Before proceeding a clarification is needed. A “Red Flagged Rumor” is one which is covered because it has notoriety, not legitimacy. It cannot be stressed enough how spurious any rumor under this headline is and the only reason it is not labeled a “Rumor Debunking” is a lack of definitive or sufficient evidence the rumor is bunk.

The source of the latest Star Trek rumor isn’t a well established content producer with a history of successfully covering information that later panned out to be true. Rather it is an anonymous 4chan user whose rumor was picked up and covered fairly by Bounding Into Comics who stressed grain of salt in their coverage.

These rumors are highly suspect because ViacomCBS’s faith in the Secret Hideout Universe is virtually non-existent. To say matters are bad would be a near-criminal understatement. Merchandise companies outright refuse to carry anything from the Secret Hideout Universe as none of it sells. Not even in discount stores where most of it ends inevitably ends up.

On the finance side of things Netflix bailed on funding Picard and Amazon is reportedly very unhappy with the production arrangement viewing the show as a disaster. Politically inside ViacomCBS, Kurtzman, the man behind the alternative universe that was formed as a result of the rights divide between CBS and Viacom is reportedly on his way out. The faction to return to the classic universe has gained has reportedly continued to gain ground after the departure of Kurtzman’s allies. This was also covered recently in a video by Midnight Edge.

For this rumor to claim not one, but multiple shows and a movie have been greenlit and have been in some form of production that has not graced the ears of anyone with inside sources is extremely unlikely. That this would all occur while Kurtzman the man behind the alternative universe is reportedly soon to be ousted from the company is lunacy. Yet despite how improbable it all is, there is still the slimmest of chances, but keep in all the known facts in mind when reading further.

More 4chan leaks for Star Trek. If any of them are true they don’t exactly fill me with confidence. pic.twitter.com/UQytci0SAy — Angry Mr Flibble (@AngryMrFlibble) January 30, 2020

According to this rumor, two new shows are scheduled to be announced at Comic-Con this summer. Both will be serialized like Discovery and Picard, who are both close to cancellation. Starfleet Academy is set to be a drama about students similar in vibe to The Big Bang Theory. Designed to target teens, young adults, and wine moms who want to look and feel like they’re “quirky nerds.”

Pike will be a spinoff from Discovery and focus on the captain with a new crew saving the universe from a new threat each season. Essentially if true, Star Trek fans can kiss the grounded nature of the series goodbye as it devolves into an extended poorly designed action movie plot.

Picard’s Second season — which at this point has no director, and a financier who wants to pull out will focus on the Q Continuum novels — Janeway, Guinan, Q, and Sisko are set to return, but characters may be recast according to the rumor.

Discovery’s Fourth Season will focus on the Dominion who is rumored to be the last empire in the galaxy. Finally, the Section 31 movie will focus on the two less explored races in the Star Trek Mythos: the Gorn and the Orions. This is supposed to give the writers more room to branch out with their narratives, but it should be read as “there is less stuff for them to screw up.”

Were it not for the outright Kurtzman quality to the ideas there would be no credibility whatsoever to them. Yet with his allies gone, with the merchandisers gone, with the financiers refusing to jump on board another project, and CBS All Access failing, one has to wonder how these projects got greenlit and who is producing them?