Chris Pine’s lateast update on the long-gestating Star Trek 4 isn’t good news.
Since Star Trek Beyond was released in 2016, there have been tentative plans to make a fourth installment for what’s called the “Kelvin Timeline,” which features Chris Pine as Captain James T. Kirk, but the project has been endlessly spinning its wheels ever since. In 2022, it was announced that the fourth movie would be finally moving forward, though the news came as a surprise to the cast. Speaking with ComicBook.com to promote his new movie Wish, Pine suggested that Star Trek 4 appeared to, again, be dead in the water.
“Not that I know [of],” Pine said when asked if Star Trek 4 was still moving forward. When asked to elaborate if he’d seen any scripts for the planned sequel, Pine added, “Of course not.” It’s clear from this response that Pine isn’t expecting Star Trek 4 to end up moving forward at this point, and that may be a fair assumption, given how many issues the planned project has had. At one point, Pine had even said that the film was “cursed.”
Suggesting that the studio was disappointed Star Trek Beyond didn’t draw Avengers-level numbers, Pine told Equire earlier this year, “I’m not sure Star Trek was ever built to do that kind of business. I always thought, ‘Why aren’t we just appealing to this really rabid fan group and making the movie for a good price and going on our merry way, instead of trying to compete with the Marvels of the world?’ After the last one came out and didn’t do the $1 billion that everybody wanted it to do, and then Anton [Yelchin] passed away, I don’t know, it just… feels like it’s cursed.”
With the latest attempt to pursue Star Trek 4, Matt Shakman (WandaVision) was tapped to direct, though he has since abandoned the project to focus on the upcoming Fantastic Four movie. Screenwriter Lindsey Anderson Beer also confirmed in October that she is no longer attached to the planned film, further hinting that the sequel attempt is kaput.
For now, the franchise lives on with shows like Strange New Worlds and Discovery, though the latter is soon ending, along with the animated series Prodigy and Lower Decks. A Discovery spinoff film starring Michelle Yeoh, Star Trek: Section 31, is also in the works at Paramount+.
