Chris Pine Maps a Smarter Path Forward for Star Trek After Star Trek 4 Cancellation
With Star Trek 4 scrapped and Paramount charting a reboot, Wonder Woman 1984 star Chris Pine breaks his silence with an upbeat rallying cry for the franchise’s future—and one pointed piece of advice on how to boldly go from here.
Paramount hit the reset button on Star Trek movies a little over two months ago, stepping away from the J.J. Abrams era. Now Chris Pine, who captained that run as James T. Kirk, weighed in with... a blessing and a wink.
Pine keeps it short, Trek keeps it moving
Asked what advice he has for Paramount's new leadership steering the franchise, Pine kept it upbeat and extremely on brand.
"Advice? Have fun, good luck, live long and prosper."
Honestly, that might be the right vibe for a film side that has been trying to figure out its next move for a decade.
Where the Abrams-era crew left off
Pine led three films as Kirk: 2009's Star Trek, 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness, and 2016's Star Trek Beyond. Together, those movies cleared over $1 billion worldwide. The ensemble around him was rock solid, too, with roles originated on TV and the classic films passed to a sharp new cast:
- Zachary Quinto as Spock
- Zoe Saldana as Nyota Uhura
- Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy
- John Cho as Hikaru Sulu
- Simon Pegg as Scotty
- Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov
That crew was supposed to reunite for a fourth movie. Instead, the project sat in development limbo for years, cycled through plans, and was ultimately canceled. At one point, Matt Shakman (WandaVision) was attached to direct before the whole thing fell apart.
So what is Paramount doing now?
The next Star Trek movie is coming from Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, the duo behind Game Night (2018) and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023). They are writing and directing. Plot and character details are being kept quiet.
Here is the notable wrinkle: the new film is not connected to any previous or current TV series, any past movie, or any prior movie development project. Translation: a genuinely clean slate.
So while Pine is not handing over a playbook, he is sending the new team off with a smile. Given where Trek has been lately on the big screen, that feels like the right send-off to a new launch.