There’s another sign that the long-gestating Star Trek 4 project at Paramount Pictures is still alive, even though it is one year to the day since Paramount Pictures removed the follow-up to Star Trek Beyond from their 2023 release calendar.
Lindsey Beer says Trek movie is still happening
It’s been 18 months since producer J.J. Abrams announced “We are thrilled to say that we are hard at work on a new ‘Star Trek’ film that will be shooting by the end of the year.” But 2022 ended with no filming on the horizon and director Matt Shakman exiting the project, so many fans concluded that the project was shelved, possibly permanently. However, Lindsey Anderson Beer, an original co-screenwriter for Star Trek 4, gives some reason for hope. In a new interview with Collider, Beer clarifies:
[Star Trek 4] is, it’s still on the tracks. I love that project, and it was another one that I had to hop off of to direct this movie, and that was a hard thing to do. But I love that everybody involved with that project.
The project that led Beer to “hop off” the Star Trek project is Pet Sematary: Bloodlines, a prequel to 2019’s Pet Sematary. Throughout the interview, Beer discusses how she was eager to do both Pet Sematary: Bloodlines and the live-action remake of Disney’s Bambi, as both projects were stories she wanted to share with the world. She feels similarly about the Star Trek sequel. Beer co-wrote the first draft of the Star Trek 4 script with Geneva Robertson-Dworet (Captain Marvel). The pair had exited the project by 2022; the latest script was written by Josh Friedman (Avatar 2) and Cameron Squires (WandaVision), based on the earlier draft by Beer and Robertson-Dworet.
Producer-director J.J. Abrams on set of the 2009 Star Trek movie with stars Chris Pine, Karl Urban, Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldana (Paramount Pictures)
Lindsey Anderson Beer’s comments are consistent with what we’ve heard about the film’s development so far, consistent with Matt Shakman’s report earlier this year that the project remained active after his exit. Yet even though the fourth Kelvin-universe film has been repeatedly called a priority by Paramount Pictures, it has been delayed numerous times. While all the principal actors have stated they are eager to reunite for a fourth film, getting them all to commit to a shooting schedule has not yet been successful and Paramount has not provided a new projected release date or tapped a new director.
While there are practical issues, there appears to be more behind the delay of the film. Late last year, actress Zoe Saldaña cited the scheduling problems but also added “I think as well it probably has something else to do with the project.” At STLV 2023 in August, actor Zachary Quinto was more direct, offering this diagnosis about the delay: “I think it’s about different people having different agendas and ideas about what it will be.” With all this in mind, Beer (and Shakman) exiting Star Trek 4 to pursue other active projects should not be surprising.
Zachary Quinto as Spock in Star Trek Beyond (Paramount Pictures)
With the end of the WGA strike, maybe Paramount can resolve any creative issues with this project. It has now been over 7 years since the release of 2016’s Star Trek Beyond and the way things are going, it could be a decade before the studio brings one of its key franchises back to the big screen for a fourteenth movie.
Find more news and analysis on upcoming Star Trek feature films.
sure.jan
Star Trek 4 should be about going back in time trying to save Kirk’s father aka Chris Hemsworth to fix the Kelvin timeline! Of course they succeed and it ends with everything happening the way it supposed to: Prime Timeline. This would nicely close the loop of the Kelvin-movies and ending them the way they started.
It would be a great what-if story like Yesterday’s Enterprise.
The guys who wrote that script, the ones now show-running the Amazon Lord of the Rings series, talked about that script last year. It turned out not to be a time travel story, but that Kirk’s dad has successfully beamed himself into the transporter buffer like Scotty had in “Relics” on TNG.
The premise of the story was that Kirk and his dad are now roughly the same age, and they have to deal with each other when the dad is rescued from the transporter buffer.
That’s the problem tho. That is a total retcon. We saw Helmsworth blown up when the bridge was hit with torpedos.
…as has oft been repeated. The Prime Timeline still exists alongside the Kelvin universe, just like the Mirror Universe. Kelvin doesn’t undo Prime.
How about Nero and the Narada appear in the kelvins ‘wrath of khan’ maroon era (from the end of ST09 he was sent 25 years into the future) the Narada repairs itself (borg tech) and this time he defeats the Federation, destroys earth. Kirk and the Enterprise have to go back in time to the emergence of the Narada in 2233 and try to prevent it destroying the Kelvin (and therefore from creating the Kelvin timeline..or not.. big ‘Yesterdays Enterprise’ style dilemma about all that stuff) in the end the Kelvin/Enterprise either prevent the timeline from ever happening.. or maybe they don’t.
