The status of a new “Star Trek” film has been in a somewhat nebulous state for years now. Sometimes, Paramount will announce the development of a new film. But then the cast with say they haven’t talked to anyone about that, and it’s not happening. Then a director will get hired, only to leave after several months. Then an actor will say that they don’t think it’ll ever be made, while there are reports of scripts being written. It’s honestly hard to keep track of. That said, if they want to make a “Star Trek 4,” they likely need a Captain Kirk, right? Well, if that’s the case, the one person who should know the status of the franchise is Chris Pine, and guess what? He has no clue what’s going on.
Speaking to Comicbook.com, while promoting the release of his latest film, the Disney animated feature, “Wish,” Chris Pine was asked about the current status of “Star Trek 4.” That is to say, he was asked if he knew about any plans to continue the franchise. The response he gave is simple and direct.
“Not that I know [of],” replied Pine.
When the follow-up was asked, specifically questioning whether or not the actor has read any scripts for a new ‘Star Trek’ project, he replied, “Of course not.”
Well, that seems pretty open and shut, right? Sure, there are likely some plans at the studio level about continuing the “Star Trek” franchise, but if they exist, they’re at the infancy stage and the lead actor of the ensemble cast has no clue about them. It really does sound as if a new “Star Trek” film, if it ever comes to fruition, will either be another reboot or feature a new batch of characters not tied to the current crew of the Enterprise.
We haven’t had a new “Star Trek” film since 2016’s “Star Trek Beyond,” which was actually perhaps the most fun of the trilogy. That said, it didn’t perform particularly well at the box office and seemed to derail any momentum the franchise had at that time. Of course, since then, the cast has only become more famous and there seems to be genuine excitement about seeing the Enterprise on the big screen again. It just hasn’t been able to come together.
Will it ever happen? Just wait and see, I suppose.