Star Trek 4 - What We Know So Far

J.J. Abrams' 2009 reboot of the most iconic crew in the "Star Trek" franchise, The Enterprise, went over incredibly well with critics and fans. It earned a 94% fresh critic and 91% fresh audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and many reviews noted the wonder and action that the film managed to create amidst a complicated plot. "Star Trek" was essentially an origin story for the entire Enterprise crew, specifically focusing on the early life and times of James T. Kirk (Chris Pine).

Given the first film's critical and box office success (via Box Office Mojo), a sequel was green-lit sometime after. In 2013, audiences were finally able to see "Star Trek: Into Darkness," which followed James and the crew as they faced Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch), the super-enhanced human hellbent on the revival of his crew and revenge upon Starfleet. 2016's "Stark Trek: Beyond," would then see the Enterprise face an enemy from Starfleet's past, almost resulting in the destruction of a massive space station.

"Star Trek: Beyond" went over well, but wasn't as successful as the first two installments. This, paired with J.J. Abrams continued work in the "Star Wars" franchise, kind of left "Star Trek 4" on standby — there were even confirmations that director Quentin Tarantino wanted to direct the fourth film at one point (via IndieWire). However, more information has recently been revealed about what's happening with the fourth film in the series. 

There seems to be confirmed dates for production on "Star Trek 4" according to director and producer J.J. Abrams. In a recent tweet from Adweek TV Editor Jason Lynch, who attended a Paramount event that Abrams was part of, the "Star Trek" director mentioned that the fourth film will start shooting by the end of this year. This has been confirmed by Deadline. That means that the cast and crew will begin filming by the end of 2022, possibly sometime this fall.

It's safe to say that audiences won't be getting any kind of confirmed release date for a while, as production on a film with the scale of "Star Trek" takes some time in the editing room. Either way the announcement of the beginning of filming is a step in the right direction, and many Trekkies are likely just thrilled to have the confirmation that the fourth movie will be happening at all. Abrams noted that he, the studio, and the crew are hard at work on the film heading into production at the end of this year. He explained that he thinks it will be incredibly exciting for fans, as he plans to take the Enterprise crew into areas that they have never seen before (via Variety).

According to Lynch's tweet and the confirmation from Abrams himself, it appears that this "Star Trek" movie will feature the central cast from "Star Trek," "Star Trek: Into Darkness," and "Star Trek: Beyond." Chris Pine would reprise his role as James T. Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Karl Urban as Bones, Simon Pegg as Scotty, and John Cho as Sulu. This is great news for any fans who really wanted this new "Star Trek" movie to continue the story that J.J. Abrams started in 2009, meaning that this will in fact truly be a "Star Trek 4," awaiting the official name that will probably be released sometime during production. After all of the rumors surrounding Quentin Tarantino's possible "Star Trek" film, which actually got a script, it was almost looking as if the fourth film featuring this original cast would never happen.

We also know that Abrams isn't coming back to direct, but rather produce "Star Trek 4." Instead, Paramount and Abrams decided on "WandaVision" director Matt Shakman to helm the project. This could mean a lot for the plot direction of "Star Trek 4," as Shakman kept audiences on the edge of their seats with the events of "WandaVision" earlier this year. It will be interesting to see what else is revealed as we move into Summer 2022 and closer to the production of "Star Trek 4."