In the alternate Kelvin timeline, young Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and his Enterprise crew experience action-packed cinema adventures since 2009. But after Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond, the sci-fi series stalled. That won’t change after Paramount’s presentation at CinemaCon 2024, because instead of the long-awaited Star Trek 4, another project was announced there.
To the chagrin of some fans and the delight of others, the franchise is looking at this Entry announced for 2025 again not into the future, but the (relative) past.
Star Trek: Another step backwards
According to Collider, the upcoming Star Trek film will be a Origin story be, which takes place decades before the first reboot part by JJ Abrams, which was set in 2255. This time it will be directed by Toby Haynes, who earned his sci-fi stripes with several episodes of the Star Wars series Andor, the USS Callister episode of Black Mirror and some Doctor Who adventures. Seth Grahame-Smith (Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, The Lego Batman Movie) was assigned to write the script.
Paramount
The Enterprise crew in
In terms of canon, you are back in line with the rest of the franchise before the events of Star Trek (2009), as the Kelvin timeline only emerges then. The Federation is founded in 2161 at the end of the Star Trek: Enterprise series, after which Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds are the next chronological entries in the sci-fi universe.
Is Star Trek 4 still coming with Chris Pine and his crew?
After countless failed attempts to get the alternative Kirk crew together again, one can really start to wonder whether the future holds another adventure with them. Film star Pine even described the series as “cursed”, but at least there was only this year a sign of life, when screenwriter Steve Yockey (The Flight Attendant) was brought in to take another approach. Whether this will lead to a tangible sci-fi project is still up in the air.
If you’re interested in the future of the Trek franchise, you’ll have to watch the current season of Star Trek: Discovery or wait for the young adult series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.
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