Even though the long-running franchise remains in rude health on the small screen, bringing Star Trek back to cinemas has proven to be one of the toughest nuts to crack in all of Hollywood.
Since the fourth installment in the Kelvin timeline was first announced, we’ve seen both S.J. Clarkson and Matt Shakman drop out of the director’s chair, while Chris Hemsworth and Chris Pine signed on and then walked away, even though the latter did end up committing in the end.
In between those points, Noah Hawley was tasked to develop another reboot that also fell apart, and the announcement that Star Trek 4 finally had a release date was made without consulting the principal cast, who had no idea their presence would be required on set. It’s been a shambles, to put it lightly, but Shakman didn’t waste any time in picking up a replacement project.
After vacating the Enterprise, the WandaVision director hopped back into the Marvel Cinematic Universe to take the reins on the Fantastic Four reboot, and he explained the reasoning behind his decision in an interview with The Wrap.
“I had a great time working on Star Trek for a little over a year, working closely with J.J. Abrams and everyone at Paramount, and I love that franchise, and I love that cast that J.J. put together, and it would have been an unbelievable pleasure to work with them on the fourth installment there.
But movies have different journeys and momentums and schedules are a little bit mercurial, and so when the Fantastic Four opportunity came up, it was just too hard to pass up, and to go back home to Marvel, a place that I worked on WandaVision at, with those people who are wonderful collaborators.”
That’s about as diplomatic a response as you would have expected, but with Fantastic Four gearing up to shoot sooner rather than later, Star Trek 4 supporters are forced to sit on their hands to wait for the next development regarding the seemingly-cursed cosmic spectacular.