Star Trek's true home has always been television, and it's been doing quite well there in recent years, but over the decades the franchise has built a strong history of theatrical releases. While we were expecting a fourth film in the Kelvin Timeline series of films by now, that movie now looks like it won't be happening, and the future of Star Trek on the big screen is a big question mark. Although, Simon Pegg, who has played Montgomery Scott in the recent run, thinks there's still a chance for a movie if it's handled correctly.
Part of the issue, according to Simon Pegg, is that a future Star Trek movie is being looked at as a big budget blockbuster film in the same vein as a major comic book movie. Pegg points out that such things have never really been Star Trek's strong suit, and that if a movie was approached from the proper perspective, it could work. According to Pegg...
The fact is, the appeal of Star Trek is slightly more niche than the appeal of, say, the Marvel movies, which make huge amounts of money, and have this really, really broad appeal and they do very well. I think Star Trek is just a little bit more niche, so it isn’t gonna hit those kind of numbers. So yes, the obvious thing to do would be to not go for that massive spectacle, go for something a little bit more restrained in the vein of the original series. Yes, that would be a brilliant thing to do, and I’m sure it probably has been discussed… You specialize a little bit more.
Simon Pegg's comments to Collider likely ring true with most serious Star Trek fans. While Star Trek certainly has its share of massive space battles with lasers and explosions, it's never really been what the franchise is about. Pegg thinks that if Star Trek focuses on what it is good at, a new movie could still work.
Focusing on the right audience certainly means limiting one's expectations when it comes to box office return, though that likely also means limiting the film's budget in a similar way, so that a Star Trek movie can still be profitable with that niche audience. To some extent it appears that has been considered, as attempts to get Star Trek 4's budget under control are reportedly the reason the movie fell apart.
While there are no confirmed plans for a new Star Trek movie at this point, neither is the franchise completely asleep. Noah Hawley of Fargo and Legion is working on a script for a Star Trek movie though it's unclear if that script will be a new entry in the current series or something entirely new. For what it's worth, Simon Pegg says he's very interested in being in a future Star Trek film if the option is there.
There was also the possibility at one point that we might get a Quentin Tarantino Star Trek movie, and while that one currently seems unlikely, anything is still possible.
There certainly will be more Star Trek movies, it's much more a question of when than if. Whether they will be made with Simon Pegg's perspective in mind, that's the real question.