Only with help of Prime Kirk, who they meet on the adventure, can they solve the dilemma ;D
The Romulans and Spock went to a parallel universe 23rd Century like the Defiant went to the mirror universe 22nd century in Enterprise.
Not exactly. The way it was described by the writers is that time travel created an alternate timeline but instead of altering the prime timeline, it created an offshoot alternate universe that did not exist before. Basically, time travel does whatever they want it to do to suit the story. Of course, it’s not clear from the actual film that’s what happened.
I always felt the first film should have ended with the New ship and crew in the prime timeline .
TBH I am happy that didn’t happen. The new crew ending up in the Prime Universe would have meant basically erasing TOS and pretty much everything that came after. Keeping them in a separate universe is the way to go IMHO
That would’ve made a HUGE mess of things lol.
Tarantino wanted them to be in Prime. Because he didn’t understand the alternate universe stuff. And according to him JJ didn’t get it either. And JJ told him the audience didn’t get it and hated it.
Well, chalk one up for Quentin Tarantino, then.
Mark Altman recently reported on his Treksperts podcast that Paramount is considering a movie set in the aftermath of the First Contact timeline when humans first meet the Vulcans. He is usually a reliable source, and this would be a major development in Trek movies if true. Is anybody at Trek Movie tracking that story?
“Usually” being the operative word and as the only source of information on this there’s nothing to share until it can be verified or is reported independently elsewhere by a trusted and reliable source. Until then, it’s just speculation and rumor, something TrekMovie avoids running with.
Aside from all that, it’s a concept that would likely appeal only to Star Trek fans and would be better served by a limited series on Paramount+.
No, it is not speculation and rumor; Mark Altman was reporting it. He is a known journalist and a reliable source.
Mark Altman’s reputation is spotty at best, and the Inglorious Treksperts Podcast is not a reliable source.
This site frequently uses Mark Altman as a reliable source for their articles. Your comment is not correct, Dune.
If Mark Altman is saying it’s “rumored”, then there’s an out, and that doesn’t mean he’s wrong, or that he’s not a reliable source. He’s not reporting on anything on his podcast, so it doesn’t matter what he says. He doesn’t have to hold himself to any journalistic standard on it. But I”m quite sure he’s not making anything up. If he’s saying he knows it for a fact, then he has enough credibility that I’d say it’s true. That doesn’t mean that it can’t die on the vine or that it will get made. How many ST movie projects have not come to fruition since Beyond? I guarantee there are some we don’t even know about, too. If we never hear another word about this particular project… that doesn’t mean that Altman doesn’t have credibility.
Yeah I’m pretty sure a ton of Star Trek movie ideas have been pitched since Beyond. We only heard about the ones Paramount ‘approved’ before deciding not to do them again and again.
Remember, even Nic Meyers pitched a Star Trek movie idea a year ago which we only heard about because he discussed it. So who knows what ideas they been considering. I personally wouldn’t be excited for a First Contact era movie (prefer a post-Nemesis film), but at this point I’ll take anything.
The Khan mini series sounded interesting to me. If they hired the right actor for Khan, and did it in a Shakespearean style. You would have to get someone as good if not better than Montalban. But without spaceship battles and all the action people expect from Star Trek it probably would not work. And you don’t have Kirk as a foil.
I need more than something that’s rumored.
There are rumors every day.
Let me know when something is,OFFICIAL!
Could be interesting, although the setting wouldn’t be my first choice.
Yeah, I’m done with prequels, and recycled characters and ideas. Let’s move forward.
Agreed. New characters in a new setting already.
Sounds abit along the lines of ‘Star Trek The Beginning’ that was almost made after Enterprise was cancelled
It also sounds like Noah Hawley’s project that almost went forward and was halted and it seemed pretty clear it was with an entirely new cast and crew
Have to admit I’m growing more interested in seeing the Kelvin crew return to the big screen. Such a phenomenal cast and they won’t be easy to replace. But Paramount pictures seems to be too dysfunctional to get things together so I have zero hope of this actually happening.
unless you’re going to keep the Kelvin timeline going or find a way to bring the Kelvin cast INTO the Prime TV universe, it’s probably best to just let it, sadly, die. Paramount managed to waste a fantastic cast. It’s best to just let them go on and if they want more movies, go ahead and start using the TV crews
I just saw DON’T WORRY DARLING and was flabbergasted by how good Pine was in it (and the movie was more than just 21st Century Stepford, too!)
Pine literally seemed to be channeling early Shatner at some points (by early, I mean, like THE INTRUDER and TOS s1) and delivering the goods in spades (as does just about everybody in the cast, though I still don’t get Pugh’s appeal.)
