Although fans of J.J. Abrams’ rebootedStar Trekmovies are still awaiting the fourth installment in the franchise, it looks like Paramount are expanding theStar Trekuniverse in a different direction with a new movie. According toDeadline,Toby Haynes, known for his work on theStar WarsseriesAndor, has been tapped to direct the latest addition to the 60-year-old sci-fi property, which will be written bySeth Grahame-Smithand produced by Abrams’ Bad Robot.
Although it is believed thatStar Trek 4is still in “active development” and will continue the Chris Pine-led story at some point in the future, the new movie will be an origin story that takes place “decades before the original 2009Star Trekfilm.” Currently, exact plot details are being kept under wraps, and it is far too early for casting news to be a consideration. Based on the very early development of the project, fans will likely have a few years to wait before this newStar Trekoffering hits the big screen.
TheStar Trekfranchise has never been short on content, with several series having been produced by Paramount in the last decade. However, like theStar Warsfranchise, theatrical releases have been a little more sparse, with the last movie being 2016’sStar Trek Beyond. Although that movie didn’t fare well with critics, the film did achieve a healthy $343 million at the box office, but the road to a sequel has been full of obstacles that have conspired to stall the franchise.
Star Trek Beyond
Related:Star Trek: Generations' Walter Koenig Despises the Way Captain Kirk Was Killed, Says ‘He Should Have Died Heroically’
Star Trek 4 Has Received Disappointing Updates from Its Stars
Despite seeming to be on the cards for some time, a sequel toStar Trek Beyondhas been elusive to say the least. Originally set to be written by Lindsay Anderson Beer, thePet Sematary: Bloodlinesdirector revealed back in September that she was no longer part of the movie’s writing team. She toldComicBook.com:
“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. And it was very sad to leave our Zoom sessions to focus on [Pet Sematary: Bloodlines], but this was my baby, so I had to prioritize.
A subsequent update on the status of the movie by star Chris Pine only seemed to compound the belief that the movie remains in limbo. While promoting the Disney movieWish,Pine was asked if there were any updates on the sequel, to which he simply replied:
Not that I know [of].
While it seems that Paramount are still interested in bringingStar Trek 4to screens, a decade-long gap between movies is usually not a good thing. Although there are some that have bucked that trend and proven that a break is sometimes good for a franchise, with so many otherStar Trekprojects on the cards, it could turn out thatPine’s version of Captain Kirkmay have already boldly gone for the last time.
