Paramount Reportedly Wants a Fresh Star Trek Movie, but Not With Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and the Rest of the J.J. Abrams Reboot Crew
Paramount reportedly wants to make a new Star Trek movie without Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and the rest of the J.J. Abrams reboot crew.
In August, Skydance closed its $8 billion deal to take over Paramount, which owns Star Trek, with a new board led by Skydance boss (and Star Trek fan) David Ellison.
While there hasn’t been a full Star Trek film released in theaters for nearly a decade, stars of Abrams’ Star Trek films are often asked about reprising their roles in interviews, and always say they would love to do so. For example, in August Simon Pegg, who played Scotty, said the time was right for another Kelvin Universe movie.
(The Kelvin Timeline is an alternate universe in the Star Trek franchise created by the 2009 movie reboot. It diverges from the original “Prime” timeline when the U.S.S. Kelvin is destroyed by a Romulan mining ship from the future, which leads to a new history for the characters, including a young James T. Kirk, played by Chris Pine.)
“Well, I know David Ellison is a big Star Trek fan,” Pegg said during a recent STLV: Trek to Vegas panel, according to TrekMovie.com. “I know he cares about the series. So I would love it. I would be delighted if we could make another film. I love those guys. And despite how we had a tragedy in our group [the death of Anton Yelchin in 2016], which was extremely painful. It would be wonderful to come together again. J.J. [Abrams] has always said that there are scripts being developed and this and that. I think it’s about time. It would be great to see us 10 years after the five year mission, where we are.”
(Paramount partnered with Skydance for the last two Stark Trek films, with David Ellison down as executive producer for Into Darkness and Beyond.)
Zachary Quinto, too, has spoken enthusiastically about returning to Star Trek. Recently, he said that with Skydance in charge of Paramount, “now’s the moment” for a new Kelvin Universe movie.
Speaking to Today in September, Quinto said: “I feel like it’s a great time. It’s been 10 years since the last film. We all love each other. We had a great time making those movies. I think we’d all love to come back together and tell them more. I think fans would be really excited by it. And I think the time is right, if you ask me. So, we email. I was in touch with [J.J.] about something else recently, and sort of floated it out there that it feels like now’s the moment. So let’s bring it back around.”
“I would love to put back the ears on,” he added.
You’d think, then, that Ellison would be into the idea of continuing the Kelvin Universe, but according to a report by Variety, he wants to move past it and release yet another Star Trek reboot.
Here’s the note from Variety:
The hope is to have a fresh Star Trek movie, though the studio has moved on from the idea of bringing back Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and the rest of the ensemble from the J.J. Abrams reboot.
Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Star Trek Beyond, released in 2016, disappointed at the global box office with $343.4 million, down versus 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness ($467.3 million), and 2009’s Star Trek ($385.6 million), not adjusted for inflation.
“Beyond didn’t perform as well as we wanted it to,” Pegg continued from the same panel referenced above. “I personally think the marketing wasn’t quite right. I felt like they were almost frightened. It was the 50th anniversary of Star Trek. It was a perfect moment to celebrate the entirety of Star Trek and lean into that. But they kind of didn’t. Some of the posters, you couldn’t even tell what the film was. It just said ‘Beyond’ and then the Enterprise. It wasn’t going to draw anybody new in.”
So, the Kelvin Universe dream appears dead, but there is more Star Trek coming down the line in the form of TV shows. Strange New Worlds Season 4 is due out next year, with a fifth and final season coming afterwards. Starfleet Academy kicks off early 2026.
Photo by Franziska Krug/Getty Images.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
