Paramount is boldly going where it's gone before: Trying to get the ball rolling on a fourth "Star Trek" movie set in the Kelvin Timeline introduced in the J.J. Abrams-directed 2009 film reboot of the classic sci-fi franchise.
According to Adweek's Jason Lynch, Abrams spoke about the next "Star Trek" film during Paramount's investor event, saying it will feature "the original cast" and is gearing up to start production by the end of 2022. Deadline has since confirmed that he meant the cast from 2009's "Star Trek" and its two sequels, with talks now underway for Chris Pine to reprise his role as James T. Kirk. Assuming all goes to plan, Zachary Quinto (Spock), Zoe Saldana (Lieutenant Uhura), Karl Urban (Dr. Bones McCoy), John Cho (Sulu), and Simon Pegg (Scotty) will also be back as the various crew members of the U.S.S. Enterprise from the last three "Star Trek" movies. Sadly, of course, they will have to go on without Anton Yelchin (Chekov), who tragically died shortly before the release of "Star Trek Beyond" in 2016.
Where There's A WandaVision, There's A Way
If you're starting to get a sense of déjà vu, that's likely because you recall this isn't the first time Paramount has tried to make a fourth "Star Trek" movie set in the Kelvin timeline. An earlier iteration of the film was put into development right before "Star Trek Beyond" hit theaters and would have seen Chis Hemsworth reprise his brief role as James Kirk's father, George Kirk, from 2009's "Star Trek" thanks to (one assumes) some type of time-travel trickery. S.J. Clarkson ("Jessica Jones") later signed on to direct the movie in 2018, only for the whole thing to collapse after talks fell through with Pine and Hemsworth. Along the way, Quentin Tarantino and "The Revenant" writer Mark L. Smith developed a script for a different "Star Trek" movie, as did FX's "Fargo" creator Noah Hawley. However, for the time being, it seems neither of those projects are moving forward.
No, the only "Star Trek" film left standing at this juncture is the one Abrams is producing, with "WandaVision" director Matt Shakman calling the shots from a script by Josh Friedman ("Terminator: Dark Fate") and Cameron Squires ("WandaVision"), based on an earlier draft by Lindsey Beer ("The Magic Order") and Geneva Robertson-Dworet ("Captain Marvel"). With a little luck, second time around will prove to be the trick.
The next "Star Trek" movie is (for now) scheduled to open in theaters on December 22, 2023.
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