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‘Star Trek’ Origin Story Movie Set From ‘Andor’ Director, ‘Star Trek 4’ Still in the Works as ‘Final Chapter’ of Main Series

By Michaela Zee

Michaela Zee

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STAR TREK BEYOND, from left: John Cho, as Sulu, Anton Yelchin, as Chekov, Karl Urban, as Doctor 'Bones' McCoy, Chris Pine as Captain James T. Kirk, Zachary Quinto, as Spock, Simon Pegg, as Scotty, 2016. ph: Kimberley French / © Paramount Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

A new “ Star Trek ” film is in the works at Paramount with “Andor’s” Toby Haynes on board to direct and Seth Grahame-Smith penning the script, Variety has confirmed.

While plot details are being kept under wraps, the upcoming feature will be an origin story that is set decades before 2009’s “Star Trek,” as well as an expansion of the “Star Trek” universe. J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot is producing.

A fourth “Star Trek” movie starring Chris Pine was first announced in July of 2016, with Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho and Simon Pegg expected to return. Chris Hemsworth, who appeared in the 2009 original, was set to return to the space saga as George Kirk, the father of Captain James T. Kirk (Pine). According to Paramount at the time, “Star Trek 4” would see Pine’s Captain Kirk cross paths with his father, who was “a man he never had a chance to meet, but whose legacy has haunted him since the day he was born.”

During a Paramount Global investors day presentation in February of 2022, Abrams announced that a new “Star Trek” movie would begin shooting by the end of that year with the Pine-led crew. Pine and his co-stars reportedly had no idea Paramount was moving forward with another “Star Trek” film, which was eventually removed from the studio’s film slate in September of that year.

Haynes recently directed six episodes of the “Star Wars” series “Andor,” starring Diego Luna as the titular role. He also helmed the “Star Trek”-inspired episode of “Black Mirror,” titled “USS Callister.” Haynes is repped by WME and attorney Peter Nelson.

Grahame-Smith is best known as the author of the best-selling novels “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” and “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.” He also wrote and produced 2017’s “The Lego Batman Movie.” Grahame-Smith is repped by WME and attorneys PJ Shapiro and Wendy Kirk.

Deadline was first to report the “Star Trek” news.

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After Rumored Setbacks, Star Trek 4 Has Taken A Huge Step Forward

Hopefully this time the project will live long and prosper!

Chris Pine in Star Trek Beyond

It’s been too long since Star Trek graced the big screen. The last time Trekkies watched the USS Enterprise go into warp speed in theaters was back in 2016 with Star Trek Beyond . Since then, Paramount has been trying to bring back Chris Pine ’s Captain Kirk and his crew for one last hurrah, but setback after setback has been rumored to bring down the project. However, the latest news about Star Trek 4 brings some revived hope for another galactic adventure.

Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot Productions have reportedly found a new screenwriter for Star Trek 4 in The Flight Attendant creator Steve Yockey. Per the news that comes from Variety , Yockey will pen the script for what’s expected to be the final installment of the saga starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto , Zoe Saldaña, Karl Urban , John Cho and Simon Pegg . It’s a huge step forward for the long-gestating project, but it should be noted that this report signals Star Trek 4 is still in early development over at Paramount.

Steve Yockey started his career in Hollywood as a writer for television shows like Awkward , Scream and Supernatural before developing HBO’s The Flight Attendant from the novel of the same name. The series starring Kaley Cuoco was cancelled after two seasons, but was critically-acclaimed throughout its run and earned Cuoco numerous accolades, alongside other aspects of the production.

Michael smiling while sitting in a captain's chair

Upcoming Star Trek TV Shows: What's Ahead For The Sci-Fi Franchise

Yockey has another series coming soon to the 2024 TV schedule with Netflix’s Dead Boy Detectives . The supernatural detective comedy is based on the DC Comics property by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner, and is set to premiere for those with a Netflix subscription on April 25.

Over the years, there’s been numerous writers and directors attached to the next Star Trek movie, from Madame Web ’s S.J. Clarkson previously in talks to direct back in 2018, to Fargo ’s Noah Hawley being attached to write and direct back in 2019. WandaVision ’s Matt Shakman was last involved for a year before he decided to leave the project to direct the upcoming Fantastic Four movie . According to Shakman, while he very much enjoyed his time working on Star Trek 4 alongside J.J. Abrams, returning to Marvel Studios to revive the comic book crew, was “too hard to pass up.”

This step forward for Star Trek 4 comes just a few months after rumors came out that Paramount was thinking of rebooting the franchise again . A couple of months ago, it was also reported that Andor ’s Toby Haynes will direct another Star Trek movie based on a script by Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter ’s Seth Grahame-Smith .

While we know very little about the direction of Star Trek 4 , here’s hoping the main cast led by Chris Pine will in fact come back once more! Check out our ranking of all the Star Trek movies as we imagine what could be in store for the iconic Starfleet crew!

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Sarah El-Mahmoud

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.

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Paramount Reportedly Working To Get ‘Star Trek 4’ Into Pre-Production “Quickly”

star trek 4 cancellato

| October 1, 2023 | By: Aaron Bossig 225 comments so far

We have another update on the next Star Trek feature film from Paramount Pictures. It’s been over seven years since Star Trek Beyond, and there have been a number of starts and stops since. However, the studio is apparently planning to get the project moving forward again. There is also an update on how J.J. Abrams has shaped the story for the film.

Paramount looking to fine-tune Trek feature

The sudden focus on the next Star Trek movie is largely the result of the end of the WGA strike. Hollywood management is eager to get projects moving again in order to deliver new shows and movies at a rushed pace. A post-WGA-strike article by Variety breaking down how the different studios are moving forward calls out the next Trek feature at Paramount as an example:

Several big movie projects could see preproduction resume quickly. Paramount is hoping to have writers fine-tuning scripts for its planned reboot of “Star Trek” and its adaptation of Tom Clancy’s “Rainbow Six.”

In early 2022 when Paramount and producer J.J. Abrams announced they were moving forward with Star Trek 4 for an originally planned Christmas 2023 release, the latest draft for the movie was penned by Josh Friedman ( Avatar 2 ) and Cameron Squires ( WandaVision ), based on earlier drafts by Lindsey Anderson Beer ( Pet Semetary: Bloodlines ) and Geneva Robertson-Dworet ( Captain Marvel ). It’s unknown if Friedman and Squires are doing the 2023 “fine-tuning.”

Based on an idea from J.J. Abrams

Having recently given encouraging words that the sequel to Star Trek Beyond is still in the works , original co-writer Lindsey Anderson Beer (who left the project to write and direct Pet Semetary: Bloodlines for Paramount+) has another update. When asked by ComicBook.com what her version of the movie might have looked like, Beer revealed that the basis for the story came directly from J.J. Abrams :

“I wrote a couple drafts of that before I had to leave for Pet Sematary . And it was originally, the seed of the idea came from J.J. himself, who’s such a creatively generous person, and it was amazing collaborating with him…”

Earlier this year, Abrams talked up this idea, now known to be his own. He told Esquire :

 “I will say it’s the first time that we have a story that feels as compelling as the first one [2009’s Star Trek ].”

star trek 4 cancellato

Lindsey Anderson Beer credits J.J. Abrams with the basis for her screenplay

Despite considerable delays and an unclear path forward, fan support for the Kelvin-era movies remains strong, albeit not universal. The cast remains committed to reprising their roles if and when the movie is ready to shoot. All eyes look back to Paramount to see if a director and script can be lined up or if other projects will continue to get priority over Star Trek.

Find more news and analysis on upcoming Star Trek feature films .

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Oh for goodness sake, just let this reboot series die already. It’s never going to make the money Paramount wants it to make, and the cast don’t seem all that bothered!

I agree the cast seem not to care to return and if the original cast is not for the movie then is not even worth making it.

In the immortal words of James T. Kirk (the original and only one): “LET THEM DIE!”

You mean you’re not excited by the prospect of a story by JJ Abrams, one of the most talented storytellers of our age?

I would like to see this movie get made, but I think the odds of it happening are about 1%. Paramount will toy with it for a year again and then it will quietly go away.

Except now they have to show they have major projects after the strike to get the stock price back up again. That’s why I think it’s real this time — they need the optics of this for business reasons NOW regardless of whether the movie makes money or not.

The one thing I will say that is in favor of this movie getting made is that after the Writers negotiations, The studios may not be so quick to put their franchise movies as much on streaming as opposed to actual theatrical launches. Having said that, Star Trek has never been the vehicle to make money in the movies.

But Phil, Ami and those two other dudes have continually told all of us the next Kelvin movie was dead?

They have good reason to think that. So many Kelvin movie starts have been announced and abandoned that it is reasonable to assume it may never actually happen.

True, but if it happens now they will proven to have been wrong with those comments over the last year on this topic.

They were right the dozens of times the numskulls at Paramount clamoured that ST4 is coming, they’re so excited and it’s going to be great, then nothing. This for 7 years.

The point that you’re missing is that Phil et al were right, all those times they promised a movie that didn’t happen.

It seems to be important for you to throw people under the bus, just so you can validate your ego by saying how you were right.

Just get a dog, he’s going to think you’re the best and it’s going to soothe your tortured soul.

I’m just having fun with this. It’s heartwarming though to know that someone takes me more seriously than I take myself.

