There’s a new Star Trek movie coming, but the confusing lead-up to it has left fans wondering what’s going on. Four different directors, including Quentin Tarantino, have been associated with various versions of the film. It wasn’t until very recently that we knew for sure what timeline Star Trek 4 would be in and who would make up the cast. We’ll take a look at the info we know so far about the fourteenth Star Trek movie.
New Star Trek movie release date
Luckily, one thing we do know about the next Star Trek movie is the release date. The film was initially scheduled to enter theaters on June 9, 2023, but was late delayed to its current date of December 22, 2023. Of course, it could always be moved up or delayed again, but for now, we can look forward to seeing it at the end of next year.
Will the next Star Trek movie plot be set in the Kelvin Timeline?
Yes, the next Star Trek film will continue the story of the Kelvin Timeline. However, that wasn’t always a given. After Star Trek: Beyond failed to break even, the future of the film series was far from certain. We know of four different projects with three different directors that were at varying points in production before being canceled:
- Quentin Tarantino Kelvin Timeline movie
- Noah Hawley Kelvin Timeline movie
- Noah Hawley Discovery movie
- Kalinda Vazquez film
Eventually, Matt Shakman was tapped to direct the next Star Trek movie, and that’s the one that’s in production now. Earlier this year it was confirmed that it’ll be the fourth in the alternate reality reboot series.
Unfortunately, we don’t have any hints about what the film will be about. At the conclusion of Star Trek: Beyond, the Enterprise-A has just launched for its maiden voyage, and there’s no telling where or when we’ll find them in the fourth film. The alternative universe series has only briefly shown the Klingons, so we wouldn’t be surprised if we saw more of them this time around.
New Star Trek movie cast
So far, the only confirmed cast for the next Star Trek movie are the (living) bridge crewmembers of the Enterprise-A. These are:
- Chris Pine as James T. Kirk
- Zachary Quinto as Spock
- Zoe Saldana as Nyota Uhura
- Simon Pegg as Montgomery Scott
- Karl Urban as Leonard McCoy
- John Cho as Hikaru Sulu
Chris Hemsworth was previously rumored to be returning as George Kirk, and a previous script involved James Kirk meeting his father somehow. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case now.
There’s also the question as to how writers will handle the role of Chekov. The actor who played him, Anton Yelchin, died shortly after the release of Star Trek: Beyond, and it’s assumed it won’t be recast. But, of course, a great out exists in the form of Chekov’s history in the original timeline.
At some point after The Motion Picture, Chekov was promoted to first officer of the USS Reliant, and who’s to say the same thing wouldn’t happen here. Alternate universe Kirk went from cadet to Captain in the span of the first movie, so there’s precedent for an Ensign to go straight to Lieutenant Commander or Commander.
Next Star Trek movie leaks
So far, the set of the new Star Trek movie has been airtight. We haven’t seen any leaks of the script, sets, or casting outside of official announcements. The cast allegedly hasn’t even seen the script as of late April 2022, and filming is scheduled to begin later this year. We likely won’t see any major unauthorized info drops until then.
