The future of Star Trek at the movies has once again become unknown territory. Last year, SJ Clarkson was hired to direct the 4th film in the rebooted timeline, started by JJ Abrams with 2009’s Star Trek. Momentum on the fourth film, which had been in chaos for sometime after Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth both walked away from the negotiating table over contract disputes, seemed like it was picking up steam again. However, it now seems that momentum has been lost.
Clarkson has now been hired to produce and direct the pilot for HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel. While, that in and of itself doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but according to Deadline’s report, she became available because Trek 4 had been shelved.
Chris Pine, Anton Yelchin, and Sofia Boutella in Star Trek: Beyond
While there’s no official confirmation from Paramount about the status of the fourth film, it’s not hard to believe given the troubles the franchise has been having. Between failing contract negotiations, the tragic loss of Anton Yelchin, and the poor domestic performance of the second and third films, the movie has one hell of an uphill battle.
Not all is lost however, Star Trek: Discovery on CBS All Access is just about to start season 2, the untitled Picard series is set to premiere towards the end of the year, there’s at least 2 other live action series in development along with the animated comedy series Lower Decks from the guys who bring us the consistently funny Rick and Morty, AND additional Trek shorts. So, even though we might not be getting a proper close-out to the movie franchise, we’ll still have plenty of Trek to help us forget about it.
