Remember when we were all hyped for Star Trek 4 as it was set to reunite Chris Pine’s James T. Kirk with his father George Kirk, with Chris Hemsworth reprising the role he briefly played in 2009’s Star Trek? A time-traveling adventure that brought together two generations of Kirks and two of Hollywood’s hottest Chrises? It would have been a blast, right? Sadly, both Pine and Hemsworth pulled out of the project and it’s been in limbo ever since.
While speaking with Variety, Hemsworth finally broke his silence on why his role in Star Trek 4 fell through. The Australian star said he didn’t feel the film was as good as can be yet and didn’t want to be “underwhelmed” by his experience.
“I didn’t feel like we landed on a reason to revisit that yet,” he reveals. “I didn’t want to be underwhelmed by what I was going to bring to the table.”
When the news came last August that both Chrises had walked away from Star Trek 4, it was reported that it was over a pay dispute, with the studio not willing to meet Pine and Hemsworth’s increased wages. After all, they’ve both become much bigger stars since 2009. This comment from Hemsworth suggests, however, that – at least for him – it was also due to concerns with the story.
This makes sense, as Hemsworth has experience with making subpar sequels that he regrets. In the past, he’s been open about how he feels Thor: The Dark World was a disappointment. Likewise, the actor has brought his all to his role as Thor in the past few MCU movies to make sure he’s happy with where his character’s going. If he wasn’t all that impressed with how Star Trek 4 would’ve handled George Kirk, it’s fair enough that he didn’t want to return.
Chris Pine, meanwhile, sounds more hopeful, with the actor previously saying he’d love to come back to helm the Enterprise a fourth time. Perhaps when Star Trek 4 eventually arrives, Kirk Sr. will be cut out the picture? Or maybe Tarantino‘s Trek will replace it entirely?
We’ll have to wait and see, but in the meantime, tell us, were you hoping to see Hemsworth return? Sound off in the usual place down below.
