Key Takeaways
- New Star Trek prequel in development, set to release in 2026, pre-Kelvin timeline.
- Movie directed by Toby Haynes, written by Seth Grahame-Smith, produced by Simon Kinberg.
- Paramount still planning Star Trek 4, but latest news mostly focuses on prequel production.
Rumors are circulating about a new Star Trek movie, and, much to the disappointment of some fans, it’s not Star Trek 4. The rumors suggest that there’s some movement on the Star Trek prequel movie, which was officially announced in April 2024.
At CinemaCon 2024, Paramount shocked the Trek fandom with the announcement of a new Star Trek movie, dubbed Untitled Star Trek Origin Story, set to release in theaters in 2026. Paramount also confirmed that the movie would head into production in 2024. The inclusion of “origin story” in the project’s title made it clear that this project definitely was not Star Trek 4, which has been stuck in development hell for the past eight years, but a brand-new feature film project. About a month later, the studio confirmed that the new movie would be a prequel, set long before the events depicted in the Kelvin timeline movies, taking fans all the way back to the formation of Starfleet.
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Paramount Needs To Get A Move On With Their Star Trek Movies
Following the success of Star Trek on the small screen, Paramount needs to get a move on with its Star Trek movies.
Last week, the insiders over at Puck provided a new update on the Untitled Star Trek Origin Story movie. They claim that the script is done, Paramount is almost ready to move on the project, and that filming could start within the first half of 2025.
Who’s Involved in the Project?
When Paramount announced the movie in April, the studio also confirmed that it would be directed by sci-fi veteran Toby Haynes, best-known for his work on Star Wars: Andor, Black Mirror, and Doctor Who, and written by Seth Grahame-Smith, the writer behind Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and most recently, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Rumors started circulating in May that Simon Kinberg of X-Men fame was in talks to produce the film, and soon after, those rumors were confirmed. According to Puck, Kinberg is definitely on board, and he’s listed as the producer on IMDB. However, Paramount hasn’t yet confirmed his involvement.
Reports have indicated that J.J. Abrams will also be involved in the Star Trek prequel, and he’s listed as an executive producer alongside Kinberg on IMDB. However, most of the information about the prequel focuses on Kinberg as the creative lead on the project.
If Kinberg is taking the helm of the Star Trek movie universe, Trek fans could end up at odds with Star Wars fans as they did when Abrams put Star Trek on hold to focus on Star Wars: The Force Awakens. However, Puck’s insiders claim that won’t be an issue, as Paramount is well aware of his deal with Disney and the Star Trek movie is scheduled for production far earlier than Kinberg’s new Star Wars project.
What Does This Mean for ‘Star Trek 4’?
Fans who’ve been waiting more than eight years for another Star Trek movie set in the Kelvin Universe and led by Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Zoe Saldaña are understandably nervous about what the Star Trek prequel means for production on Star Trek 4.
Though Paramount has confirmed that the studio is still planning to move forward with one more Kelvin-universe Star Trek film, updates about the project have been few and far between, as they have been for several years. The last meaningful update came in March, when Paramount announced that Steve Yockey had signed on to write the script. However, this update meant little to fans who’ve followed the development of Star Trek 4. Since 2017, at least five different writers have been attached to the project.
Though the core cast members still want to see the movie happen, Star Trek 4 clearly isn’t Paramount’s priority when it comes to the franchise. If it’s ever going to happen, fans probably won’t see Star Trek 4 until long after the Star Trek prequel hits the big screen.
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