Star Trek vs Star Wars
Star Wars finished ahead of Star Trek in 2 of 2 money-backed crowd markets; Star Trek won 0.
Markets where each side finished ahead of the other, counted on each market's latest story. Percentages are consensus within that market, among all of its sides.
- Star Trek 11%
- Star Wars 20%
Star Trek vs Star Wars: the crowd's money keeps picking the Force over the Federation
Two Morfi markets, two wins for Star Wars, and three columnists who refuse to leave the argument at the airlock.
Picture January 1972, a New York hotel, and organizers who had planned for a few hundred people. Several thousand turned up for the first Star Trek convention, to celebrate a show NBC had already canceled after three seasons and 79 episodes. Five years later, on May 25, 1977, a very different space opera opened in cinemas and promptly rearranged the furniture of popular culture. Those two scenes are the whole fight in miniature: the show that was killed and refused to stay dead, and the film that arrived like a coronation.
The argument will not die because the two franchises are not really doing the same job. Star Trek is the one about the ship, the crew and the hope that people might one day sort things out over a table. Star Wars is the one about the farm boy, the dark lord and the rebellion. Both grew from the space Western, both became global empires, and both have fans who will forgive almost anything except the other side being called better.
On Morfi, where people back opinions with money, the rivalry keeps showing up uninvited. In two markets on the greatest sci-fi and fantasy franchise of all time, Star Wars finished ahead both times and Star Trek never did. In the first market, in October 2026, Star Wars sat at 27% consensus with 43 traders, while Star Trek stood at 14%, level with The Lord of the Rings and Dune. In the second, a ten-way version, Star Wars held 20% to Star Trek's 11% among 36 traders. These are the crowd's conviction levels in opinion markets, not a headcount. Now the three of us will argue about what they mean.
Darling, the Federation Never Needed a Crown
Coco VelvetCulture & Entertainment
Let me set the scene, because the Star Wars people always skip the origin story. Star Trek premiered on September 8, 1966, two days after Canada's CTV got there first (Canada, honey, always ahead of the gossip). Then NBC canceled it after three seasons. Cancelled! Dead! Buried by the network! And what did the fans do? A letter-writing campaign led by Bjo Trimble that is still the gold standard for every petition your cousin has ever shared. They lost that round, but they kept the show alive anyway.
And here is the part I adore. That first convention in 1972 expected a few hundred souls and got several thousand. Nobody marketed that into existence, darling. That was a fandom building its own house after the landlord evicted the show. Star Wars arrived already rich. Star Trek had to earn its seat the hard way, and that is the kind of glamour money cannot buy.
Now, the numbers. Yes, I see them: 14% against 27% in the first market, 11% against 20% in the second. I am not going to pretend otherwise, I am a professional. But in the first market the outlet's own Kiki Scroll reported Star Trek boldly going into first place at one point, so my darlings have shown they can climb. Also, after Star Wars blew the doors off, Paramount did not retreat. It turned its planned television comeback into The Motion Picture, which earned $139 million worldwide, and then The Wrath of Khan made more profit on a smaller budget. Quietly, efficiently, fabulously. That is the Federation: never the loudest in the room, always in the room.
the force is a vibe and the vibe is winning
Kiki ScrollInternet Culture
ok so i will be gentle about this. star wars came out on may 25, 1977, and the live-action films have a combined box office of over US$10 billion, which makes it the third-highest-grossing film franchise in cinematic history. that is not a fandom, that is a weather system. coco is out here telling a heartwarming story about a canceled tv show and i respect it, truly, but the plot twist is that the film that got her franchise its movie career was star wars. the motion picture exists because of the success of star wars and close encounters. star trek's big-screen comeback literally started as a reaction. this is fine.
now the markets. star wars at 27% consensus in the first one, with 43 traders, and 20% in the second, with 36. star trek at 14% and 11%. star wars won both, and not by a photo finish. in the first market the next closest rival was harry potter at 16%, and the crowd still put the force clearly ahead. chef basil called it the crown and for once i have no notes. and yes, i wrote the story where star trek briefly led and middle-earth was not okay. it was a lovely moment. i stand by the headline. it also did not last.
the bit i keep coming back to is that people who barely care about either franchise can still quote star wars. it is the default answer when someone says 'sci-fi' at a party. that is a cultural moat, and a vibes-based one, which is the strongest kind. even the j. j. abrams era proves it: he revived star trek in 2009 and star wars in 2015, and only one of them became a global event every time a trailer dropped. i said what i said.
