The long delay and doubt regarding the production and release of Star Trek 4 is a direct result of the biggest change in J.J. Abrams' reboot movies. Since 2016's premiere of Star Trek: Beyond, fans have been waiting for the release of its elusive sequel. After bouncing around different directors and writers, Star Trek 4's future is still unknown. With numerous reasons why the film has been delayed, it's easy to wonder why the success of J.J. Abrams' first three reboot films, Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness, and Star Trek Beyond, wasn't enough to ensure the production of another movie.
Since Star Trek: The Motion Picture, every Star Trek movie has relied on existing TV series to derive movie-worthy casts and stories. Star Trek: The Original Series' cast produced 6 films, and Star Trek: The Next Generation continued its stories with 4 TNG movies. Other than featuring the unexplored youth of beloved Star Trek characters, J.J. Abrams' Kelvin timeline started from scratch. This kind of obstacle, along with the struggle of scheduling top-billed movie stars, could be one of the reasons it's been so difficult to produce Star Trek 4.
Star Trek 2009's Ambitious Straight-To-Movie Plan Is Partly Responsible For Star Trek 4's Delay
With no TV series to back it up, the Kelvin timeline is on its own
If J.J. Abrams' idea for a rebooted Star Trek had started as a TV series back in 2009, it may have been easier to have more films made. The major benefit of a TV series, especially shows that run for multiple seasons like Star Trek shows usually do, is that audiences get to know the characters, story development, and setting in a much deeper way. Instead of starting with a 2-hour film, Star Trek TV shows often have 5+ seasons of material. Creating a film series based on recognizable material and well-known characters makes the process faster because popularity is already established.
Star Trek (2009), the first film in the reboot franchise, didn't have that advantage. Chris Pine's Captain James T. Kirk manned a Starship Enterprise crew that was familiar in name but not visually recognizable. Audiences didn't have a few or more seasons with them before the movie's release. Nonetheless, Star Trek (2009) was a success and remains the top-grossing Star Trek film. However, J.J. Abrams' Star Trek sequels soon found it harder to create original, movie-worthy stories.Star Trek Into Darkness essentially remaking Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is proof. Ultimately, Star Trek's Kelvin timeline was a novelty that didn't have the same pull as previous Star Trek movies based upon popular TV series.
Other Factors Behind Star Trek 4's Long Development & Continuous Setbacks
Box office numbers and an increased Star Trek streaming presence are also to blame
J.J. Abrams' cast is a good one – with Chris Pine as Captain Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, and Zoe Saldana as Lt. Nyota Uhura – but they don't have as much backing as a TV show-turned-movie's pre-developed characters. To make matters more complicated, these actors and others who were in the first three Kelvin timeline Star Trek films are now even bigger – and busier – Hollywood stars, so it's challenging to schedule an extended movie shoot with all of them at once. Factor in Star Trek's growing streaming presence, and it's easy to see where the franchise's efforts went after Star Trek Beyond.
There are plenty of exciting upcoming Star Trek projects, and most of them will premiere on streaming platforms, mainly Paramount+. The popularity of Star Trek: Discovery's Section 31 story earned Michelle Yeoh's Emperor Philippa Georgiou her own TV movie, further proving the success of a TV show-to-movie pipeline. J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movies were mostly successful, but Star Trek Beyond's diminishing box office returns are a significant factor of Star Trek 4's nearly-decade-long development hell. One can't help but wonder if Star Trek 4's development would have quickened if the reboot films had the benefit of a successful, long-running TV show to back them up.
