Despite not being a commercial winner at the box office, 2016's Star Trek Beyond walked away with a lot of positive reviews, and Paramount Pictures plans on keeping the Kelvin timeline film series going with the yet-to-be-titled Star Trek 4. However, that isn't the only new Star Trek movie in the works, as Quentin Tarantino is also hashing out his own theatrical tale that will be separate from what's happening with the crew of the Enterprise. As Simon Pegg, who plays Chief Montgomery Scott in the Star Trek reboot movies, noted, the only reason two unconnected Star Trek movies are being developed at the same time is because it was Tarantino who came in with an idea. In Pegg's words:
I think it was a coincidence. We were gearing up for Four and getting ready for that and then Quentin strolled into Bad Robot one day and said listen to this. It was just really interesting and I think it just got out and so everyone started talking about it. And also, Star Trek is kind of, with Discovery and stuff, it's in the public conscious. It never left it, really. It's entering its second 50 years. I think it's great that it's being talked about so much.
So if Quentin Tarantino hadn't approached the folks at Paramount and Bad Robot with his idea for a Star Trek movie, then the companies would have just moved ahead with Star Trek 4 on its own and not worried about working on another cinematic project for a while. But evidently whatever Tarantino pitched was intriguing enough that it warranted further exploration, as The Revenant writer Mark L. Smith will pen the screenplay. From what's been reported so far, it sounds like Tarantino's Star Trek movie stands a good chance of moving forward, although Pegg previously expressed doubt that Tarantino would actually direct this movie given how busy the man is currently with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
As Simon Pegg also mentioned in his interview with Film School Rejects, Star Trek: Discovery is also airing on CBS All Access, finally bringing this franchise back to its television roots following the conclusion of Enterprise in 2005. Discovery was renewed for a second season, so between more pre-Original Series on the small screen and two adventures for the big screen being worked on, this science fiction franchise is still maintaining impressive levels of popularity.
No plot details for Quentin Tarantino's Star Trek movie have been disclosed yet, though if it's like the director's other movies, there's a chance it could be rated R. As for Star Trek 4, it will be directed by S.J. Clarkson, the first woman to helm a Star Trek movie. All we know about the story so far is that it will somehow see Captain James T. Kirk crossing paths with his father George (played by Chris Hemsworth), who in the Kelvin timeline died minutes after James was born. Star Trek 4 is expected to begin production before Quentin Tarantino's movie.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for all the biggest updates concerning the Star Trek franchise. In the meantime, you can get yourself up to speed on what's being released in theaters later this year by scanning through our 2018 release schedule.
