Variety has confirmed what many have suspected for a long time — Star Trek 4 is not going, boldly or otherwise. It’s just going away.
In a feature article discussing David Ellison’s first 100 days as head of Paramount Skydance, the trade notes that “the hope is to have a fresh Star Trek movie,” explaining that the studio “has moved on from the idea of bringing back Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and the rest of the ensemble from the J.J. Abrams reboot.”
Zachary Quinto plays Spock in Star Trek Beyond from Paramount Pictures, Skydance, Bad Robot, Sneaky Shark and Perfect Storm Entertainment
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After a decade of rumors and false starts, we can finally say that the Kelvin Timeline has come to an end.
A Brief History of the Star Trek Reboot
In 2009, J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek divided both the established Trek timeline and its fanbase.. The movie didn’t simply recast Kirk, Spock, Bones, and the rest, but brought in Leonard Nimoy (the original series’ Spock) and some time-travel trickery to set this new Trek in its own reality. Officially, it’s the Kelvin Timeline, as the split is marked by the destruction of the USS Kelvin.
Some saw it as a clever means of preserving the original series in the Prime Timeline, while allowing writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci the freedom to tell new stories without adhering to canon. Others felt it was disingenuous. However, Star Trek made over $385 million worldwide on a reported $150 million budget, and was nominated for numerous awards from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror Films.
The Enterprise in STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS from Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions. © 2013 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved. Photo Credit: ILM courtesy of Paramount Pictures
The first sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness, in 2013, proved even more divisive to fans. Drew Dietsch at Giant Freakin’ Robot called it “aggressively stupid in the plot department, lazy and slightly sacrilegious in conception, and secretly an affront to everything Star Trek is supposed to stand for.” Still, it made more than $467 million worldwide on a $190 million budget.
According to ScreenRant, deals were in place with the cast for a fourth entry even before the third movie, 2016’s Star Trek Beyond, went into production. Justin Lin, best known for reviving The Fast & The Furious franchise, stepped into the director’s chair for Abrams, and ramped up the action. While Beyond’s budget was smaller at $185 million, its worldwide box office also shrank to $343 million — possibly prompting Paramount to pump the brakes.
Still, in 2018, Variety reported that S.J. Clarkson was signed to direct Star Trek 4. Primarily known as a TV director, she would have been the first female director of a Star Trek feature film. Not much was known about the plot, beyond that it would involve time travel and have Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk meeting his father, played in 2009 by a relatively unknown Chris Hemsworth, who had agreed to return.
Chris Pine plays Kirk in Star Trek Beyond from Paramount Pictures, Skydance, Bad Robot, Sneaky Shark and Perfect Storm Entertainment
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After the leaner earnings of Star Trek Beyond, Paramount demanded a similarly leaner budget. Pine and Hemsworth (who had become a bankable star thanks to Thor) were reportedly asked to work for less pay than their existing deals provided. When they refused to sign on, the project went into limbo.
Star Trek continued on TV with Discovery and others, which are set in the Prime timeline. Those series have also been controversial, though for now it seems that it’s only the Kelvin Timeline that Ellison and Paramount Skydance are scrapping
A Fresh Star Trek Movie
The Kelvin Timeline was supposed to be the fresh start, and only lasted three movies. However, perhaps enough time has passed that Star Trek fans are ready to move on to a second reboot.
William Shatner as James T. Kirk in Star Trek Generations (1996), Paramount Pictures
Alternatively, this might be an opportunity for Star Trek to move forward in the Prime timeline and boldly go where no Star Trek has before.
What do you think about Star Trek? Is it dead, Jim — or is there still intelligent life in the franchise? Let us know in the comments!
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Don’t need a reboot. Need actual Star Trek. The problem in general is that with modern day Hollywood which is full of mentally ill whackadoodles, they don’t know have any concept of how to make entertainment content for normal people because they are the opposite of normal.
They will keep pumping these movies, tv shows, and video games full of DEI, modern feminism, and alphabet nonsense and as a result, running off normal people from having any interest in it.
Correct.
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Go woke go broke. The generic Star Trek brand is now a gay joke, no one trusts it.