While a new Star Trek movie is still in the works from the newly merged Paramount, it looks like the crew of the last three big-screen Trek movies have already taken their final voyage. According to reports, Paramount is no longer moving forward with a Star Trek 4 that would reunite the cast of 2009’s Star Trek.
The word is that Paramount has “moved on” from the cast of the recent films, and will instead boldly go in a new direction with a new cast and premise. The three most recent Star Trek films take place in the “Kelvin timeline,” an alternate universe that’s not in-continuity with the Star Trek TV shows or the previous ten theatrical films. Starring Chris Pine as Captain Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, and Zoe Saldaña as Uhura, the Kelvin timeline includes three films: 2009’s Star Trek, which saw the crew come together with the aid of the original timeline’s Spock (Leonard Nimoy); 2013’s Star Trek: Into Darkness, which featured a conspiracy inside Starfleet and the mysterious Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch); and 2016’s Star Trek Beyond, which pitted the crew of the Enterprise against a power-mad monster (Idris Elba) from Starfleet’s hidden history.
What Went Wrong With ‘Star Trek 4’?
Star Trek 4 hit its first snag when Beyond underperformed at the box office; although it grossed a hefty $343.5 million, that was barely enough to offset its $185 million budget. For a time, Quentin Tarantino was attached to write and direct a sequel, but the famously mercurial Tarantino eventually left the project. Later, Madame Web‘s S.J. Clarkson was set to direct the film, which was intended to bring back George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth), Captain Kirk’s father, who died in a flashback scene of the first film. Fargo‘s Noah Hawley was also attached to a Star Trek project, but it remains in limbo. Matt Shakman was eventually hired to direct Star Trek 4, but as the project kept stalling over script and casting issues, he eventually moved on to direct Fantastic Four: First Steps instead, leaving the project rudderless.
Paramount’s most-recently-announced cinematic Star Trek project is allegedly an origin story for the United Federation of Planets, taking place at some point after the prequel series Star Trek: Enterprise, but before Star Trek: The Original Series. It will be directed by Toby Haynes (Andor), and written by Seth Grahame-Smith (Now You See Me: Now You Don’t).
A fourth Star Trek movie with the Kelvin Universe cast is reportedly no longer in development at Paramount. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.
- Director
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Matt Shakman
- Writers
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Lindsey Beer, Geneva Robertson-Dworet
- Prequel(s)
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Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Star Trek: Generations, Star Trek: Insurrection, Star Trek: Nemesis, Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Trek Beyond
