The new “Star Trek” movie, “Star Trek 4”, is a long time coming. But why do the filmmakers let so much time pass after “Star Trek Beyond”?
Star Trek Beyond: Chris Pine returns as Captain Kirk in Star Trek 4. Will Sofia Boutella’s Jaylah take Chekov’s (Anton Yelchin) post aboard Discovery? (Source: Paramount / TMDb.org)
- Star Trek Beyond was released in 2016. Since then it has been quiet about new “Star Trek” films.
- In the meantime, “Star Trek 4”, a sequel with Chris Pine and Co., has been announced for 2023.
- Fans have now been waiting six years for a new film and are waiting another year. Why does it take so long?
Ever since Star Trek Beyond hit theaters in 2016, fans have been waiting for Star Trek 4. Now the new film is finally to be shot and will start in cinemas at the end of 2023. But why is the reunion of Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho and Simon Pegg so long in coming? We explain the rocky road to “Star Trek 4”!
“Star Trek” films: That’s how successful the films of the Kelvin timeline were
In 2009, director JJ Abrams brought the Star Trek franchise back to fame. The film was a box office success and was also largely well received by fans and critics alike. A sequel was therefore certain and so the sequel “Star Trek Into Darkness” was released in 2013, also directed by Abrams.
The new films take place in a parallel timeline to the other films and the “Star Trek” series, giving Abrams and his team more creative freedom. The third film, directed by Justin Lin (“Fast & Furious”), was released in 2016: “Star Trek Beyond”.
Even though the film was praised by fans and critics, the sci-fi film went bad at the box office and so the film studio Paramount, which had already firmly planned a fourth film, had to reschedule.
Star Trek 4: The problem with the stars and actors’ contracts
Since “Star Trek 4” was planned before the failure of “Star Trek Beyond”, there were already a few acting contracts and promised fees. The film was set to bring back Chris Hemsworth as Kirk’s father, George. But when Paramount finally wanted to cut the fees of Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth and no agreement was reached, the stars left the project for the time being.
What exactly happened behind the scenes is unclear, because according to several interviews Chris Pine is really looking forward to the new film and Chris Hemsworth would also be in “Star Trek 4” if you asked him.
Once “Star Trek 4” fell apart, it became increasingly difficult for Paramount to gather the stars for the project, because almost all of the main actors and actresses have since gone their own way and built impressive careers, so that they are in great demand.
Chris Pine has been busy with the “Wonder Woman” films, Zoe Saldana has joined the Guardians of the Galaxy from the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Gamora and Karl Urban has also been busy with “The Boys” on Amazon Prime Video.
Designing a shooting schedule that can gather all the stars is a tricky business. But now Paramount is confident, it’s not for nothing that the start date for December 22, 2023 in US cinemas was announced!
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