Star Trek 4 is shrouded in mystery and apparent defeat. The sequel to Star Trek: Beyond on J.J. Abram’s Kelvin timeline is currently stuck in dry dock. There have been plans for Paramount to make the movie for years, and sometimes, it even seems like they’re going to do it. Fans were hopeful in 2022 when it looked like things were about to go ahead, but when the stars aligned, director Matt Shakman stepped down from the project to work on Marvel’s Fantastic Four reboot instead.
Trekkies everywhere were heartbroken. Although Paramount continues to produce good Star Trek series like Strange New Worlds and Discovery, it doesn’t look like we’re going to get that big blockbuster film any time soon. That being said, hope still exists. Star Trek 4 is one of Paramount’s biggest, untapped titles, and the stars are still up for another journey into the final frontier. Things are looking dark, but somewhere, out there in the vastness of Hollywood, there is a way to make this movie. Fans still whisper, and celebrities still talk, and time and time again, it appears as if Star Trek 4 is emerging from the water.
Updated January 22, 2024: This article has been updated by Jessica Peerez with more recent information regarding Star Trek 4, the development hurdles of the film and the plans that Paramount Pictures appears to have for the franchise.
Star Trek 4: The Plot
There were a lot of rumors about the plot coming up to Star Trek 4’s removal from Paramount’s release slate. When Paramount first announced the sequel, the intention was to have it bring back Chris Hemsworth, who, since his small role in the first film had blown up as a Hollywood superstar thanks to his role as Thor in the MCU, they wanted him to reprise his role from the 2009 film as George Kirk, James T. Kirk’s father. This version of the script made it far enough through development to actually reach the actors. The pitch was to do Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade but with Star Trek, where when the Enterprise investigates the wreckage of the Kelvin, they find that an exact copy of George Kirk was stored in the ship transporter so he is able to return to life at the exact moment before his death and much of the movie would have been how the two Kirks do not get along as neither of them is what the other expected before needing to accept one another for who they are. In an interview with Josh Horowitz, Hemsworth explained how he felt about the story:
"It wasn’t what I was thinking it would have been or could have been. And I thought, ‘Oh, cool, let’s figure that out and keep going’ and then I think everyone just got busy and so on. It’d be a bit weird now to flash back to your father and ‘Why is he so much older than when he died?’"
Not only did Hemsworth pass on the project, but negotiations broke down in terms of pay with both him and star Chris Pine. Paramount then decided to pivot, bringing on Noah Hawley (Fargo, Legion) to write a new Star Trek film with a new cast of characters. J.J. Abrams was even having conversations with Quentin Tarantino about giving him an opportunity to write a Star Trek movie. While Tarantino did begin work on a script, he eventually passed on the project as he plans to retire after ten movies and he did not want Star Trek to be his final movie. Meanwhile, Hawley's pitch was scrapped as the story involved a plague, and following the COVID-19 pandemic, Paramount was not keen on that idea. It was then decided to make a direct sequel to Star Trek Beyond and bring back the original cast.
In July 2021, Matt Shakman was hired to direct Star Trek 4. Then, in February 2022, when Paramount Pictures made the big splashy announcement that the original cast of the three previous Star Trek movies would return after it appeared years of contract negotiations had held them up, they had nothing. Even the stars and their agents were surprised that they were going ahead with the movie when, apparently, they hadn’t told a soul. The plan was to secure investors first and sort the details out later, which they did, eventually. When writers started sitting down at their laptops, there was much talk about where a story could go.
The studio seemed confident in the film and dated it for December 23, 2023, to take the slot that was previously held by Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, which had recently been vacated due to creative differences between Lucasfilm and director Patty Jenkins. While it felt like they would have little time, many fans were hoping they could make the release date. But in August 2022, Shakman would drop out of Star Trek 4 in favor of directing Fantastic Four, and Paramount removed Star Trek 4 from their release schedule.
Despite the stumbles in its journey, repeated delays, and the dismay of hopeful fans, Star Trek 4 appears not to have been fully scrapped yet. In September 2023, screenwriter Lindsey Anderson Beer confirmed that Star Trek 4 is still moving forward. The fourth film will reportedly be the final chapter of the main series. With no new information to dispute the claim as of January 2024, it appears that the fourth installment might still make it to screens. However, with the lack of information regarding a concrete plot or cast and Beer having since left the project, Star Trek 4 might have a long road ahead before viewers can once again join the USS Enterprise on an adventure as now Paramount Pictures is shifting to a new prequel film.
Star Trek 4: The Cast
The original hope for the movie — no matter which way the plot went — was to get as much of the original cast back on board as possible. Although talks fell through with Chris Hemsworth and his part in the film, Chris Pine ended up making a solid deal to return as Captain James T. Kirk. Zachary Quinto had been confirmed as Spock, and John Cho would come back as Sulu. Simon Pegg, even though he helped write Star Trek: Beyond and played Scotty, made no commitments either way, but it would be likely that he would return due to his major involvement with the films.
Karl Urban, who plays Bones, said that he had some scheduling conflicts due to his work on The Boys, but now that the schedule has changed, his participation remains to be seen. Zoe Saldaña has commented on some frustration for working in so many franchise films, but she would return if the movie was able to pull itself together. Of course, due to the untimely death of Anton Yelchin, Chekov's character would not be recast but instead respectfully written out of the movie.
Star Trek: Everything Else
It has now been nearly eight years since the last Star Trek film, Star Trek Beyond, came to screens. Uncertainty has continuously clouded the fourth film, and despite its status as still being in active development, Paramount looks to be moving ahead with a brand-new film. According to Variety, the new film has Andor's Toby Haynes in the director's seat, with Seth Grahame-Smith penning the script. J. J. Abrams's Bad Robot will be produced.
Details regarding the plot and cast of the new movie have not been confirmed yet. However, it is set to be an origin story that takes place decades before the events of 2009's Star Trek. It has been confirmed that the new film will also be an expansion of the Star Trek universe.
The status of a prequel film is interesting, as Star Trek 2009 begins with the timeline being split off, forming the new Kelvin timeline. So, any prequel to Star Trek would also technically exist in the original timeline canon, and there have been plenty of those recently, including Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and, of course, Star Trek: Enterprise. This would mean the events of the film would have to line up with both timelines before the splinter point of the 2009 film.
Release Date
The production and development journey for Star Trek 4 has definitely not been easy. The film was initially set to start production in 2022 and was slated for release on December 23, 2023, before being scrapped. That release date vacancy allowed for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom to become the big release of the holiday movie season for 2023 that Star Trek 4 hoped to accomplish.
The film now has no release date. However, despite the lack of an end to their anticipation in sight, fans can find some consolation in the fact that Star Trek 4 is still very much alive and kicking.