His subsequent relationship with the film series was one of increasing friction. He was credited on the films through the sixth, but his actual creative involvement diminished as the series progressed. His account of the development of *The Wrath of Khan* includes significant unhappiness with the direction taken by Nicholas Meyer. His relationship with the films from the third onwards was essentially that of a credited creator who was no longer in control of his creation.
*Star Trek: The Next Generation* represented a genuine return to creative authority. Roddenberry developed the concept, hired the writers’ room, and was involved in the early seasons in ways that brought his original vision — the optimistic humanism, the deliberate diversity, the use of science fiction to explore contemporary ethical questions — back to the franchise’s center. The Next Generation debuted on September 28, 1987, to strong ratings and critical interest, and quickly established itself as a worthy successor to the original.
Roddenberry’s health declined through the late 1980s and early 1990s. He died on October 24, 1991, at age 70, shortly after the fifth season of *The Next Generation* had begun and before the production of *Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country* was complete. He did not live to see *Deep Space Nine*, *Voyager*, *Enterprise*, or the streaming-era productions that have continued to expand the fictional universe he created.
His ashes were launched into space in 1997 on a mission that also carried the ashes of Timothy Leary, Gene Shoemaker, and other individuals — a final departure from the planet whose future he had spent his working life imagining.