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With more than a dozen films, Star Trek gets a lot of its canon from the feature films. Many concepts introduced in the movies, like the Borg Queen, end up in the series. However, Red Matter is a powerful substance introduced in 2009's Star Trek movie that hasn't been mentioned since. The properties of this substance are still mostly a mystery, but it had the power to destroy planets or punch a hole through spacetime.

While an argument can be made that Star Trek: Discovery saved the franchise, the influence of the 21st Century films can't be ignored. They are known as the Kelvin Timeline movies, named after the destroyed Starfleet vessel, that kickstarted the alternate reality. This was done so the films wouldn't have to worry about Star Trek canon interfering with the storytelling. Red Matter was the sci-fi substance introduced to make it all happen. However, these films do connect to Star Trek's Prime Timeline. Spock was in the late 24th Century when he and the Romulan aggressors traveled back more than 100 years earlier. In fact, Star Trek: Picard directly referenced the destruction of the Romulan homeworld. So, if that's canon, then Red Matter is something that exists in the canon.

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For better or worse, 2009's Star Trek didn't get bogged down in sci-fi technobabble exposition the TV series are known for. Yet, the film was clear about what Red Matter can do. Spock planned to use the Red Matter to create a singularity that would absorb the energy from an exploding star. He was too late to save Romulus but deployed it anyway. The resulting singularity sent him and the Romulan vessel commanded by Nero into the past. Later, Nero used the same amount of Red Matter to create a black hole in Vulcan's planetary core. It destroyed the planet and killed the younger Spock's mother. He used the rest of it to destroy Nero and his ship.

In a non-canon comic series leading up to the release of the movie, Red Matter was created by the Vulcan Science Academy. They used a substance called dicalthium, and it seems more stable than the movie lets on. Only the heat and pressure from a star or a planetary core can cause it to create a singularity. However, the explosion (or implosion) of a warp core would also create sufficient energy. Again, this means that the Vulcan Science Academy is, somehow, able to make this substance of immensely destructive power. Though, it's worth noting, Star Trek: Picard has contradicted many of the details in this comic series. For example, Data was the captain of the Enterprise-E. In Picard Season 1, he was a digital-only lifeform and had been since the events of Star Trek: Nemesis.

Still, older Spock, his ship and the Red Matter all came from the Prime Timeline's future. Star Trek: Discovery's third season revealed a person from the Kelvin Timeline's version of The Next Generation era traveled to the prime universe. If Red Matter were to show up again, it could open the door on the Kelvin Timeline universe or any other version of Star Trek's multiverse. However, with few prominent Vulcan characters from TNG's timeline, the secret of Red Matter doesn't seem to be well known amongst that era's heroes. In fact, it may not ever come up again, unless the Kelvin Timeline (or J.J. Abrams) returns to the franchise.

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A funny moment from Picard Season 3 was when the Enterprise-E was revealed to be destroyed. Everyone looked at Worf, who replied, "That was not my fault." It's just a gag, and one that could be expanded on in a comic, novel or even animated story. The line is in there so the show can, justifiably, get the crew back on the Enterprise-D. Yet, what happened to the E is a deliberately dangling narrative thread, some other storyteller can sew up. Red Matter is similar. In the novelization of the script, the detail about needing a sun, planetary core or warp implosion is in the text. However, since it wasn't on-screen, Red Matter could come back as some naturally occurring, super-volatile substance.

The look of Red Matter, it seems, is a kind of in-joke between production designer Scott Chambliss and director J.J. Abrams. "The big red ball has a lot of resonance for J.J. and I: we have one in virtually everything we do. It started with the Alias pilot," Chambliss told Star Trek Magazine in 2009. Still, it wasn't a very deeply thought-out scientific concept. Former science consultant-turned-writer Andre Bourmanis said as much, though did admit the warp core implosion wasn't an unsound way to escape the singularity's gravity well. It was a useful plot device to set up the new reality while still allowing Leonard Nimoy to reprise his iconic role.

Red Matter may never return to Star Trek, just like some other concepts used only for specific films like The Search for Spock or Insurrection. Keeping its properties only loosely defined allow future filmmakers to deploy in the best way for their stories. Everything from warp drive to the transporters have some inconsistencies throughout the 60-year canon. All that's important is Red Matter, the Genesis Device or whatever they use serves the story. Red Matter was a powerful weapon, and had it stuck around, Into Darkness and Beyond could've gotten very messy.

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Red Matter in the Star Trek Movie Canon, Explained - CBR - Comic Book Resources