J.J. Abrams helped re-launch the Star Trek world in 2009 by rebooting the brand with the now dubbed Kelvin Timeline. After good returns on the first two movies, Paramount was hoping for more of the same with Star Trek Beyond. The film was building off the success of those before and featured Justin Lin stepping into the director's chair, but also had to factor in proper send-offs for longtime Trekkie Leonard Nimoy and relative newcomer Anton Yelchin. Even though it did all of this and more to the best of its ability, the world seemed to lose interest in the franchise overall, with the third film posting a lower box office total than those that had come before.

This has resulted in some questioning whether or not Star Trek 4 will in fact be making its way to the big screen in the foreseeable future, despite having been previously green-lit by Paramount Pictures. The film's plot would see Chris Hemsworth make a return as Kirk's father, and it appears as though Simon Pegg has indeed begun writing the script. While no cast members have been confirmed to return yet, Zoe Saldana remains hopeful about her future with the Star Trek franchise in general.

Saldana was interviewed by IGN about the possibility of Star Trek 4 happening after the disappointing box office returns for Star Trek Beyond. If there is any chance it doesn't move forward, she is not aware of that being a real possibility. Instead, she says she would love to return, not only for the fourth film, but well into her fifties:

I hope there is, I really hope there is. It'd be crazy to limit the longevity of a show that has had a 50 year life and on to stop just because they had a bad box office turnout, especially with people talking about how amazing this one was and I would love... I would always come back. To get an opportunity to be with all my friends until we're 50-60, I would be so happy.

Star Trek Beyond - Uhura (Zoe Saldana) and Sulu (John Cho)

Even though Paramount was surely not thrilled with the box office results that came with Beyond, those who did see it - both critics and fans - seemed to like what they saw. Saldana is not wrong either in thinking that the franchise will move forward, and by all accounts that appears to be a plan to do just that. Very recently, Hemsworth teased the "amazing pitch" that he had heard from Abrams about the film, which continues to make it sound like the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise will once again get to go on a journey together.

Should Paramount make the surprising decision to not continue forward with the franchise, Saldana would not have to look very far for future work. She was just confirmed to appear in Avengers: Infinity War, once again bringing the Guardians of the Galaxy to the forefront of the battle. It is no guarantee that Gamora makes it out of the battle with her adopted and evil father Thanos, but assuming she does, Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is an inevitable addition to the Marvel slate. This also doesn't account for the important role she is sure to play in the upcoming Avatar movies either. She is attached to multiple big franchises right now, so hopefully she can continue to play Uhara as well for years to come too.

Star Trek 4 does not have an official release date yet. We will keep you posted on the latest information.

Source: IGN