Again, not sure where you got that idea. I’ve never, ever, said Paramount isn’t ever going to make another theatrical movie. I’ve just called bulls**t on previous announcements that they were making a movie when it was pretty obvious they weren’t making a movie.

Yeah, of course. I’m just having fun with this ongoing issue that we all get wrapped up about.

Until the first day of actual film shooting, then there is no reason to believe this movie will happen.

No reason? None at all?

By that logic, if we hear they are in the process of casting it and building sets at some point you’ll be claiming there is still no reason to believe it will ever happen…lol.

That’s nonsensical. :-))

None of the previous announcements ever got to that point, and you’ve been busy busting my chops for pointing that out. JJ and Paramount are most definitely in “boy who cried wolf” territory, so their talking up a new project with the on-screen talent is still on strike is suspicious, at best.

So you agree with me then that it gets to the point that they’re building sets and casting, that we will conclude the movie is on.

Good, that means you and I are an agreement that Boring One overstated his point that we can only conclude the movie is on when the first day of filming starts.

Why are you always picking fights with people? Where does this come from?

What fight? I was having fun with the fans who always doubt the new movie news, which by the way, they have good reason to do so…relax! :-)

I always see this type of comments when news like this appears and guess what – the movie doesn’t get made.

Yep. And it’s always amusing.

Not sure where you got that idea. I like the Kelvin universe. What I have done is point out the myriad of previous announcements didn’t pass the sniff test. Batting 1.000 so far……

You’re correct, that was a couple of the other folks I referenced

I really want to see a show based on the Kelvin universe.

Exactly. They all been BS and it’s sad to see gullible fans fall for it again and again and again and again. Even I fell for the Tarantino one lol.

I don’t care about JJ verse at all and would be happy it just finally dies. But if they really prove they are serious about making another one then the rest of us will take it seriously. When Chris Pine is on set in uniform reading off lines how he has to take down another super villain from the 2_ century whose out for Vengeance or another planet gets destroyed then you will have my full attention.

Not until that point though and they have never gotten anywhere close to that in five failed announcements and seven years so far. 😂🙄

I still think they should just put it on Paramount+. I think it’s going to do worse than Beyond did. Most people will just watch it there anyway.

It was dead, several times over. I’m not saying the 3rd (8th?) time isn’t the charm but I am def not holding my breath.

Alternate headline: “Paramount reportedly working to announce latest Star Trek movie false start soon”

Good news! I much prefer this over the Legacy series

…which you haven’t seen, and which doesn’t exist So naturally you prefer this to that.

My point is I that if I were offered a choice of which production I want to see more I’m going with another Kelvin movie over a Legacy series.

Since we’re going to get Star Wars masquerading as Star Trek in either case, then I would at least prefer the higher budget better looking JJ Abrams version over the Matalas budget Trek geriatric fan service version

Jeri Ryan is hardly geriatric, and if the “Legacy” series is based on her crew, it will hardly be geriatric. If a Legacy series is approved , it would likely have the same budget as Strange New Worlds .

And it likely won’t be any better than any other Secret Hideout production that came before it. The KU films were flawed but for all their flaws there were still more fun to watch than anything on P+.

In your opinion.

Not for me, so sorry.

To each their own but I can’t agree in my case. ST 2009 was a fun popcorn Star Wars movie. STID was just laughably bad. Beyond was way better than STID but still wasn’t nearly worth my $20 movie ticket/drink.

I would take SNW a hundred times over any JJ verse nonsense and I liked Beyond as you know. But even hardcore Trekkies mostly shrugged over that movie. Decent but just kind of meh.

That’s nice but the KU feels more like Star Trek to me than anything Secret Hideout has made. Do not misinterpret that to mean they are great Treks. They aren’t. They are just easier on the eyes than SNW and the rest of the Secret Hideout shows.

No more geriatric than the TOS cast when they made their movies.

LOL 😂. Boldly doing that every other 90’s Trek show has done before. 🥱 how boring. We don’t need “legacy retread”.

Repeating a point based on flawed logic over and over again doesn’t make it right or give it more credibility.

Yeah I agree with you

Nobody has seen legacy either but that seems to be the preference from most fans. Interesting how that works. Majority rules to you, that’s all that matters.

Personally I’d love a jeri Ryan-led Trek series. But not Legacy. Give me a Beyond sequel, not a parade of poorly written cameo driven stories that idi** fans will eat up like slop before the slaughter and praise as true trek and genius storytelling no matter how much it’s exactly what they said they didn’t want 5 years ago..

It’s just so fun to come here and talk about something we love with each other these days.

Yeah, right? The main reason I hardly visit, much less comment anymore. It’s sad.

Well I LOVE Thailand. Do you LOVE Thailand?

Oh f*ck it! I mean Phuket!

LOL 😆 Next time I’m going to Phuket just to have a look around. I’m not a beach person, I live in Florida and I’ve never been to the beach.

I had a friend long ago that worked in Phuket and she said it was paradise. The Sanibel and Captiva islands in Florida are worth going to. Anything on the east coast is taken over by tourists.

I live near sanibel and captiva, never been there. Florida just bores me.

You guys aren’t the majority

Wow. I’ve seen vitriol on here before, but this flat out insulting.

Have you talked to every fan? Internet Trek fans are just a loud minority and should never be listened to seriously.

Legacy is a name and some actors and a set and those things would be at least partially changed by the time of a series (look at the Enterprise NCC-1701 in DSC and then how it is in SNW, characters included). There has been no pitch that has been made public yet, and possibly not at all.

People keep talking about Legacy as if it’s a well-refined thing that just needs to have cameras pointed at it, but it’s a long way from that. Just a vague notion at this point and potentially a Rohrschach’s test for individual fans fantasy Star Trek unless and until something is developed. Then as always people will have all manner of opinions.

Personally, I’d rather have Jeri Ryan and her Enterprise than Chris Pine’s.

Given the current trajectory though, I’d actually deem Anson Mount’s Enterprise a viable feature movie. The show is popular, gets good reviews and the actors would be cheap dates. Those are all pluses over another Kelvin movie with very questionable prospects.

@Q-Less – I don’t see the viability of having strange new worlds as a feature film.

It’s had some okay numbers for a TV show but turning that into a feature film for a global audience to help bolster a brand I don’t personally see it.

Having Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana etc back on the screen for star trek is star power so I could see that as a bigger draw if nothing else. Plus here’s hoping for a really good story!

The TV shows should stick to TV for now.

“It’s had some okay numbers for a TV show but turning that into a feature film for a global audience to help bolster a brand I don’t personally see it.”

Yeah imagine turning a Star Trek series into a feature film, that would never work.

Some ok numbers? SNW, Picard, and the Yellowstone prequel are the only shows P+ has that put them in the top ten original streaming shows episode after episode.

Except say they make that movie, then they all want big money for the sequel to it — and then we’re back where we started anyway.

I’d rather see Strange New Worlds stay on TV. When Star Trek goes to the movies, it tends to become less Trekkian and more generically Hollywood.

I’m down for anything from good sci fi writers that want to find the next beloved crew and tell new stories set in a universe we love. Legacy could be that. Not all nostalgia is bad, it just can’t be the focus. JJ, Akira and Henry are all much too focused on that, and not big ideas. I just want Trek to be good again.

Except that the only people who know those characters are subscribers to a streaming service.

All of the feature films have been based on TOS or TNG, both of which aired in syndication and reached a far wider audience.

So you prefer a 2 hour movie every 3-7 years over 10 episodes a year.

If it’s Matalas-Trek, then yes I do.

SAG is still on strike. This isn’t news, it’s a couple of people chatting something up over cocktails…..

Yeah of course. When did I never say it was more than just my opinion? Lorna Dune made the weird remark that I would have to watch them first to have this opinion? That made no sense.

So yeah this is like fans having me a drink talking about what they would prefer. I agree completely

I thought the strike ended? Did I dream that?

The writers strike ended. The Actors strike has not yet

Oh okay. I not really paying much attention this strike anyway. I don’t care either way if I’m to be honest.

The adventures of Picard’s son is appealing to me. I’d watch it even if the third season of Picard was a dead end. Not the rebirth of TNG. I saw very little that said it was a hopeful optimistic future the kind Gene imagined. A lot explosions, betrayals and space revenge aplenty though. It was like Best of Both Worlds meets the Wrath of Khan. So derivative. Without the humanity or context of those stories.

Jack gets on my nerves. He feels like a character from a bad Charles Dickens novel. I’m surprised he didn’t call papa Picard Gov.

If the idea is from Abrams, it is gonna be derivative like you can’t believe and as terrible as only I can believe (going by the awfulness of the 09 alone, though also looking at the rest of his downright terrible oeuvre.)

The initial part of the story about a ST ‘reboot’ sounds … unexpected. Do they think this is the SpideyVerse or something, where you reboot anytime you manage to succeed in tying your laces?

For a reboot, I’d say do TOS with a new bigger version of THE DOOMSDAY MACHINE story as a standalone. For extra pathos, you can have Pike or April or Garth of Izar in place of Decker. This shows me evolving, as for decades I figured BALANCE OF TERROR was the perfect story to use as a reboot and had plenty of room for expansion to feature-size, but SNW kind of peed all over BoT and thus soured me a little on it.

Or you could really shake things up and have the planet killer waste the Enterprise, with Kirk the sole, grief-crazed survivor. That’d be on par with that BSG remake idea which didn’t happen where the GALACTICA gets blown up two-thirds of the way through and it turns into a PEGASUS show.

