Last night, Paramount Pictures temporarily removed the latest sequel of the revamped Star Trek franchise from its release calendar. The film was expected to debut on December 22, 2023.
Paramount's decision comes as no surprise, as about a month ago director Matt Shakman promptly left the Star Trek sequel's production team. Shakman was selected to direct the latest film by producer J.J. Abrams in 2021 after receiving an Emmy for directing the hit Marvel Studios TV show WandaVision.
Shakman left the Star Trek set to direct Marvel Studios' upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, after the Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts left the project back in April. With Shakman gone, Abrams is in a hurry to find a new director so they can start shooting Star Trek 4 as soon as possible. This past February, Abrams announced at the Paramount Global investors' day meeting that they "will be shooting by the end of the year." For financial and reputational reasons, Abrams should be keen to stick to his announcement. Abrams also announced that the original cast will return for the fourth installment of the franchise, including Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Karl Urban as Bones, John Cho as Sulu, and Simon Pegg as Scotty.
However, none of the original cast members have officially signed up for the movie despite Abrams' announcement, leaving Paramount with less than a year to secure the in-demand actors. The franchise desperately needs to be revamped after a graveyard of botched attempts at sequels. Paramount has pursued multiple directors and concepts for the sequel, including reuniting Pine and Chris Hemsworth (who played Kirk’s father in 2009’s Star Trek), as well as versions by Fargo creator Noah Hawley and even Quentin Tarantino. None of these versions reached warp speed.
The most recent Star Trek film, Star Trek Beyond directed by Justin Lin, came out in 2016. The film grossed $343 million at the box office, the lowest of any Star Trek films released by Abrams' production company, Bad Robot. Though the franchise has been fairly successful so far, a new sequel is necessary to attract a younger audience back to the series.
Hopefully, all the cast members will agree to sign up for the movie, but regardless, with Abrams at the helm fans should expect the top-tier special effects that have been a hallmark of the Star Trek franchise so far. A new release date for the film has not been confirmed yet.
Star Trek (2009) is available on Paramount Plus.
Source: Deadline