‘Star Trek 4’: Paramount Hires ‘Flight Attendant’ Co-Creator Steve Yockey To Pen Final Film

While “Star Trek” has flourished on the small screen and within many of Paramount+’s series like “Picard,” Trekkies haven’t experienced a film in theaters since 2016’s “Star Trek Beyond.” But there seems to be some tentatively good news on the horizon regarding the long-in-development “Star Trek 4.” Variety reports that the studio has hired Steve Yockey to write the newest incarnation of the “Star Trek 4” script, which is being described as a final installment.

Yockey was the co-creator of the popular Max series “The Flight Attendant,” which starred Kaley Cuoco (“Big Bang Theory”). Over the years, multiple drafts of the script were put together by a fleet of writers, including Lindsey Beer (“Sierra Burgess Is A Loser”) and Geneva Robertson-Dworet (“Captain Marvel”), but none came to pass.

READ MORE: ‘Star Trek’: ‘Andor’ Director To Helm New Prequel-Era Film, But ‘Star Trek 4’ Is Still On The Table

The report says that “Star Trek 4” is meant to be the final installment of the series and intends to bring back the cast of the modern version, which includes Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldaña, Karl Urban, John Cho, and Simon Pegg. Sofia Boutella did appear in “Star Trek: Beyond,” but it’s unclear if she’ll return.

One of Paramount’s biggest obstacles in producing a fourth film was cost, paydays for the cast, and new contracts (the studio had once publicly dated the movie without even securing or contacting the cast).

Before he broke out in Marvel’s “Thor,” Chris Hemsworth briefly appeared in J.J. Abrams’ 2009 “Star Trek” as Kirk’s father, who died on a space mission. There was talk about using a time-travel element to bring the character back, but that plot and screenplay never materialized.

Who will ultimately direct this fourth movie is unclear. Matt Shakman (“WandaVision”) had previously been tapped to replace previous “Star Trek 4” helmer SJ Clarkson (“Madame Web”) after her exit. Still, Shakman would make his own pivot by taking over duties on Marvel’s “Fantastic Four” reboot instead. The director’s chair for “Star Trek 4” remains vacant, but the addition of a new writer certainly seems to reaffirm Paramount’s commitment to making a final chapter for the Chris Pine-led cast.

This movie isn’t the only “Star Trek” film currently in development, as a separate mystery project is also in the works. This untitled “Star Trek” film is being written by Seth Grahame-Smith (“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”), with director Toby Haynes (“Andor”) attached to direct. Haynes also helmed a satirical “Trek” parody episode of “Black Mirror” known as “Black Mirror: USS Callister,” so he already has some experience in this regard.