Kelvintrek … not something I want to see again, they at least got the characters a lot more on target in BEYOND, but the story had a lot of problems, so while it is the only Kelvin I rewatch, I still tend to skip around.d
BEYOND is the only Kev-uh-KEL-vin I find worthy of repeat viewing too, despite flaws.
Glad to hear INTRUDER mentioned, my choice for the best work of both Corman and Shatner.
I’ve been interested in viewing DON’T WORRY DARLING, so yours is another reason for me to check it out soon!
Kinda off-topic, but have you ever seen THE MIND BENDERS? British film with Dirk Bogarde directed by Basil Dearden that predates ALTERED STATES by nearly two decades. I bring it up because ALTERED has developed into a guilty-pleasure regular view for me since it hit blu-ray and finding this other film was a big surprise.
I vaguely recall MIND BENDERS, but ALTERED STATES certainly made a bigger impression on me. I must’ve seen MIND BENDERS a long time ago. I didn’t realize that ALTERED hit Blu-ray though, so I’ll have to order it soon.
I can remember playing the soundtrack on cassette in my old car way back when (around the time I filmed you as a shipwreck survivor lying in the surf off Half Moon Bay). The good old days? I still liked your STARS rig in the living room!
The not-so-good new days? I gave up on SNW after watching the first episode, and have no interest in either lower decks or prodigy.
ALTERED looks terrific on blu-, but I have a feeling it could look insanely good on 4K given the superbright parts where the tank room blows. It’s a shame Corigliano didn’t do very much more film work, that score is terrific. Always hoped somebody would find a workprint of the rough cut, apparently they cut like 20-25 minutes worth of hallucinations out of the film, and I kind of think I would like a TMP-Cloud version of ALTERED STATES.
I’ve gotten a couple articles out of PICARD and a ton of frustration out of trying to book articles on early DSC and SNW, so it’s like current trek has become more of a burden to watch than anything else, since there hasn’t been much money in it to offset the lack of TrekJoy. Couldn’t get into LOWER DECKS, though I did really enjoy the LD crossover on SNW … My batting average on that show is in the low .200s, which means it rates significantly better than the DSCs i was able to stomach but that it barely rates above PICARD overall.
I don’t know if you get Apple TV but there is a series coming up called LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY that will be enjoyable for many — it’s one of those rare things where I watched the whole series in screeners very avidly (cute dog too, plus a terrific child actress whose game is up there with the supercompetent grownups.) It’s not genre, but sometimes goodhearted stuff sucks me in, go figure.
1) It’s Star Trek 14, not Star Trek 4.
2) We’re well past the “boy who cried wolf” stage at this point.
actually its Star Trek XIV :)
Isn’t the boy who cried wolf the reverse analogy given the wolf shows up finally?
Thank you! It drives me nuts when people keep calling it Star Trek 4. Totally disrespectful to Voyage Home
I agree fully.
opening scene: Kirk looking despondent as he announces.. ‘Somehow, Nero returned..’
Cloning? Transporter duplicate? Resurrected by the god-thing from Star Trek V?
see my Nero Returns pitch above :)
Harry Mudd arriving with huge fleet of minor guest star ships of the week: “But there are more of us, Jim. There are more of US.”
A new film with the Kelvin cast would be fairly easy to market with what is now a successful, well known and established group of actors. It has the potential to be an event when released since we’ll be nearly a decade after Beyond by the time this one hits theaters.
What they need to do is lock down the cast before making yet another announcement. Once they announce that the cast has officially signed on, everyone will know that this thing is actually happening.
For the sake of argument, would it be an event? The last movie in 2016 was not a major success.
I like the Kelvin cast very much, and recently watched Beyond again for the first time in years and enjoyed it a lot more that I remembered it.
Now that the same characters are being seen regularly on Strange New Worlds, I wonder if anybody outside of our fan community would care about seeing the Kelvinverse Enterprise crew again?
yeah it could be St4r Trek
DON’T EVEN JOKE ABOUT THAT!
I think what Denny C is saying is that the actors bring the audience. Which is true. Pine is exciting and it will be interesting to see him older.
Pine doesn’t sell tickets.
Few movie actors sell tickets based on star power alone anymore. As a reunion of an appealing ensemble for this franchise, with a good script and a sub-$140 million budget it’s a viable investment.
I actually agree with this. But I still think another movie wouldn’t do more than $300 million, even at $130-140 would just be breaking even and I don’t know if they think its worth it. But maybe it can do $350 million at least, but I seriously have my doubts.
