Star Trek is one of the most recognizable and profitable franchises in the world. Originating in 1966 as Star Trek: The Original Series, the franchise spawned multiple television spin-offs and a successful ten-installment film series. However, years of continuity made the franchise impenetrable for new viewers, and by 2005, with the conclusion of Star Trek: Enterprise and the disappointing box office return of Star Trek: Nemesis in 2002, the brand took a hiatus. Yet in 2009 the brand came roaring back with J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, a reboot that managed to bring in a whole host of new fans, while also making a film that paid respect to the originals.

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A sequel came out four years later in Star Trek Into Darkness in 2013 and then in 2016 Star Trek Beyond was released to celebrate Star Trek’s 50th anniversary. However, by that point, the franchise had slowed down its momentum at the box office, with Star Trek Into Darkness not seeing an increase in opening weekend box office and Star Trek Beyond underperforming at the box office despite some of the best critical and fan reviews of the series. What impacted the franchise is unclear, but now it has been six years since the crew of the Enterprise led a feature film, and by the time the next film is reportedly set to open it will be a seven-year gap, the same amount of time between the release of Star Trek: Nemesis and the reboot of Star Trek.

While Star Trek has remained a constant on television, with various Star Trek titles airing on Paramount+, one wonders why it has been so hard to make Star Trek 4. With a great cast, a recognizable brand, and a passionate fanbase it seems like an incredibly easy venture. After all the original Star Trek film series focused on Kirk and Spock managed to get a movie out on a regular basis every two to three years. Yet the story of Star Trek 4 is one of a studio trying to recover from a string of box office disappointments and various different creative directions.

Original Star Trek Plans With S.J. Clarkson

     Paramount

Shortly before the release of Star Trek Beyond, Paramount Pictures made their plans for Star Trek 4 known to investors. The pitch was to unite Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk with his father George Kirk, who Chris Hemsworth played in the 2009 movie who in the years since had become a worldwide superstar thanks to his role as Thor in the MCU. In 2018, director S.J. Clarkson, who at the time was known for her work on British series like Life on Mars and EastEnders, signed on to helm the project. The original plan was to begin filming in 2019 and Black Panther and The Walking Dead star Danai Gurria was considered for a new role in the film.

However, shortly after Clarkson joined the project negotiations broke down between the studio with Pine and Hemsworth over pay. Paramount Pictures and Skydance Pictures wanted to lower the budget for the film following the financial underperformance of Star Trek Beyond and wanted to decrease the actors’ salaries despite Pine signing a contract before the release of the third film he would receive an increase for returning to Star Trek 4. Hemsworth said he was unsatisfied with the script and in 2019 production on Star Trek 4 was canceled and S.J. Clarkson moved on to other projects. With it seeming like the studio would not pay Pine to return as Kirk, it appeared the studio wanted to invest in new leads for Star Trek and had two other projects in development.

Quentin Tarantino’s Star Trek

     CBS Studios

While Paramount Pictures was developing Star Trek 4 as a continuation of the main film franchise, they also were looking to develop other Star Trek films in a way similar to Disney and Lucasfilm’s approach with Star Wars. To make a big impression they went after one of the most respected names in Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino. Following comments Tarantino made about being both a fan of the original Star Trek and J.J. Abrams’s 2009 film and thinking there was potential to expand classic Trek stories into feature films, Paramount Pictures reached out to the acclaimed filmmaker to pitch his version of a Star Trek film.

The project was announced in 2018 alongside Star Trek 4, and shortly after Tarantino and Abrams hired a writers room to help develop the film as Tarantino was busy working on Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Tarantino’s pitch was based on the season 2 episode 17 of the original series ‘A Piece of the Action’ that took place on a planet similar to 1920s gangster movies. The film was set to be the first R-rated Star Trek project, and the filmmaker said it was like Pulp Fiction in space. While Tarantino liked the cast of the rebooted film series, he wanted the movie to be a prequel to the original series and not connected to the new timeline. Paramount Pictures saw the potential film as a way to reboot and relaunch the Star Trek property.

By December 2019, Tarantino said he would no longer direct the project. He did leave the possibility open for Paramount Pictures to still use the script they developed and would help give notes on the project.

Noah Hawley’s Star Trek

In November 2019, months after S.J. Clarkson departed Star Trek 4 and just a month before Tarantino would move away from directing his Star Trek film, Paramount Pictures hired Noah Hawley to write and direct a new film in the franchise. Hawley had made a name for himself on television creating the critically acclaimed series Legion and Fargo. While the film was originally pitched as a new incarnation of Star Trek 4 with the cast from Star Trek: Beyond returning just with a new story instead of the planned Hemsworth story, Hawley went in a new direction, wanting to focus on new characters. He did however want the story to have connections to the original series, similar to how his Fargo series connects to the Coen Brothers’ 1996 film.

Hawley worked on the project during the COVID-19 pandemic, but by August 2020 the film was put on hold when Paramount Pictures’ new president Emma Watts made figuring out the Star Trek property a top priority. One reason Hawley’s script might have been put on hold was a major plot point involving a deadly virus which given the COVID-19 pandemic was not considered an ideal subject. Following the delay to Hawley’s Star Trek film, the studio reprioritized making a version of Star Trek 4. The studio dated the film for release on June 9, 2023, and began meeting with writers about pitches for a new entry in their popular franchise.

Matt Shakman and the Original Cast Return

In July 2021, Paramount Pictures officially announced that WandaVision director Matt Shakman would helm Star Trek 4. Then in February 2022, Paramount Pictures announced the cast including Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto would be returning. It was later revealed that the stars had no idea that the film announcement was coming and that they had not met with the studio, meaning Paramount Pictures was likely willing to pay the cast their original asking prices.

This is due to the studio prioritizing Star Trek as one of their major brands as well as market research showing that despite the large gap of time between Star Trek Beyond and the upcoming fourth film audiences were more interested in seeing the cast return than an entirely new cast. The studio set Star Trek 4 for release on December 22, 2023, following the news that the Star Wars spin-off film Rogue Squadron was facing production delays and would not make that release date.

Despite it appearing the project was moving forward, the film recently hit a snag as Shakman departed the project following the news he will helm Marvel Studios Fantastic 4. Now the search is on for the studio to find a new director. With a little over a year away before the film is set to release and no director or script finalized, combined with the fact that Warner Bros. Discovery just set Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom to open in theaters on December 22, 2023, Star Trek 4 will likely be delayed. Hopefully, the project will finally catch a break and audiences will get to see Kirk, Spock, Uhura, Bones, Sulu, Scotty, and the rest of the Enterprise crew in at least one more adventure.