In February producer J.J. Abrams and Paramount Pictures announced plans to go into production later this year on a Star Trek film that would reunite the Kelvin Universe cast. Since then the cast has been united in saying they are expecting the film to happen and are excited to get back together, but casting doubts on the timing. The latest update comes from Karl Urban who very much wants to return to the role of Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy, but he just isn’t sure when it will happen.
Urban’s Trek update
Karl Urban is out promoting the upcoming third season of his raunchy superhero show The Boys, and in a new interview with the UK’s Radio X he gave an update when asked if the fourth Star Trek film is happening:
I have heard that it is happening, but I’ve been hearing that for the last three years… All I know is they are developing it, they’re writing a script, and I know one hundred percent that we all want to come back and do it. So I think it’s all just a matter of logistics and timing at this point.
For Urban the matter of logistics is salient; In March the actor revealed that he is booked through the latter half of 2022 to shoot the next season of The Boys in Toronto.
Karl Urban and Zachary Quinto in Star Trek Beyond
Urban’s comments echo those of co-star Zachary Quinto who also expressed optimism the film would get made, and he too questioned if it will go into production this year. When the Radio X host noted the challenge of aligning schedules of a cast that also includes Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg and John Cho, Urban made it clear that for them it was important to make it work, saying:
Where there’s a will there’s a way and there’s definitely a will. So we would love to come back together and make one of those. I mean The Boys is a great hang, a great cast. But Star Trek is also. It’s just one of those you just want to do it for the experience of hanging out. You never laugh so much as when you are working with those guys.
Chris Pine, John Cho and Karl Urban at the world premiere Star Trek Beyond
Currently Paramount still has the Star Trek film on their release calendar for December 22, 2023, of course the date has slipped before. If production doesn’t start this year as planned, it is likely the date will move to summer 2024, or beyond. According to the latest reports, Abrams and director Matt Shakman tapped Josh Friedman (Avatar 2) and Cameron Squires (WandaVision) to write the latest version of the script based on an earlier draft by Lindsey Beer (Sierra Burgess Is a Loser) and Geneva Robertson-Dworet (Captain Marvel). While Chris Pine and others have said they haven’t seen a script, Pine says he has met with Shakman and Paramount execs to talk about the project.
Karl Urban in The Boys
Check out the new trailer featuring Karl Urban in The Boys, which also includes Star Trek: Lower Decks star Jack Quaid.
Keep up with all the news on Star Trek 4 and upcoming Trek films at TrekMovie.com.
Loose translation: I’m taking what they are saying at face value, and another Trek movie will be made.
Someday. Just more throw away comments, unfortunately.
Urban HAS to come back! This guy makes the movies for me and why I did like Beyond so much. So if it does happen, it has to be worked out with him. It’s truly mind boggling it wasn’t before they made all these big announcements about it but oh well.
And this line says it all:
“I have heard that it is happening, but I’ve been hearing that for the last three years.”
People seem upset when other fans question if and when another film is going to happen but it’s obvious how tired this merry-go-round has gotten when even the stars of the movie seems to be questioning it too. And can you blame them?
EVERYONE wants another movie, certainly the actors lol! But it’s clearly gotten as frustrating for them too. But he sounds a little more hopeful about this one, so maybe it will really happen this time. But the ‘when’ still seems to be the biggest question mark.
A true update would have been Urban announcing that while he can’t get into specifics, scheduling can be worked out, and he’s signed a contract.
I’ve been hearing this for the last three years (that’s okay, Karl, it’s actually been six) speaks volumes…
I know I have repeated myself about this more times than I like to admit now, also for over three years lol, but until someone say they signed on, read the script and has a firm start date then it’s the same stuff repeated as well. Basically Urban said what Quinto said last month.
And I don’t understand if you are guaranteed to make the movie, every actor said they want to do it then why is no one just signed on yet? It doesn’t sound like they made a deal with anyone for a film that is basically a year and a half from opening. And waiting for a script has nothing to do with it. If you are making a move with a FIRM commitment then they are going to shoot with whatever gets written even if there are rewrites later.
But I’ll be honest maybe TM should just stop posting these quotes. I understand they are just posting updates but that’s the problem most of these are not updates, it’s just the actors saying they want to make a movie, knows one is in the works but nothing has been confirmed. When it all boils down this is what they been saying for five freaking years now lol.
I notice TrekCore never post actor’s quotes anymore. They stopped doing that years ago now. They only post something when Paramount puts out a statement or the current director of the moment says something. That’s probably the better way to go because this stuff isn’t news, just more frustrating than anything.
