Sorry, Trekkies. Chris Pine is just as baffled (and discouraged) about what’s going on with the next Star Trek movie as you are.
The acclaimed actor, portraying Captain James T. Kirk within the revived movie series, recently divulged to Esquire that he has yet to unearth any information regarding the much-postponed Star Trek 4.
“In Star Trek land,” Pine declared, “I’m usually the last to know anything. I’m familiar with costumers who’ve had the chance to see scripts before I have.”
In February 2022, franchise producer J.J. Abrams announced a fourth installment in the Star Trek series, leaving the cast completely unaware of Paramount’s plans. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldaña, Karl Urban, and John Cho hadn’t been given any indication of the studio’s intentions.
“It’s irksome,” Pine relayed concerning not being included. “It doesn’t exactly engender the most productive of working relationships, but that’s just how it is. I’m passionate about the character, the people, and the brand. But trying to alter the system in which things are made… I just don’t have the strength for it.”
Rewrite : Project in Distress: What Now?
Star Trek 4 was scheduled to debut on Dec. 22, 2023, with WandaVision helmer Matt Shakman at the helm. However, Shakman’s departure from the project preceded Paramount’s erasure of Star Trek 4 from their slate of forthcoming films. The prior installment, 2016’s Star Trek: Beyond, earned a tepid reception at the box-office, amassing a global gross of merely $344 million.
In his Esquire interview, Pine lamented the pressure Star Trek movies face to measure up to the financial success of Marvel’s releases.
“I wasn’t certain whether ‘Star Trek’ was ever crafted to achieve that magnitude of success,” he uttered. “I always pondered, ‘Why don’t we just cater to this incredibly passionate fan base and produce the film at a sensible cost and go on our merry way, rather than attempting to rival the grandiose Marvels of the world?'”
After the newest installment didn’t generate the billion-dollar gross that everyone expected, and then tragedy struck Anton [Yelchin], it appears as though this entire endeavor has been doomed.
Michaela Zee, a freelance news writer for IGN, can be found on Twitter under the handle @michaelakzee – an account worth keeping an eye on.
Fiction Fixer