It’s been some time since they first announced that they would be developing a final chapter in the main Star Trek cinematic franchise, which was started by J.J. Abrams. Originally, Matt Shakman was attached to direct but he went on to work on Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and is currently busy preparing to direct Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four film.
While we still have no clear future for that entry, it does seem that Paramount is not going to rest with their franchise just ending as a new spinoff is in development. It seems it’ll take place in the same universe and sees Seth Grahame-Smith penning the script with Abrams‘ Bad Robot returning to produce. The big addition is that they also have a director attached to Andor’sToby Haynes.
The fourth Star Trek film is still in development and it is unclear how exactly these will connect, but it’s definitely an exciting announcement given the talent working on the project. Plus, there’s a chance they can explore the universe in a unique way given the long varied history of the franchise. Perhaps we’ll get a more intimate adaptation that returns to elements we haven’t seen in the franchise in quite some time.
Warner Bros. Discovery started a terrible trend when they started pulling projects from their streaming services. Not just projects they were licensing but also originals that weren’t readily available in any legal capacity outside of their specific streaming service. Then, Disney+ joined in by pulling some great shows like Big Shot and Willow, which were only released recently. It seems the streaming wars are slowly nearing their final chapter as Paramount+ is now pulling the exact same stunt.
The streaming service has decided to cancel four shows, which include Star Trek: Prodigy, Queen of the Universe, The Game, and Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies. Yet, to add insult to injury, they have also decided to completely remove the shows from the streaming service in the coming days. So, if you haven’t seen any of these projects and still want to check them out, this might be your last chance before they are gone. A spokesperson shared the following statement:
We want to extend our thanks to our tremendously talented cast and crew and our producing partners for their passionate work and dedication on these programs, and we wish them all the best on their future endeavors.
The depressing aspect of this trend is simply that it highlights the importance of physical media as who knows if any o these projects may be released anytime soon on other streaming services or on network television. Some actions are done for tax reasons, but they may not just wait it out before releasing the projects as part of bundle deals with others. The only question is if this is perhaps just the beginning of other purges from Paramount+.
Back in 2018, it was announced that Paramount+ was developing yet another Star Trek series. The show was to star Michelle Yeoh and would focus on Section 31. Over the years, reports indicated that the project would still move forward, however, there was never any strict timeline as to when the project would actually enter production. Well, after years of being “in development,” Paramount+ is finally moving forward with Section 31… but it’s going to be a movie now.
On Tuesday, the streamer revealed that Michelle Yeoh will star in Star Trek: Section 31. The movie will see Georgiou join a “secret division of Starfleet tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets and faces the sins of her past.” The movie is being penned by Craig Sweeney and will be directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi — both Sweeney and Osunsanmi have worked on Star Trek: Discovery, where Yeoh made her debut as Georgiou.
“I’m beyond thrilled to return to my Star Trek family and to the role I’ve loved for so long,” Yeoh said in a statement to the press. “Section 31 has been near and dear to my heart since I began the journey of playing Philippa all the way back when this new golden age of Star Trek launched. To see her finally get her moment is a dream come true in a year that’s shown me the incredible power of never giving up on your dreams. We can’t wait to share what’s in store for you, and until then: live long and prosper (unless Emperor Georgiou decrees otherwise)!”
Alex Kurtzman, who returns as an executive producer for Section 31, revealed that Yeoh initially pitched a spinoff series for her character back in 2017 – before anything was officially announced as being in development. ” “All the way back in 2017, before the first season of Star Trek: Discovery had even aired, Michelle had the idea to do a spinoff for her character, Philippa Georgiou. She broke new ground as one of the first two women onscreen in the pilot to usher in a new age of Trek, and now, six years later, Section 31 finally arrives on the heels of her latest groundbreaking win.”
Section 31 will kick off a new phase for Trek on Paramount+. The streamer is hoping to do a “Star Trek made-for-streaming movie every two years.” Production on the project will kick off later this year.
Sadly, it seems that Star Trek Discovery is entering its fifth and also final season. It’s set for an early 2024 release and will sadly mark the end of Paramount+’s first true venture into a modern Star Trek series. Taking cues from the J.J. Abrams-kickstarted films and a dash of the franchise’s long history, we got a wonderful adventure that started back in 2017. Showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise had the following to say about wrapping up this adventure:
As lifelong fans of Star Trek, it has been an immense honor and privilege to help bring Star Trek: Discovery to the world. The Trek universe means so much to so many – including us – and we couldn’t be prouder of everything Discovery has contributed to its legacy, particularly with representation. If just one person sees themselves, or the possibilities for their future, in a new way because of Discovery, then we think we’d have made Gene Roddenberry very proud.
Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise
The official statement has also been shared on Twitter with a new key visual for the final season:
— Star Trek on Paramount+ (@StarTrekOnPPlus) March 2, 2023
The story will continue the tale of the U.S.S. Discovery as they seek an ancient power that has been hidden for centuries, but they aren’t the only ones looking for it. Star Trek Discovery won’t be the end of the franchise, as it also was the jumping-off point for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds which explored the tales of the U.S.S. Enterprise under the command of Christopher Pike, played by Anson Mount. So, the franchise will continue but the one that kickstarted this new generation is sadly coming to an end.
We’re still anxiously awaiting any news on what Star Wars’ cinematic future looks like. To this day, there’s still no word on if Damon Lindelof‘s project is moving forward, even with rumors circulating that the film is already starting casting a person-of-color lead. There’s also Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron project that was put on the back burner due to her commitment to Wonder Woman 3; a film that is ironically not going to happen now.
As we theorize about what the future might look like for Lucasfilm’s cinematic universe, we have the confirmation that there’s one actor we don’t have to consider in any project moving forward. In an interview with Kevin Polowy, the actor revealed that he’s “a Trekkie” and has no interest in joining a Star Wars project.
I think this is the first interview of the New Year, you might as well get something that no one knows. But that’s a fact. I grew up watching Shatner, I thought Pine was terrific in the movies. I think the movies are outstanding.
Nicolas Cage
He goes on to highlight that he’s more about “the political” and “sociological aspects of science fiction rather than jumping into a world that is more science-fantasy at times like Star Wars.
I like the political, the sociological… To me, what science fiction is really all about and why it’s such an important genre is that is really where you can really say whatever you want, however you feel, you put it on a different planet, you put it in a different time or in the future and you can – without people just jumping on you. You can really express your thoughts like Orwell in the science fiction format and Star Trek really embraced that. I thought they got into some serious stuff.
Nicolas Cage
Of course, it’s a shame that we’ll never see his zany performance in a Star Wars project, it does open up a bigger interest in if he could finally star in something Star Trek-related. There are a variety of shows and even a new film in development.
In the age of major franchises seeing massive expansion in the cinematic landscape, Star Trek has generally been falling behind. The rebooted version of the classic television franchise hasn’t had a feature film since 2016’s Star Trek Beyond. Since then, Star Trek has leaned much more heavily into various streaming series on Paramount+ to continue its legacy.
There have been attempts to get a new film off the ground for a while, but Paramount has struggled to find a director to stay attached to the project. After various directors had come and gone during early development of Star Trek 4, some ground was thought to have been made with the hiring of Matt Shakman to helm the project. However, his hiring to Fantastic Four in 2022 forced him to relinquish the position and placed Paramount back at square one. However, a new rumor seems to suggest a returning name may be coming back to recalibrate the film series.
Of course, this very much remains a rumor at this time and shouldn’t be taken as any sort of decision set in stone. However, the potential of J.J. Abrams returning to the director’s chair would be compelling. Abrams was a major name in the creation of this iteration of Star Trek by directing the first two films (Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness, respectively). A return from the famous director and producer would procure many questions about where he’d take the franchise. It would also mark J.J. Abrams‘ first foray back into directing following the generally maligned Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Another major factor that needs to be considered is the status of a script. It had been announced that Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet were working on a script when Matt Shakman was hired to direct in July 2021, but little has been heard since then. With nothing set in stone, it remains to be seen if a new writer – or writers – are brought on to assist the new director, whether it ends up being Abrams or not.
Star Trek 4 won’t be boldly going anywhere anytime soon. The sequel has officially been removed from Paramount’s upcoming film slate. The film, which was being produced through J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot banner, was originally set to hit theaters on Dec. 22, 2023.
Unfortunately, the news shouldn’t be too surprising. Star Trek 4 faced yet another setback when director Matt Shakman exited the project after signing on to direct Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four. Prior to Shakman’s hiring, Paramount had brought on Jessica Jones director S.J. Clarkson to helm the film, but she ended up leaving the project and eventually signed on to direct Madame Web for Sony. While Noah Hawley (Fargo) and Quentin Tarantino were being eyed to direct other Star Trek films that ultimately never came to fruition.