But anything under $140 million is at least feasible to get one made.
I suspect that’s fine. I’m not a movie executive or bean counter, but we’re seeing studios greenlighting sequels that do “only” double their budget since VOD and TV revenue definitely gets them in the black.
I liked Dungeons and Dragons but have to agree since it flopped.
Someone on this site once told me to wait to see how Dungeons and Dragons do to determine if Pine could actually make a movie profitable. Well I waited and that one bombed as hard as his others. And it’s supposed to be good too.
Reason #47 Paramount isn’t calling the guy for more Star Trek. They put him in another expensive IP and potential franchise builder with D&D and it was DOA a week later. No one is losing sleep if we’ll see fratboy Kirk defeat another supervillain again or not.
True about the cast being well established, esp Pine and Saldana. The problem tho is that they now would cost what established actors tend to earn.
So Paramount can try to offer them points in exchange for lower upfront salaries. Gives an incentive to promote the movie too.
That’s probably not going to work because the last movie bombed and the potential could be the same for this one. Star Trek isn’t MCU, their agents would probably get all the upfront money they can since none of these movies have earned any big profits and they would probably get way less than their salaries.
The first two movies didn’t even make $100 million profit in theaters which shows they spend way too much on them. What would they realistically get with such a tiny profit margin?
And if the movie bombs then they get nothing.
Couple of my thoughts:
Then it’d be a P+ movie
that’s all they are making anyway outside of SNW already. They are just chopping them up into 8 episodes
I was more thinking in terms of the TNG feature movies.
I’m not believing anything until it’s actually happening.
Ok. We’ll see what happens. Personally I am not at all vested in the Kelvin Universe but hey anything to watch Trek related is ok by me. One star tho that you left out of the article (unless I missed it) was Chris Pine who said he is doubtful of this and he thinks Star Trek is not a franchise that you should spend Marvel money to make and expect you are going to get Marvel like returns (he’s right)
He’s very right!
Hey! :)
The next movie will be lucky if makes even $300 million at this point. No one cares about it except hardcore Trekkies like here and half of those stopped caring about these movies when Beyond came out.
If Transformer and Mission Impossible movies are making way less money now, imagine how bad another JJ verse movie can do. And everything Pine is in bombs. How he keep starring roles is beyond me.
Paramount knows it too. That’s why there is zero rush to make another one.
Let JJ verse die already and make a movie that doesn’t require $150 million. That’s suicide at this point.
I agree in that I think ST 2009 was successful because it was the first time someone other than Roddenberry and his hand picked leader Berman were doing Star Trek and JJ Abram’s had some clout behind his name so people were curious. That and of course they marketed the hell of it ($$$) and they made sure every single shot in the trailers was action and CGI packed.
I think STID was successful solely due to it’s predecessor not its own merit. And of course we all know what happened with Beyond.
Beyond is what happens when all the hype died and the curiosity factor was over.
After STID it was obvious these movies were never going to be big hits. And when even the huge Trekkie nerds lost interest that really sealed it.
We both have the same feelings over these movies and that is let them die already. No one is losing sleep at this point. But if you’re going to make it then stop trolling gullible fans and just make it. But it looks like even those people aren’t buying it anymore.
Just put it on streaming and make it cheap. That’s where most people will watch it anyway.
ST09 had all kinds of things going for it for general audiences and hard core fans, as you say it from an all new team/director (whod done a recent Mission Impossible movie and Lost) doing a no expense spared blockbuster version of ‘star trek’, it was going back to the original star trek characters/era in a big budget reboot of ‘TOS’ (like the 90s movie remakes of Mission Impossible, The Fugitive, Lost in Space etc) but also something of a prequel/sequel for fans (creating all kinds of possibilities in trekkies minds), recasting the iconic characters (how would they compare to the originals?), all the new redesigned tech/ships/Enterprise/sets/uniforms etc, there was time travel, the intrigue of an alternate universe potentially shaking up the timeline/canon (very important to trekkies), and to top it all off Nimoy was back as Spock for the first time since Trek VI (so fans HAD to see it for that alone. and for the hard core his presence seemingly tied into TNG/Unification). and all the trailers were incredible, enough to intrigue even the non fan audience
Then ID it was building on the success of all that (albeit a year late), with the same director (who’d just signed up for potentially the biggest movie of all time Star Wars Episode VII), plus the intrigue of the villain (khan?) and the up and coming star of Cumberbatch, and the trailers were very intriguing/mysterious and included the Enterprise facing of against a huge seemingly ‘TNG’ version, and omg the hand on the glass!? (they wouldn’t dare try to remake TWOK..would they??)
