Summary
- DS9 was never going to become a movie like its predecessor, TNG, and the cast members were never given an explanation for this decision.
- Financial reasons played a major role in the lack of a DS9 movie, as the sets for the show were extremely expensive and surpassed those of TNG.
- Despite not having a movie, the DS9 cast would have loved the opportunity to make one and reunite in live-action, but it was never even considered.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine didn't graduate into movies, and Nana Visitor, who played Colonel Kira Nerys, says the series was "never going to go" into feature films like Star Trek: The Next Generation did. DS9 was the first spinoff of TNG, but the space station-set saga starring Avery Brooks as Captain Benjamin Sisko was considered the black sheep of the 1990s Star Trek franchise. DS9 wrapped up its 7-season run in 1999, and the cast has not reunited in live-action since outside of the 2019 documentary What We Left Behind and a handful of actors voicing their characters on Star Trek: Lower Decks.
In the oral history "The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek," the chapters dedicated to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ended with a pair of brief explanations of why the show didn't jump to movies. Read what Nana Visitor had to say about why a DS9 movie never happened below:
There was no gray area – it was always, "No, it's never going to go into a movie. This is it." I never really understood why. We weren't given an explanation – that's just the way it was. So none of us expected it.
Lolita Fatjo, who was a pre-production associate and pre-production coordinator on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, says the reason there was no movie was financial. Read her quote below:
No features for Deep Space Nine, and the reason is it was just too expensive. Those sets were phenomenal. They made the TNG set look not so spectacular. It was never even considered. Believe me, that cast would have loved to have done it.
