Star Trek fans have been clamoring for a new installment to the Star Trek reboot film series since the third film’s debut in 2016. The irony is that there has been one version or the other of a Star Trek 4 in development since 2015 but it’s just never materialized.
Star Trek 4 was even slated for a 2023 release at some point. Unfortunately, the director who was set to direct it had to leave due to scheduling conflicts and Paramount removed it from the company’s film schedule.
In what many Star Trek fans will agree is good news, the film’s screenwriter Lindsay Beer has confirmed that it is still in development, despite the dearth of news on its progress. Beer revealed this tidbit during a recent interview with Collider.
She confessed that she took a break from the project to make her directorial debut with Pet Sematary but assured fans that Paramount hasn’t abandoned it. Beer said, “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.”
Beer’s words echo that of another person involved in Star Trek 4: Zachary Quinto. Quinto, who stars as the Vulcan Spock, also said a few words during a recent appearance at the 57-Year Mission Convention in Vegas. In response to a question about whether the recent upsurge of interest in Star Trek television shows is the reason why the film has been sidelined, he said, “I don’t think that has anything to do with it. Actually, I think the more there is, the more it gets people excited about what could be.”
Quinto followed this up with, “I think there’s a lot of other stuff, creative things. It’s complicated. The fact that anything good gets made is kind of a miracle. I think it’s about different people having different agendas and ideas about what it will be. And I don’t know if and when it will happen. And if it coalesces again, and we come back, and we’re able to do it, wonderful. If not, we had a great run.”
Quinto’s words allude to the problems that Star Trek 4 has encountered. The film was originally announced in 2015 even before the third installment, Star Trek: Beyond, made its debut. Since then, it has experienced one setback or the other, which is why, after seven years, it is still surrounded by so much uncertainty.
Even with Beer’s assurances, there is still no certainty that the project will ever come to light. We doubt that’ll stop Trekkies from hoping, though. For their sake, and that of people who love good stories, we hope it picks up speed soon and becomes concrete rather than an abstract concept that only exists in our minds.
In the meantime, Star Trek fans will have to satisfy their cravings with one of the multiple shows based on the universe that is currently on television.