Beyond had literally no hooks for the general audience or fans ‘beyond’ hey heres another star trek movie like the last 2 with lots of explosions and FX and the Enterprise gets destroyed.again (despite it pretty much happening at the end of the last one). oh and its directed by the Fast&Furious dude. The teaser trailer (shown in front of the once in a generation event of TFA) just about killed any interest. Of course had it been original Orci version of ST3 things mightve been different as it’d have had Shatner returning as Kirk (which would’ve been a huge deal for fans and non fans alike), potentially more time travel and alternate timeline stuff – bigger stakes for the kelvin universe (possibly being wiped out). essentially more an event for the 50th anniversary
Beyond was the best of the 3 JJ series. It had more the heart and soul or Trek then the other 2. Into Darkness was just a ripoff movie and because of that, no one was interested in seeing Beyond. Beyond felt like Trek – It was more character driven. They should have made Beyond as the second movie in the series and completely left INTO DARKNESS in the trash.
Actually Beyond was the only Kelvin movie I liked lol. We’re not disagreeing on the movie itself. It actually felt like a Trek movie and not a Marvel/Star Wars rip off. There was a little of that, but not at the other two levels.
But only hardcore Trekkies cared about it by the time it showed up, at least watching it in a theater. Most of the new fans stopped caring and as you said, a lot of the casual fans who hated STID didn’t bother to see this one either.
I only saw it because I had a free ticket at the time. I was really put off with JJ verse after the first two movies but glad I watched it when I did.
But the hype had completely faded by then. I remember watching it with maybe 50 people the second weekend it was out. Compare that to the first movie where it was at least 90% full in the same theater and also the second weekend. I agree it should’ve been the second movie when the hype and goodwill for them was still there but oh well.
Star Trek is doing well on TV, which seems to be its natural home. I’ll go see a movie if they make one, but I’m far more interested in S3 of SNW than in a fourth Kelvin-universe movie.
Completely agreed. I’m enjoying seeing those characters on SNW much more than seeing them in the Kelvin movies.
I’m totally with you (as usual lol). If they make it I’ll see it but I just don’t see another Kelvin movie being all that successful. Back in the day the movies and TV series were in the same universe and they even overlapped (Leonard Nimoy in Unification). These days the movies and series are literally separate universes from one another and rather than having overlapping character we confusingly have 2 different Kirks, 2 different Spocks, 2 different Uhura and now even 2 different Scottys. For anyone who is not a trek enthusiast like we are that is very confusing. You can get away with that on P+ but no way for a blockbuster costing movie.
Plus, as you noted above, Trek movies should be little movies, not blockbuster types. TWOK was WAY cheaper than TMP, and which do most people like better? :-)
I trust Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers way more than I trust JJ Abrams. That’s not to say that I trust them unreservedly, since I’m not thrilled with what they’re doing to Spock in SNW, but they at least seem to both love and understand much of Star Trek, which we can’t say for Abrams. Keep Kirk, Spock, Uhura, and Scotty with THEM, please.
Totally. JJ Abrams clearly had zero respect for Star Trek. All he ever got was Star Wars and that didn’t go great either.
Well, he was basically using Trek as a stepping stone for Star Wars. Of course he botched that as well. He is a good producer but not a writer or director.
It’s never lost on me Abrams was considered the chosen one who was meant to bring balance to the force with both franchises but instead left them in darkness. 🙄🤬
And as bad as STID is, that almost looks like an Oscar winner compared to the cringe hack job of TROS. At least JJ verse is far away from the Prime Universe and easy to avoid if you don’t care about it and it doesn’t affect the characters and the hundreds of stories that was told in it for decades most fans love today.
But the Sequel trilogy is the sad conclusion to the saga that started it all in that universe and will always live in infamy because of it.
He didn’t understand Star Wars. He turned Luke Skywalker into a maguffin, who does that. Kathleen Kennedy i esteem very well, brilliant producer. Never should have hired Abrams. But it made a lot of money so maybe she knows more then the fans on making a hit movie.
It made a lot of money because it’s still Star Wars. It’s the opposite reason why the Star Trek movies never do… because it’s still Star Trek. 😥
Phil, where are you? I need my entertainment from your reaction — please show up today!
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me seven times, shame on me.
Hee! So true. :-)
its going to happen eventually but latest Mission Impossible tanked financially & will lose a few 100m for Paramount…not so sure they want a less certain than MI sequel (which tanked) anytime soon! h should have been filmed a few years ago….longer they wait less certain this cast will be in it which means new ship, new crew setup costs (50m easily on those)…which points towards a streaming only series or TV movie event instead!
