J.J. Abrams achieved peak geekdom when he revived both Star Trek and Star Wars for the big screen. While he directed two movies in the Kelvin timeline, he sat it out for Star Trek: Beyond, after which a fourquel has been in development hell. From a Quentin Tarantino pitch to an origin story, Star Trek 4 has seen it all.
However, time might not be on Abrams’ side if he keeps pushing the development of the film. Actress Zoe Saldana, who plays Uhura in the reboot, urged the team to quicken the process as she felt the actors were getting older and would not suit the characters anymore. As the gap between sequels reaches almost ten years, it is high time Abrams greenlights a sequel.
Zoe Saldana urges J.J. Abrams to quicken the development of Star Trek 4
The Star Trek franchise has been killing it in the streaming and TV space, but when it comes to movies, there have been more misses than hits. J.J. Abrams’ 2009 reboot has its admirers, but it is also extremely divisive, with many critics agreeing that the franchise works better in long-form than in the movie space.
While the studio seems to have taken that criticism to heart and has focused the past ten years only on its streaming shows, there is a strong time factor for a potential Star Trek 4. The third film in Abrams’ reboot, Star Trek: Beyond, was released in 2016, and there have been many ideas for the fourth film, but none have materialized so far.
However, actress Zoe Saldana addressed the issue of taking so long to get the fourth film mounted. Many of the stars of the franchise have already moved to other projects, and some of the characters themselves have found new life in streaming (such as Spock).
And one aspect of letting so much time pass by is a huge factor. She said to Deadline,
I wish we were able to do it sooner rather than later. I feel like a lot of us have a full head of gray hair, so we need to do this quickly, if this is the same cast that’s going to reprise it again.
The main cast is in their 40s at the moment, and do not have a lot of signs of aging at the moment, but the more time J.J. Abrams takes, the more this will become an uncontrollable aspect. Sure, deaging technology exists now, but it adds significantly to costs, which is not something the studio would want after Beyond’s underwhelming box office performance.
A Star Trek 4 was still at the scripting stage back in 2024
While earlier this year saw the Star Trek franchise’s first movie in years, i.e., Section 31, the film received negative responses and proved that the sci-fi franchise works best in long form. However, there have been many attempts made for a fourth film in the past years, with an unrelated Quentin Tarantino project also being pitched.
Since then, J.J. Abrams’ reboot has gone to several writers and directors, with ace filmmakers like Noah Hawley and SJ Clarkson being in the running for the film. The latter’s iteration reportedly had both Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth in the project, but the two actors ultimately exited negotiations (via THR).
Last year, around the same time, it was announced that Simon Kinberg would be developing an original movie for the big screen. While it was not revealed whether it would be a continuation of the Kelvin films or an entirely different story, Kinberg’s involvement was set to be a move in the right direction for the franchise, as he had previously handled the X-Men films (via THR).
There were also other ideas for an origin story set before the events of J.J. Abrams’ 2009 Star Trek apart from the sequel. A Star Trek 4 film was also being written by Steve Yockey, which was said to be the final chapter in the Kelvin timeline. However, Zoe Saldana’s worst fears may be coming true as the film seems to be nowhere close to a green light.
Star Trek is available to stream on Paramount+.
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