Chris Pine Was Surprised by New ‘Star Trek 4’ Writer Hire Because ‘I Thought There Was Already a Script…I Was Wrong or They Decided to Pivot’

Chris Pine was taken by surprise when news hit that Steve Yockey, creator of the Max series “The Flight Attendant,” had signed on to write the script for “Star Trek 4.” Why? “I thought there was already a script,” the actor recently told Business Insider during an interview on his “Poolman” press tour.

Pine’s not wrong, as a potential “Star Trek 4” has gone through multiple iterations in the years since the 2016 release of “Star Trek Beyond.” Pine took on the role of Captain Kirk in J.J. Abrams’ 2009 franchise reboot “Star Trek,” and reprised the character in 2013’s “Star Trek Into Darkness” and 2016’s “Beyond.” Variety exclusively reported in March that Paramount Pictures remained committed to making a fourth “Star Trek” film to be headlined by Pine and his co-stars.

The actor’s fellow “Star Trek” cast members include Zachary Quinto (as Cmdr. Spock), Zoe Saldaña (as Lt. Nyota Uhura), Karl Urban (as Dr. Leonard McCoy), John Cho (as Lt. Hikaru Sulu) and Simon Pegg (as chief engineer Montgomery Scott).

“I honestly don’t know,” Pine told Business Insider when asked about “Star Trek 4” updates. “There was something in the news of a new writer coming on board. I thought there was already a script, but I guess I was wrong, or they decided to pivot. As it’s always been with ‘Trek,’ I just wait and see.”

Steve Yockey is the latest screenwriter to get a chance to pen the script for “Star Trek 4.” Attempts over the years to get the sequel off the ground have included an R-rated idea from none other then Quentin Tarantino. Another version of the project was to be directed by Matt Shakman (“WandaVision”) and written by Lindsey Beer (“Sierra Burgess Is a Loser”) and Geneva Robertson-Dworet (“Captain Marvel”). Shakman left the project to direct Marvel’s “The Fantastic Four” instead, and it fell apart soon afterwards.

Whether or not Yockey’s “Stark Trek 4” gets off the ground remains to be seen. Paramount is also developing a second “Star Trek” movie that would serve as an origin story for the franchise. That project hails from screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith (“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”) and director Toby Haynes (“Black Mirror: USS Callister”). Another “Trek” project with screenwriter Kalinda Vazquez (“Fear the Walking Dead”) that was first announced in 2021 also remains in development.

In his Business Insider interview, Pine also said that it wasn’t until the third movie that he finally felt comfortable on set playing Kirk. The character was made famous by William Shatner.

“It’s interesting. Karl Urban decided to go head first into McCoy because Karl loved ‘Star Trek,’” Pine said. “With Spock, you have to do Spock-like things, plus Zach [Quinto] kind of looked like Leonard [Nimoy]. And then Kirk is a tricky one. You are the lead of the band of characters, so you don’t want to occupy too much space. It’s fine if they are doing a thing, but you don’t want to. And J.J. [Abrams] never asked me to do a thing, though I did do little nods to Shatner because it was fun.”

“But I would say I felt most in his shoes in the third movie. By that point, I think I mellowed into it and didn’t feel like I was trying too hard,” Pine added.