Mission: Impossible still grossed well over $550 million. If it hadn’t cost $300 million due to pandemic costs before insurance payouts, then the conversation would be different. A $140 million Star Trek movie that can gross $300 million would be considered a win.
If one were to stand back and assess the state of Star Trek as a franchise now versus 2016 when Beyond came out, you’d be hard pressed to not be impressed by how Paramount nurtured and grew the franchise. The bickering about quality is beside the point – there is as legitimate a reason to think there’s an audience for another movie of some kind as there would have been for the last couple TNG films or Beyond. It just can’t cost the same as the last couple JJ films.
Paul, it’s already a new ship. They destroyed the old one in the last movie.
But I agree, it probably has a much better chance getting approved if they do a P+ streaming movie. No one in their right mind is going to make a Star Trek movie for anything over $130 million when you have big and once very guaranteed franchises flopping or under performing today. Paramount can’t even make Transformer a big hit anymore and those once made a billion dollars. Now they are making what the Kelvin movies makes, so imagine how much worse a Kelvin movie may do today?
Not pretty.
Yeah last knight and rise of the beasts both bombed. Bumblebee was moderately successful because of a reduced budget. And despite Rise flopping they are still moving forward with a combined Transformers/GI Joe universe. I think they are nuts but its not my money.
Lesson to Paramount: Don’t call the next movie “Star Trek 4, Part 1“. Nobody wants to pay full price for half a movie.
Lol agreed.
I’m still shocked they did that. Even Avengers did away with that idea (originally Infinity War Part 1/Part 2), obvs Potter/Twilight/Hunger Games did it for the final films/novels but I guess maybe thats different bc of the novels and were the absolute finales idk
Calling it MI: DR Part 1 might’ve cost the movie 100m maybe more who knows, it def didn’t need Part 1 there as the movie was pretty much self contained, like the previous ones were. And the next one will continue the plot and be as much a sequel to DR as DR was to Fallout (which was as much a sequel to Rogue Nation) . Should’ve just called it ‘MI: Dead Reckoning’ and the next one something else ‘MI: Endgame’ :)
I really don’t think a new movie should dredge up old stuff to find a plot. And how many more times will the have to travel back in time? I hope there’s a unique and imaginative story waiting to be filmed…
I’d much rather they took some characters and spinned them off into their own Paramount plus mini or movie, like Marvel and Star Wars have been doing. Feels more modern.
It’s not the 80s and the 90s anymore. Not every franchise needs a presence in the theaters anymore. It just doesn’t seem that important now.
EXCLUSIVE: LEAKED JJ ABRAMS MOVIE PITCH MEETING FOR NEXT STAR TREK MOVIE!
‘Um, OK, this is how we’re going to grab the Trekkies with this movie and with something that always works best: nostalgia! Pure nostalgia at every other scene. We bury them in it to the point they can’t breathe. But you do it subtle and with care like I do with all my films of course. We’ll start with the villain. Have you all seen The Voyager Home? It’s like, super great! I saw most of it on a plane a few years ago. You should all watch it. In that movie there was a probe who came from space who needed to talk to whales on Earth. Really, you should watch it! But here’s the twist, you ready? In our movie the space probe is angry! It comes to Earth not to seek knowledge from the whales, but to d-e-s-t-r-o-y them and the Federation! Why? I’m still working that part out, but stay with me!
The probe just doesn’t come alone this time. Now there are 5, no wait, 50, um, no, let’s say 100, no, no, 200, no, 2,000 PROBES coming to earth to seek Vengeance and it’s up to the Enterprise to stop them! So the probes are on their way to Earth, but the Enterprise needs a way to destroy them all at once and hears about an ancient weapon built on their home planet when they fought a 300 year war against the aliens that created them . They are called the Highlanders and have a mysterious back story we will elude to but never explain. We’re going to save that for the tie in comics and novel series. One of them will be played by Keri Russel. The Highlanders built a weapon to destroy them all called, ‘Probe killer’
The Enterprise has to go find it, but it’s like a scavenger hunt because they have to find these other clues to get to the planet where ‘Probe Killer’ is. The planet is supposedly a myth and needs to go through the galactic barrier to find it. Who helps them find this planet? None other than Gary Mitchel! In our universe he’s still alive but already have super telepathic powers. He’ll also be Asian this time. We’re not going explain how he got them or how long he’s had them, but we do learn two things! A. He can blow up planets with his mind now because he’s really really powerful and B. He and Sulu are actually related. See what I’m doing there? That’s how they find it! Gary Mitchel joins the crew to find the whale probe planet to find the Killer Probe weapon! There will be a scene with quicksand on the planet our heroes fall in to and miraculously find it that way. It’s gonna be great.
