According to Deadline, the next film in the Star Trek Kelvin-verse has been pulled from the 2023 release calendar. After Matt Shakman was announced as the new director of Marvel’s Fantastic Four film, I waited for news about his Star Trek film with bated breath. As you may recall, last summer, I reported that Shakman had been set to direct the next big-screen Star Trek production. Unfortunately, we will be kept waiting for that project. Does this mean we won’t get a Star Trek big-screen release? Perhaps not necessarily. Let’s do a close reading of this piece.
Will They/Won’t They?
According to the Deadline article, while this Star Trek project is down a director, it’s not out. The studio is on the hunt for a new director. Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet are still set to write the film, so we’ve got a solid pair of writers at work here. Now, all we need is a solid director. Who would you like to helm a Star Trek film?
As progressive as Star Trek is, there hasn’t been a lady in the director’s chair of a Star Trek movie. Now’s a good time to change that. My suggestion? Salli Richardson-Whitfield. She’s got loads of genre work under her belt, both in front of and behind the camera. Most recently, she’s directed episodes of The Wheel of Time, The Punisher, and Luke Cage. Who knows? Maybe she’s got a Trek film in there too. That’s pure fan-casting…or perhaps fan-hiring on my part, but Salli’s a solid choice in my book.
Kelvin-verse Casting Call
As of right now, our Kelvin timeline crew is still attached to the project. Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, and Simon Pegg are all on the cast list to boldly go with this film. The question is, when will this film get to seek out new life and new civilizations? If Paramount is able to hire a director sooner rather than later, will this project get back on the 2023 release calendar? Or will we have to wait until 2024? I personally am always a “Done right” vs. a “Done right now” person. I’m happy to wait a little longer, as long as the finished product is good. But as of right now, it looks like I’ll be waiting a bit longer than expected.
Final Thoughts
While it is an absolute bummer that this project has been delayed yet again, I am hopeful that we’ll get an update on this soon. I’m choosing to be optimistic until I can’t do otherwise. What are your thoughts on the next Kelvin-verse Star Trek film? Leave me a comment and let’s talk Trek.
Nearly every Star Trek series and film are streaming now on Paramount+.