That would be in keeping with the Kelvin timeline Enterprise getting the shit beat out of it every movie.

HAHA it’s so true. “Oh Kirk you scamp, you destroyed another one? Don’t worry the Enterprise Z is on the assembly line as we speak!”

There was a script treatment for ST3 that was a remake of Doomsday Machine and another episode (mightve been Balence of Terror?) it was written by the Thor/XMen writer and he discussed it on the Inglorious Treksperts podcast a year or so ago, I think he said it wouldve ended on a cliffhanger with Khan showing up leading the klingons!

The word “reboot” gets totally exaggerated and misused these days so I wouldn’t take that as true. For example the new Quantum Leap show is being called a reboot but it is anything but. It is a sequel to the original.

Totally, in fact just yesterday I was listening to radio 4 a woman was reviewing the new Frasier series and called it a reboot multiple times, as well as referencing Just Like That calling it the reboot of SATC. So yeah in the msm ‘reboot’ is now just another word for sequel or ‘legacy sequel’ for a franchise thats been away for a while.. Whereas 10/15y ago it meant a total overall of a franchise/throw out all that went before/start over/complete remake – Batman Begins, Casino Royale, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Incredible Hulk, Amazing Spiderman, Man of Steel.. and Star Trek 2009 (although that was also a sequel/prequel). and go back abit further a reboot was called a ‘reimagining’ (Burtons Planet of the Apes)

But will they be able to get the cast back? I think that’s going to be the biggest hurdle. Can they even still afford Chis Pine?

They need to show shareholders they’ve got major projects ready to go after the strike, so this is all “play money” – it doesn’t have to make total financial sense in this unusual circumstance. They can eat the big budget if it restores short term shareholder confidence and increases the stock price in the near term.

In this post strike environment business optics will be more important than ROI.

It absolutely MUST make financial sense. Most studios are already losing millions in streaming. They have to show Paramount as a studio is still financially viable for Theatrical releases like Top Gun. Shareholders don’t care if there is another Trek movie or not so long as whatever they do make makes money.

No, you are wrong, the immediate priority is to increase the stock price coming out of the strike. This is an unusual situation where the business perception of Paramount having major projects coming out of the strike is more important than if those movies make a lot of money or not two years from now.

I agree they have to get projects on the books and ones that shareholders are excited about. But I don’t think Trek will do that. It’s pretty well known that Beyond flopped and that any Trek announcement will be taken with huge grans of salt for obvious reasons. I don’t see Paramounts bottom line moving an inch from Trek.

Paramount puts Pine in a lot of projects and the box office hasn’t always been great. There’s room to negotiate with him. Plus there’s room to trim the budget – you just script it differently or find ways to film with smaller units and more versatile sets. Most of the II-FC films (barring V) were fairly clever with how they made use of smaller budgets. All could have used a little more expenditure (particularly Generations), but if you script with a little pragmatism and use limitations creatively, it can yield something far more rewarding than some of the, “We’ll fix it in post” type films we’ve gotten since CGI became ubiquitous.

I haven’t seen it yet but I have heard people rave about “The Creator” which seems to be a scifi epic that was allegedly shot for less than $90 million. Apparently, they achieved this with clever use of locations and very good planning/strategic use of VFX shots.

They seriously pared down the number of crew and shoot days to make it happen as well.

I think they’ve figured out how to afford him, so I’m going to go with yes. But agree, scheduling is the hardest part. If they get far enough out it can happen.

Is Pine’s price still that high? Why? When was the last time he starred in a smash hit, Wonder Woman where he was No.2 billing? That was six years ago. I liked Dungeons & Dragons , but it was a flop at the box office.

After D&D Pine will most likely be affordable for ST4 :)

That’s the question I keep asking. Pine and Saldana are big names these days and they aren’t going to take the same salary as they did for ‘09. But then again to play my own devil’s advocate, Saldana is doing a P+ show now so who knows…

JJ Abrams has only, like, three ideas in his head so, here’s hoping we actually get Jennifer Garner as Admiral Alias. The movie won’t be good, but at least we’ll be able to say “the one with Admiral Alias.’

I really like Mission: Impossible III. Tom Cruise was prescient to give Abrams the platform to make it based on how exciting Alias was at the time.

But parts of the movie really are just “Alias: Impossible.” Whole scenes from the pilot are repurposed in that movie.

For my money, that movie’s remembered fondly because a) it actually was better than its immediate predecessor, but b) more to the point, PSH elevated the material. Considerably.

Says the non millionaire

Yes, JJ Abrams is a better person than either of us because he has millions of dollars. Not because we are losers posting on a Star Trek message board.

Know your place ! 😉

Stuff I wanna see in ST4

Those maroon uniforms Kelvin style (its nearing TWOK era so some of the 80s style aesthetic/tech including refitted Enterprise-A looking more like the movie Enterprise)

Yesterdays Enterprise/City on the Edge epic timetravel/timeline dilemmas (regarding the kelvin-verse. could it be wiped out even?)

Nero (either he somehow survived the end of ST09 or via timetravel we go back to the first movie thing)

Shatner Kirk (deepfaked to movie era)

Saavik (Dua Lipa?)

Some big deaths/sacrifice (kill off spock? like for real this time. no bringing him back)

They killed off Spock for real in the last movie.

Did they need to do that? (although finding the Star Trek V cast photo was a fun scene)

Well the movie came out after Leonard Nimoy’s death so the prime universe Spock was written to be gone for real. No Genesis planet. Quinto Spock is still very much alive.

Its just they kept Paul Walkers character alive in the F&F so maybe there was no need to kill off Spock Prime (or Chekov in ST4, just say he’s transferred to Reliant, which makes sense if they fact track to TWOK era)

Its more TMP era now than TWOK era. TWOK was 15 years after Space Seed, which is probably roughly the same timeframe as Beyond .

Beyond took place about 4 years before the start of TOS, actually.

Assuming the monster maroons are to actually exist in the Kelvinverse, they’re still about 10-15 years away, actually.

TWOK era could be fast tracked in the Kelvin universe like TOS got fast tracked , (just skip TMP!)

Agreed. We already would have the Enterprise A and the 1701 wasn’t even gone in the Prime universe till Search for Spock.

The Kelvin universe has TNG style uniforms in canon (Discovery S3) so I think there is precedent.

excellent!!!!!

I’m hoping the premise of this will not be just another random story set in the Kelvin timeline. I’m not saying make it prime but maybe something ttats more all encompassing within the Star Trek universe. Kelvin universe needs an injection of new energy in my opinion.

Yes in this multiverse era (Spiderman, Dr Strange, The Flash even though it bombed, and coming soon Deadpool 3 & Avengers Secret Wars) thered HAVE to be some acknowledgement of the Prime timeline (esp now Trek is back all under one roof), not necessarily full on the kelvin-verse cast go into Primeverse but something whereby its central to the plot (maybe there’s the chance to reset things/stop Nero creating the kelvin timeline and save Vulcan/Kirks dad/Spocks mom ..or to not do that ..)

The Kelvin timeline is terrible. Chris Pine is not a good actor, he plays it the same way in every movie he is in. Plus these now very famous actors are going to want way more than Paramount wants to pay.

Come up with an original idea. Stop the reboots.

I think it’s supposed to be a sequel? In any case I do agreed that an original idea would be nice but i don’t think there is such a thing. More of a reinterpretation of a previous thing done well – that would be great!

RE: Chris Pine, the problem with ST 2009 is Pine’s inspiration for Kirk was ironically Harrison Ford and not William Shatner. STID was just a horribly written movie so I don’t really place any blame on Pine. But by Beyond, Pine was doing a fine job of channeling Shatner without doing a Shatner impression.

The first one wasn’t really that compelling- kind of a hail mary pass continuity-wise. Though less of a dead end than his other sci-fi reboot…

“Fan support for the Kelvin-Era movies remains strong.” According to what, now? Was there a Gallup poll that I missed?

Somehow palpatine has returned

Somehow Krall has returned..

Everyone: ‘Who?’

I would like to know if they would consider a new trilogy with the KelvinCast. One that doesn’t have some globe-destroying or galaxy-destroying thing, but something more psychological. Something more… Star Trek. But then, that doesn’t sell cinema tickets.

Are they rebooting or continuing the Kelvin-verse?

It’s basically the same thing. They’re calling it a reboot since it’s been so long. When you reboot your computer, you’re not getting a new one either.

Often reboot just means sequel, Ive lost count of the times a long awaited sequel is branded a ‘reboot’ in the media. happened for likes of last few Terminators, Aliens, Predators, Top Gun Maverick, Blade Runner 2, Matrix 4, even the Star Wars sequels.. all of them were proper sequels or prequels yet got termed ‘reboot’ in the msm as if they were Batman Begins/Casino Royale

In this case it sounds like its the 4th Kelvin movie

Thanks! I was confused.

Disney Star Wars was a requel. Reboot sequel. Remake of the OT.

Lucas sequel was a sequel to the prequel with midichlorians, whills, more politics, teenage heroes/heroines. Darth Maul as the new Emperor. I wonder why Disney refused to make that one.

I wonder if Lucas’ sequels would’ve gone over better than what we got.. maybe if he’d have done Luke better than how Last Jedi did him (that movie really kind of derailed the whole Disney SW thing)

Meh. As long as it doesn’t interfere with TV Trek, or the already greenlit S31 film for P+, whatever I guess. Only two of the three Kelvin films felt remotely Trekkian to me, and it’s already been seven years since Beyond . Even if they hodge-podge a script by the end of the month, hire yet another director, and bring back the Kelvin cast, it will Q4 2025 before this film is released.

