When is the Star Trek 4 release date? It's been more than a decade since the crew of the Kelvin timeline USS Enterprise last boldly went where no one has gone before in Star Trek: Beyond.
Set in an alternate timeline to the rest of the Star Trek we know and love (including all our favorite Star Trek series and the previous Star Trek movies), the reboot films follow the adventures of the most famous Star Trek captain, James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and his beloved crew. Unfortunately, though, in recent years, Star Trek 4 has been trapped in the Tholian web of development hell. Still, there's reason to be hopeful, so here's everything we know about the crew of the USS Enterprises's next big adventure.
When is the Star Trek 4 release date?
Star Trek 4 was scheduled for release on Friday, December 22, 2023. However, the film was delayed indefinitely after the director Matt Shakman left the project, and Star Trek 4 was eventually removed from Paramount's upcoming slate of movies in August 2022.
That all sounds pretty bad, so is there any good news? Well, Star Trek 4 hasn't been officially canceled yet, and Lindsey Anderson Beer, who was a writer on the project, has hinted that the movie is still in the works; it's just a bit delayed.
"It is, it's still on the tracks," Beer said as recently as September 2023 [via Collider]. "I love that project, and it was another one that I had to hop off of to direct this movie, and that was a hard thing to do. But I love that everybody involved with that project."
If "still on the tracks" means that the story is being developed/worked on in the background, then there's still hope that a new Star Trek movie isn't off the table completely. With that in mind, perhaps a 2026 release date wouldn't be impossible, assuming they would need two years to write and shoot.
That said, would-be leading man Chris Pine has been the most recent person to talk about the ongoing project, and he hasn't heard much. Well, actually, he hasn't heard anything. "Not that I know," he said [via ComicBook.com] when asked if there was any movement on the fourth movie. When asked if he'd seen a script, he said: "Of course not."
Frankly, if Captain Kirk himself hasn't heard anything, we're not going to hold our breath on this one. Be sure to check back for more news.
Who's in the Star Trek 4 cast?
If Star Trek 4 were ever to make it to screens, we'd expect the Kelvin timeline crew to return, including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldaña, Simon Pegg, John Cho, and Karl Urban.
Paramount previously announced that the whole reboot cast would be returning for Star Trek 4, which made it sound as though Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldaña, and John Cho would all be back aboard the USS Enterprise.
However, Paramount's announcement was disputed by several of the cast's agents, who explained nothing had been agreed and that negotiations were ongoing.
Since then, things have gotten even more complicated. Pine was said to have eventually reached an agreement, but then production hit significant blocks elsewhere. Whether the cast's agreements still stand now, over a year later, is uncertain.
The expected Star Trek 4 cast list:
- Chris Pine as Captain James T. Kirk
- Zachary Quinto as Spock
- Zoe Saldaña as Nyota Uhura
- Simon Pegg as Montgomery Scott
- John Cho as Hikaru Sulu
- Karl Urban as Doctor Leonard McCoy
In addition, Sofia Boutella has also said she'd be interested in reprising the role of Jaylah, who we met in Beyond. At the same time, Star Trek 4 would no doubt address the absence of Chekov, who was played by the late Anton Yelchin.
Matt Shakman was brought on board to direct Star Trek 4, but he left the project to make the MCU's Fantastic Four reboot after Spider-Man's Jon Watts decided he needed a break from making superhero movies.
What will Star Trek 4 be about?
The plot of Star Trek 4 is anyone's guess right now, as we know that many different scripts have progressed into various stages of production before being scrapped.
Because this is Star Trek, it could literally be about anything. Time travel, old villains returning, disputes over territory, you get the picture.
Pine has been open in that he'd like to see the film have a smaller budget and really focus on making the fans happy. "Let's make the movie for the people that love this group of people, that love this story, that love Star Trek," he told Deadline. "Let's make it for them, and then, if people want to come to the party, great. But make it for a price and make it so that if it makes a half-billion dollars, that's really good."
That certainly seems like a good way to go and may help to rein in some of the worst excesses of the Kelvin Star Trek timeline movies, which tend to be about world-ending stakes and massive action. That's fun and all, but many Star Trek fans (yes, including us) would be up for something far more lowkey that makes use of the franchise's sci-fi setting, although we wouldn't say no to a Borg appearance.
Is Quentin Tarantino making Star Trek 4?
No, Quentin Tarantino isn't making Star Trek 4. However, it's true that Tarantino did express interest in making a Star Trek movie. Allegedly, he wanted to make a big screen adaptation of A Piece of the Action — an episode set on a gangster planet — and the film was surprisingly far in development.
A script was written, but Tarantino walked away from the film in late 2019, forcing Paramount to rethink its next Trek movie.
Tarantino is now hard at work on his final film as we move towards The Movie Critic release date. We don't think it's a secret Star Trek sequel, though that would be a very fun surprise indeed.
Where can I watch Star Trek 4?
If Star Trek 4 does ever come out, the movie will be a theatrical exclusive.
In the meantime, a new Star Trek movie with Michelle Yeoh in the lead role is heading straight to Paramount Plus. You can read more about that with our guide to the Section 31 release date.
That's it on Star Trek 4 for now until we get another update. For more on Star Trek, you can check out which Star Trek captains we think would survive in a zombie apocalypse, as well as our interview with Anson Mount and Rebecca Romijn. You can also find out more about George Takei's first meeting with the Star Trek creator and why Leonard Nimoy was ready to quit Star Trek.
Or, find out how we celebrated Captain Picard Day before learning all about our hopes for a Star Trek Legacy release date and taking a look at our picks for the best movies of all time. If that's not enough, Starfleet, find out about the Strange New Worlds season 3 release date. We've also got a list of all the best Star Trek Starships so you can brush up on your history in the meantime.