Given that hundreds of millions of dollars are being funneled into the project by the studio, not to mention the billions the franchise has already brought in at the box office, you’d expect the big reveal that Star Trek 4 was officially happening to be a smooth and seamless process, as opposed to the shambles it’s been revealed as.
J.J. Abrams released a statement announcing that his Kelvin crew would be returning for their next intergalactic adventure, finally confirming once and for all that the project being spearheaded by WandaVision Matt Shakman was indeed the canonical sequel to Star Trek, Into Darkness, and Beyond.
However, one major problem was that none of the talent were informed the news was forthcoming, and it was revealed over a week after the story broke that Star Trek 4 didn’t have a shooting script, start date for production, or a finalized budget in place, although it does at least have a December 2023 release date.
Karl Urban hasn’t seen the screenplay, and it turns out that Chris Pine is in the same boat, after he spoke to IndieWire and claimed he didn’t really know what was going on with the movie.
“Well, what’s going on with Star Trek is frankly, I don’t know. When the announcement was made at the shareholders’ thing, I didn’t know that they were doing that. I don’t think anybody did. I met Matt Shakman, the director. He’s a super-cool guy, very smart, I like him a great deal.”
At least he’s met the person calling the shots, but Paramount needs to get its house in order before people start asking serious questions about the haphazard way Star Trek 4 is being put together.