Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek franchise has expanded into a successful universe of its own, featuring several movies and TV series of its own. Aside from Jean-Luc Picard, or Mr. Spock, Brent Spiner’s Data was another character that became a fan-favorite figure showcased in the sci-fi franchise. However, there is one black sheep in the expansive series that has been a box office bomb.
The film is none other than the 2002 film, Star Trek: Nemesis. The project was a massive disappointment, as it barely managed to meet the break-even point of the film, and ranked as the lowest-grossing film among the four movies.
The project was so disappointing that almost every Trekkie despises it from the bottom of their hearts. Moreover, even Tom Hardy and Sir Patrick Stewart could not save it from doom.
Brent Spiner Has Come To Terms With Star Trek: Nemesis Being a Box Office Disappointment
Stuart Baird’s Star Trek: Nemesis is the biggest disappointment that the franchise has witnessed, as Trekkies have felt that it was merely a retread of The Wrath of Khan. The 2002 film featured Tom Hardy in the role of Shinzon, the main antagonist of the movie; he was a clone of Captain Jean-Luc Picard.
Viewers detested the film due to its contentious storyline. Another major reason why Trekkies despised the film is that it featured the death of Brent Spiner’s Data.
The character is an android with human-like emotions who dies in the film while saving the rest of his crew from the inevitable spaceship explosion.
While talking to The New York Times, Brent Spiner opened up about how he was “perfectly happy” with the much-detested ending of Nemesis. He said,
You know, I was perfectly happy with the ending of ‘Nemesis,’ even though I know that a lot of fans weren’t.
He further acknowledged how the film was not flawless and felt that it would be their last film; hence, Data’s death was a good decision. Spiner added,
There are things about “Nemesis” that didn’t work. I think we went into it with the feeling that it was probably going to be our last film, which was why we let Data’s demise happen. We thought a great dramatic conclusion to one of the characters would be a fitting end to the series.
According to The Numbers, the 2002 movie was made on a reported budget of $60 million, and after release, it grossed only $67.3 million at the worldwide box office, hardly meeting the break-even point.
Brent Spiner Felt Nemesis’ Failure Sent Them an Important Message
Nemesis was the fourth and last film that featured the cast of The Next Generation series. The project received an abysmal response, with some critics and Trekkies calling it the worst addition to the sci-fi franchise.
The 2002 flick failed to attract a massive fandom. As a result, it managed to gain a negative response from not only the film critics but also from the audience. It has a 38% rating on Tomatometer and a mere 49% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes.
However, the Out to Sea actor mentioned Nemesis’ failure, which indicated an important message. While talking about the film’s failure in Star Trek All Good Things: A Next Generation Companion via TrekMovie.com, he claimed that the fans “were done with us.” He said,
Usually the films opened big, even if they had a lot of competition, but Nemesis didn’t even do that. This was a message from the fans that they were done with us. It was unexpected.
Nevertheless, the project’s failure closed the doors for future movies that featured the cast of The Next Generation. On the other hand, Tom Hardy went on to portray bigger roles in Hollywood, where he shined bright. This most notably includes Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, where he portrayed the role of Bane.
Star Trek: Nemesis can be streamed on Max.
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