While promoting his latest project, John Cho discussed the status of Star Trek 4 and how for him, making a fourth film is very important.
While the bulk of Star Trek Nation is eagerly awaiting the debut of the fourth season of Star Trek: Discovery and have been enjoying Short Treks in the meantime, there is another segment of Trek fandom in limbo.
Despite that many Trekkers may think, there is a large group of fans who have enjoyed and embraced the Star Trek reboot, also known as the Kelvin Timeline. For these fans, the last few months have been filled with uncertainty and nothing but bad news.
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First Star Trek Beyond, the latest film in the series, underperformed at the box office. That led to rumors and speculation that the planned fourth film, which would see Chris Hemsworth return as George Kirk and team up with his son, had been shelved. Then came word that director Quentin Tarantino wanted to sign on to do an R-rated Trek film which might replace Star Trek 4. That bit of news was followed by the announcement that S.J. Clarkson would direct Star Trek 4 at the same time Tarantino’s movie was in development.
However, the final straw may have been when it was revealed by The Hollywood Reporter that talks with Chris Pine and Hemsworth had fallen through and that both actors were prepared to walk away from the project altogether.
In other words, it isn’t the best time to be a fan of Star Trek on the big screen.
That all being said, if you ask John Cho, all hope is not lost.
Cho, who has played Hikaru Sulu in all the Star Trek reboot films, was asked by The Playlist.net about the status of Star Trek 4 while promoting his latest project Searching. While he didn’t have any new information, his is hopeful that the film will still be made.
"I don’t know what the ins and outs at the studio are but I am optimistic there will be another one because I’m optimistic about what “Star Trek” says and its place in our culture and I think it will come back around. I think its an important part of American popular culture that speaks to Americas best impulses and I think that there will always be a place for “Star Trek” films and I just hope to be in it and there isn’t another totally different group of people!I’m bullish about it, and honestly, for personal reasons I suppose the last film has a cloud over it, losing Anton [Yelchin] after the last one and for me it would be important personally to make one more at least. I think it would alleviate that part of us a little bit to make at least one more."
Hopefully Cho is right and somehow, Star Trek 4 will still be made. Despite the negative feedback from a portion of the Star Trek fanbase, the Kelvin Timeline movies do have their fans. The films have overall made money for Paramount so you can be sure at some point, we will likely see Star Trek 4 in a theater near you.