Star Trek actor John Cho (Sulu) is optimistic that Star Trek 4 will still happen. This new era of Star Trek films began in 2009 with J.J. Abrams directing and Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto in the lead roles of Kirk and Spock, and the film was followed by two sequels - 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness and 2016's Star Trek Beyond.
It's been a few years since fans have gotten to see a Star Trek project on the big screen, and the fate of Star Trek 4 has been uncertain for about that same amount of time. In 2016, Abrams himself confirmed Star Trek 4 was happening, but since then, little progress seems to have been made on the film. Throughout the past few years, there have been various updates about the script for Star Trek 4 and even reports that the film would start filming this month. With that in mind, things have also remained uncertain since Pine and Chris Hemsworth were rumored to not be returning to the project, and reports that Quentin Tarantino was developing an R-rated Star Trek movie also seemed to throw a wrench into the plans for Star Trek 4. Paramount reportedly shelved the project just a few days ago, but Cho is still remaining optimistic.
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In a recent interview with ET, Cho was asked about the status of the fourth Star Trek movie. After the interviewer brought up the reports that Paramount had shelved the project, Cho responded by saying, "To be honest, I mean it’s not happening right now as far as I know, but I just think it will happen. Somebody at some point will all get on the same page and we’ll do it." Cho also joked that he was possibly just being optimistic about the film, but mentioned the significance of Star Trek, saying "To me it's just sort of a really significant part of American popular culture. I just don’t see how it goes away forever."
While Star Trek has no doubt been an important part of American pop culture since the original show aired in the '60s, there are several upcoming Star Trek projects that fans can enjoy while they wait for Star Trek 4. In a week, the first episode of Star Trek: Discovery season 2 will be available to stream on CBS All Access. CBS is also developing a Star Trek series revolving around Jean-Luc Picard, which will be available to stream in late 2019.
And, though the fate of Star Trek 4 seems to be up in the air, the cast of the first three films has continued to remain optimistic. Karl Urban has remained confident in the possibility of the sequel, and Simon Pegg previously revealed that he is excited that S.J Clarkson would be directing Star Trek 4, despite the fact that she has since stepped away from the project. Fans of the first three movies are likely trying to stay optimistic like Cho, but that has become increasingly difficult in recent months.
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Source: ET