It has not been easy road trying to get Star Trek 4 into theaters, with multiple writers and directors attached at various points including Noah Hawley, Matt Shakman, and even Quentin Tarantino for a time. Paramount isn't giving up, though, as the studio has brought one of the creators of The Flight Attendant to try and breath new life into the film.
Paramount confirmed Wednesday that The Flight Attendant writer and executive producer Steve Yockey has been brought on board to pen Star Trek 4, according to Variety. While story details were kept sparse, the film would be intended to serve as the send-off to the cast of the reboot film series led by Chris Pine's Kirk and Zachary Quinto's Spock.
It remains to be seen, though, if Yockey's script ultimately gets the ball rolling on Star Trek 4's production almost a decade after the release of Star Trek Beyond.
EXCLUSIVE: "The Flight Attendant" co-creator Steve Yockey is writing "Star Trek 4."
Paramount intends the project to be the final chapter for the cast that includes Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldaña, Karl Urban, John Cho and Simon Pegg. https://t.co/UnH9EysfzN pic.twitter.com/3l9jVIjIC0
— Variety (@Variety) March 27, 2024
Star Trek 4 was originally announced ahead of Beyond's release, hinting at Paramount's confidence in the film and ability to keep the rebooted series going. The film would continue being produced by JJ Abrams company Bad Robot, though Abrams would remain as a producer and not be returning to the director's chair after stepping away to direct Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens.
A bumpy flight
Abrams teased the film's story would involve some kind of time travel and see the return of Chris Hemsworth to the series as George Kirk, who he briefly portrayed in the opening of 2009's Star Trek. However, Hemsworth would later confirm this pitch would ultimately “fizzle out” by 2018 and he would not be returning to Star Trek.
The film faced its next hurdle in the tragic passing of actor Anton Yelchin, who portrayed Pavel Checkov in reboot series, in June 2016 when he was fatally injured in an accident involving his SUV. Abrams confirmed shortly after that the character would not be recast, out of respect for Yelchin, though he did not clarify if the character's absence would be directly addressed in the film.
From there, Paramount was seemingly burning through writers and directors as it tried to settle on a vision for the film.
Tarantino was among the names allegedly being eyed by the studio to direct the film as he had expressed interest in working on Star Trek in the past. However, he would instead get the green light from Abrams to work on his own Star Trek pitch that would have been separate from the reboot series films, but Tarantino would ultimately move on from this project.
Steve Yockey's hiring could be a positive sign for Star Trek 4, though, given his resume across TV and streaming. Alongside the critical success of The Flight Attendant, Yockey's resume includes writing for four seasons of the hit series Supernatural and the upcoming Netflix series Dead Boy Detectives.
Follow Us
Subscribe