Many Star Trek fans know that Beatles legend Paul McCartney and Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry almost joined forces in the early 1970s for a proposed sci-fi musical project based on a concept by McCartney. It never came to fruition, and any material devoted to it -- such as outlines or script drafts -- has gotten lost in the sands of time. There exists, however, a cool photograph of Roddenberry and McCartney together, smiling as they talked. The 366 Project at the Roddenberry Vault shared the photo publicly in 2016.
Now, fans are set to get an enterprise that will bring together McCartney and members of the Star Trek universe. The production company Gaumont will transform McCartney’s 2005 children’s book, High in the Clouds, on which he collaborated with illustrator Geoff Dunbar and co-writer Philip Ardagh, to the big screen as a 3D animated feature. The film has been in development for more than a decade, with production entities and directors coming and going, but it’s finally happening. The voice cast, according to the Hollywood trade paper Variety, will include Celine Dion, Himesh Patel, Hannah Waddington, Lionel Richie, Ringo Starr, Clemence Poesy, Pom Klementieff, Alain Chabat, and Idris Elba. A respected British actor and musician, Elba starred in Star Trek Beyond as the main antagonist, Krall, aka Balthazar Edison.
Variety describes the movie’s plot as follows: “A tale about the power of family and freedom of expression through music, High in the Clouds follows Wirral, a teenage squirrel who embarks on an extraordinary journey to set music free, after accidentally spark(ing) a revolution against Gretsch, the bossy diva-owl who has banned all music from his town.”
McCartney, it should surprise no one, will create original songs for High in the Clouds. As for the score, it will be provided by another familiar Star Trek figure, namely Michael Giacchino. The Oscar, Grammy, and Emmy winner scored Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Trek Beyond, Star Trek: Short Treks, Star Trek: Prodigy (theme), and, most recently, Star Trek: Unification, the short film that “reunited” old friends James T. Kirk and Spock. And, in July 2024, Giacchino moderated A Tale of Two Sulus: An Evening with George Takei and John Cho.
High in the Clouds is in production now. A 2027 release date seems likely.