During an event to honor Anton Yelchin, Chris Pine was asked about Star Trek 4 and the actor still seemed interested in the project happening.
By now everyone who considers themselves a member of Trek Nation is well aware of the sad story of Star Trek 4. What was supposed to be the fourth film in the Kelvin Timeline was announced shorty after Star Trek Beyond arrived in theaters. The film was to see James Kirk, played once again by Chris Pine, team up with his father George Kirk, played by Chris Hemsworth.
Fans were already happily speculating about how this could happen when the bottom fell out.
It was widely reported that Pine and Hemsworth couldn’t come to an agreement on salary with Paramount, who was looking to trim the budget on the film after Star Trek Beyond tanked at the box office. Eventually the director left for Game of Thrones, Pine and Hemsworth walked away and Paramount shelved the project altogether.
And that seemed to be that. Once a film gets “shelved” that generally means it has been cancelled, with little hope of it actually happening.
In the months since, several members of the Kelvin Timeline cast have expressed a hope that somehow, Star Trek 4 might still happen. If for no other reason than the fact that Star Trek Beyond seemed like a crappy way for the series to go out.
The latest to express a hope that the film may still get made is, surprisingly, Chris Pine.
At a recent event honoring the memory of Anton Yelchin, who played Chekov in the Kelvin films and passed away three years ago, Pine was asked by Variety about Star Trek 4 and if he still hoped it might still get made. To everyone’s surprise, Pine actually is.
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"“I think all of us would be a very interested to do it again. We all have a really close bond, as you can imagine. I think that there are tons of stories left to tell and it’s just a matter of the cinema gods coming together and allowing that to happen and a script to make it work and make it sing. And I can’t imagine we wouldn’t.”"
Rightfully or not, Pine took some of the heat for the fate that befell Star Trek 4 due to him walking away from the negotiating table. The fact he is still interested is a good sign that maybe, just maybe, the movie could still happen.
Given what Pine said and statements made by Hemsworth recently, it would seem a lot of the problems Star Trek 4 had might have had more to do with the script than any money issues. If that’s indeed the case, it wouldn’t hurt for Paramount to give the script to someone to work on. Maybe give it another pass.
If a script that works for everyone involved can be created, then the money might work itself out and Star Trek 4 could still become a reality. At least, the fans of the Kelvin Timeline can hope so. The gatekeepers? Not so much, but nothing really makes them happy.