Star Trek 4 is firing up its thrusters and gearing up for one last ride amid a tumultuous development process. Variety reported that The Flight Attendant creator Steve Yockey will serve as screenwriter, as it attempts to navigate its way out of development hell.
Its development troubles go as far back as 2017, when filmmaker Quentin Tarantino ( Pulp Fiction) had been attached to the project, but stepped away from the project after creative differences. Shortly after, S.J. Clarkson (Madame Web) was brought on as what would’ve been the franchise’s first female director, but her version was cancelled in 2019. Noah Hawley (Fargo) was announced as director and writer, but his film was ultimately shelved.
Matt Shakman (WandaVision) came close to bringing the project to fruition with Paramount making plans to start filming in 2022 without notifying its cast, but soon fell apart after Shakman left the project a few months later. Yockey takes over the reins from writers and directors who have tried and failed, but perhaps the film could find its footing in this attempt.
The Star Trek reboot films (Star Trek, Star Trek: Into Darkness, Star Trek: Beyond) dubbed the “Kelvin Timeline” stars Chris Pine (Wonder Woman) as Captain James T. Kirk, Zoe Saldana (Guardians of the Galaxy) as Uhura, and Zachary Quinto (American Horror Story: Asylum) as Spock.
Star Trek 4 will reportedly keep its current cast, and Pine remarked that “After the last one came out and didn’t do the $1 billion that everybody wanted it to do, and then Anton [Yelchin]…passed away, I don’t know, it just seemed . . . feels like it’s cursed.”
Could Yockey’s script save the film from the trenches of development hell? Even so, it’ll be a while before we see Star Trek on the big screen again, but the franchise has ambitious plans for a revival, with a origin story film as well as a Starfleet Academy TV series in the works.
Until then, we’ll boldly go where no man has gone before.
Trinity is a geek who enjoys watching anime, superhero and Sci-Fi movies and TV shows. She enjoys gaming (however has terrible gacha luck) and creates cool homebrew campaigns in her free time. She’s always up for a new adventure — with a cosy jacket and a good book in hand.
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