Every member of the Kevlin-era Star Trek wants to return.
Simon Pegg made it known that he’s up for a fourth film in the Kelvin Universe, wanting to return as Montgomery “Scotty” Scott under the watchful eye of JJ Abrams. The only problem is that no one has heard anything about the film in recent months. There have been rumors about Trek films for over a year, with some believing there are two in the works at the moment, and a tentative 2023 release date set.
The problem is, who’s film is set for that slot? No one knows, and no one’s saying anything. That to me says they aren’t sure yet.
Pegg is probably hoping that film is the long-rumored fourth Kelvin film. He’s not the only one, for that matter, as every surviving member of the core cast has expressed an interest in returning to the franchise over the last few years.
That in itself is rather interesting, as Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto have waffled about their commitment to the films over the years but each has recently stated how they would love to take another turn around the galaxy with the Enterprise.
Should a fourth Kelvin Star Trek film be made?
There’s a lot of reasons to do a fourth film, we’ve talked about those reasons before. There are also a lot of reasons to not do another film in that universe, and we’ve talked about those before as well.
Fan support, continuity concerns, an over-saturation of Trek, and the financial aspects have all popped up. Will the movie make enough money? Will fans even want another Trek film, let alone in the Kelvin universe?
All good questions and no answers exist to answer them. The other and biggest issue is how to handle the Anton Yelchin of it all. Yelchin, who played Pavel Chekov in the remakes passed away shortly before the premiere of Star Trek: Beyond.
Yelchin’s passing was devasting and has prompted a lose/lose scenario for how to handle his absence. Do you write him out of the films or recast him?
Neither is going to be universally accepted and that in itself is a good enough reason to not do a fourth film. Then again, if it’s a love letter to Yelchin/Chekov, maybe fans will be more accepting of it.