At the Paramount Pictures CinemaCon presentation in Las Vegas, CEO Jim Gianopulos hinted that the studio may be developing more Star Trek films, alongside Skydance, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter.
Though Gianopulos did not offer up any additional details, it is known that Quentin Tarantino has been working on a Star Trek film, alongside J.J. Abrams, who served at the helm of the previous Star Trek trilogy movies.
In addition to one of the two films likely being the one pitched by Tarantino, Trekmovie.com also predicts that the second might be a project that was announced in 2016, and would feature Chris Hemsworth reprising his role as George Kirk, father of Kirk.
While this news has not yet been officially confirmed by Paramount, it seems likely that these films will move forward. They would follow the last Star Trek film trilogy, all directed by Abrams and the product of Paramount and Skydance, including Star Trek, which was released in 2009, Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013), and Star Trek: Beyond from 2016. The films have starred Chris Pine (Into the Woods, Wonder Woman, A Wrinkle in Time), Zachary Quinto (Snowden, American Horror Story), Benedict Cumberbatch (Avengers: Infinity War, Sherlock), Idris Elba (Luther, Avengers: Infinity War), and the late Anton Yelchin (Trollhunters). In 2015, The Hollywood Reporter noted that both Pine and Quinto, who play Captain Kirk and Spock, respectively, had signed on for a fourth film.
One thing we do know: with Tarantino behind at least one of the projects, it would definitely be a much different film than the others. Tarantino has reportedly demanded that the film be “R”-rated.
Star Trek has developed a cult following since the inception of the original series in 1966, which aired for three seasons on NBC. Along with several other television spin-offs, the franchise bore six feature films, along with four more for The Next Generation. Star Trek recently returned to the small screen as well, with CBS’ Star Trek: Discovery, which was created for CBS All Access, and premiered in September 2017, with a second season ordered a month later. The series garnered record subscriptions for All Access, and positive reviews, particularly for the performance of Sonequa Martin-Green (The Walking Dead.)
The last film, Star Trek: Beyond, did not perform particularly well at the box office, having launched at the same time as such massive blockbusters, or hoped-for blockbusters, as Ghostbusters, Jason Bourne, and Suicide Squad. The prior film, however, garnered mainly positive reviews from critics. It also performed relatively well at the box office during its opening weekend, with a strong debut in the foreign box office.