Its been announced the ST4 director is going to direct the first 2 eps of the Godzilla/Monster-verse TV series so there’s something else possibly in the way of ST4 going ahead for Dec 23!
Wow really?
Never heard of it. Is that recent news?
It’s a TV project so it won’t be a huge length of time to make but it’s a question of when he’s shooting it obviously.
But it’s probably a sign Star Trek is getting bumped to another date again if it’s true unless he’s making it after Star Trek?
Yeh it was just announced yesterday, directing/exec producing. not sure when its happening but yeh it could present another delay (summer 2024? – the 15th ann of ST09!)
I been convinced for awhile now it’s getting bumped no matter what. Once again time is ticking and the movie still sounds stalled. If there is no real news by July it’s probably moving. So maybe it will be pushed back to 2024 and the director can focus on his new project.
If so it will be 8 years since Beyond if it’s bumped to summer. I never thought we would be waiting this long for a movie to be released again.
You know this reminds me a bit about the current Avatar situation. They are releasing new sequels now after 13 years and I am really curious how the reception will be towards them. Remember this was a property which once a upon time held the record for the biggest box office. I highly doubt the new sequels will get those numbers but I am also curious to see how they will end up.
The entire Avatar thing is totally nuts lol. But that seems to be more about Cameron and his crazy perfectionism. Avatar 2 was originally scheduled to open in 2012 and there was talk of making it a trilogy. The second movie is arriving literally a decade late and of course he added more movies as things went along where he’s now making four sequels.
I also wonder where all of this is going to fall? The biggest issue ironically is that the 3D craze has totally died off since which Avatar was partly responsible for creating in the first place. That’s why there was so much hype for the first film, it was an experience you can only get by seeing it in the theater that way. I wonder how much will they push that the 3D experience is the way to see it again? I can’t even remember the last time I’ve seen a movie in 3D at this point? It may have actually been Star Trek Beyond lol. That can’t be right, but last one I can remember.
My feeling is the next film will be big because it’s James Cameron and people want to see if he struck gold twice. I don’t think the sequel will do $3 billion like the first one but it will probably do half that minimum. And if it’s really good it can do $2 billion. But if the film isn’t worth the 13 years of waiting, it’s all the movies after that may suffer. It’s going to be interesting how it all plays out.
Never underestimate Cameron , especially if it’s a sequel and it filmed underwater
The difference is he at least got a film to release
That is absolutely true.
I saw that. Reminds me of when SJ Clarkson was announced shortly after STB. Lot’s of calls and meetings…..then she moved on when actual projects materialized. Shakeman is a busy guy, he seems to be moving on to other projects as well. He’s also Executive Producing the Godzilla series, so that will be a block of time commitment on his part.
Any interest or enthusiasm that many of us had for another Kelvin movie was exhausted a long time ago.
SNW is a hit because it avoids all the flaws of the Kelvin movies, so the top brass should take the message.
While I understand the “but they’ve actually scheduled a release date!” comeback from those burning a candle for this, it’s clear that there is only so much a studio with a will can do when it hasn’t booked the talent before making such a announcement.
At this point, I am becoming increasingly irritated that this quest for the tentpole Trek movie may be getting in the way of direct-to-streaming Trek movies or limited series.
Secret Hideout seems to have been locked into a series streaming television box because Paramount is looking for the magic franchise IP tentpole that will help on the cinematic release side.
All to say that at at this point all I personally care about is how this never ending saga is getting in the way of other Trek content, including more modest cinematic or direct to streaming releases getting produced.
I’ve always said I wouldn’t mind seeing one more Kelvin movie, but I’m not exactly pining for it either. And that’s the problem, I don’t think anyone really is at this point. Sure hardcore fans will definitely go see it, but no one is anticipating it anymore like they were the first two. The hype has completely died off on these movies. I do think the Tarantino announcement did peak interest the most, but there was still no guarantee it would be a hit, just more curiosity that he was making a Star Trek movie.
But yeah, this whole thing has just gotten ridiculous. It shouldn’t take this long to make one movie they announced 6 years ago lol. They have hired four different directors at this point and I’m not including Tarantino since he was never officially signed on to direct.
It really says a lot though and I have said this many times in the past too, Paramount obviously wants to make another movie, but the question seems to be should they make another one? Because no one has this much cold feet with a franchise that is 50 years old and they already made 13 movies with. It’s been pointed out to me by a few posters here it’s a new team of people now running Paramount and things are different.
But ironically I don’t see any real differences because they seem to be having the same cold feet as the previous group from what we’re seeing. Yes, they have a director and a script in some stage but so did all the other various projects before this one. The fact no one is signed on for a movie they announced last year is really telling. When they announced it officially in February and the Kelvin cast was coming back, I thought ‘finally it’s happening!’ They have all their ducks in a row now. Everyone is signed on, the script is ready and it’s now just a countdown to when production begins….only to find out later none of that was true. And three months later it still isn’t.
