Following a relatively quiet period on the big screen, Paramount is developing a new Star Trek prequel film with Toby Haynes directing and Seth Grahame-Smith writing the screenplay. Per Deadline, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot will produce “an origin story” set “decades” before the original 2009 reboot. This currently untitled in-development film is in addition to the final chapter in the main series, Star Trek 4, which Deadline says is also in the works.
And that’s pretty much all we currently know. No cast, release date, or any sort of plot details have been shared and it’s also unclear how far along the project is. In addition to directing six episodes of 2022’s Star Wars series Andor, Toby Haynes has also directed episodes of M.I. High, Doctor Who, and the British version of Utopia. Interestingly enough, the accomplished British director has also helmed Black Mirror‘s Season 4 episode “USS Callister,” a satirical take on Star Trek and sci-fi fandom’s darker underbelly.
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Despite the absence of a big-budget Star Trek film on the big screen since 2016’s Star Trek Beyond, the franchise has continued to thrive via several successful TV shows and spin-offs, including Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. With the upcoming Star Trek prequel film in development, fans of the franchise have much to look forward to. Paramount is also working on the fourth and final chapter of the rebooted ‘Star Trek‘ film series, completely different from Haynes’ upcoming prequel.
During a Paramount investor’s day in 2022, the studio revealed that the upcoming Star Trek 4 is set to begin shooting later that year but was “eventually removed from the studio’s film slate in September of that year.” The film will be a direct sequel to J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek trilogy and currently lacks a confirmed director. While details about Haynes’ upcoming Star Trek prequel remain scarce, it is likely to focus on a different set of characters and will not feature Chris Pine and the rest of the Kelvin-verse Enterprise crew, as Star Trek 4 and the Kelvin Timeline movies (Trek ’09, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Star Trek Beyond) are in separate development within the studio.
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