Paramount is still trying to get Star Trek 4 off the ground, and Chris Pine wants to “get to work” on the follow-up.
The actor recently did a podcast show to talk about his latest projects. In Things are Going Great for Me, which was recorded in April, Pine said that he’d love to continue with Star Trek 4.
Podcast host J. Claude Deering asked Pine about what he knows of the Quentin Tarantino Star Trek project. The actor said, however, that he’s the last person to find anything out about the franchise.
“I know that Paramount is coming out of having restructured a bit and kind of a major corporate restructuring,” Pine said. “So hopefully when all that dust settles, something concrete will come out of it and we’ll get to work. I’d love to do it.”
Paramount confirmed Star Trek 4 before the third film, Star Trek Beyond, opened in theaters in 2016. The plan was to bring back George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth). The movie, however, failed to break box office records leading to the stalling of the fourth movie’s development. Hemsworth was also not as enthusiastic about returning to the project based on the underwhelming scripts.
What’s going on at Paramount?
Despite being the last one to know, Pine was aware of Noah Hawley’s canceled Star Trek film before it hit the press. Pine also hinted at Paramount’s money issues, which was one of the reasons Star Trek 4 couldn’t get made.
In 2018, negotiations about money led to talks breaking down between the studio and Pine, as well as the rest of the cast for Star Trek 4. According to Trek Movie, however, the studio has a new head who wants to prioritize the franchise.
Pine is also still in good terms with Paramount, which is still keen on having the actor reprise his role as Captain James T. Kirk on the big screen.
Netflix wants to buy Paramount
The news comes amid rumors that Netflix wants to buy Paramount to build its franchise. The streaming platform needs a brand to compete with Disney+, which has its Star Wars and Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies and TV shows.
Paramount has many lucrative properties in its library, aside from Star Trek. The studio also owns the Mission: Impossible and Transformers franchise. But Paramount has an existing arrangement with CBS All Access since these media companies are both under ViacomCBS. CBS All Access has big plans for its streaming platform.
Image used courtesy of Paramount Pictures/YouTube