Earlier this month, it was announced thatStar Trek 4is officially moving forward with Chris Pine and the original cast members returning. The announcement came straight from producer J. J. Abrams druing the Paramount investor day, revealing that the sequel was finally moving forward after years of stalling. Abrams noted, “We are thrilled to say that we are hard at work on a newStar Trekfilm that will be shooting by the end of the year that will be featuring the original cast.
While actors are usually privy to their involvement in certain films before they get official announcements, theStar Treksequel news reportedly surprised Pine and the other cast members. According toThe Hollywood Reporter, the actors and their reps were surprised by the news, though that’s not to say they aren’t interested in returning. Per the report, Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, and John Cho were all blindsided by the announcement. As of now, Pine is said to have started early negotiations as he’s the “lynchpin” to the project.
Word isStar Trek 4will start filming in the fall with plans to get the movie released by Jun 22, 2025. Whether that happens will depend on how smoothly production goes from this point moving forward. The screenplay is being worked on at the moment with no budget yet in place, pending talent negotiations. This sequel also keeps theStar Trekfranchise going alongside the Paramount+ showsPicardandDiscovery, as well as the animated showsLower DecksandProdigy.
Related:Star Trek’s Chief O’Brien Actor Colm Meaney Would Return for a Worf Series
Some fans may not be holding their breath on this one given the false starts forStar Trek 4that have happened in the past. At one point in 2018, there were plans to make the sequel with Chris Hemsworth coming on board to play the father of Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk. Talk fizzled when money got involved, eventually killing the project as it was and sendingStar Trek 4back to the drawing board. J. J. Abrams and Paramount must be happier with the new plan that’s in place for the sequel.
Quentin Tarantino has teased doing aStar Trekmovie and there were tentative plans for him to do just that, but that seems to have also fallen by the wayside. Noah Hawley was brought in at another point to do aStar Trekmovie following different crews and timelines, but that project ended up getting scrapped as well. PerhapsStar Trek 4will fare better this time, but if some fans have some trouble believing that, they can’t really be faulted for it.
WandaVisiondirector Matt Shakman is on board to directStar Trek 4. Despite Abrams' announcement about the original cast, they also have yet to sign on. Sadly, franchise star Anton Yelchin won’t be in the movie as Pavel Chekov, as the actor died in 2016 at the age of 27.