But it can still happen of course and Urban is suggesting it will; but he’s also said that before too lol.
Wait, I think I overstated the number of directors they hired so far. Has there only been three of them and not four? Again, not including Tarantino.
These are largely clickbait stories that drive traffic. And they work. We’re here, pointing out that Urban really didn’t say anything here that hasn’t been said by other actors. Ad revenue generated, mission accomplished.
You’re probably right. It’s sad though, especially with all the Trek shows in production, so there is plenty of real news they can be posting. Even rumored stuff is better than this at this point.
But same time, I know I could just not post in these threads anymore. But yeah even I’m a sucker for these articles lol. That’s what is frustrating, we want to be talking and hearing about real movie news at this point. And what’s more frustrating considering its a year and a half away from supposedly opening we should be discussing real news now. But it’s the same ole same ole for five years on and running.
It does not sound as if he has approached about the movie. He has heard, but apparently not talked to about the movie. Same thing is happening as with other announced Star Trek movies. Announcement made, then Paramount goes mute until movie is cancelled. Not buying into it this time. Getting to the point that I
do not care if they make a movie or not.
Yeah it really is just more of the same so far. Even Urban basically is saying that now. Again, it doesn’t mean it won’t happen but how many times have we been at this exact same spot??? For god sake Paramount, what exactly is the hold up??? If they can get a Top Gun sequel made in just two years, there is just no excuse why this movie isn’t moving faster.
Simple solution, lots of big movies get made in Toronto. Film the Star Trek movie here and have Urban scoot back and forth between productions. Who says Dr. McCoy couldn’t be sporting a beard at that time?
But would audiences accept a McCoy who looks too much like the appropriately named Billy Butcher?
Either that or shave the beard to be clean cut for the MOVIE and slap on a phony beard for filming the measly tv show.
Easy peasy!
Not easy peasy when that measly TV show is the one he has a contract with and will probably be working on said show for years to come regardless if this movie happens or not.
If the movie happens, they could try and pull a Henry Cavill and CGI the facial hair out, but after that debacle for Justice League I don’t think anyone wants to go there lol.
But what is wrong with keeping a beard??? Spock kept a beard for an entire season on Discovery, the fandom didn’t implode over it.
And, hey, Bones sported one in TMP, at least in the beginning.
Yep! And he can sport that medallion again like he did in Beyond! The transformation would be complete! 😁
Old hippie McCoy. Did the transporter contraband filter nab his herb?
Television is the dominant media now.
Actors may like to talk about 10 or 13 episode “movies” on streaming because they are still sensitive about the relative status of the two media, but most of the A list moves back and forth between the two at this point.
These are still the days of COVID. I don’t know if actors are being shared as much as they were between productions, even now. The last thing either production will want is delays due to cross-contamination from the other.
Must be like a rollarcoaster ride for the cast, First up they about to film the Hemsworth ST4 in like 2018 or whenever it was, then they looking at being in a Tarantino film, then they are supposedly out bc the Fargo guy wants a new cast , then the WandaVision guy is attached but no word on cast, then JJ announces the kelvin cast coming back ..
Urban & Co must be like ffs just beam us up already!
I doubt it. Like Frakes mentioned in a pervious interview, all these people have agents and staff who negotiate deals and schedule work. Until an agent calls and says they has a script and/or contract, this is just all background noise to them, that they respond to nicely and diplomatically to when asked.
True, but I’m also guessing a lot of them are frustrated though because they probably really just want to make another one and it must suck to be jerked around so much. And let’s also be honest, it’s probably a big pay day for many if it does happen. They are all doing well for the most part but these movies are probably their biggest pay days now for a lot of them minus probably Saldana and Pegg.
“Must be like a rollarcoaster ride for the cast”
No, they likely don’t care.
Lip service, sadly. But for the record, I’m also on board for him to return as McCoy. He absolutely channeled DeForest Kelley while making the role his own, and was the stand-out of the Kelvin universe, imo. And he was fantastic in Dredd. Just a great actor.
Oh, and he is an absolute pleasure to watch in The Boys. Highly recommended. Great writing.
Talking about The Boys, I wonder what it would be like if its creator (also the creator of Supernatural) Eric Kripke did something in the Trek universe? Might be interesting.
It could be interesting.
He definitely can construct shows with complex relationships and characters.
I wouldn’t want the over-the-top graphic gore that The Boys has, but the early seasons of Supernatural had a great deal of suspense without being graphic in its violence.