Same. If Paramount wants to make another Kelvin movie, rock out. I won’t be in theaters for it but I’m sure plenty of other fans will. Just let me have what’s left of P+ Trek before they cancel and pull those too.

Star power sells tickets and the SNW cast wouldn’t draw flies across the box office. Watch for the Kelvin crew to run into a particular Academy Award winning Mirror Universe Emperor… Bet your bottom dollar on it.

Star power is elusive nowadays. Some A list holdovers from the 90s and 2000s have some wattage and clout, but few actors can open a movie big just on their name anymore. And with budgets soaring, you need a big opening weekend AND great word of mouth now more than ever.

Agreed. Zoe Saldana is an A lister but she is currently doing a streaming show on P+ like many A listers these days.

Section 31 P+ movie getting promoted to theatrical and guest starring the Kelvin cast? Intriguing notion

Just ask yourself: Why would they “waste” the most in-demand female actress right now on a mere streaming movie? Let’s not even mention Michelle is likely the most in-demand female actress over 60 in the history of cinema. It would be strictly a business decision and it’s a dang good one IMHO.

It’s a good point to be sure but the other side of the coin is would Yeoh even want to do a Star Trek movie that was theatrical? There would be WAY more exposure for her being in Trek for a theatrical movie and she might not want to take the chance of association.

Yeoh’s star power might be overstated here. That Academy Award winning movie ( Everything Everywhere All At Once ) did a whopping $141.2 million at the box office, less than Star Trek Beyond .

Time’s top 100 most influential people, 9 separate projects in the works, the first Asian Oscar winner… plus the amount of $ made by Everything is not relevant to her post-win prospects. Paramount would reboot itself as a coffee chain if it meant they could make an extra dollar, so again IMHO, this is a slam dunk and streaming is not happening with her.

Winning an Oscar doesn’t necessarily equate to big box office numbers for his/her next movie. Frances McDormand has won Best Actress three times, most recently 2021. Quick, name her last movie. Heck, name the one she won it for in 2021.

Yeoh isn’t actually on the Time 100 list this year. You know who is? Zoe Saldana. Now if they could just make a Star Trek movie with her in it… and maybe this time give her more to do than just recognizing some guy’s voice in a recording.

A Haunting in Venice’s moderate box office is a better example with which to back up your thesis, even though Kenneth Branagh’s Poirot is a smaller niche than Star Trek. EEAAO is a wacky high concept low budget film. It is nothing short of a minor miracle for it to have done such great box office.

Either way it’s still unfair to compare smaller films’ B.O. with established big budget IPs and not only chide the former for not doing as well as the latter, but put the responsibility for that on one actor.

I’m not comparing, I’m questioning Singh’s assertion that Michelle Yeoh will be some box office audience magnet if Paramount wrangles her into Star Trek 14. I just don’t think so. I’ll be happy to be proven wrong though.

If that was true MI Dead Reckoning wouldn’t have bombed. Tom Cruise is like the last movie star.

They’re gonna reboot TNG in the Kelvin timeline

That would actually be interesting.

Vin Diesel as Picard

God, no. Hire someone who can actually act and not just smirk at the camera.

He’d probably be great as the Lobot guy in EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, but geez, don’t give him any lines, not EVER (except as Groot.)

It’s hilarious man! 😂

These people keep telling us they are making another movie…but never make the movie. Last time they had a director, writers, a premiere date and even trolled the cast it was happening.

So THIS time they are serious? Seven years later now Paramount means business. Whatever, just stop trolling and make it. If it’s good I’ll be in line. If it’s like the first two movies I’ll wait for it to hit Paramount+ a month later.

Mean time give me Legacy, SNW and LDS and I’m good!

No vision=no script=no director=no movie.

They’ve had ~7 years to make this film. It’s pretty obvious they don’t want to. Just sunset the Abramsverse and focus on the TV side for the time being. Trek can’t generate MCU numbers no matter how much they want to believe it can.

Who cares how long it takes.

Because at this rate it will be the actual 23rd century before we get another Star Trek movie if they keep relying on Bad Robot/Kelvin.

Dude it will probably be out in 2025.

Honestly, the KU movies while not as good as the Trek that came before, were still watchable. Which is more than can be said for the product coming out of the Secret Hideout meat grinder.

But the fact is, I will not believe this will happen until there is a director yelling “action” on a set. Been burned too many times with past stories.

I won’t believe it until I’m sat in the cinema munching marshmallow flavour popcorn and hearing Pine yelling ‘Fire all weapons’ at the Narada as the Kelvin limps toward the time rift

Reading all the responses on this thread looks like everyone here agrees with this lol.

This is the same brain trust who announced they were bringing back the entire cast for the movie but never told them.

If they keep any of the actual plot of the original Rainbow Six novel, I’d *love* to see how they handle, or more likely mishandle, it.

Make a Section 31 movie.

They already are.

There’s a possibility you’ve conflated their stated intention to make a Section 31 movie with their actually making one

Great point lol. But he makes it sound like there is no plans to even make one. So an odd statement I guess. And that has a thousand times happening over another Kelvin movie because they aren’t spending $100 million to make it.

He would be fire as Picard.

Keep the budget low and focus less on razzle dazzle. I would love to see the Kelvin crew again. Keep the passage of time in real-world terms tho; it’s been almost 15 years since the first one so let’s see where these guys are 15 years later. I hated the fact that Into Darkness was released four years after the first one but only 6 months had passed in-universe.

That did happen a few time in the original films tho III set only weeks after II, IV a few months after III, V was maybe only a few months after IV, plus TMP was only set about 2-4years? after TOS (why not just make it a decade like real time), and I think VI was supposed to be set almost a decade after V.

but yeah Kelvin 4 should be set a decade at least after Beyond

Urgh.. More JJ Crap. Let it go away so we can get cheaper, but higher quality real Star Trek.

“Let them die!” James T. Kirk

Based on an idea from J.J. AbramsYeah, you lost me already. I hate that man so much for the damage he has done to Trek and Star Wars…..

Where did he hurt you ?

I have zero interest in a Kelvin timeline sequel. I want more Strange New Worlds.

I don’t know why they don’t reintroduce the prime timeline to the movies. They could make it an event. Nemesis was so long ago. Picard season 3 proved the audience for the Berman shows is still strong. But lets make another JJ movie.

After so many false starts for Star Trek 14, I will not really care about reports, rumours and hearsay until filming actually begins. Then I will believe this new movie will actually be released.

With tax write-offs these days, you can’t even be sure that a movie that has finished filming actually gets released. But as long as they are just talking about plans/intentions to make a movie it’s basically a non-story.

Just let it go already. I think and believe that the streaming series has really solidify the essence (for the most part) of what ST is (or was), and is really making solid roots. The whole Kelvin series was something to fill a void when ST was struggling to find its identity again… and it was obvious, that it did not pan out as well as many anticipated or hoped. The streaming series, especially STSNW, has proved that ST can be done in a way that honors the original vision of Roddenberry … these Kelvin movies, while nice to watch on tv every now and then – are a thing of the past.

They waited way too long. Next they will wonder why this movie bombs no matter what the plot is.

The big issue is they have to get the budget WAY down for a ST4.

I won’t believe it until I’m sitting there watching it, blinded by the lens flares.

More time has passed since the first Chris Pine Star Trek movie debuted… than the entire run of the 6 Shatner era films.

Damn, we’re all gettin’ old.

Hearing the idea came from JJ himself doesn’t get me excited. Then again.. all ST II needed was the right Writer / Director to make the best Trek we ever got.. so the idea may not matter if the execution is good. My issue with JJ is he’s one of the most unimaginative writers out there. He’s a great technical director, and great with casting.. but they need to keep him far away from story.. especially with Trek.

Is there a director/writer that can do one for half what Beyond cost because that is the only way they get a return on investment. In a post covid world i don’t see one being made for 140-150 million. It just isn’t realistic.

I’ve heard that “The Creator” was made for less than $90 million. Maybe Paramount should talk to the team behind that movie. I should note that I haven’t seen that movie yet so no idea if it’s actually any good.

Lens flares galore!

I’d prefer Pussy Galore, myself.

Everytime I see excessive and unwarranted lens flare, a big part of me thinks that a pre-teen is shooting the movie. Either that or a grownup with execrable taste.

Any way this goes down, if it even happens, I’m waiting for it to come to P+. No theater for me, very little interest. Cheers.

I’ve found myself going to fewer and fewer movies these days, myself.

I’ll believe it when I see it. interesting to note that the Variety story states that this is a

…planned reboot of “Star Trek” .

Either the writer was imprecise, or this is not another film in the Kelvin series.

I’m happy to see someone actually read the source material. There’s just a touch of irrational exuberance here that this means Trek 4 getting pushed to the front of the line. The article also points out that work that was almost greenlit, or currently in production has priority. Studio space will be at a premium. Oh, and projects that were wobblers previously could get cut.

In today’s news, SAG is pointing out that they represent a number of on-screen talent trades, and it could take a while to negotiate a deal. So there’s that…..

They should leave the TOS characters to P+ and do Kelvin TNG movies now.

The mention of a reboot is intriguing though.

I would normally say that it’s too late to go back to this crew after such a long hiatus, but these actors have only gotten more popular so I think the outlook for a successful return is promising.

