Chris Pine is still game for Star Trek 4 but hasn’t heard anything yet

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

The Star Trek brand seems to be thriving on television with shows like Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard but the film franchise has been in serious limbo since the release of STAR TREK BEYOND in 2016. Everyone from Noah Hawley to Quentin Tarantino has wanted to take a stab at a future entry and it's still uncertain if the cast from the J.J. Abrams rebooted films is even a part of that equation. Chris Pine, who played Captain Kirk in the latest round of films, would love to come back for a fourth film but like most fans of the franchise, he's in the dark about what's going on as well.

Chris Pine is getting ready to return in another big franchise as Steve Trevor when WONDER WOMAN 1984 hits screens in October but Pine was recently a guest on J Claude Dearing's podcast and the subject of STAR TREK 4 came up. Pine admitted to hearing a lot of rumblings but nothing has come to fruition yet:

"I haven't heard anything. I mean, I get asked these questions all the time. I'm like the last person to find anything out. So, I've heard, what have I heard? Tarantino is going to do one. And then, who is it? Noah Hawley was going to do something else, and then that fell through. And then he's going to do something with the Discovery, the new Alex Kurtzman-led cast. So, I really don't know. I know that Paramount is coming out of having restructured a bit and kind of a major corporate restructuring. So hopefully, when all that dust settles, something concrete will come out of it, and we'll get to work. I'd love to do it."

Quentin Tarantino did pitch a new movie for the franchise but at this point, it seems very unlikely that he will direct the idea and could very well be dead. Noah Hawley had a STAR TREK project that seemed to get close to happening but it was recently put on the backburner. There was also the idea that would've brought back Chris Hemsworth as Kirk's father but rumors of salary disputes seemed to kill that idea as well. 

Paramount seems to be trying to find the best route to take the franchise in its movie form that it's just not lining up. Over on CBS All Access, things are going well for the Star Trek brand with Discovery, Picard, and the animated Lower Decks all seemingly doing well. There is even another live-action spin-off centered on Captain Pike in the works. Nickelodeon also has Star Trek: Prodigy coming soon and it just adds another property to the list of TV versions of Star Trek that seem to be flowing while the films have stalled. 

Increasing budgets seem to be the main culprit for really stalling the films. STAR TREK BEYOND grossed $343.4 million worldwide and while it was well-received by critics and fans that saw the film, the film's $185 million budget before marketing spend prevented the film from being truly profitable. BEYOND also didn't cover its budget domestically with a gross of $158.8 million. The core cast has expressed a desire to return for another installment but they all cite Paramount's handling of the brand as to why another film hasn't happened and seems unlikely. I'd like to see this cast return because I happened to like the three films they did and I'm not even a STAR TREK fan.

Do YOU think we'll get another STAR TREK film with this cast or does Paramount have to start from scratch?