There is another sign that a long pregnancy Star Trek 4 project at Paramount Pictures is still alive, although exactly a year has passed since Paramount Pictures pulled the sequel Star Trek Beyond from the 2023 release calendar.
Lindsey Beer says Trek movie is still filming
It’s been 18 months since producer JJ Abrams announced, “We’re excited to announce that we’re hard at work on a new Star Trek movie, which will begin filming by the end of the year.” But 2022 ended with no filming and director Matt Shakman exiting the project, leading many fans to conclude that the project has been shelved, perhaps forever. However, Lindsay Anderson Beer, one of the scriptwriters Star Trek 4, gives some reason for hope. In a new interview with Collider, Beer explains:
(Star Trek 4) that is, he is still on the rails. I love this project and this was another project that I had to give up to make this film and it was hard to do. But I like that everyone is involved in this project.
The project that made Beer jump Star Trek is Pet Sematary: Bloodlinesprequel to the 2019 film. Pet cemetery. Throughout the interview, Beer talks about how she wanted to do both. Pet Sematary: Bloodlines and a live-action remake of the Disney cartoon Bambi, as both projects were stories she wanted to share with the world. She feels the same way about a Star Trek sequel. Beer was a co-author of the first project Star Trek 4 screenplay with Geneva Robertson-Dworet (Captain Marvel). The couple left the project by 2022; the latest script was written by Josh Friedman (Avatar 2) and Cameron Squires (WandaVision), based on an earlier project by Beer and Robertson-Dworet.
Producer and director JJ Abrams on set in 2009. Star Trek film starring Chris Pine, Karl Urban, Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldana (Paramount Pictures)
Lindsay Anderson Beer’s comments are consistent with what we’ve already heard about the film’s development, as well as Matt Shakman’s report earlier this year that the project remained active after his departure. However, despite the fact that the fourth film in the Kelvin universe has been repeatedly called a priority by Paramount Pictures, its release has been repeatedly delayed. Although all of the main cast members have stated that they want to reunite for a fourth film, getting them all to commit to the filming schedule has not yet been achieved, and Paramount has not announced a new estimated release date or assigned a new director.
While there are practical concerns, it appears there are other issues behind the film’s delay. Late last year, actress Zoe Saldaña cited scheduling issues, but added, “I also think it probably has something else to do with the project.” At STLV 2023 in August, actor Zachary Quinto was more blunt, offering this diagnosis of the delay: “I think it’s a matter of different people having different plans and ideas of what it’s going to be.” With all this in mind, Beer (and Shakman) are leaving. Star Trek 4 the continuation of other active projects should not be surprising.
Zachary Quinto as Spock Star Trek Beyond (Paramount Pictures)
Once the WGA strike ends, perhaps Paramount will be able to resolve any creative issues with the project. It’s been over 7 years since the 2016 release. 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 with a fourteenth film.
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