Summary
Star Trekfans can expect some more groans ahead as the franchise’s Paramount-era leading man offers yet another uninspiring update as the latest in a series of signs that the highly anticipated follow-up to 2016’sStar Trek: Beyond.
Star Trekhas been a staple of small-screen science fiction since its inception withStar Trek: The Original Seriesin 1966 and has since become a massive multimedia franchise. This included a plethora of feature-lengthStar Trekfilms that were met with varying degrees of success over the years, with 2002’s infamousStar Trek: Nemesisbeing a critical and commercial failure that led to plans for another film to be scrapped, contributing to a hiatus after 20 years of nonstopStar Trekprojects. This would end whenStar Trekwas released in 2009 and would go down asone of the best movie reboots everby taking fans back to the crew of the original series in an alternate timeline,mixing the established lore with new, refreshing ideas.
Chris Pine Comments On Stark Trek 4’s Production Delay
Hollywood star Chris Pine,a veteran with connections to Quentin Tarantino, was at the head of this Star Trek franchise for the next generation. His career was solidified when he took on the role of the Star Trek reboot’s James T. Kirk, a role he’s reprised in the two other entries to the reboot film series, withfans hoping he’ll do so again in the planned fourth instalment. Speaking toBusiness Insidervia Zoom earlier in the week, the star commented on returning to the franchise, giving fans an answer that they’re all too familiar with at this point. “I honestly don’t know,” Pine asserted when asked if that ship had sailed. “There was something in the news of a new writer coming on board. I thought there was already a script, but I guess I was wrong, or they decided to pivot. As it’s always been with “Trek,” I just wait and see.” During the interview, Pine also discussed how long it took him to settle into the role proper.
-Kirk is a tricky one. You are the lead of the band of characters, so you don’t want to occupy too much space. It’s fine if they are doing a thing, but you don’t want to. And J.J. [Abrams] never asked me to do a thing, though I did do little nods to Shatner because it was fun… But I would say I felt most in his shoes in the third movie. By that point, I think I mellowed into it and didn’t feel like I was trying too hard.
It’s been clear for a while now thatStar Trek 4’s delays are getting on Pines’s nerves, and fans certainly don’t want these misgivings to manifest in a refusal to reprise his role in the next film. Considering just how integral Pine and his character are to the reboot franchise, it would be expected that the franchise custodians at Paramount keep in touch even without a project in the works. However, that has consistently not been the case, and it’s worth wondering ifthe next instalment in the franchise might be looking to go in a separate directionentirely. Alternatively, progress might be suffering behind the scenes, and Paramount might not have anything to report yet, even to purported insiders. While this would be comforting for Chris Pine, it wouldn’t do much to calm unhappy fans.
ConsideringStar Trek 4was supposed to begin production in 2022, the current state of affairs truly is worrying for fans and stars alike. The only news on the film front seems to be vague whispers of budget cuts and rounding off the mainline films, neither of which will get anyone excited. Both parties can onlywait for Paramount to make the next moveand enjoy the franchise’s other offerings in the meantime.
TheStar Trekfranchise is currently available to stream on Paramount+.
Star Trek
Star Trek is a space exploration franchise originally created by Gene Roddenberry. The series has spanned shows like The Original Series, The Next Generation, and Voyager. More recently, developer Scopely came out with Star Trek Fleet Command, a mobile title where you get to be captain of your own ship.
