Paramount Getting Ready For ‘Star Trek 4’
Paramount would like you to boldly go where you have already gone before: back to your local multiplex for anotherStar Trekmovie. AsJustin Lin’sStar Trek Beyondsails toward its summer 2016 release, the studio is reportedly getting its ducks in a row forStar Trek 4, as thenextnext installment of the sci-fi saga will be referred to for the time being.
Trek Moviereports Paramount Pictures has registered the titleStar Trek 4with the MPAA. Yes, if you want to get all technical about it, the realStar Trek 4is 1986’sStar Trek IV: The Voyage Home. But this filing probably isn’t about that. It seems pretty safe to assume it’s about the next chapter in the “alternate timeline” series that began with J.J. Abrams’Star Trekin 2009.
AlthoughStar Trek Beyondwon’t hit theaters for another couple of months, it’s not unusual for studios to start plotting sequels well in advance. At a time when franchises have their intricate, interconnected storylines mapped out through 2019 and beyond, early planning is just common sense. In fact, this isn’t even the first move Paramount has made forStar Trek 4— the studio has already gone through the trouble of securing series leadsChris PineandZachary Quintofor a fourth film, giving the stars a hefty pay raise in the process.
The registration doesn’t indicate that the studio has given a green light toStar Trek 4. But it’s a necessary first step to get the ball rolling, so it suggests that the studio at least intends to make anotherStar Trek. And why not?Star Trekis a massively popular brand name and the past two films have been solid, if not incredible, performers for the studio. UnlessStar Trek Beyondreally bombs, it seems more likely than not that the studio will proceed with another movie.
While we wait forStar Trek 4,Star Trek BeyondarrivesJuly 22. A newStar TrekTV series (which will not be connected to the current big-screenStar Trekuniverse) arrives in 2017.
