The Star Trek movie franchise has stalled since 2016’s Beyond, with the original plans for Star Trek 4 falling through. Last week, though, it was announced that the fourth entry in the rebooted series is on its way once again, with Fargo and Legion creator Noah Hawley replacing S.J. Clarkson as director. And with things getting back on track, we’re now hearing that Paramount hopes to do two more after the next one, meaning we’ll be seeing at least three new Trek films in total from this point on.
Sources close to We Got This Covered – the same ones who said Bill Murray will be returning in Ghostbusters 3 and that a Scream reboot was in the works, both of which are now confirmed – tell us that the studio is set on doing Star Trek 5 and 6 after 4 is released. We’ve been informed that Paramount’s eager to get a big blockbuster franchise on their books again seeing as a few ventures haven’t gone to plan of late (e.g. Terminator: Dark Fate). As such, it’s now a priority for them to restart the brand and to create a new trilogy of films.
Initially, Star Trek 4 was set to feature Chris Hemsworth’s return as George Kirk in a time-traveling adventure that would’ve united him with his son, James T. Kirk. Unfortunately, however, negotiations with both Hemsworth and Chris Pine broke down. It seems things have worked out with Pine, though, as it’s reported that he’ll return for Hawley’s Star Trek 4, but the same can’t be said for Hemsworth.
Pine’s Kirk and his crew are also expected to star in Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming R-Rated Star Trek movie. It’s important to note, though, that this is an entirely separate project from the Star Trek 5 and 6 mentioned above. That said, the filmmaker has suggested his effort will be – albeit loosely – set in the Kelvin timeline, so there may be some shared continuity there.
It’s unknown at this time whether Hawley would stick around for 5 and 6, or if his appointment is more of a Tarantino situation and he’ll complete his vision for the Star Trek franchise in one movie. Either way, though, we’ll keep you updated as and when we hear more.