It’s not too late. They shouldn’t be picking up where they left off, though…..

A story from the mind of JJ Abrams, the destroyer of franchises?

Paramount is just like Disney, doubling down on stupid.

Never fails. Trek 4 movie news always generates the most comments in the least amount of time. Now if only the Kentucky Derby prognostications held the same promise.

I don’t want to say this article is clickbait…..but it’s clickbait.

Yeah, how dare Trek MOVIE dot com write up news published recently in another source about a Star Trek movie!

Go read the source material…..

Not encouraged that the idea is from J.J. Abrams… His ideas lately have been the mess that was Rise of Skywalker and Cloverfield 3…. Thousand. Not encouraging.

JJ did exactly what Bob Iger and Kathleen Kennedy wanted. Produce two safe corporately driven products. It was the same old Star Wars. Only the lead was a woman, and co-star a black man. And for some reason that was controversial. I wonder if Luke was the main and Rey was the sidekick if there would have been as many complaints, but i already know the answer.

My problem was never the cast for the sequel movies. It was always that for me it completely undid Return of the Jedi because here we are decades later, the galaxy still sux, the “Empire” is still there, and worst of all, there are still no Jedi in the Galaxy.

Luke reluctantly started a new Jedi order, aware that it could lead to rebirth of the sith

Also the new republic failed to see the growing threat of the first order, risen from ashes of the empire

I don’t sense that this is going anywhere…. and frankly maybe it shouldn’t …

Didn’t Bob Orci write the first two, not Abrams. So why is Abrams writing this one?

Bob Orci set up an interesting Kelvin verse with ST: 2009 only to let his horrid political analogies self destruct the Enterprise with Into Darkness (photon torpedoes, cough, drones into the Klingon Empire with GWB are bad you see, ignore that they are saving Ukraine today. Poor poor Kahn, turns out he just wanted his family back). It’s sad because I think he had the right set up. You had it where Kahn, picked up a genetically engineered strategic genius, manipulates a desperate post-destruction-of-Vulcan Starfleet into thinking he can save them from the Klingons only to betray them and prepare a take over with only a Kirk on strange frontier missions thinking something has gone amiss. But nope, poor poor Kahn being mislead by GWB, so dumb. It’s sad because if you ever watch Transformers Prime you can tell that the guy can write awesome when not on a tangent, while Into Darkness was a Enterprise can only last 2 seconds in combat wreck, Prime was a fantastic series!

Orci shouldve written the 3rd one, we’d have got Shatner return as Kirk (deaged to Generations era), big implications for the Kelvin timeline under threat of being wiped out (abit like Yesterdays Enterprise), Bryan Cranston as the villain, Alice Eve back as Carol Marcus..

sounded better (and more a continuation of the first film) than whatever Beyond was supposed to be (Gold Key live action?)

Nobody is saying that Abrams is writing this one. There have been several writers attached to this project. One of those writers said that “the seed of the idea” came from Abrams. That could just mean a two-sentence pitch, or it could be more.

I don’t think he is writing it but rather the idea for the script was his and other writers went with it. But I have to admit that JJ having ANY say in the script gives me huge pause.

Don’t hold your breath on this one.

Theatrical reboot would be a waste of money. Another Kelvin movie with the main cast…less wall to wall FX…more character moments that could be interesting! let JJ direct it again also why not his direction on the first 2 movies was pretty good so let him have another shot at it!

A bit off topic but I just found out Chris Pine wrote and directed a movie called Poolman. Has anyone heard of it before? Well I don’t think it’s going to be a gateway to Pine directing a future Star Trek movie or even a commercial since it is currently 20% on RT.

That’s bad. That’s Discovery level of bad. Even though I joke a lot, I do think he’s a decent actor, but that probably should just be his focus reading some of the reviews.

Id heard he was going to do Poolman a while ago but had no idea it had come out.

I don’t think it’s come out yet. It was shown at some movie festival and where the reviews come from. To be fair there are only 20 reviews up so far so it can improve with more, but the few I read were brutal.

star trek 4 cancellato

Star Trek 4 Gets Back on Course With New Screenwriter Revealed

Star Trek 4 might be finally getting out of development hell with a new writer attached to the project.

A planned fourth movie set in Star Trek 's Kelvin Timeline has been planned for several years, but multiple false starts have had fans doubting that the movie might ever get made. However, Paramount hasn't pulled the plug on the project, as it's getting back onto the rails with a new screenwriter on board. Per Variety , It's been revealed that Steve Yockey has signed on as the new screenwriter for Star Trek 4 .

A Complete History of the Pre-Federation Vulcans in Star Trek

Steve Yockey is the co-creator and developer of the acclaimed Max series The Flight Attendant . His work on the show earned him multiple nominations for Primetime Emmy Awards. He is also a co-showrunner and writer of the upcoming Netflix series Dead Boy Detectives , a spinoff of The Sandman . He also worked on Doom Patrol , Supernatural , and the Scream television series.

The Kelvin Timeline was launched with the Star Trek reboot film released in 2009. It introduced a new cast taking on familiar characters from Star Trek: The Original Series , including Chris Pine as Captain James T. Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldaña as Nyota Uhura, Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard McCoy, John Cho as Hikaru Sulu, Simon Pegg as Montgomery Scott, and the late Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov.

William Shatner Joins Leonard Nimoy's Family in Remembering the Star Trek Legend

Star Trek was given two sequels. The first, Star Trek Into Darkness , was released in 2013, later followed by Star Trek Beyond in 2016. Plans to make a sequel have been around since that film's release, as Paramount first announced Star Trek 4 would happen in 2016, originally with J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay writing the script. Different potential writers and directors have since revolved through the project as the years progressed, with The Fantastic Four director Matt Shakman on board at one point.

Other Star Trek Movies Are Planned

There are big plans at Paramount to expand the world of Star Trek , and that includes developing another feature film separate from Star Trek 4 . Another planned project is currently in the works with writer Seth Grahame-Smith ( Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter ) and director Toby Haynes ( Black Mirror 's "USS Callister"). This will introduce a new cast that's described as more of an origin story for the franchise. Meanwhile, another Star Trek film with Kalinda Vazquez ( Fear the Walking Dead ) attached to write is also in development.

Star Trek 4 does not have a release date at this time.

Source: Variety

Star Trek 4

To save Earth from an alien probe, Admiral James T. Kirk and his fugitive crew go back in time to San Francisco in 1986 to retrieve the only beings who can communicate with it: humpback whales.

Director Leonard Nimoy

Release Date November 26, 1986

Cast Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, William Shatner, George Takei, Leonard Nimoy, Deforest Kelley, James Doohan

Writers Harve Bennett, Gene Roddenberry, Leonard Nimoy

Runtime 1 Hour 59 Minutes

Main Genre Science Fiction

Genres Comedy, Action, Science Fiction, Adventure

Production Company Paramount Pictures, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM)

Star Trek 4 Gets Back on Course With New Screenwriter Revealed

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Everything we know about Star Trek 4

Will captain kirk and co return for one more outing.

It looks like the only thing trickier than surviving a mission into deep space is getting all of your starships in a row long enough to send Star Trek 4 speeding into production.

The last time we saw Captain James T. Kirk and his pointy-eared pal Spock in action was in 2016 threequel Star Trek Beyond . Ever since then, updates on their next adventure have been sporadic at best, with news of stand-alone spin-offs from critically acclaimed talent and even a new prequel story drifting in and out of focus like passing asteroids.

Multiple writers and directors have boarded Star Trek 4 only to hit eject before any meaningful progress has been made, leaving this sci-fi tentpole franchise lost in space. However, a promising new update suggests that the crew of the USS Enterprise could be gearing up for a new mission in the not-too-distant future.

With that in mind, here’s everything we know about Star Trek 4 so far…

When will Star Trek 4 be released?

Star Trek 4 is currently without a release date. In fact, the film hasn’t even entered production so we’ll likely have to wait a few years before we can see the Enterprise crew back on the big screen.

What is the plot of Star Trek 4?

As it stands, we don’t have any details of what adventure Star Trek 4 will send audiences on. That said, we do know that the fourth film in the franchise is set to be the final outing for this particular chapter of the Star Trek story that J.J. Abrams started in 2009.

To say that Star Trek 4 has had a long and varied gestation process so far is a bit of an understatement. Initially, talk of a fourth film began before the release of its predecessor Star Trek Beyond and not long afterwards, auteur filmmaker Quentin Tarantino was reported to have pitched his own idea to Abrams in 2017.

This new take on the Star Trek story was being developed separately from Abrams’ primary universe and was reported to have an R-rated tone thanks to its violence and language. Despite gathering a group of writers to work on the project, Tarantino’s Star Trek ultimately hasn’t come to fruition just yet.

Madame Web helmer S.J. Clarkson was the next person to be hired to direct but dropped off of the film when negotiations surrounding the return of Kirk star Chris Pine and his on-screen father Chris Hemsworth fell apart.

Fargo’s Noah Hawley was then enlisted to take the franchise forward in a new direction that would’ve been starkly different from what had come before but involved the franchise’s same ensemble cast however his plans fell apart too, leading him to start work on the new Alien series instead.

Prison Break writer Kalinda Vazquez was the next person to be linked to Star Trek 4 before she was replaced by It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s long-time director Matt Shankman. He was set to direct a new story written by Pet Sematary: Bloodlines scribe Lindsay Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet, writer of 2018’s Tomb Raider reboot.

