Is Star Trek Into Darkness On Netflix, Hulu Or Prime?

Where can J.J. Abrams’ second voyage on the USS Enterprise Star Trek Into Darkness be found online? Following the cancellation of TV series Star Trek: Enterprise in 2005, the franchise wasn’t in great shape. Star Trek: Nemesis from 2002 proved to be a disappointing closing chapter for the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew, and there was a sense of audience fatigue with the franchise. J.J. Abrams would inject new life into the property with 2009’s Star Trek, which used time travel shenanigans to bring back the original crew – Kirk, Spock, Uhura, et al – but split them off on a new timeline that has since been dubbed the Kelvin timeline.

Thanks to the chemistry of its cast, including Chris Pine (Wonder Woman 1984), Karl Urban and Zachary Quinto, and its epic scale, Star Trek proved there was life in the series yet. That said, some longtime fans were unhappy with its focus on action and setpieces, which is a criticism that continued with Star Trek Into Darkness. The storytelling of this 2013 sequel was a particular source of criticism, such as the bizarre, pre-release efforts to conceal the fact Benedict Cumberbatch was playing famous villain Khan. The film was still a success, grossing over $460 million worldwide, making it the most successful film in the series to date.

Related: Star Trek: Discovery Makes Fun Of Decades-Old Enterprise Problem

For fans who want to rewatch Star Trek Into Darkness online, sadly it can’t currently be found on Netflix, Hulu or Prime in the U.S. The film can be rented or purchased through iTunes, YouTube, Google Play, PlayStation Store and other outlets. For Netflix fans in the UK, the 2009 Star Trek movie is available, alongside the original series and other shows like Star Trek: Voyager and Enterprise.

While J.J. Abrams departed the director’s chair for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, 2016’s Star Trek: Beyond would receive mostly positive reviews from critics and the fanbase. It felt like an episode of the original show blown up for the big screen, and put more of an emphasis on character dynamics than setpieces. Sadly, despite the warm reception, it was a box-office disappointment, pulling in less than $350 million.

The future of the movie franchise seemed in flux after this, with a planned fourth entry to feature the return of Chris Hemsworth’s (Avengers: Endgame) George Kirk being shelved. Quentin Tarantino has also been developing an R-rated Star Trek script, though the current status of that project is unknown. Thankfully, it seems the Kelvin crew will return once again for a new adventure to be fronted by Legion creator Noah Hawley. The franchise is well and truly back on TV too, with the continued success of Star Trek: Discovery paving the way for shows like Star Trek: Picard and other upcoming spinoffs. The franchise has come a long way since the release of Star Trek Into Darkness, but the success of the J.J. Abrams’ reboot series helped bring the property to a new generation of fans.

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About The Author

It’s pronounced Paw-rick, not Pad-raig. Now that’s out of the way, a brief introduction. Padraig has been writing about film online since 2012, when a friend asked if he’d like to contribute the occasional review or feature to their site.
A part-time hobby soon blossomed into a career when he discovered he really loved writing about movies, TV and video games – he even (arguably) had a little bit of talent for it. He has written words for Den of Geek, Collider, The Irish Times and Screen Rant over the years, and can discuss anything from the MCU – where Hawkeye is clearly the best character – to the most obscure cult b-movie gem, and his hot takes often require heat resistant gloves to handle.
He’s super modern too, so his favorite movies include Jaws, Die Hard, The Thing, Ghostbusters and Batman. He can be found as i_Padds on Twitter making bad puns.

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