We are just a few weeks away from the 8th anniversary of the release of Star Trek Beyond, the third entry in the Kelvin timeline Star Trek movies staring Chris Pine as James T. Kirk. Paramount continues to say they are committed to a follow up movie, and now the star is starting to wonder how it will deal with how he isn’t getting any younger.
Pine curious about Star Trek 4
For the last couple of years, since he has recommitted to return as James T. Kirk for a fourth Star Trek movie, actor Chris Pine has often expressed his enthusiasm for the return, but also some frustrations. His latest comments from from a recent appearance at ACE Superhero Comic in San Antonio, TX. Pine acknowledged the well-reported ups and downs the Beyond sequel has gone through over the past decade (via PopVerse), saying “In terms of the next phase of [Star Trek], obviously you’re all fans, so I’m sure you’ve read it.”
The actor then talked about how he and his fellow cast are ready to get back to the Enterprise, but he wonders how the movie will deal with how he is getting older, saying:
“We all like one another a lot. I’m good friends with everybody I’ve worked with. We have a great time doing it. I’m a lot older now, so I would be curious where that next story lands us in terms of what it would be and what we’ve said in the press.”
Pine, now 43, was 29 when he first appeared as James T. Kirk in the 2009 Star Trek movie. Last year the actor talked about how he was hoping to do “many more” movies as Kirk, saying it would be “super cool” to play the same character through the course of his career. Original Kirk actor William Shatner was 35 when the Star Trek television show premiered and 63 when he last appeared as the character in the 1994 film Star Trek: Generations. Pine is still younger than Shatner when he played Admiral Kirk in Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979. In Star Trek Beyond, Kirk turned down a promotion to admiral and was set to head out on a new USS Enterprise (NCC 1701-A). If the next movie were set a decade later, Kirk and his crew could have already completed two 5-year missions.
Various follow-ups to Beyond have been in the works over the last 8 years. In March of this year, it was reported that Paramount and producer J.J. Abrams had brought on yet another screenwriter to take a crack at what the studio is now calling the final movie for the Kelvin crew. Pine later expressed some frustration with this move, telling Business Insider “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.”
Even now entering middle age, Pine is still keeping it sharp. He recently shaved off his beard (but kept the ‘stache) as can be seen from an appearance at a fashion event in Milan in mid-June…
Chris Pine turned Father's Day into a weeklong holiday by repeatedly serving Daddy in Milan during Men's fashion week (click for more): https://t.co/d4559OI35P
— Tom and Lorenzo (@tomandlorenzo) June 19, 2024
The next Star Trek feature film expected to come out of Paramount is the “Untitled Star Trek Origin Story” which Paramount recently confirmed as part of its 2025/2026 slate. This movie would have a new cast. Earlier this year, Paramount and producer J.J. Abrams had tapped Andor‘s Toby Haynes to direct, based on a script from Seth Grahame-Smith (The Lego Batman Movie). Paramount is also reportedly talking to producer Simon Kinberg about shepherding the film franchise, starting with that origin movie. This next Star Trek movie was mentioned during the Paramount Global shareholder meeting in June with co-CEO Brian Robbins saying it is “coming soon,” and touting Trek as one of the company’s “billion dollar brands.”
