Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a 1982 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the second film based on Star Trek, and is a sequel to Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). The plot features Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the crew of the starship USS Enterprise facing off against the genetically engineered tyrant Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán), a character who first appeared in the 1967 Star Trek television series episode "Space Seed". When Khan escapes from a 15-year exile to exact revenge on Kirk, the crew of the Enterprise must stop him from acquiring a powerful terraforming device named Genesis. This film is the beginning a story arc that continues with the 1984 film Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and concludes with 1986's Star Tr