There are currently four Star Trek movies in the works, and the chances of any of them making it to the big screen in the near future range from very slim to virtually nonexistent. The fourth entry in the Kelvin timeline has already suffered from behind the scenes woe and creative turnover, so much so that star and co-writer of the last installment Simon Pegg has no idea what the future holds.
Legion and Fargo showrunner Noah Hawley is also developing a new Trek adventure, one that would feature an entirely new crew and avoid the effects-heavy action of the Kelvin series to strip the concept back to basics. There’s also Quentin Tarantino’s R-rated effort that’s never seemed close to actually happening, while Wrath of Khan producer Robert Sallin is working on a pitch, too.
Despite having four separate big screen projects stuck in the various stages of development hell, though, Paramount were forced to come out and publicly deny that they’d given up on making Star Trek movies altogether, even though it looks like the franchise could be spinning its wheels for a while yet. That being said, the Kelvin cast all seem ready and willing to return for further adventures, and in a new interview, Zachary Quinto admitted that they’re just waiting for the call.
“We talk about it all the time as the crew of the Enterprise. We are all incredibly good friends in real life. All of us welcome the opportunity to go back and keep telling those stories. It seems like a bit of a saturated market at this point, so I am not sure what the plans are for the feature film versions of the franchise, but we are all here if they want to beam us up.”
The most recent Star Trek blockbusters have done solid if unspectacular business at the box office, and the extended universe remains one of the most popular and recognizable brands in Paramount’s portfolio, so we’re definitely going to be getting more movies in the future. The real question is whether they’ll wipe the slate clean and start fresh, or continue to build on the $1.2 billion earned by the Kelvin crew so far.
