Star Trek 4 could be happening anytime now. The film has been in development for nearly eight years, and despite numerous attempts to get it launched, the film has stalled out. There are still plans in place to make the fourth film in the Kelvin Timeline, but those plans are up in the air at the moment.
Chris Pine, the man who plays James T. Kirk, has already gone on record that the film should be a lot more bombastic and more in line with what diehard fans expect from Star Trek. It's a great idea, one that we're on board, but that doesn't help get the movie made. The movie remains unmade, and everyone is just spinning their wheels.
Maybe for good reason. The film is going to be hard to do regardless of what angle and direction they go in, because not everyone is going to be back for it. Despite contract issues, one of the biggest lingering concerns is how to replace the dearly departed Anton Yelchin.
Yelchin, who played Pavel Chekov in the first three Kelvin films, passed away mere weeks before the opening of the most recent film, Star Trek: Beyond. His death was a tragic accident, and the franchise is worse off without him. It's made continuing fairly hard, especially when everyone is split on how to not only honor his memory but also respect the character he played.
There is no right way forward, a sentiment that co-star and writer of Beyond Simon Pegg recently spoke about. In a conversation with Battlestar Galactica star Katee Sackhoff (via TrekMovie) Pegg spoke about Yelchin's passing and the impact that has had on the franchise, calling any future project 'tainted' due to his passing;
" “Yeah, I’d love to do more. Obviously, it’s been been forever tainted because we lost Anton. That was a really hard thing for everyone involved… If we do come back, if there is an opportunity to come back, I’d love to because it’s a group of guys I dearly, dearly love and don’t get to see very often. It would be good to get back together.”"
While it may seem hard to say that future projects are "forever tainted", he's not wrong. This wasn't a new character for the series or even a minor role for Yelchin, this was a major role by a major name. A name that as both an actor and a character you just can't replace. Going forward with any future film will always present such an issue, and there will always be a shadow looming overhead, no matter what direction the franchise goes in.