Star Trek: What If...Eddie Murphy Starred in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home?

By William "Blissey" Raymer

Based on the Paramount Pictures Corporation motion picture

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Screenplay by Steve Meerson, Peter Krikes, Harve Bennett and Nicholas Meyer

Story by Leonard Nimoy and Harve Bennett

Based on Star Trek Created by Gene Roddenberry

Series inspired by the Marvel Comics magazine series

What If

and the Marvel Studios for Disney Plus television series

What If...

Created for Television by A.C. Bradley

"The cast and crew of Star Trek wish to dedicate this film to the men and women of the spaceship Challenger, whose courageous spirit shall live to the 23rd century and beyond..."

-Opening title card from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, dedicating the film to the memory of those lost in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

PROLOGUE

From the Journals of Q (Junior) the Watcher

In a dimension where the United Federation of Planets, its allies, its enemies and their adventures are fictional constructs, the year 1986 was a crossroads year.

In the aftermath of the tragic loss of the American Space Shuttle Challenger and her crew, filmmakers gathered to create a fourth theatrical motion picture based on the adventures of James T. Kirk and his crew. This film would help the Star Trek franchise celebrate its milestone 20th anniversary.

Several concepts were floated about for this film, the most notable of which was the possible performance of the most popular motion picture actor of the time.

Eddie Murphy, who had made several successful comedy motion pictures for Paramount Pictures—the film studio that would make Star Trek IV—approached producer/co-writer Harve Bennett and director/co-writer Leonard Nimoy about possibly appearing in the film.

A concept for Murphy was created, which would see him portray a college professor and self-described "UFO nut" who would join up with Kirk and his crew as they attempted to find the humpback whales which would help stop the probe that threatened the Earth of the 23rd century.

But before filming was set to begin, Murphy was convinced—either by Paramount executives or his own agents—to star in the lackluster comedy film The Golden Child. For decades following his leaving Star Trek IV's production, Murphy maintained that leaving to make Golden Child was one of the biggest mistakes of his career.

Eventually, the college professor character and a relatively insignificant marine biologist character were merged into the being known today as Dr. Gillian Taylor, as portrayed in the finished Star Trek IV film by actress Catherine Hicks.

But how would things have turned out had Murphy stayed with the production of Star Trek IV?

In this most unusual chronicle, we shall examine how the history of the Prime Timeline would have turned out had this one detail in the quote-unquote "real world" had changed.

So, please join me as we examine the multiverse's ultimate question: "What if..."

For the purposes of this story, let us imagine that history in this alternate Prime Timeline proceeds as the actual Prime Timeline does, up until the point that the HMS Bounty—the Klingon Bird of Prey that James T. Kirk and his crew stole from Commander Kruge during the Genesis Incident—travels back in time from the 23rd century to 1986 San Francisco.

However, instead of landing in Golden Gate Park (as in the established history), the Bounty winds up...somewhere else...

Our story begins...next time...

::TBC::