After the release of "Star Trek: Generations" in 1994, the various "Trek" writers felt a great weight lifted. There were a lot of strange story requirements in place when adapting "Star Trek: The Next Generation" to the big screen for the first time, and writers Ron D. Moore and Brannon Braga bent over backwards to invent a story that fulfilled every mandate. They managed to check every box -- original "Star Trek" cast members in the first 10 minutes only, Klingons had to be involved, time travel had to be a plot element -- but "Generations" feels scattered as a result. It ultimately served as a "passing of the torch" from Captain Kirk (William Shatner) to Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart), which was wholly unnecessary, given that Picard had already headlined his own TV series for seven seasons. 

When the time came to write a sequel, Braga and Moore suddenly felt a lot freer.