The fourth film was set to see the return of Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Karl Urban as Bones, John Cho as Sulu and Simon Pegg as Scotty. Filming was set to begin by the end of this year. With no director attached, however, there was no chance of the project meeting its planned 2023 release date.
Matt Shakman is suddenly a director in high demand, but it seems he won’t be able to juggle every job that’s come his way. Shortly after news broke that the former WandaVision maestro had landed Marvel’s coveted Fantastic Four gig, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that he would no longer be helming Star Trek 4 for Paramount. Shakman had been announced as the man guiding Chris Pine’s Trek franchise towards its long-awaited fourth entry in the summer of 2021. THR reports the search for his replacement will begin immediately, and it’s not clear whether the creative change will impact the film’s planned release date of Dec. 22nd, 2023.
Paramount Pictures released the following statement regarding Shakman’s exit:
Matt Shakman is an incredibly talented filmmaker, and we regret the timing didn’t align for him to direct our upcoming Star Trek film. We are grateful for his many contributions, are excited about the creative vision of this next chapter and look forward to bringing it to audiences all around world.
Paramount Pictures
Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana and John Cho are still expected to reprise their roles alongside Pine as the crew of the famous Enterprise. They were last seen together in 2016’s Star Trek Beyond, which was directed by Justin Lin. Josh Friedman and Cameron Squires, working from a Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet draft, wrote the most recent version of the fourth film’s script.
As far as Comic Con’s announcements go, the easiest thing to say would be Avengers: Secret Wars. The truth is Kevin Feige’s plan on display for us to see is the kicker. This universe is expanding and we’ve all been wondering how it will continue to do so. As a fan, it was gratifying to see all of the projects lined up. There’s definitely fun in trying to figure out where the MCU is going on its own but to see it laid out is awesome.
It gives us all something to look forward to. If you want your street heroes and miss Daredevil…you got him back. Did you want to see how Sam Wilson’s journey will continue? We now have a title and a date. From team-ups to solo projects what we got was a reminder that the talk about the MCU was silly. Going forward, the expectation will be to see how tv gets better structurally. Otherwise, the road to what’s coming is here and we can actually enjoy the now of the MCU again. See you soon Kang.
Torbjorn Frazier
After having the pleasure to attend this year’s San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) festivities, it remains an arduous task to find just one top revelation from the weekend. While part of me wants to think outside of the box (I want to give special mention to Star Trek’s Hall H panel and them laying out a strong framework for their future on Paramount Plus), I can’t help but acknowledge that Marvel Studios were the runaway winners of the weekend.
With that in mind, I will focus on the triad of major revelations that were exclusive to the audience at Hall H. Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, Secret Invasion, and Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 all showcased first-look trailers for their respective projects. And the three Marvel Studios projects all left extremely strong first impressions that should all have fans excited for the start of 2023. Quantumania’s trailer highlighted how this film will certainly be the highest stakes of the Ant-Man franchise through the introduction of a Jonathan Majors Kang the Conqueror variant, but still keeping the comedic tone from the original core ensemble and the addition of Bill Murray. Meanwhile, Secret Invasion seemingly will provide the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) with its first paranoia thriller since Captain America: The Winter Soldier (and I’d argue the series will lean much more into the genre than the film if the trailer is any indication). And to top it off, Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3’s trailer was the largest revelation from the panel. James Gunn very much has established this film will mark the conclusion of his run on the Guardians; franchise, and he is pulling all the stops to make this ending as epic as possible in terms of both plot and cinematic scope. There are many distinct talking points coming away from it, but the largest certainly is the highly emotional arc in store for Rocket Raccoon and his origins at the hands of the High Evolutionary.
If there’s ultimately a singular major revelation from SDCC, it’s that fans could be in store for a highly exciting beginning to MCU’s Phase Five in 2023.
