The announcement of a fourth film in the Abrams-era “Star Trek” film franchise during a Paramount+ investor day presentation earlier this year caught many by surprise, including the cast.
The various actors involved like Chris Pine and Karl Urban subsequently indicated they were in talks to return but deals weren’t signed and none of them had seen a script yet.
Out doing promotional interviews for “All the Old Knives” recently, Pine has opened up about the fourth film for him as Captain Kirk. Speaking with Deadline, he confirmed he has met with director Matt Shakman and Paramount’s new executive regime about the film.
He also talked about the pressure for those working on the franchise which Paramount wants to turn into its Marvel or “Star Wars” style gargantuan global hit, even though “Star Trek” was always more niche:
Conceptually, I love it. I love Star Trek. Again, I love the messaging of it. I love the character. I love my friends with whom I get to play. It’s a great gig.
You know, I think Star Trek for me, it’s an interesting one. We always tried to get the huge international market. It was always about making the billion dollars. It was always this billion-dollar mark because Marvel was making a billion. Billion, billion, billion.
We struggled with it because Star Trek, for whatever reason, its core audience is rabid. Like rabid, as you know. To get these people that are interested that maybe are Star Wars fans or think Star Trek is not cool or whatever, proven to be … we’ve definitely done a good job of it but not the billion-dollar kind of job that they want.”
Pine isn’t worried about mass appeal though, in fact he hopes the franchise will go back to the older pre-Abrams approach of more reigned in budgets telling smaller stories and appealing more to its core base than trying to go big and appeal to everyone:
“I’ve always thought that Star Trek should operate in the zone that is smaller. You know, it’s not a Marvel appeal. It’s like, let’s make the movie for the people that love this group of people, that love this story, that love Star Trek. Let’s make it for them and then, if people want to come to the party, great. But make it for a price and make it, so that if it makes a half-billion dollars, that’s really good.”
It’s unknown when the film will start shooting, but it is currently targeting a December 22nd 2023 release – seven years after the prior film “Star Trek Beyond” hit cinemas.