Unfortunately, cast negotiations dragging on hampered the development process and it wasn’t long before Shakman left the project to tackle Marvel’s Fantastic Four reboot instead. Despite this, Beer offered an update in September 2023 that suggested that her and Robertson-Dworet’s story was still in active development.

“It's still on the tracks,” Beer told Collider . “I love that project, and it was another one that I had to hop off of to direct [Pet Sematary: Bloodlines], and that was a hard thing to do. But I love everybody involved with that project.”

The franchise experienced some promising signs of life in March 2024 when The Flight Attendant screenwriter Steve Yockey was enlisted by Bad Robot and Paramount Pictures to write a new Star Trek 4 script. While story details are non-existent, it’s believed that Yockey’s story is still planned to be the final outing for Abrams’ crew.

Will there be a Star Trek prequel movie?

Yes, a stand-alone Star Trek prequel movie is also in development from Abrams’ Bad Robot production company.

Set decades before the 2009 Star Trek reboot, the project is described as an origin story that will be written by Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter's Seth Grahame-Smith and Andor director Todd Haynes.

Who will be starring in Star Trek 4?

If Star Trek 4 does finally come together, the project will have to reunite the crew of the USS Enterprise. That includes Pine’s Captain James Kirk, Zachary Quinto’s Spock, Karl Urban’s Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy, Zoe Saldana’s Nyota Uhura, Simon Pegg’s Montgomery “Scotty” Scott and John Cho’s Hikaru Sulu.

Pavel Chekov star Anton Yelchin tragically passed away following a freak accident in 2016 and it is unclear how the sequel might address his absence.

Bringing the movie’s crew together on deck might be harder than it sounds, with Quinto recently describing the process as “complicated.”

“I think there’s a lot of other stuff, creative things,” he said during a convention appearance in summer 2023. “The fact that anything good gets made is kind of miracle.

“I think it’s about different people having different agendas and ideas about what it will be. And I don’t know if and when it will happen... And if it coalesces again and we come back and we're able to do it, wonderful. If not, we had a great run.”

Meanwhile, Pine has also shared his frustrations surrounding delays and being able to see up-to-date scripts. He even called the sequel “cursed” following its trouble getting off the ground.

“After the last one came out and didn't do the $1 billion that everyone wanted it to do, and then Anton [Yelchin] passed away, I don't know. It just... feels like it’s cursed,” he told Esquire .

“I know costume designers that have read scripts before the actors. I would say it's frustrating. It doesn't really foster the greatest sense of partnership, but it's how it's always been. I love the character. I love the people. I love the franchise. But to try to change the system in which things are created – I just can'’ do it. I don’t have the energy.”

Speaking to ComicBook.com in January 2024, Saldana said she would be “grateful” for one more outing with her galaxy exploring colleagues.

“I mean, I heard what you heard in the trades. I just heard they’re gearing up to do a new one with a younger, sort of, take on it... I don't know if it’s from the before or the after, but that they really still hope to grab all of us veterans and bring us back for one last round.”

“Listen, I know it’s a lot to wrangle a whole bunch of people with busy schedules,” she added. “But working with J.J. Abrams, and for J.J. Abrams at Bad Robot, was always just a wonderful and beautiful experience for me. So, if I get to do that one last time, I would be so grateful.”

If the crew of the USS Enterprise manage to get their act together, only then can then start to discuss who might be playing their new big-bad plus anyone else who may return – or be introduced – in Star Trek 4.

Is there a trailer for Star Trek 4?

Unfortunately, there’s no trailer or footage available for Star Trek 4 just yet.

Star Trek 4 is still in development.

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Star Trek 4 Development Details And More

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J.J. Abrams rebooted the "Star Trek" franchise in 2009, and since then, the three films in the new Kelvin timeline have been a smashing success. Altogether, the first "Trek" reboot, 2013's "Star Trek Into Darkness," and 2016's "Star Trek Beyond" have grossed more than a billion dollars at the global box office. They've also done fairly well critically. With all that love, it seems pretty obvious that Hollywood would want to get "Star Trek 4" to theater screens at warp speed.

However, the road to "Star Trek 4" has not been a smooth one. In fact, it's been filled with starts and stops, various creatives coming and going, and a release date that keeps getting beamed all over the place. What do we actually know about the fourth installment of the "Star Trek" reboot series, and what will it look like when it finally makes first contact? Read on for everything we know so far about "Star Trek 4."

What is the release date for Star Trek 4?

"Star Trek 4" has been in the works for a long time ... a really long time. In June 2015, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Chris Pine (Kirk) and Zachary Quinto (Spock) had signed up for "Star Trek 4." But Pine and Chris Hemsworth (who was said to be returning as Kirk's dad) allegedly left a potential fourth project over pay disputes in 2018, and in 2019, it was announced that the film had been shelved. Eventually, the project started moving again and earned a release date of June 9, 2023, but that got kicked back to December 22, 2023 ... before vanishing from the release slate completely.

We have reason to believe "Star Trek 4" is still in the works, however. Speaking with Collider , former director Matt Shakman (who left the project to direct "Fantastic Four") said, "I think what they're still working on is a version of what I have been working on for the time that I was involved." In August 2023, Quinto added his own take on the likelihood of a fourth outing. "I think there's a lot of other stuff, creative things. It's complicated," the actor remarked (via TrekMovie.com ). He continued, "I don't know if and when it will happen ... And if coalesces again and we come back and we're able to do it, wonderful. If not, we had a great run."

In a September 2023 piece on the end of the Writers Guild of America strike, Variety reported that Paramount was looking to polish a "Star Trek 4" script. Another promising nugget of info emerged around this time, when writer-director Lindsey Anderson Beer, who co-wrote a prospective "Star Trek 4" script, told Collider , "It's still on the tracks." So, "Star Trek 4" isn't dead in the water, and with the 2023 Hollywood strikes ended, a major obstacle is gone. But that's pretty much all we know.

What is the plot of Star Trek 4?

At this point, no plot details for the upcoming fourth "Star Trek" movie have been revealed. Some proposed paths forward have been rumored to involve alternate timelines, or even another reboot — especially Tarantino's attempt — but they've all fallen by the wayside. For now, we can probably assume "Star Trek 4" will take place after the events of 2016's "Star Trek Beyond," which was directed by Justin Lin of the  "Fast and Furious" franchise .

In "Star Trek Beyond," Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise see their beloved ship crash on the planet Altamid after an ambush by a pre-Federation human soldier, Idris Elba's Captain Balthazar Edison. When Kirk and the gang discover Edison's plans to use an ancient bioweapon to destroy the Federation, they're forced to stop him — without the help of their ship. That film also explores the death of Leonard Nimoy's Ambassador Spock, as well as relationship troubles between Spock and Uhura.

One story we know "Star Trek 4" won't be exploring is a reunion between Captain Kirk and his father George, courtesy of time travel. Chris Hemsworth briefly played George Kirk in 2009's "Star Trek," but turned down a chance to reprise the role in a bigger story in 2018. "Star Trek 4" also won't tie into any of the current "Star Trek" TV series, like "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" or "Star Trek: Lower Decks." Those series take place in a universe separate from the Kelvin timeline.

Who is starring in Star Trek 4?

You'd expect a "Star Trek" movie set in the Kelvin timeline to feature the return of the ol' gang, right? Why, yes, you would. However, nothing has been easy about getting "Star Trek 4" off the ground, and that includes bringing back the original cast. In 2018, Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth reportedly walked away from the project over pay disputes. In February 2022, when producer J.J. Abrams announced that "Star Trek 4" was finally moving ahead, new behind-the-scenes drama erupted. While Abrams said the original stars were returning, none of the actors had officially agreed to the project.

In March 2022, Pine told Variety about his reaction to the "Star Trek 4" announcement: "I think everybody was like, 'Did you hear about this?' We're usually the last people to find out, but I do know we're all excited. Whenever they want to send us a script, we're ready for it." Karl Urban had a similar stance, telling the U.K.'s Radio X (via TrekMovie.com ) in May 2022, "I have heard that it is happening, but I've been hearing that for the last three years ... All I know is they are developing it, they're writing a script, and I know 100% that we all want to come back and do it. So I think it's all just a matter of logistics and timing at this point."

Sofia Boutella — who played Jaylah in "Star Trek Beyond" — also expressed interest in returning, saying (via Fandom Spotlite ), "I would love to see [Jaylah] evolve with all of the guys ... I would do it in a heartbeat." However, Zachary Quinto seems a bit wary of the whole thing. During a November 2022 interview with The Independent , the actor said, "At this point, I honestly have very little attachment to it. All of us would like to come back and make another movie, but I've learnt to only get excited about things I know are actually real. And there's nothing about a fourth 'Star Trek' movie that feels real right now."

Will Star Trek 4 recast Chekov?

One of the most classic and beloved "Star Trek" characters, Pavel Chekov was memorably played in the first three Kelvin timeline movies by Anton Yelchin. Yelchin was killed in a car accident in June 2016, just one month before the release of "Star Trek Beyond." His passing has definitely been felt by both fans and his "Star Trek" cohorts.

In March 2022, when the movie was still moving forward under director Matt Shakman, Uhura actress Zoe Saldaña told Entertainment Tonight about the project. "Obviously, it's bittersweet," she remarked, "because we are coming together for a fourth time and one of us is no longer with us with Anton's passing, but we honestly feel that going back and keeping the 'Star Trek' family together is a way to really keep him alive in our thoughts and our hearts because he was such a fan. And he was such a devoted artist to the craft and also to 'Star Trek.'"

