The Star Trek franchise is in an interesting spot, as Paramount’s Jim Gianopulos confirmed during his CinemaCon presentation yesterday that the studio is currently developing two films within the franchise: one is a direct sequel to their existing franchise, and the other is the mysterious Quentin Tarantino project, in which Mark L. Smith (The Revenant) recently signed on to.
With all this intrigue and mystery surrounding the Tarantino project, how are the studio going to get people excited for the other film? Well how about making history: S.J. Clarkson has been tapped to direct Star Trek 4, making her the franchise’s first ever female director.
Clarkson is a veteran TV director who has directed episodes of The Defenders and Jessica Jones and is now ready to make the jump from small screen superheroes to big screen sci-fi. She’s also directed episodes of Dexter, Orange Is The New Black and Bates Motel in the past.
Details on Star Trek 4 are still under wraps, but the film is expected to see the return of Chris Hemsworth as Captain Kirk’s (Chris Pine) father, who died in the opening scene of the 2009 reboot. Reportedly the film will contain a time travel plot that allows Pine’s character to encounter his father. The script has been written by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay.
Zachary Quinto is also set to return, having signed a big contract alongside Pine back in 2015, but Paramount will reportedly have to give fresh new deals to supporting stars like Simon Pegg, John Cho and Zoe Saldana if they want them back, as they currently have no deals tying the actors to the franchise.
No official release date has currently been set for the film, and we’ll keep an eye on developments as these two sequels are developed concurrently. It’s great that Clarkson has got the gig, and it’s a good bet that her film makes it to cinemas before the mysterious Tarantino one (ever?) does.
#Peace.Love.StarTrek
