Justin Lin's Star Trek Beyond is set to come out next year in time to celebrate the franchise's 50th anniversary. The good news is that plan is still in place. The bad news is that fans will have to wait a little while longer to see it. This is because Paramount Pictures has announced that the movie is being pushed back a bit in the release schedule.
According to The Wrap, Star Trek Beyond is moving from its original release date on July 8, 2016, and will now instead be coming out on July 22nd. Unfortunately, the trade report doesn't have any information regarding why the push back is happening - whether it's due to delays in production or changes in marketing plans - but one thing that seems certain is that the move is not happening because the project is running away from competition.
In fact, one might argue that the sci-fi blockbuster is running headfirst into competition. On its original date, the movie was set to square off against the Zac Efron comedy Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, as well as the animated feature The Secret Life of Pets. Those aren't bad movies for Star Trek to be up against, but Paramount has decided to be a lot more aggressive. Now the film will be debuting in theaters the same day as both Guy Ritchie's Knights of the Round Table: King Arthur, and the animated sequel Ice Age: Collision Course. One might argue that Star Trek Beyond still has the upper hand, but it still feels like those two titles will steal more attention than the original duo.
Making matters only more complicated is the fact that there are some major movies opening up both right before and right after Star Trek Beyond as well. Paul Feig's Ghostbusters reboot will be in theaters July 15, 2016 - ready to take on Justin Lin's movie in its second week - while the space saga will be followed one week later by Matt Damon's new Jason Bourne film (set to come out July 29, 2016). These movies could prevent Star Trek Beyond from going on any kind of major box office tear, but it seems that's just how things go in this day and age of blockbuster scheduling.
Star Trek Beyond is being based on a script by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung, and while plot details are thin, it has been confirmed that the movie will see the Enterprise crew head out on their famous five-year mission exploring strange new worlds and seeking out new life and new civilizations (you know, "going where no man has gone before" kinda stuff). The principal cast, including Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, Zachary Quinto, Anton Yelchin, John Cho and Karl Urban, are all set to reprise their respective roles, while Idris Elba is set to play the mysterious new villain. Stay tuned for more updates!