It would be interesting, for example, to see what Kripke would do with an adaptation of the Vanguard series of 23rd century Litverse novels.
Vanguard is the closest thing to a DS9 type concept for the TOS era, but it also has elements that are somewhat similar to the Expanse. While the TOS Enterprise under command of Kirk makes appearances, the series of books is principally about the enormous Startfeet station 47 Vanguard and the ships that are based from her.
It could be the vehicle for a successful serialized Trek series that’s complex, and deals with moral challenges and ambiguity while still being recognizably Trek.
(To be clear, most of the Vanguard novels predate the publication of the first of the Expanse.)
The last six years. Wasn’t the Kirk and His Dad movie announced before Beyond even was released?
Kinda makes me wonder what happened to the few commentators here who knew people “on the inside” who just insisted that production design was underway, sets were being built, costumes being sewn, etc, etc…..they’ve gone very quiet these last few months.
With Strange New Worlds here, Abrams & Company will definitely need to up their game to produce a film which will compel fans to plunk down their dollars at a theater. Will they do it?! Can they do it?!
It was the same for Trek V-X so we’ve been there before. Will obviously need an big thanksgiving dinner of an epic storyline with several ‘hooks’ for fans and non fans alike (like ST09 managed to do). , no big TV episode type stuff (Beyond), otherwise people just stay in to watch SNW turkey sandwiches
Laurie Ulster will hate this comment… :-) If they don’t make the film and decide on a McCoy cameo in Strange New Worlds, then make it Karl Urban! I will really struggle to connect with and believe Quinto’s Spock after the nice job Ethan Peck is doing (which will only become more cemented as SNW progresses into two seasons) but Urban is perfect as McCoy and clearly enjoys episodic work not just cinema, so why not bring him for McCoy IF it was within a good story.
It wouldn’t be Urban though. It would confuse people and the whole Kelvin/Prime universe issues. They would cast someone new like all the other characters. Pine isn’t showing up as Kirk next season either.
But if you think they found a good Spock with Peck then it’s possible they can find another good McCoy too. And chances are probably sooner than we all think. ;)
I’d watch a new movie if it was direct to Paramount+ and related services in other countries, but I doubt I would go to a cinema to watch it.
That’s likely what will happen. P+ will have a feature before Trek 14 gets made.
Yay…. more 23rd Century Star Trek…
*Freely walks into an Agony Booth*
Is anyone other than Trek fans actually clamouring for another movie with this cast?
It’s been 13 years since Trek ‘09 and 6 years since Beyond (which earned a somewhat underwhelming $343.5 million worldwide against a production budget of $185 million).
At this rate, they might as well just wait another decade or two and do a Maverick-style movie with this cast. Or, just reboot it entirely.
(Also, I agree with folks here: the actors either don’t know what’s happening or aren’t allowed to say — so if a movie is ever going to happen for sure, the news probably won’t be coming from Karl Urban or Simon Pegg.)
I think that’s the biggest issue actually. The are probably worried the casual audience no longer cares and it will become another Beyond.
The casual audience didn’t turn out for Beyond, it was mostly the same hardcore fans who been watching all the other shows and films for decades. That’s why if this one happens, they HAVE to lower the budget and in a big way. I just don’t see the film being a huge hit since none of the previous ones were based on what they cost to make. It can do well but my guess is it still won’t do beyond $400 million and another reason why these movies probably keep getting stalled.
I really believe it’s a push to get more content on Paramount+ end of the day. They know it’s not going to be a billion dollar hit but it will get people to watch it on P+ and drive subscribers at least for a few months.
In hindsight its surprising Beyond did as much as it did , it now ‘feels’ like a film that should’ve made way less like 250m ww (with barely 100m domestic) similar to the likes of Alien Covenant/Blade Runner 2/Terminator DF. I guess had they had done ST4 with Hemsworth 2y later it would’ve been ‘punished’ for Beyond being abit of a meh movie by doing like 200m ww (even had it been way better) i guess Paramount had a feeling that would happen too so was no doubt part of the reason they pulled the plug
Oh yeah, also very true. Beyond could’ve actually did much worse than it did at the time. The ONLY reason it even got over $300 million was because of China. That market effectively saved the movie from feeling like a complete disaster because it was the second biggest BO after America and pulled in around $65 million there.
And that only happened because Paramount aligned itself with the prominent Chinese company Alibaba. That company basically co-produced Paramount movies and in turn would help get them a bigger distribution and marketing in China and they share the profits. They pushed to get the movie not only in over 5,000 screens but also stay in theaters longer than the usual one month window for foreign movies.
