Last night, Paramount Pictures temporarily removed the latest sequel of the revampedStar Trekfranchise from its release calendar. The film was expected to debut on June 09, 2025.
Paramount’s decision comes as no surprise, as about a month ago director Matt Shakman promptly left theStar Treksequel’s production team. Shakman was selected to direct the latest film by producer J.J. Abrams in 2021 after receiving an Emmy for directing the hitMarvel Studios TV showWandaVision.
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Shakman left theStar Trekset to directMarvel Studios' upcomingFantastic Fourreboot, after theSpider-Man: No Way Homedirector Jon Watts left the project back in April. With Shakman gone, Abrams is in a hurry to find a new director so they can start shootingStar Trek 4as soon as possible. This past February, Abrams announced at the Paramount Global investors' day meeting that they “will be shooting by the end of the year.” For financial and reputational reasons, Abrams should be keen to stick to his announcement. Abrams also announced that the original cast will return for the fourth installment of the franchise, including Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Karl Urban as Bones, John Cho as Sulu, and Simon Pegg as Scotty.
However, none of the original cast members have officially signed up for the movie despite Abrams' announcement, leaving Paramount with less than a year to secure the in-demand actors. The franchise desperately needs to be revamped after a graveyard of botched attempts at sequels. Paramount has pursued multiple directors and concepts for the sequel, including reuniting Pine and Chris Hemsworth (who played Kirk’s father in 2009’sStar Trek), as well as versions byFargocreator Noah Hawleyand even Quentin Tarantino. None of these versions reached warp speed.
The most recentStar Trekfilm,Star Trek Beyonddirected by Justin Lin, came out in 2016. The film grossed $343 million at the box office, the lowest of anyStar Trekfilms released by Abrams' production company, Bad Robot. Though the franchise has been fairly successful so far, a new sequel is necessary to attract a younger audience back to the series.
