This week, we reported that director S.J. Clarkson has been hired to direct the pilot episode of the upcoming “Games of Thrones” prequel series for HBO. Buried in that report was news that Clarkson’s previous gig, as director of “Star Trek 4,” was now open because Paramount is shelving the sequel. This led to many, many, MANY headlines saying that “Star Trek 4” was “canceled” and that the sky was basically falling on the franchise. However, one of the film’s actors wants to assure fans that’s not the case.
Speaking to ET, while promoting his incredible film, “Searching,” actor John Cho was asked about the recent news of “Star Trek 4” being put on the shelf and if it was indeed done for good.
“I certainly am down [to work on ‘Star Trek 4’]. And you know, to be honest, it’s not happening right now, as far as I know, but I think it will happen…At some point, we’ll all get on the same page and we’ll do it,” says Cho. “That’s my belief. Maybe I’m being optimistic.”
He continued, “To me, [‘Star Trek’] is a really significant part of American culture and I just don’t see how it goes away forever.”
What Cho says in his comments echoes a sentiment that many in the film world are forgetting – “Star Trek” is one of Paramount’s biggest franchises. There’s no way that the studio is going to let ‘Trek’ gather dust on the shelf forever. Sure, “Star Trek 4,” as we know it, with Chris Hemsworth and Chris Pine and time travel and all that, might be dead, but that doesn’t mean that there won’t be a new sequel at some point. The actors (minus the tragic loss of Anton Yelchin) are all still young, willing, and able to do a sequel, if contracts can be negotiated. So, it’s absolutely silly to think that big-screen ‘Trek’ is dead.
Obviously, as of now, Paramount is focusing on the small screen with it’s “Star Trek” adventures, with ‘Discovery’ and multiple other series debuting on CBS All Access. Perhaps, in the interim, this is where ‘Trek’ belongs. But as we’ve seen before, “Star Trek” can exist in multiple iterations at the same time.
So yeah, “Star Trek 4” is shelved (not dead), but that doesn’t mean the adventures of Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and the rest of the Enterprise are over. Just be patient and it’ll happen eventually.
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