But I remember reading on IMDB somewhere both companies were hoping the film pull in around $100 million there because the Mission Impossible movie Rogue Nation had did over $120 million the year before. Of course that is Mission Impossible with Tom Cruise as it’s star and those movies are huge in China. Fallout made even more money there and almost as it did in America.
Of course that partnership ended long ago because outside of Mission Impossible and Transformers, none of the other Paramount films did as hoped in China including Beyond. And China is so much more fickle with Hollywood movie these days. It’s not even a guarantee the next Star Trek movie will even show up there and if it does I highly doubt it will make what Beyond did because it won’t have the same advantage and yeah it will be over 7 years.
I try not to sound so cynical lol, but I’m just looking at things from an objective viewpoint and probably so is Paramount. The next movie WILL be risky, it’s not even a question at this point. It’s not 2008 anymore. Besides the fact its no longer the only Star Trek product in town, the movie landscape has changed so much. And while everyone wants a movie to happen, not many are begging for one anymore either; but that’s partly Paramount’s fault waiting so long to make another one. But their hesitation is probably everything I said above, so it’s a vicious cycle.
I think you’re right — I also wonder whether Star Trek is, by definition, tough to sell to a general audience at this point.
Trek ’09 did it incredibly well, but then the sequels ignored the fresh start and got bogged down in Easter eggs, fan service and nods to canon.
The Marvel movies are full of those things, too — but they still deliver enough spectacle and are usually self-contained enough that you, arguably, don’t need to have read or seen anything else to enjoy them and to have a basic understanding of what’s happening.
I remember being in a packed house for Into Darkness in 2013. About ten minutes after Cumberbatch revealed that his name is Khan (to Kirk’s non-reaction because he doesn’t know he’s Khan Noonian Singh), a 20-something couple in front of me got up and left because they didn’t understand what was going on.
It’ll just be a one off with this cast. Unless it makes a billion dollars we won’t see them again. More broadly, it matters little to me if its a Next Gen, Kelvin, or even a TOS era story. If Paramount is committing to the film franchise, they are doing themselves a disservice kicking out a move once or twice a decade.
I think its too premature to say we’ll never see the cast again. Thanks to Paramount+ and their commitment to air Star Trek 52 weeks a year for probably the next decade, there are more possibilities now. The entire TNG cast will be back next year on Picard, so who knows what will happen in the future? Paramount could end up following the lead of what Disney and WB is doing with their big genre IPs and basically crossing them over in both streaming and movies. MCU is obviously doing it the most right now with their characters.
Yes Paramount+ is not Disney+ or HBOMax, but who knows? Even if these characters are not viable to continue in the films (if it’s all about large tentpole movies) then they could make spin off shows, a mini-series or even smaller films there in the future.
To be honest, it’s probably the safer bet to just put it on Paramount+, but only if they are not paying $150 million for it. But I think if this next film doesn’t do what they hope, chances are Star Trek’s entire future will just be on Paramount+ for a long time after that.
Or maybe they will try for a Prodigy movie next as they suggested last year since that will cost waaaaay lower than a Kelvin movie and animated movies still do really well in the theaters; especially if the show is still a hit.
By the way lets mot under estimate Paramount+. They did recently sign on actors like Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren and Slyvester Stallone to lead their streaming shows so I don’t doubt they’d have the resources to sign up the Kelvin crew for a streaming show. Whether they’d choose to do it is another matter but considering the success Disney has had with its Marvel properties and Star Wars shows on streaming I think Paramount may let this motion picture idea quietly die and transform it into a streaming property.
To clarify: Paramount Studios seems perfectly happy with a big screen Trek feature every five plus years. We’ll not likely see this cast on the big screen again. A streaming production is a different story. Yeah, that could happen.
This movie is not happening. They need to just reboot the movie franchise again and be done with it.
I did love the cast of the newer movies but at this point, I think it’s time to cut them loose and reboot the film side of the franchise entirely. The JJ movies were a great distraction while the we didn’t have a TV show. Now we have several, and some of it is actually pretty great. There’s enough narrative to mine from the new stuff.
With all the existing sets for strange new worlds and discovery and picard they could easily make new movies in the prime verse with different and new casts set in the 23rd century and 25th century and 32nd century they could even give us a captain seven of the uss stargazer movie with raffi and elnor on the excelsior or even make one or 2 feature length animated Star Trek lower decks movies
I don’t know if they would work for a cinematic release, but direct to streaming certainly.
Basically it’s just a wait and see game. Period.
Six years now, and counting.
I’d forgotten how dumb Quinto’s wig was in the last movie. It sits like a fur hat on his head.