For the last few years, it seemed like the Star Trek franchise has been on the rise again. Building a cinematic universe, a popular new TV show, and they even just got Patrick Stewart back into the fold. But it looks like they just hit a bump in the road, with both Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth leaving the cast of Star Trek 4.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Pine and Hemsworth both walked away from the table during contract negotiations due to an inability to reach an agreement. Other casts members like Zoe Saldana, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg and John Cho look like they are about to close on their contracts, meaning that they will be on board for the movie.
Now, this might seem like a movie-ending issue, but we’re not at that point yet. According to Pine, there was already a deal set up with him that the studios are attempting to go back on, and given that he’s still got Wonder Woman 2 and a number of other projects on the back burner, he’s not willing to take a pay cut. Hemsworth has that sweet, sweet Disney-Marvel money was wasn’t going to settle for less. The studios, Skydance and Paramount, were using Star Trek Beyond‘s lackluster box office to back up their lowered budget. Still, if they are willing to up their ante, it is likely that Pine, if not both, would return to the project.
Star Trek 4 was, and currently still is, set to be a time-traveling adventure where Captain Kirk’s father comes back, giving Kirk the chance to deal with his dead father issues. The film will be directed by S. J. Clarkson of Jessica Jones fame, and as previously mentioned, the rest of the crew of the Enterprise is on board. This will be the first of the new Star Trek films without Anton Yelchin, who play Pavel Chekov and died tragically in 2016, and the role will not be recast for this next film.
There is currently no anticipate date for this film to premiere in theaters.
