Matt Shakman's Star Trek 4 got very close to filming in 2022
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Nine years have gone by since the last theatrically released Star Trek movie made its way out into the world – but that’s not for lack of trying on the part of Paramount Pictures and various writers, directors, and producers. Back in 2018, S. J. Clarkson was hired to direct a fourth film in the rebooted film franchise (following Star Trek 2009, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Star Trek Beyond) that would have seen Chris Pine’s Captain James T. Kirk teaming up with his time-displaced father George, played by Chris Hemsworth… But that fell apart when contract negotiations with the actors fell apart. In 2019, Noah Hawley was hired to write and direct a Star Trek movie, but executives put that on hold. Quentin Tarantino pitched an idea for an R-rated Star Trek movie and Mark L. Smith wrote the screenplay based on Tarantino’s story, but that got shelved when Tarantino confirmed in 2020 that he wouldn’t be directing it. (Although it’s not clear why he couldn’t hand that off to a different director, like he has passed the Cliff Booth movie over to David Fincher.) In 2021, WandaVision director Matt Shakman was hired to direct Star Trek 4, aiming for a December 22, 2023 release date. During a new interview with Variety, Shakman confirmed that his Star Trek 4 got very close to filming in 2022.
Chris Pine (Captain Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Simon Pegg (Montgomery Scott), Karl Urban (“Bones” McCoy), Zoe Saldaña (Nyota Uhura), and John Cho (Hikaru Sulu) were all expected to be back for Shakman’s film. Josh Friedman and Cameron Squires were writing the screenplay, based off a draft by Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet, but plot details were never revealed.
Shakman told Variety that in the spring of 2022, “we had stages, we had crew, we were moving ahead.” Production was supposed to begin by the end of the year – but since Shakman had enjoyed working on WandaVision so much, he started taking meetings with Marvel Studios to discuss the project that would come to be known as The Fantastic Four: First Steps, since it had just lost director Jon Watts (who stepped away because he was burned out on making superhero movies after directing three Spider-Man movies in a row). The producers were convinced that Shakman would be the right director for the job. Meanwhile, Star Trek 4 started to crumble out from under him. By the summer of 2022, executive decisions had caused the Star Trek film to “change dramatically.” It lost its stages, the crew was let go, and “it didn’t have a start date anymore.” So Shakman jumped ship – or, as Variety put it, he “swapped one cosmic story about hope and optimism for another.”
Shakman wouldn’t tell Variety what the story of his Star Trek 4 would have been, as he seems to believe it could still make it to the screen someday. He said, “The core idea, I think, remains the same. I really hope they get a chance to make that movie.” Producer J.J. Abrams has previously said, “It’s the first time [since the original reboot] that we have a story that feels as compelling as the first one.“
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Nine years have gone by since the last theatrically released Star Trek movie made its way out into the world – but that’s not for lack of trying on the part of Paramount Pictures and various writers, directors, and producers. Back in 2018, S. J. Clarkson was hired to direct a fourth film in the rebooted film franchise (following Star Trek 2009, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Star Trek Beyond) that would have seen Chris Pine’s Captain James T. Kirk teaming up with his time-displaced father George, played by Chris Hemsworth… But that fell apart when contract negotiations with the actors fell apart. In 2019, Noah Hawley was hired to write and direct a Star Trek movie, but executives put that on hold. Quentin Tarantino pitched an idea for an R-rated Star Trek movie and Mark L. Smith wrote the screenplay based on Tarantino’s story, but that got shelved when Tarantino confirmed in 2020 that he wouldn’t be directing it. (Although it’s not clear why he couldn’t hand that off to a different director, like he has passed the Cliff Booth movie over to David Fincher.) In 2021, WandaVision director Matt Shakman was hired to direct Star Trek 4, aiming for a December 22, 2023 release date. During a new interview with Variety, Shakman confirmed that his Star Trek 4 got very close to filming in 2022.
Chris Pine (Captain Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Simon Pegg (Montgomery Scott), Karl Urban (“Bones” McCoy), Zoe Saldaña (Nyota Uhura), and John Cho (Hikaru Sulu) were all expected to be back for Shakman’s film. Josh Friedman and Cameron Squires were writing the screenplay, based off a draft by Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet, but plot details were never revealed.
Shakman told Variety that in the spring of 2022, “we had stages, we had crew, we were moving ahead.” Production was supposed to begin by the end of the year – but since Shakman had enjoyed working on WandaVision so much, he started taking meetings with Marvel Studios to discuss the project that would come to be known as The Fantastic Four: First Steps, since it had just lost director Jon Watts (who stepped away because he was burned out on making superhero movies after directing three Spider-Man movies in a row). The producers were convinced that Shakman would be the right director for the job. Meanwhile, Star Trek 4 started to crumble out from under him. By the summer of 2022, executive decisions had caused the Star Trek film to “change dramatically.” It lost its stages, the crew was let go, and “it didn’t have a start date anymore.” So Shakman jumped ship – or, as Variety put it, he “swapped one cosmic story about hope and optimism for another.”
Shakman wouldn’t tell Variety what the story of his Star Trek 4 would have been, as he seems to believe it could still make it to the screen someday. He said, “The core idea, I think, remains the same. I really hope they get a chance to make that movie.” Producer J.J. Abrams has previously said, “It’s the first time [since the original reboot] that we have a story that feels as compelling as the first one.“
wrote last edited by [email protected]SundanceSkydance is going to own this franchise soon. We will see if they do anything differently. -
SundanceSkydance is going to own this franchise soon. We will see if they do anything differently.Do you mean Skydance?
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Do you mean Skydance?
Yes. Corrected.
