3 reasons why the fourth Star Trek film may be doomed to fail

The newest Star Trek film is shaping up to fail.

Star Trek is trying everything it can to get its newest movie out of the dock. The fourth film is supposed to bring back the entire corp group of the surviving Kelvin actors and characters, but there still seems to be no real plan in place as to how or when that’ll happen.

Karl Urban is shooting The Boys long into 2022 and the hope was that Star Trek 4 would begin filming late this year. Not only that, but the only person who has talked about the film seems to be Chris Pine, who confirmed that the script wasn’t finished yet.

This all fails in comparison to the fact that none of the cast knew they were going to be formally used in the fourth film, as the studio announced their involvement before any contracts were signed. This doesn’t even factor in the director departing the franchise just weeks after agreeing.

Sure, you can say it was due to Marvel but Matt Shakman knew his schedule ahead of time, he knew whether he could or couldn’t fit it into his schedule. Either the schedule got shifted, or the product has been so tumultuous he just hopped out the first window he could find to escape this growing dumpster fire.

To say this film looks like a tragedy waiting to happen is an understatement.

These are three reasons Star Trek 4 could fail

The Budget

The film is already looking like it’s going to go over budget with the possible delay in filming. Not only that but if they do try to lure in Chris Hemsworth, that budget will be very heavy on the just cast alone. The films aren’t monumental successes, so you can’t just throw $500 million at the screen and hope to make something back. If the film goes over budget, with how volatile streaming is currently, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the purse strings synch shut. After all, Paramount has to worry about their streaming platform bleeding money. Films aren’t the focus at the moment.

A lack of interest/Saturation

How much interest is there really for a fourth Kelvin Star Trek film? I wouldn’t mind one, but with the passing of Anton Yelchin, I feel there isn’t a need for one. If that sentiment is shared, this film may flop harder than a whale busting out of the water.

Not only that but are fans even going to care about the film when they’ve been so inundated with Trek series after Trek series? Burnout is real in a fandom, look at the Arrowverse. Look at the MCU, they’re not as popular as they were pre-Endgame. Trek fans can only consume so much before they get sick of it. That’s what led to Enterprise’s failure in 2005.

The production is a mess

We have no firm cast members, we have no director, we have no script, we have a shifting target date to start, and little else. The Star Trek series, some of them anyway, are good enough to carry the burden of the franchise. If the film is a production nightmare, that will bleed over to the quality of the film, and then what? Does the entire franchis take a hit?