in class and I know it ended with a ridiculous Twiki sex joke. And it was still OK.
There’s an ’80s Star Trek novel with a scene taking place at a remote space station which is populated by characters clearly from other franchises like Galactica, Star Wars, and Buck Rogers.
It could only happen in a book or comic.
Graphic novel. It’s not canon, so why not (other then the suits at Disney and CBS blowing a gasket over it)?
Live Long and May the Force Prosper and Be With You.
Oh no! Patrick Stewart wanting to have fun in Star Trek? Trekkies can’t have that!
THAT’S. NOT. CANON!!!
“Trek is dead! He killed it! Waaaaah!”
Paramount could sell the Movie franchise to Disney, I don’t think they are doing anything with it.
In the reunited CBS kingdom, I somehow doubt that Paramount could sell off an IP unilaterally without the mother ship’s approval.
I’m mostly being facetious, I would never expect that to happen.
Disney won’t buy Star Trek anytime soon. Disney already has Marvel and Star Wars for crying out loud. They don’t need Star Trek to make more money.
I enjoyed the Uber Eats ad.
It was fun.
Speaking of Star Trek movies that will never happen, I think future Star Trek movies will be produced under Paramount+ as streaming only releases, possibly for an additional premium. If they can spend $100 Million on a season of Star Trek, surely they can spend that or more on a feature film, perhaps spun off from one of the more successful shows.
If they can make a movie that inexpensively, why limit it to streaming?
Marketing costs and theater comissions are huge, and theater audiences are shrinking.
Okay, but I still think you’re throwing the baby out with the bath water. Beyond pulled in over $340 million worldwide, which is a lot of money for a studio to leave on the table. The problem was that it was very expensive to make, and a lot of that expense was completely unnecessary… all those CGI soldiers for Krall? The over-the-top Starbase Yorktown sequence? Paying Idris Elba and making him unrecognizable under 10 pounds of latex? Paying licensing fees for yet another Beastie Boys song? (I jest!) Paramount needs to be smarter in making Star Trek movies. I’m not saying they should go back to the days of low-budget movies like Insurrection and Nemesis, but surely they can make a good Star Trek movie for $125 million instead of $180 million, right?
That’s exactly the message Paramount has been sending. Pre pandemic, anyone who was going to step up and guarantee a finished product for 125MM (or less) would have inked a deal. That’s why Paramount is not making Trek movies now. Post pandemic probably has lowered the bar – someone wanting to make a Trek movie now is probably looking at a hard cap of 100MM. Maybe less.
And due to stricter health regulations (and insurance requirements) production costs are probably going up.
My deep respect for Sir Patrick. But his ideas for Picard are not quite the “best” ideas for his character. This Star Trek Star Wars Hybrid is a very bad idea. Just a thought, it is so uncomfortable.
I’m with you. A Star Trek Star Wars mash up can’t work.
I want this.
In a culture as degenerate as ours, all you have to ask is: would it make money? Never mind that it makes sense, that it’s artistic, that it’s about making a good story. Can it get enough people to fork over their cash? If the answer is yes, then I’m sure eventually it will be attempted. Maybe not in the current media landscape, but with covid taking a huge hit to the theater industry and the complete disruption of everything, I would not be surprised if a crossover becomes a reality within the next decade, as the media industry consolidates and eats itself and has nothing left to offer but postmodernist pastiche and homage and sequels and remakes. Only the biggest blockbuster spectacles will attract enough money to make the production worth it. And I would be one of those people paying to see it. Maybe it could be awesome, like a holodeck mashup. Most likely, it would be schlock :)
Make it so… Said no one ever!
Except there are plenty of folks saying, sure. Why not?
Disney and CBS can make it happen. But a Star Trek Star Wars crossover is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
I’m against this idea because I want Star Trek and Star Wars to stay pure. Don’t want both franchises diluting each other.
Too late, Faze. The WARS/TREK dilution happened when JJ helmed both. A crossover isn’t going to make it any more so – just more overt for those too blind to see it.
I’ll take “No. No no no.” for $2000, Alex.
It would be great to see a crossover movie.
A movie where Q hurls the Enterprise into a Star Wars flick would be extremely funny. Star Wars exists on Earth in the Star Trek timeline.
Yes, Please “Disney” Go Ahead And Make This, Film!!!
Nitpicky, but shouldn’t it be “Tonight, I’ll be eating better than *he*”, as in “better than he is eating”?
If it’s ever done, it should be done purely as a spoof comedy that self-deprecates both fandoms.
After all these millennia talking about how superior star trek tech and such but when there’s an idea of crossover trekkies immediately become insecure…it’s understandable.
Ahem, as I said, the killing off of Jim Kirk and Han Solo is a disreputable commonality between the two franchises.
I can’t imagine what might be intolerable about saying that. It’s a commonly expressed view by fans of both franchises.
Is this your way of saying that in WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE, Jim shot first?
No. Patrick, I like you, but please, no more ideas. Stick to the acting.
I don’t know, people.
In the actual first two episodes to air in its actual NBC schedule, CHARLIE X and WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE, Kirk has to confront and defeat 3 Federation citizens who’ve turned to the dark side with powers and abilities exceeding any we’ve seen a Darth Skywalker display to date. If any Skywalker’s generation Darth gets a whiff of the ramp up our Milky Way’s Galactic Barrier has to offer, it’s not a question of “if”. They are coming.
We can only hope that the Andromedean Kelvins, that Kirk helped settle here, give us far enough advanced warning of their approach.
Can you imagine Enterprise taking on the Executor? bye bye Enterprise…
Any such crossover should just be a self-deprecating one-off spoof comedy where the actors (who both enjoy a rich sense of humor) mock themselves as well as their respective fan bases and lore of their respective sci-fi worlds.
(Much like those funny UberEats advertisements.)
Ad campaign is great