Star Trek has been pretty strong in the television/streaming series game as a lof late. They've had numerous shows; Discovery, Picard, Lower Decks, Prodigy, Strange New Worlds, and a few more in the works, assuming everything shakes out as it's supposed to.
Yet, the film side of Star Trek has been pretty quiet for years. Since 2016's Star Trek: Beyond, we haven't seen or heard any real development on the film side of things. Over time the news of a fourth film has floated about but still, nothing materialized. Then in 2022 news broke that there would be a fourth film and the cast was signed on, despite the cast having never signed anything. That fell apart fast.
It seemed like that there'd be no film. Then, one of the future series, marred by low ratings with its predecessor and a severely restricted budget, was turned from a show into a film; and that was Section 31. Section 31 went from a follow-up series to Discovery, to a stand-alone, first-of-its-kind film for Paramount+. A move that actually brought significant hype to the IP.
Great, that was one movie. Then we heard talks just a few weeks ago of a Picard-based film. Another film that would be for Paramount+. It's not in the words or even being actively worked on, but it is something that star Patrick Stewart has said is a possibility.
Then, a few days after that, we found out that a new Trek IP featuring the events of the Kelvin Timeline (Chris Pine's franchise), was in the works but it would be set decades before Star Trek 2009, meaning that Pine and his costars wouldn't be involved. We thought maybe that was the end of Pine and his crew's time aboard the Enterprise.
But then the rumor about the new film indicated that the fourth film in Pine's Star Trek career was still being worked on, alongside the new property. So out of all these, what does the future actually look like?
Section 31 - In Production: This Michelle Yeoh-headed project is happening. It'll likely be released on Paramount+ in 2025, barring unforeseen issues with the service.
Unnamed Kelvin Prequel - Pre-Production: This is likely to come to fruition but we're way too early into the proceedings to guarantee anything.
Star Trek - Development Hell: The fourth film isn't a guarantee but it's still a possibility as they have Chris Pine on some sort of deal. He's already been involved in the development to some degree but no script currently exists.
Untitled Picard Film - Nothing Concrete: Personal opinion on the Picard series aside, this seems like the least likely of the four films to come to fruition. It has a story but series star Patrick Stewart hasn't officially signed on. Until he does, this could very well not happen.