Meanwhile, we learn the probes aren’t just coming to Earth alone, but they teamed up with someone who also wants to end the Federation like they do! Here’s the other twist coming. You ready for it? Who are the whale probes are in cahoots with? Here it comes!
NERO!!!!!!
Somehow he’s returned! That’s it. It gets even better though. Nero has new powers too. He’s not just an angry Romulan, this guy has now been given crazy powers being sucked through the black hole.
I’ll cut to the third act to save time. But will definitely involve Andorians and one of them will be played by Greg Grunberg. It ends with 2,000 Starfleet ships battling the whale probes. We learn the magic blood Kirk got in Into Darkness also gave him special powers to, somehow, harness energy (?), and he and Gary Mitchell fight Nero on a lava planet or maybe in San Francisco. Oh and Bones is killed, but is he? They will think he’s been killed but will come back ten minutes later. Oh and Spock gets super emotional and starts beating up the whale probes with his bare hands. Scotty will make lots of quips to keep it light. Oh and Sulu will have a brilliant scene where they use a new warp technology called skip warp where the ship can just jump and stop at warp nine to confuse the probes chasing them. Beastie Boys will play in this scene too.
In the end the probes are destroyed with the Probe Killer amplified through Gary Mitchell’s mind. The explosions will be huge! Nero gets into another black hole…but he may be back in the sequel. Last scene, a new officer comes onboard the Enterprise and his name will be Ensign Sean Luke Picard.
Like, mind blown, right? Now give me $180 million
180m?? All that will cost 280m at least!! (about the same as it will gross worldwide!)
Ensign Picard – James McAvoy
LOL you’re right! JJ doesn’t make movies for less than $200 million these days… which explains why everyone isn’t exactly begging him to direct another movie. Probably that and also being a supreme hack. 🙄
I suspect another movie can make $300 million but I’m being super positive. It will probably crash and burn though like Flash levels of burn.
They should just make a super cheap one for Paramount+ like the Section 31 movie.
Would love McAvoy showing up as a Picard though.
To be a pedantic joke-ruiner: it would have to be one of McAvoy’s kids at this point. He is nearly the same age as Stewart was when TNG started. 😳
No, he wouldn’t be playing Jean Luc Picard, but Sean Luke Picard….one of his ancestors lol.
Correct!
LOL too funny! Totally a La’an thing to do!
Kevin Luc Picard
AI/DF/CGI 1967 Coronation Street Stewart then
Again, it wouldn’t be Jean Luc, Kelvin movies take place in the 23rd century, not the 24th century.
I know, I’m talking Sean Luke Picard lol
Oh gotcha!
LOL, this sadly sounds about right. ;)
Lol glad you enjoyed it! 👍
Yup, this leak sounds plausible to me.
Good to see others agree! 😃👍
OMG ha ha that’s SO a JJ Abram’s movie! Well done my friend!
“skip warp where the ship can just jump and stop at warp nine to confuse the probes”
LOL I’d be laughing so hard right now if Discovery hadn’t already made this literally true.
Thank you my friend!
The key to JJ Abrams hack story telling is if you throw in nostalgia in the most cringe worthy ways, thin character development, add in nonsensical plots and set pieces just to make it look cool while throwing in a lot of vague mysteries without explaining most of them and finally lots and lots and lots of frantic over the top action you got yourself a movie!!!! 😎🙄
He isn’t good at endings or at least bad robot isn’t and the mystery boxes never pan out. I mean at least Force Awakens was never boring like the Tatooine scenes in Star Wars that take too long. With the droids in the desert and Luke on his uncle’s farm, until they get to Ben’s and Mos Eisley its boring as heck.
Until they leave Tatooine and they fight the Tie Fighters in the Falcon, and go to the death star then it picks up the pace and gets full of energy and excitement.
It’s hilarious the only two ‘reports’ we have the movie is still happening after a year it was thrown off the schedule is by the director and now writer of the movie who both left it to do other projects. You can’t make this up.
I know TM is just reporting sound bites, but at this point, it just feels more and more like a complete waste of time. Paramount has no idea what to do next with another movie for seven years now.
Hilarious…and sad.
