Highlights
- Paramount’s Star Trek 4 is still in development, with challenges reuniting the cast.
- The film has a newly appointed screenwriter, Steve Yockey.
- It might be an idea to consider scrapping the movie to make way for a fresh start with a new cast; especially as another Star Trek movie is in the works.
The Star Trek franchise has been going strong for over sixty years now, with a string of successful movies and television series, with no signs of the sci-fi phenomenon slowing down its output anytime soon. However, plans for Paramount’s fourth entry in the current movie series have stalled ever since the release of Star Trek Beyond in 2016.
However, plans are still moving ahead for the fourth movie in the franchise, with some exciting updates recently, which suggest the wait for the next entry might not be too far in the future. But is it time Paramount scrapped the movie altogether and went in a completely different direction?
Paramount’s Star Trek 4 is still in development
Plans are still moving ahead for the next Star Trek movie, with the principal cast set to reprise their roles in the upcoming project. However, it has proven to be a challenge to get all the cast together, with their different schedules, as well as other obstacles. The movie is gearing up to be the finale to the franchise reboot, which began in 2009 with Star Trek, followed by Star Trek Into Darkness in 2013, and Star Trek Beyond in 2016.
Star Trek Beyond raked in over $343 million worldwide at the box office, meaning a potential fourth movie is very much considered to be a profitable prospect. However, that figure was lower than the prior two movies: Star Trek Into Darkness made roughly $467 million, while Star Trek brought in $385 million, meaning it could be time to scrap the upcoming movie altogether.
The Movie now has a screenwriter
Paramount Pictures re-iterated their intent to move forward with Star Trek 4, when they announced that screenwriter, Steve Yockey would be penning the script for the upcoming sci-fi entry. Yockey is the creator of the HBO Max series The Flight Attendant, and he’s had a successful career in the industry leading up to the hit Kailey Cuoco series.
Steve’s Jockey’s Writing Credits:
- Awkward (2014) 1 episode
- Scream: The T.V Series (2016) 3 episodes
- Supernatural (2016-2019) 31 episodes
- Doom Patrol (2021) 1 episode
- The Flight Attendant (2020-2022) 16 episodes
Why Star Trek 4 Needs to be shut down
Difficulties reuniting the cast
It has proven difficult to get the original cast back together for a third sequel, due to a number of different factors. There were rumors that talks broke down due to salary conflicts with the main actors, as well as the careers of Chris Pine, Zoe Saldaña, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg and Karl Urban all going from strength to strength in the years since Star Trek Beyond was released in 2016, with scheduling conflicts reportedly being a big issue.
Another factor when considering another sequel in the Star Trek movie franchise, was the untimely death of Anton Yelchin in 2016. Yelchin played Chekov in all three movies, and was very much a fan favorite. It would be unwise to re-cast his role, but it could also cause some story issues trying to explain his absence in the upcoming sequel.
Too long between sequels
Nearly eight years have passed since the release of the last Star Trek movie, and that is a long time in Hollywood, with fans potentially losing interest in this iteration of the franchise, meaning it might’ve been too long between sequels.
There’s an argument for letting this sequel die, to make way for the next generation of Star Trek fans, to experience new stories with a brand-new cast, rather than re-visiting this universe, and characters who have faded in the memories of audiences.
Paramount has another Star Trek movie in the works
In addition to Star Trek 4 still being on the horizon, Paramount is also working on another new Star Trek movie from Andor director Toby Haynes and The Lego Batman Movie writer Seth Grahame-Smith. It is reportedly set to be an origin story for the franchise with an entirely new cast.
The existence of this movie could create confusion for fans, and it might make more sense to scrap plans for Star Trek 4 in favor of a fresh start, seen as a new iteration is officially in pre-production anyway. However, Star Trek fans are used to different iterations running concurrently on television, with Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds all co-existing despite focusing on different timelines.
Having said that, the movie universe has never run two different iterations at the same time, so it really is uncharted territory. The reboot trilogy, which began in 2009, produced three very successful and entertaining movies. There really isn’t much need to re-visit it for a fourth time, and it would make much more sense to let the sequel die quietly rather than continue to go through production hell.