Of course, that particular version of "Star Trek 4" is no longer moving forward, but if you think Saldaña's comments indicate that Paramount won't be recasting the part of Chekov, you're probably right. In a 2016 interview with Postmedia Network , shortly after Yelchin's death, producer J.J. Abrams explained, "I would say there's no replacing him. There's no recasting. I can't possibly imagine that, and I think Anton deserves better."

Granted, emotions were high when Abrams said they wouldn't replace Yelchin. However, there's been no indication in the years since the actor's death that a new Chekov will show up on the bridge of the Enterprise.

Who is directing Star Trek 4?

Perhaps the main reason that "Star Trek 4" hasn't happened yet is that Paramount Pictures is having a difficult time finding a director. For a moment, it looked like Quentin Tarantino was going to boldly go where he'd never gone before. J.J. Abrams was super excited about Tarantino's time-traveling concept of sending Kirk and co.  to a world of 1930s gangsters, similar to the classic "Trek" episode "A Piece of the Action." Screenwriter Mark L. Smith of "The Revenant" fame was set to pen the script, but sadly for Trekkies who wanted to see Spock quoting Ezekiel 25:17, Tarantino's vision never came to pass.

Then, it looked like S.J. Clarkson was going to make history as the first woman to helm a "Star Trek" movie. But after Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth left the project in 2018, the movie was subsequently shelved. Noah Hawley of "Fargo" fame was also working on a "Star Trek" movie — one that would've been about a brand new group of heroes — but Paramount eventually stepped in and shut things down because it wouldn't have featured the famous Enterprise crew.

The closest that "Star Trek 4" has come to happening was when Matt Shakman took the captain's seat. After he directed the entirety of the smash hit MCU series "WandaVision," the world was Shakman's oyster, and he intended to shepherd the newest entry in the "Star Trek" universe to theater screens. However, Marvel Studios was keen on working with Shakman again, and after director Jon Watts decided to step away from 2025's "Fantastic Four," the folks at Marvel asked Shakman to come back to the MCU — which he did. As a result, at the moment, "Star Trek 4" is floating through space without a captain.

Where to watch the previous Star Trek movies

While we all wait for news about "Star Trek 4," it might be a good time to go back and revisit previous installments in the "Star Trek" reboot series. If you want to watch the film that started it all and introduced us to new versions of Kirk, Spock, Uhura, and the rest of the Enterprise crew, you can stream 2009's "Star Trek" on Paramount+ . You can also rent it for $3.99 on Google Play ,  Amazon Prime Video , Apple iTunes , Vudu , and YouTube .

If you're ready for the 2013 sequel where Benedict Cumberbatch definitely doesn't play Khan Noonien Singh, you can stream "Star Trek Into Darkness" on Paramount+ . You can also rent it for $3.99 on Google Play , Apple iTunes , Vudu , and YouTube . Amazon Prime Video offers it for $4.29. If you're looking for the third film, where our heroes learn the true power of the Beastie Boys, you can stream "Star Trek Beyond" on Paramount+ . You can also rent it for $2.69 on Google Play and $3.99 on Amazon Video , Apple iTunes , Vudu , and YouTube .

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Showrunners Reveal Details of Their Cancelled Star Trek 4 Script

This film would have been like "indiana jones and the last crusade in space.".

Adam Bankhurst Avatar

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay have revealed details of their canceled Star Trek 4 script, which would have been like "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in space."

Following the finale of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Payne and McKay sat down with Esquire to discuss the Prime Video show, but they also shared a few exciting details on what could have been if their Star Trek project had actually seen the light of day.

It had been previously reported that Star Trek 4 was going to somehow bring together Chris Pine's James T. Kirk and his father George Kirk, played by Chris Hemsworth, but Payne and McKay give us a much clear picture of the story that never was.

"The conceit was that through a cosmic quirk in the Star Trek world, [Pine and Hemsworth's characters] were the same age," McKay said. "It was going to be a grand father-son space adventure—think Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in space. We were really thrilled about it. We had an original villain and a really cool 2001: A Space Odyssey-esque sci-fi idea at the core."

While this concept would have potentially been great to see on the big screen, its cancelation may just have led to McKay and Payne finding their way to the Rings of Power.

"We worked on it for two and half years with Lindsey Weber, our non-writing executive producer on Rings of Power, and an amazing director, S.J. Clarkson," McKay continued. "The movie eventually fell apart and it really was a heartbreak for us. It’s part of what led us here, because it got us thinking, 'Gosh, with a big IP title, big movie stars, and a story that we all felt had the chance to be terrific, it couldn't come together.' We felt the winds were shifting against big movies, which is part of what made us start taking TV seriously. That led us to Rings of Power. But we would have loved to make that movie."

The pair didn't stop there, however, as Payne then gave more details on how exactly this film would have played out.

"There’s an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation called 'Relics' where they find Scotty, who's been trapped in a transporter for a couple of decades, and they're able to have cool adventure with him," Payne said. "Our conceit was, 'What if right before the Kelvin impacted with that huge mining ship, George Kirk had tried to beam himself over to his wife's shuttle where his son, Jim Kirk, had just been born? And what if the ship hadn’t completely exploded—what if it left some space junk?'

"Think about when you send a text message and you’ve typed it out, but you haven't quite hit send. On the other side, they see those three little dots that someone has typed. It’s like the transporter had absorbed his pattern up into the pattern buffer, but hadn’t spit him out on the other side. It was actually a saved copy of him that was in the computer."

In closing, McKay shared how Pine's James T. Kirk and his crew would have found his father's pattern.

"So the adventure is that Chris Pine and the crew of the Enterprise have to seek out the wreckage of the ship that his father died on because of a mystery and a new villain," McKay said. "In the ship, they stumble across his father's pattern. They beam him out and he has no idea that no time has passed at all, and that he's looking at his son. Then the adventure goes from there."

Star Trek 4 was officially announced in 2017, and it's had a bit of a bumpy ride since then. It was reportedly cancelled in 2019, but it was given new life when it was announced that WandaVision director Matt Shakman would be directing this next installment. Unfortunately, Shakman recently dropped the project to focus on directing Marvel's Fantastic Four.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected] .

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

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Everything we know about star trek 4.

Paramount is planning another entry in the Star Trek cinematic franchise. Here's everything we know about Star Trek 4, from its release date to story.

  • Star Trek 4 is finally happening with new writers and a new director, after a series of false starts and different ideas.
  • While details on the story and cast are still unknown, the film has the potential to explore various aspects of the Star Trek universe, including the Kelvin timeline and the Prime universe.
  • The release date for Star Trek 4 is set for June 9, 2023, but it is subject to change depending on the progress of production.

Star Trek 4 is finally happening, and here's everything we know about it, from its potential release date to the story details. The current iteration of the big screen Star Trek film franchise began in 2009 with J.J. Abrams' quasi-reboot Star Trek , starring Chris Pine as a younger, alternate universe version of Captain James T. Kirk . That first film and its sequel, 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness , were box office and critical hits. And while 2016's Star Trek Beyond was greeted warmly by critics and fans, it struggled at the box office, and Trek 's future has been in question ever since.

While the movie wing of the Star Trek franchise has been faltering, the TV side has been flourishing. Star Trek: Discovery kicked off the modern era of Trek shows in 2017, followed by the hit Star Trek: Picard , and the adult animated comedy Star Trek: Lower Decks . Along with more seasons for all three series, more shows are on the horizon, as Star Trek becomes a foundational portion of the new streaming service Paramount+ (rebranded from CBS All Access).

Related: Every Star Trek TV Show Ranked

But just because things are moving smoothly on TV, that doesn't mean Paramount isn't looking to transfer some of that success to the big screen. There have been some false starts on the film side over the past few years, with a handful of different Star Trek 4 ideas being thrown around, but it seems that the sequel is finally back on track with a new writer and direction.

Star Trek 4 Is Happening

It was previously announced that Star Trek: Discovery writer Kalinda Vasquez - who was actually named after a character on Star Trek: The Original Series - would write Star Trek 4. However, that's since changed, as Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet are now set to pen the script. Beer is set to write and direct a Pet Sematary prequel for Paramount too, while Robertson-Dworet was a co-writer on Captain Marvel . Abrams will return to produce, but directing duties are being handed to Matt Shakman , who helmed Marvel's WandaVision show as well as working on episodes of Game of Thrones . This follows a few false starts, including ideas from Quentin Tarantino and Fargo and Legion mastermind Noah Hawley. Tarantino seems to have steadily lost interest in the idea, and Hawley admitted the studio wanted to go in a different direction than what he had planned.

Will The Star Trek: Beyond Cast Return?

It's not yet clear if the cast from the three previous films will return. At one point, the plan was absolutely to have the cast back in a time travel story that would have included Chris Hemsworth's George Kirk from 2009's Star Trek , but that was several iterations ago. Hawley's story likely would not have included Pine and friends, since it was going in a new direction with a new cast. As for what era of Star Trek Beer and Robertson-Dworet's story takes place in, it's simply too early to tell.

Star Trek 4 Story

There are no concrete story hints at this point. Now that Star Trek is under one corporate umbrella again, virtually the entire Star Trek mythos would be open to exploring in a feature film, be it the Kelvin timeline films with Pine and company, or something set in the Prime universe that can expand on Picard , Discovery , or other shows. Of course, Paramount and crew could also boldly go in a new direction no writer or director has gone before.