There aren’t any new Star Wars films in production either. Strikes have delayed things, before that covid. Indiana Jones flopped. DC films keep flopping as well. Even Mission Impossible didn’t make that billion. Hollywood is very wounded at the moment. A niche project like Star Trek happening in this climate,lol. Even Marvel isn’t doing the numbers they used to.
we all know it’s eventually going to get made… a new star trek always eventually get made. it’s been 40-50 years on and off of oh star trek is dead. it’s always on brink of doom and gloom and cancelled projects. there’s clearly stuff going down there at paramount and battles but the studio is doin better now and something is gonna happen.
I’m sure a 14th film will someday be made for sure. But I highly doubt it will be by JJ Abrams or be a Kelvin movie.
I’ll take a streaming movie written by Terry Matalas, directed by Frakes, and starring the Ent-G and her crew. That’s just me.
I can see that model of project happening, especially if the Section 31 movie gets made and is successful at attracting the audience that Paramount is seeking.
Now that would be a dream Trek movie for me! 😎🖖
That’s where they should be going especially if a show is too expensive right now.
I’m so over the JJ verse. I really wish they’d go in another direction.
A live action Bambi, LOL. Disney really has really hit the bottom of the creativity barrel.
“Star Trek 4” ? So what’s “The Voyage Home” then?
Yeah i don’t believe this. Even if they could begin production and everyone was available and the strike was over, writers got a raise, actors got residuals. They didn’t allow the use of AI to replace actors. There is a very real chance this doesn’t even hit theaters until after Beyond’s tenth anniversary.
Well 2026 is also the 60th anniversary (as well as Beyonds 10th), so I imagine a movie will be planned to coincide for then. like there was a movie for 20th, 25th, 30th and 50th anniversaries (40th Trek had flatlined)
Man, the 30th was such a fun time to be a fan.
Die Botschaft hör ich wohl, allein mir fehlt der Glaube
Truthfully, I think the biggest driving force in doing another Kelvinverse movie is the fact that JJ Abrams hasn’t actually brought anything significant to fruition since Rise of Skywalker and that wasn’t exactly met with rousing applause. His time at WB has been a disaster as I don’t think a single one of his ideas has gotten past the planning stages. Right now, Star Trek is the only IP he’s really attached to that has any relevance.
That said, it’s been so long since the last movie and reception to them was always lukewarm at best. I’m not convinced they can release something that will appeal to both Trek fans and the wider mainstream audience.
I’ve always liked the cast and would love to be proven wrong but I just don’t see it happening.
Trek movies aren’t like Bond or Mission Impossible movies, where there’s a formula that you can tweak and generate endless sequels.
The Trek sequels that worked – II, III, IV and VI – told stories that built on years of character development.
With the Kelvin crew, I’m not sure there’s an interesting story left to tell – or at least not interesting enough to spend $150+ million on.
and obviously First Contact :)
The only story I can think that would be intriguing enough for a 4th Kelvin is a crossover with Prime-verse (big multiverse stuff) or another time travel plot perhaps tying back to the 2009 film with the opportunity to change the past to stop Nero.. or not.. (maybe sounds abit like The Flash, but basically along the lines of Orci’s ST3)
So, the destruction of Romulus, according to Stardate, was roughly 14 years after First Contact. This is according to elder Spocks statement in ST09 before he mind melded with Pine Kirk. What would you say to a movie based upon intel that Elder Spock, not of his own volition, shared with Starfleet. By that, I mean tortured into giving it, by some rogue Starfleet officers and other races. Reminiscent of Undiscovered Country, there have been defactoid members of Starfleet all along. In the toruring of Elder Spock, they killed him. This would factor in to the younger Quinto Spock receiving the news of his Elder selfs death. Anyway, Elder Spock had vast knowledge of the Borg, the weaponry they possess, and the worlds they had assimilated. What would you say to a movie that has the Kelvin timeline Enterprise somehow get sent to the Delta Quadrant (circa Discovery technology, or some other means). The Enterprise crew are told it is a mission of humanity and preservation in order to save countless lives in the future, but is actually about the theft of Borg technology. In doing so, Kelvin timeline Starfleet becomes ultimately responsible for the appearance of the Borg in the Prime timeline. It’s a little wild and crazy, I know, but I think it would be awesome. It would tie the two timelines with a purpose in storytelling and would be able to end the Kelvin timeline as it had served its purpose. I dont like the idea of Elder Spock being tortured to death, but I feel that is the only way the intel would be divulged. LMK what yall think. First time post for me btw.
actually the films have been following the formula set by ‘wrath/khan’- mad man with a space WMD and a grudge, tweaked for the last 40 years
the kelvin crew neglect the idea of exploration and not a space fire fight as a source of more stories for the movies to tell