Paramount removed “Star TrekA sequel from the upcoming blockbuster list. The project, produced by JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot Company, is dated to hit theaters on December 22, 2023.
The inevitable news comes nearly a month after director Matt Shukman pulled out of “Star Trek,” which was set to be the fourth movie tour for Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Aura and Karl Urban. Like Bones, John Cho as Solo and Simon Pegg as Scotty. Marvel Studios wooed Schukman to direct the Fantastic Four for a reboot, reuniting the WandaVision director with the studio, after John Watts left Spider-Man: No Way Home in April.
Shakman first joined the “Star Trek” sequel in the summer of 2021, after his acclaimed run that directed every episode of “WandaVision”—the “Trek” commercial even on the same day Shakman was nominated for an Emmy for the show.
Then in February of this year, Abrams announced during his Paramount Global Investor Day presentation that the new “Trek” movie “will be filmed by the end of the year” and will feature the “original cast.”
The only problem, according to insiders, was that Payne, Quinto, and the rest of the cast had yet to officially sign up for the film when Abrams made his announcement, leaving Paramount less than a year to secure the wanted cast.
With the film now off its schedule, that deadline is no longer in sight, but it still leaves Paramount with no plans to step into its most valuable franchise. The last “Trek” feature came in 2016 with “Star Trek Beyond.” Directed by Justin Lin, Beyond has grossed $343.5 million worldwide — the lowest total of any of Bad Robot’s “Trek” reboots.
And it wasn’t for a lack of trying either: Paramount has followed up on several Trek movie projects since “Beyond,” including the reunion of Pine and Chris Hemsworth (who played Kirk’s father in 2009’s Star Trek) directed by SJ Clarkson, also as clones. It was overseen by “Fargo” author Noah Hawley, and yes, even Quentin Tarantino. None of them managed to reach orbit.
Meanwhile, “Star Trek” has the strongest presence ever on television, with five ongoing “Trek” series – “Star Trek: Discovery”, “Star Trek: Picard”, “Star Trek: Lower Decks” and “Star Trek” : Prodigy” and “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” – all in various stages of production for Paramount+. The latest entry, “Strange New Worlds,” takes place in roughly the same time period as the Pine and Quinto films, albeit in an entirely separate timeline.
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