Star Trek 4 Release Date

Paramount has dated Star Trek 4 's theatrical bow for June 9, 2023. Seeing as how it's only in the script stage and no cast or official title have been announced, a two-plus year wait for fans from now seems about right. Typically, past Star Trek movies took that long when moving through development and into production, then post-production. Of course, should there be any major delays in getting production moving, that far away release date gives Paramount wiggle room to push it back if need be, with little likely backlash.

Next: Every Star Trek Movie Ranked

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Star Trek 4 Takes Another Step Toward Sending Off The Reboot's Cast In Style

A new screenwriter has been brought on board.

By Evan Campbell on March 27, 2024 at 9:44AM PDT

After years of development issues, Star Trek 4 has reportedly found a new screenwriter in The Flight Attendant co-creator Steve Yockey. Paramount Pictures supposedly still sees the project as a film finale for the cast--like Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Zoe Saldana--who rebooted the franchise with 2009's Star Trek.

Variety reports Yockey will be tasked with sending off this crew in style with Star Trek 4, though Paramount is staying mum on the story. It's apparently expected that Simon Pegg (chief engineer Montgomery Scott), Karl Urban (Dr. McCoy), and John Cho (Sulu) will return as well.

Before The Flight Attendant, Yockey has written for TV shows like Supernatural and Scream. As for Star Trek 4, WandaVision's Matt Shakman was the most recent director attached to the project before departing for Marvel's The Fantastic Four . Since then, it's been relatively quiet regarding the project.

But Paramount has been trying to get the movie off the ground for a long time. In fact, in 2019, Star Trek 4 was shelved because director SJ Clarkson left the project for Game of Thrones. In 2018, it was reported contract negotiations broke down with Pine and Chris Hemsworth , who played Kirk's father in the 2009 reboot. There are no signs that Hemsworth will be a part of this new iteration of Star Trek 4.

In addition to this film, Paramount is also working on another new Star Trek movie from Andor director Toby Haynes and The Lego Batman Movie writer Seth Grahame-Smith. It is reported to serve as an origin story for the franchise with an entirely new cast.

Star Trek Beyond was the last film in the franchise and raked in over $343 million worldwide, per BoxOfficeMojo . That figure was lower than the prior two movies: Star Trek Into Darkness made roughly $467 million, while Star Trek hauled in $385 million.

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Star Trek 4 gets a promising update

The film has landed a new screenwriter.

preview for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Official Trailer (Paramount+)

The follow-up to 2016's Star Trek Beyond has faced numerous setbacks in recent years, including director Matt Shakman's departure in August 2022 to direct Fantastic Four for Marvel , leading Paramount to remove the film from its release calendar the following month.

Meanwhile, screenwriter Lindsay Anderson Beer revealed in September 2023 that she had to "hop off" the project to direct Pet Sematary: Bloodlines , though she did also promise that the JJ Abrams-produced film was "still on the tracks".

It looks like this is now finally the case as The Flight Attendant creator Steve Yockey has been brought on board as the new screenwriter, according to Variety .

chris pine as captain kirk in a still from star trek beyond

Related: New Star Trek movie confirmed – but not the one you expected

While specifics of the storyline remain under wraps, the publication has reported that Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot still intend to deliver this final chapter for the crew first introduced in the franchise's 2009 reboot.

This includes Chris Pine as Captain Kirk, alongside Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Simon Pegg as Scotty, Karl Urban as Bones and John Cho as Sulu.

Pine himself seemed a little less optimistic about returning to the USS Enterprise when asked for an update last year, though, having called the franchise "cursed" .

director jj abrams and the cast from star trek

Related: Star Trek confirms new Starfleet spinoff show from Discovery boss

"After the last one came out and didn't do the $1 billion that everyone wanted it to do, and then Anton (Yelchin) passed away , I don't know," he told Esquire . "It just... feels like it's cursed."

Elsewhere in the Star Trek universe, it was announced earlier this year that JJ Abrams is producing a new prequel movie set decades before the 2009 reboot.

Andor and Doctor Who director Toby Haynes will helm the project, while The Lego Batman Movie 's Seth Grahame-Smith is writing the script.

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Content Production Intern, Digital Spy

After completing her joint honours degree in Journalism and English Literature at Cardiff University, Iona joined Digital Spy as a Content Production Intern in 2022. In this role, Iona writes across both news and features, specialising in TV and movies. During her time at Digital Spy , she has interviewed multiple Love Island stars, reported from the Black Adam red carpet and, most recently, interviewed the cast of Disney’s live-action The Little Mermaid .

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Writers Reveal Cancelled Star Trek 4 Chris Hemsworth Premise

By Jake Abbate

As of this week, J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay have officially closed out their first season as the showrunners behind The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power . But before Amazon invited them to Middle-earth, the pair were among several writers hired to tackle Star Trek 4 for Paramount. Payne and McKay’s draft notably gave a prominent role to Chris Hemsworth, who would have reprised his role as James T. Kirk’s father, George, from the original Star Trek reboot in 2009 and joined the Kelvin timeline cast on a new adventure. Now, the scribes (via Esquire ) are revealing how his comeback would have played out onscreen.

Payne and McKay were developing their Star Trek 4 script alongside Lindsay Weber, who later joined them as an executive producer on The Rings of Power , and director S.J. Clarkson, who has since moved onto Sony’s Madame Web movie. Hemsworth’s involvement garnered a lot of attention, especially since his character appeared to die in Star Trek ’s opening scene. But it sounds like we have the “Relics” episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation to thank for giving Payne and McKay the means of explaining his shocking return.

“They find Scotty, who’s been trapped in a transporter for a couple of decades,” recalled Payne. “And they’re able to have cool adventure with him. Our conceit was, ‘What if right before the Kelvin impacted with that huge mining ship, George Kirk had tried to beam himself over to his wife’s shuttle where his son, Jim Kirk, had just been born? And what if the ship hadn’t completely exploded—what if it left some space junk?’”

RELATED: Paramount Removes the Next Star Trek Film From Its Release Schedule

“Think about when you send a text message and you’ve typed it out,” continued Payne. “But you haven’t quite hit send. On the other side, they see those three little dots that someone has typed. It’s like the transporter had absorbed his pattern up into the pattern buffer. But [it] hadn’t spit him out on the other side. It was actually a saved copy of him that was in the computer.”

Additionally, McKay went on to discuss how Hemswoth’s character would have been rescued:

“So the adventure is that Chris Pine and the crew of the Enterprise have to seek out the wreckage of the ship that his father died on because of a mystery and a new villain,” said McKay. “In the ship, they stumble across his father’s pattern. They beam him out and he has no idea that no time has passed at all, and that he’s looking at his son. Then the adventure goes from there.”

RELATED: Matt Shakman Officially Steps Down as the Director of Star Trek 4

McKay didn’t go into detail, but this “new villain” was a completely original character that he and Payne created themselves. He also likened their script to “ Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade  in space” and said it had a “really cool  2001: A Space Odyssey -esque sci-fi idea” at its core. But in the end, it wasn’t meant to be. Both Pine and Hemsworth abandoned negotiations by mid-2018, leaving the status of the project in limbo.

Since then, Paramount has struggled to chart a course for Star Trek ’s big-screen future. Most recently, the next film was slated to hit theaters in December 2023. But following director Matt Shakman’s exit in August, the sequel has been removed from the studio’s release calendar entirely.

What do you think of Payne and McKay’s ideas for Star Trek 4 ? Let us know in the comment section below!

Recommended Reading: The Star Trek Book: Strange New Worlds Boldly Explained (Big Ideas Simply Explained)

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Jake Abbate

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Star Trek 4 'cancelled indefinitely'

Director sj clarkson will instead direct the upcoming game of thrones spin-off pilot, article bookmarked.

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Star Trek IV has reportedly been cancelled by Paramount studios.

In August, industry insiders claimed that relationships with Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth over contract negotiations had broken down, and news about the project had been scarce ever since.

Deadline now reports that Star Trek IV has been abandoned completely. The publication confirms that SJ Clarkson – who was set to be the first female director of the Star Trek franchise – has been recruited by HBO for their upcoming prequel pilot of Game of Thrones .

The trade reports: “I hear Clarkson was recruited by HBO for Game of Thrones after she recently became available. Earlier this year, Clarkson was the first female director to be tapped to direct a Star Trek movie when she was hired to helm the fourth feature in the current series. That project has since been shelved.”

Paramount has reportedly responded to movie site Screen Rant , saying: “We have no comment on this for the time being.”

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The franchise had been somewhat rejuvenated in 2009 when it returned from a seven-year break with JJ Abram’s Star Trek , but it is being suggested that poor box-office receipts from latest movie Star Trek: Beyond could be a possible factor for the alleged abandonment of IV .

Quentin Tarantino’s imminent take on the franchise has also been cited as a factor, with the director said to be teaming up with the original Abram’s cast once he has finished work on the forthcoming Once Upon A Time In Hollywood , which is due for release in July. Screen Rant suggested that Paramount may have wanted to avoid developing these two sequels in quick succession.

If the ominous cancellation rumours are as they seem, Star Trek die hards will still be able to take some solace in the fact that series two of Star Trek: Discovery is going ahead as planned . The popular CBS show is due to air later this month.

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IMAGES

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  3. Cancellato Star Trek 4

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