The fourth Star Trek installation has been under discussion for a while now, but Chris Pine seems to be as in the dark as we are.
The mystery around the fourth installation of Star Trek deepens. In a new interview with Variety, Chris Pine has clarified that while he’d love to return to the franchise, there isn’t much going on on that end.
“I’ve not read a script. I met the director, Matt [Shakman], who I really like. I met a producer on it that I really like. I know JJ [Abrams] is involved in it in some respects. I met the new people over at Paramount, which is many different kind of relations. I really liked them,” he said.
“Everybody seems excited about the prospect of it. There’s just simply no — I don’t have a tangible script to look at.” Pine said, before adding that being part of a franchise – especially considering Marvel‘s fantastic billion-dollar runs at the box office – meant that the pressure is on.
In fact, something similar might have happened with the Star Trek series, even though Pine himself never agreed with it.
“We always tried to get the huge international market. It was always about making the billion dollars. It was always this billion-dollar mark because Marvel was making a billion. Billion, billion, billion.” he said, before adding how Star Trek ‘struggled’ with it.
“We struggled with it because Star Trek, for whatever reason, its core audience is rabid. Like rabid, as you know. To get these people that are interested that maybe are Star Wars fans or think Star Trek is not cool or whatever, proven to be … we’ve definitely done a good job of it but not the billion-dollar kind of job that they want.” he explained, adding that he thought Star Trek shouldn’t make that the goal at all.
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“I’ve always thought that Star Trek should operate in the zone that is smaller. You know, it’s not a Marvel appeal. It’s like, let’s make the movie for the people that love this group of people, that love this story, that love Star Trek.”
It isn’t that simple, of course. The fourth installation of the movie had been on a standstill since 2018, when discussions with Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth fell apart over budgets. Paramount was also reportedly hesitant of reprising the franchise given Star Trek Beyond’s performance, the lowest of all the movies in the franchise.
“We operate in a system now which I don’t know how much longer we have of you have to spend 500 million dollars on a film to reach …even you have to pay all sorts of people back.
“So to make a billion, it’s like you haven’t even — a billion is the gross. You haven’t brought your net in. So I mean, if I had my business suit on, that’s what I would do, but I don’t know where that is. That’s all above my pay grade.” he said.
Of course, if the chance comes by, Pine said he’s more than happy to jump back into the Captain Kirk costume.
“I love Star Trek. Again, I love the messaging of it. I love the character. I love my friends with whom I get to play. It’s a great gig. I mean, it’s a gig I’ve had, working and not working, for 15-plus years. It cemented the career that I have now. I’m honored to be a part of it. It’s given me so much.”
Back in February, Paramount announced that they were working on a new Star Trek film, with shoots lined up for the end of the year with the original cast. Only, the news came as a surprise to not just fans, but also the cast themselves. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the original cast of the film – including Pine – were unaware that a new movie was in the works.
