As a guest on The Playlist’s The Discourse Podcast, Matt Shakman talked about all kinds of topics, including Apple TV+‘s upcoming series “Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters,” which he directs the first two episodes of, his upcoming MCU installment “Fantastic Four,” and more. But did Shakman drop any info on his involvement on the still-unmade “Star Trek 4“? Indeed he did, but “Fantastic Four” was too good an opportunity to pass up, so he left the project behind.
“I love “Star Trek.” I’m a huge “Star Trek” fan – loved “Next Generation” when I was a kid, and then obviously reruns of the original series,” Shakman said. “Loved the movies, and the chance to play in that world was hugely exciting. And I’m a big fan of what J.J. [Abrams] has created and loved that cast. So that was hugely exciting. It was a bummer that it didn’t end up happening with me there. I worked on it, developed the script, designed ships, had lots of great storyboards with the enterprise, all sorts of stuff that a Star Trek fan just loves to get to do. But movies have different momentums, and we weren’t able to move ahead into production.”
So when Shakman received an offer from Marvel Studios to direct “Fantastic Four,” Shakman couldn’t refuse. “And I was offered this opportunity to go over to Marvel to work on Fantastic Four, and it was impossible to turn down something that was another world that I loved, and that was equally exciting, and that was already moving in the right direction,” continued Shakman. “So, I hope “Star Trek 4” comes to pass. They’re working really hard on it. That cast is amazing. Chris Pine and Zoe Saldana and Zach Quinto, everybody, John Cho. They’re all amazing. Karl Urban, amazing. And I hope they come back together and get a chance to do a fourth one. I’m sure that they will.”
“Star Trek 4” has undergone several iterations in its development, including a script draft by Quentin Tarantino and another story script by Noah Hawley. Did Shakman read Tarantino’s or Hawley’s scripts while he worked on the film, or will he ever get the chance to? “Yeah, probably not,” responded Shakman. “I didn’t read the Tarantino [draft]. It wasn’t something that I think I could read. I didn’t ask, but it wasn’t offered. I didn’t read any version other than the one I didn’t read. Noah’s was a separate thing. It wasn’t in the Kelvin timeline. It was its own thing. I didn’t read it.”
What did Shakman have in mind for the movie? “I had a great script that Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Lindsey Beer wrote originally,” he continued. “And then I started doing a second draft. They moved on to something else and I came on and worked with Josh Friedman (“Avatar: The Way of Water“), who I’m working with on “Fantastic Four” now and Cam Squires, who I’d worked with on “WandaVision” and we worked on a draft together, which was tremendous fun.”
Unfortunately, none of the work Shakman did on “Star Trek 4” will likely materialize into anything. Or maybe the next person who takes on the project will co-opt it for their own purposes. But Shakman doesn’t sound too fazed by that sequel falling through. He’s happy working on “Fantastic Four,” which, despite the recent shakes up at Marvel, is still moving full-speed ahead for its May 2, 2025 release date.