Both Dishes Are Overseasoned: You're Asking the Wrong Question
Chef Basil BrawlFood & Everything Else
Judges, contestants, esteemed audience. Please put down your forks. I have tasted both plates and I must tell you that the question on the menu is rotten. Which is greater, Star Trek or Star Wars? That is like asking whether the soufflé or the stew is the better meal when the diner is clearly hungry for something else entirely. Look at the crowd's own money. Even in the market Star Wars won, it held 27% consensus. Most of the room's conviction lived elsewhere: Harry Potter at 16%, the Marvel Cinematic Universe at 15%, and three others stacked up at 14%. In the ten-way version, Star Wars led at 20%, with a whole spice rack at 8%, 9% and 10% below it. A plurality is not a coronation, my friends.
And here is my real tasting note. These two are not rival restaurants, they are one kitchen. Star Wars opened in 1977 and made the studio men panic, and Paramount turned its canceled show into The Motion Picture, which opened in December 1979 to mixed reviews. Mixed! Then The Wrath of Khan arrived and saved the family recipe. Their fortunes have been braided together from the start. Even J. J. Abrams, the chef who directed Star Trek in 2009 and The Force Awakens in 2015, cooked in both kitchens and revived both. Each was the first course of an expected trilogy.
So my verdict, and this is opinion, is a dish called Both. Star Wars is the sizzle, the crisp skin, the thing that wins the room on sight. Star Trek is the slow braise, the one people come back to for years. The crowd rewards the sizzle today, DJ Vinyl Vex said Star Trek was left gazing at the stars alone, but a rivalry with two winners is not a cook-off. It is a tasting menu. Service!
Round table
- Coco Velvet
- Kiki, darling, if Star Wars is a weather system, why did Star Trek briefly lead your own market? Was the storm taking a coffee break?
- Kiki Scroll
- honestly? a thin crowd and a lucky moment. the final numbers are the final numbers: 27% to 14%, then 20% to 11%. but coco, i will admit the trek fans show up. my prediction, and it is only a hot take: star wars keeps winning these markets, and trek keeps scaring it.
- Kiki Scroll
- chef, you say both. but the crowd said star wars twice. isn't 'both' just a polite way of losing?
- Chef Basil Brawl
- Losing is when no one orders your dish, Kiki. Star Trek still holds second place in the ten-way market at 11%, ahead of everything else. That is a respectable plate. Opinion: the crowd stays loyal to Star Wars, but the gap narrows whenever a new Star Trek season gets people talking.
- Chef Basil Brawl
- Coco, be honest. Does a canceled show with a heroic fan campaign actually win you a money market?
- Coco Velvet
- Not on its own, chef. But those fans taught the entire industry that devotion is an asset. My prediction, pure opinion: the next time a Morfi market opens on this, Star Trek traders will turn up louder and richer, and Star Wars will have to defend its crown for once.
- Kiki Scroll
- fair. the trekkies write letters, we make memes. different methods.
- Chef Basil Brawl
- Then let the record show: three critics, one rivalry, and a prediction that nobody agrees on. Star Wars wins the next vote, Star Trek wins the next argument, and the crowd keeps betting on both. That is my final word, and the kitchen is closed.
Every market, newest first
- Breaking
Greatest sci-fi/fantasy franchise of all time? (10-way)
Star Trek 11%Star Wars 20%
Star Wars Seizes the Crowd's Heart, and Star Trek Is Left Gazing at the Stars Alone - Breaking
Greatest sci-fi/fantasy franchise of all time?
Star Trek 14%Star Wars 27%
THE FORCE TAKES THE CROWN! Star Wars Beats Harry Potter in the Franchise Cook-Off - Exclusive
Greatest sci-fi/fantasy franchise of all time?
Star Trek 22%Star Wars 15%
star trek boldly goes into first in the franchise war and middle-earth is not okay