So, what’s the latest on “Star Trek 4“? J.J. Abrams certainly sounds bullish on the film’s future. He told Esquire in their Chris Pine cover story that its script is in a good place, adding “I will say it’s the first time [since the 2009 film] that we have a story that feels as compelling as the first one.” But Variety reports that Pine doesn’t have a clue what’s going on with the potential sequel, and finds the whole situation “frustrating.”
“I don’t know anything,” Pine told Esquire about “Star Trek 4.” “In “Star Trek” land, the actors are usually the last people to find out anything. I know costume designers that have read scripts before the actors.” Abrams announced that he and Paramount had the sequel moving ahead last February, and back then, Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Zoe Saldaña had no idea the movie was in the pipeline. Kind of strange, not having a movie’s stars in the loop about its existence, much less its story.
“I would say it’s frustrating,” Pine continued about the “Star Trek” film franchise. “It doesn’t really foster the greatest sense of partnership, but it’s how it’s always been. I love the character. I love the people. I love the franchise. But to try to change the system in which things are created — I just can’t do it. I don’t have the energy.”
Abram’s February 2022 announcement about “Star Trek 4” came as a surprise not just to the franchise actors but also to fans. After all, 2016’s “Star Trek Beyond” didn’t do well at the box office, taking in only $344 million worldwide. Critics generally liked it, though, although it failed to make waves in 2016’s Marvel-saturated summer movie landscape.
Pine addressed the box office performance “Beyond” to Esquire and it failing to do MCU numbers. “I’m not sure “Star Trek” was ever built to do that kind of business,” said the actor. “I always thought, ‘Why aren’t we just appealing to this really rabid fan group and making the movie for a good price and going on our merry way, instead of trying to compete with the Marvels of the world?’ After the last one came out and didn’t do the $1 billion that everybody wanted it to do, and then Anton [Yelchin]…passed away, I don’t know, it just seemed…” Then Pine added that the franchise “feels like it’s cursed.”
Expect more news about “Star Trek 4” at some point, just not from Chris Pine. The actor stars next in “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” in theaters on March 31 after its SXSW world premiere in Austin on March 10.
