The Cast of STAR TREK Didn't Know a STAR TREK 4 Announcement Was Coming and That Could Be an Issue

Paramount Pictures recently announced that producer J.J. Abrams is moving forward with Star Trek 4. The announcement came during a Paramount press event, and apparently none of the main members of the cast knew it was coming. This announcement came as a surprise to everyone.

Abrams said at the time, “We are thrilled to say that we are hard at work on a new Star Trek film that will be shooting by the end of the year that will be featuring our original cast.”

That means they are looking to bring back Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldaña, and John Cho.

Well, THR is reporting that “most, if not all, teams for the franchise’s primary players — who include Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldaña and John Cho — were not aware that an announcement for another film was coming, much less that their clients would be touted as a part of the deal, and certainly not that their clients would be shooting a movie by year’s end.”

Oh! They want to start shooting this fall so that they can make the announced December 22nd, 2023, theatrical release date. Not only do they not have deals with the cast, but they also don’t have a completed script, a greenlight, or a budget.

It was already reported that Chris Pine was the first actor to jump into early negotiations to return to the role of Captain Kirk. There’s no word on if any other members of the cast have begun talks.

You’d think they’d want to let the cast know about the project and at least start talking to them before they make an announcement like this and also make sure their schedules are open during the time they want to shoot the movie! Seems like things are a bit unorganized, and this fourth Star Trek movie is shaping up to be a rush job.

Matt Shakman (WandaVision) was hired to direct the movie, and he’s been supervising the script, which is being written by Josh Friedman and Cameron Squires. That script is based off a draft by Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet.