Star Trek 4 is in the works at Paramount Pictures with Legion and Fargo creator Noah Hawley in final talks to write and direct the project. Hawley will also produce under his 26 Keys banner, alongside J. J. Abrams for Bad Robot.
No information has been revealed about its potential plot, but the movie will be the fourth installment of the Star Trek reboot series launched by Abrams in 2009. This will also be the first foray into the popular sci-fi franchise for Noah Hawley, as Abrams and Justin Lin helmed the previous three entries in the series.
Franchise star Chris Pine is also expected to return to reprise the role of Captain James T. Kirk, alongside other castmates such as Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Simon Pegg as Scotty, Karl Urban as McCoy, and John Cho as Sulu. Because Anton Yelchin tragically passed away in 2016, Chekov will definitely not be appearing in the movie, as Abrams said following the actor’s death that the role wouldn’t be recast. It’s also worth noting all of the cast members have yet to officially sign on to the project as it’s in the very early stages of development, so it’s not guaranteed we’ll be seeing every other character from the previous movies.
Since the release of Star Trek Beyond in 2016, Paramount has made multiple attempts to produce a Star Trek 4. This includes a planned sequel directed by S. J. Clarkson, which would have involved time travel with Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) meeting his father (Chris Hemsworth). When negotiations broke down in the summer of 2018, the project was ultimately shelved, sending the studio back to the drawing board. It’s also reported that this project is completely separate from the R-rated spin-off pitched by Quentin Tarantino, which Paramount is still planning to produce as well. According to Tarantino, the script has been completed, and the studio remains hopeful he will direct the movie as well.
The first Star Trek movie from director J. J. Abrams was met with great success when it was released in 2009, grossing over $385 million against a $150 million budget. With Abrams back in the director’s chair, the sequel Star Trek Into Darkness was an even bigger hit, scoring over $467 million against a budget of less than $190 million. The release of the Justin Lin-helmed sequel Star Trek Beyond in 2016 was not quite as profitable as its predecessors, but still proved to be a big success by grossing over $343 million against a similar budget of $185 million. It was a matter of time before Star Trek 4 went into development, considering the vast amounts of money left on the table otherwise.
Unfortunately, there’s no word yet on a possible release date for the planned sequel, but for big fans of the franchise, it’s nice to know the next installment is entering development. Hopefully the same can soon be said for Tarantino’s Star Trek movie. This news comes to us from The Hollywood Reporter.
