Fandoms have been at odds for much longer than the Internet has existed and one of the earliest battles between fans involved Star Wars and Star Trek. As the two biggest science fiction franchises in the land, fans of each had opinions on which one was better. The Internet made it even easier for people to argue their cause. People often treat fandom like sports teams and Star Wars and Star Trek are the two biggest "teams" in sci-fi.
This idea ignores the fundamental differences between the two properties. In reality, they're so different that comparing them is a bit nonsensical.
10 Star Trek's Place As A TV Franchise Gives It A Different Storytelling Style
While Star Trek has had as many movies as Star Wars, it's still mostly considered a TV franchise. The creatives behind the property have used the differences in storytelling styles to create some truly amazing TV, with different shows doing different things with their stories.
From the shows that did one-and-done stories like TOS, TNG, and Voyager to the ones that embraced long-form storytelling like DS9 and Discovery, Star Trek has told many different kinds of stories. While Star Wars is getting into episodic shows, they're still very different from the Star Trek shows that came before them.
9 The Jedi & Sith Bring A Mysticism Into Star Wars That Isn't There In Star Trek
One of the most popular parts of Star Wars is the Jedi and the Sith. These two factions bring something to Star Wars that Star Trek has almost totally eschewed over the years, and that's mysticism. The Jedi can do things that no one else can and the Sith are the ultimate force of evil, both using powers with no corollary in Star Trek.
The mysticism of Star Wars makes the story quite different than anything found in Star Trek. There are no Chosen Ones or all-powerful evils in Star Trek, and Star Wars scratches a different itch than Star Trek.
8 Star Wars Is Completely Based Around Conflict
Looking at the two names of the shows reveals another difference. Star Wars is about war; every single piece of Star Wars media is more about fighting against evil than anything else. The characters are all around more martial and most fans of Star Wars would be pretty unhappy about a Star Wars installment that didn't in some way revolve around action.
Star Wars is basically a simplistic morality play where the forces of good clash with the forces of evil. There's nothing wrong with that but it's going for a completely different thing than Star Trek is.
7 Star Trek Really Gets Into The Nitty Gritty With Its Cultures
Star Wars and Star Trek are full of exotic aliens and cultures, which is one of the reasons both have hooked fans. Each one does different things with those aliens and cultures, with the best example of that being the Vulcans. The Vulcans are a fully fleshed society in a way that no Star Wars race is.
Fans may love Wookies, but their whole thing is rather simple and it's the same with most Star Wars races, as their cultures revolve around one thing and fans are rarely shown much else from them. Star Trek digs into the cultures inside it, giving fans a different experience, one that is almost anthropological at times.
6 Star Wars Is More Purely Entertainment Than Star Trek
George Lucas created Star Wars as an homage to the sci-fi movie serials and books he read as a young person and that has colored the franchise ever since. Star Wars is much more spectacle-based than anything else. It relies on massive action and larger-than-life personalities, like Han Solo, to connect to audiences.
Star Wars is like candy. It's colorful, it tastes good, and it has its place but it's not there to challenge the viewer. Even The Last Jedi goes out of its way to explain what it's about multiple times and has the kind of visuals and spectacle that makes Star Wars, well, Star Wars. It's pure entertainment.
5 Star Trek Accentuates The Science
One of the things Star Trek fans love about the franchise is the science. Star Trek's science is based on plausible fact and while there is a lot of technobabble in the show, it still makes sure to use science in ways that are realistic. The future that Star Trek shows is one that feels real and is understandable by the modern standards of physics.
Star Wars is really only science fiction because there are starships and advanced technology. Other than that, Star Wars is more like a fairy tale than anything else while Star Trek is very much science fiction.
4 The Characters Are Completely Different
Star Trek and Star Wars are both built around great characters, but the ways those characters do things and who they are are completely different. The heroes and villains of Star Wars are the heroes of a fantasy novel. They fit into broad archetypes that are familiar to any fantasy fan or D&D player.
The men, women, and aliens of Star Trek are quite different. They have their roles as well, yet they're more fleshed out and real, respectable beings who show fans the heights that all people are capable of. This massive difference sets the two franchises apart in a way that is fundamental to each.
3 Star Trek Is A Humanistic Tale About Overcoming Our Flaws
George Roddenberry created Star Trek at one of the most contentious periods in human history. The '60s in the U.S. were the height of the Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement. Society was on the cusp of change and Roddenberry wanted to show people what that change could be. Star Trek was always meant to inspire and entertain, with most episodes saying something about American culture.
The resulting shows followed this, showing a society that cared not just about itself but all societies. This type of fiction is very different than Star Wars and its stories about a battle between good and evil. Star Trek was made to inspire.
2 Star Wars' Morality Play Speaks To A Different Part Of People
Calling Star Trek more complex than Star Wars is both correct and also an underestimation of what Star Wars is. Star Wars is a morality play, about people choosing to fight for the good of others and sacrificing their all for that fight. Morality plays have their place in fiction and it's very different a place than the type of stories told in Star Wars.
Morality plays show people what's worth fighting for. They play a role in developing a sense of right and wrong that the more complex morality of Star Trek doesn't. Star Trek assumes that people understand morality; Star Wars teaches morality.
1 They're Basically Different Genres
Star Wars and Star Trek are both considered science fiction but they shouldn't be. In reality, Star Wars has more in common with something like The Lord Of The Rings or A Song Of Ice And Fire than Star Trek. Putting the two into the same genre has always been a fallacy because they are not both science fiction.
Star Wars is a fantasy story with technology in it but even calling it science fantasy is wrong because the science part is so minuscule. Star Trek is sci-fi to its core, using the future as a backdrop for stories about humanity and what that represents. These differences render any comparison moot.
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