Paramount first rebooted the Star Trek series in 2009. The first movie in the new franchise was simply titled Star Trek. It was produced and directed by JJ Abrams who reprised his role in the sequel. The movie was successful and it set the tone for the next two movies in the series, Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond. Paramount originally hired SJ Clarkson to direct the fourth reboot movie in 2018 as Abrams took on the producer role. However, the company had to shelve its plans when Chris Hemsworth and Chris Pine left the project due to pay disputes, and Clarkson left to direct a show. In April 2021, the project was back on track. The company initially scheduled the movie for a June 2023 release. However, it delayed release to December 2023. The new movie will see Chris Pine reprise his role as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, John Cho as Sulu, Karl Urban as Bones, and Simon Pegg as Scotty. Even though Pine and other stars were looking forward to another installment of the series, Paramount’s announcement came as a surprise to them. When he was questioned about the movie earlier in the year, Pine commented, “I think everybody was like, ‘Did you hear about this?’ We’re usually the last people to find out, but I do know we’re all excited.” Paramount hired Shakman to direct the movie in July 2021. After he left, Paramount Pictures and producer, JJ Abrams, reportedly started hunting for a new director. However, there has been no update on the situation since. We’re hoping that the studio lines up a new director so production on the movie can finally begin. While a pushback isn’t “official”, it’s only a matter of time before we hear some form of a statement. If we’re lucky, this is a minor speed bump. Otherwise, a 2023 if not 2024 release date will already mean that there’ll be at least a seven-year gap between the last Star Trek movie and the next one.