Dalbin Osorio
My favorite reveal, hands down, was the announcement of the next Avengers films: Secret Wars and Kang Dynasty. My guy AC called out the fickle fans who sit online all day consistently complaining about Marvel and the “no direction” post-Endgame, but anyone paying a modicum of attention to Loki could tell a) who the big bad of this saga was and b) what they were building towards. You don’t populate the world with heroes and then just leave them as such, and Kevin Feige pulling the curtain back on the conclusion of the now-aptly named Multiverse Saga confirmed what we knew. The big bad is Kang, and we are headed towards the only story that can both top Endgame and simultaneously reset the universe to a point where it makes sense that mutants other than Kamala Khan exist and that the Avengers do have to pay for their machinations of time. You see, just because He Who Remains’ TVA was ok with them messing with time doesn’t mean that all the other Kang variants and their TVAs (should they have them) will be. Kang’s line to Ant-Man (you’re an Avenger? Have I killed you before) is the first salvo in the war to come ahead. A secret war, if you will, and seeing that confirmed was pretty damn exciting.
MTF III
My favorite reveal from Marvel’s SDCC panel was the official announcement of Daredevil: Born Again. Although Charlie Cox’s return to the role in the MCU was no secret (shoutout to #SavedDaredevil), the extent of Daredevil’s role in future Marvel projects was still held close to the vest. And even after confirmation of appearances in Echo and She-Hulk: Attorney AtLaw, the official announcement of his Disney Plus series was universally well-received. But no one could have predicted that the series would get 18(!) episodes to tell its story.
I recently advocated for longer seasons of the Marvel Disney Plus series, because the six-episode season structure wasn’t adequately serving them, so tripling that output assuages all of those concerns. Daredevil: Born Again is 5 episodes longer than what fans were used to getting from Netflix, which should provide its narrative with more than enough time to breathe so that the show can service multiple character subplots, conclude several arcs, and overall, do the necessary world-building to truly establish the MCU’s Street Level.
Will we see any of the former Defenders pop up? Will we get a split season of 9 and 9 with a break in between? Will the “canon” questions be definitively answered? So many questions were raised by the announcement of Daredevil: Born Again, and I can’t wait to discover all the answers.
Hunter Radesi
Not sure if this is a surprise to anybody, but my favorite reveals from San Diego Comic-Con were probably Spider-Man: Freshman Year and Daredevil: Born Again. These are two of my all-time favorite characters, and to see both of their names pop up in Hall H, headlining projects, was a dream come true. I’ve been craving a solid new animated Spider-Man project for years, and it looks like Jeff Trammell is getting ready to deliver. Learning Freshman Year is going to be a full-blown variant series, as opposed to a mini-MCU prequel, was so exciting. I haven’t been satisfied with a Spidey show since The Spectacular Spider-Man, but this one looks to have everything I could want from a web-head adaptation. Diverse supporting characters, classic bad guys, a unique animation style, and a passionate creative team working behind the scenes. As for Born Again, that one doesn’t take much explaining. Who wouldn’t be pumped about another season, a full 18 episodes, of Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio doing their thing? My eyes will be on Disney+ for the next couple years.
Paramount+ has become the go-to streaming service for all things Star Trek. Following the success of Star Trek: Discovery, the streaming service continued to build its Star Trek library with the addition of Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. The latter series, which just ended its first season to critical acclaim, chronicled Captain Pike, Science Officer Spock, and the rest of the U.S.S. Enterprise as they visited different parts of the Galaxy. It is set 10 years before Star Trek: The Original Series and is the first spin-off from Star Trek: Discovery.
The series showed Captain Pike in his post-retirement glory gearing up to hand the Enterprise to one Captain Kirk, with Strange New Worlds finding him in his prime leading the Enterprise with new and old faces alike. When showrunner Alex Kurtzman pitched the series to then-CBS All Access, he pitched them on an ever-expanding universe that could potentially see crossovers between the different shows, ala the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We did not know when the first crossover would happen, but San Diego Comic-Con has provided that answer.
— Star Trek on Paramount+ (@StarTrekOnPPlus) July 23, 2022
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is officially crossing over with Star Trek: Lower Decks, which is the first animated Star Trek series since 1970 and follows the adventures of the Cerritos in the year 2380. The show is now two seasons in, and it has been revealed that Season 2 of Strange New Worlds will see a live-action crossover between the two shows. Even cooler, it will be directed by Commander William Riker, himself Jonathan Frakes. Frakes was actually one of the ones who pitched CBS on some Star Trek content before they decided Kurtzman would be the sole showrunner, so it is exciting to see him get a shot to direct this first crossover episode in the Star Trek Universe.
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