John Cho entertained the possibility of returning for a Star Trek 4 in a recent interview and expressed interest in more fight scenes for Sulu in the potential sequel. While Star Trek is finding new life on Paramount+ thanks to shows like Strange New Worlds, Discovery, Lower Decks, and Picard, the franchise was first revitalized with JJ Abrams' 2009 Star Trek reboot. As recently as 2016's Star Trek: Beyond, the Trek films were successful summer blockbusters that attracted fans of multiple eras of the series while establishing Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and John Cho as reimagined versions of Original Series characters Kirk, Spock, and Sulu, respectively.
While those three Trek reboot films - 2009's Star Trek, 2013's Into Darkness, and 2016's Beyond - were received mostly favorably, a Star Trek 4 has yet to be confirmed. But rumors have persisted since 2016 of a fourth installment bringing back Chris Hemsworth as the father of Pine's James T. Kirk, as well as reports that Quentin Tarantino is interested in ending his directorial career with his own Star Trek film. Still, the fourth movie in the Kelvin Timeline hasn't been able to get off the launch pad.
However, while speaking to Fatherly to promote his new film Don't Make Me Go, Cho talked about the likelihood of returning to the role of Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek 4. Cho conveyed his enthusiasm for doing another Trek film and expressed a desire to return to the type of action sequences and fight scenes he was part of in 2009's Star Trek. Read the excerpt below:
I'd love to do another. It would be fun to have him do another action sequence, like in the first one. But I always hesitate to say things like that because the writers get paid to dream up big things for a living and I don't want to limit them.
Cho's desire to have Sulu be more action-oriented is reflective of his recent career path, especially considering the actor recently played Spike Spiegel in Netflix's 2021 Cowboy Bebop adaptation. While Cho's Sulu had been featured prominently in previous Star Trek films, many did criticize how the character was used in Beyond. On top of his being absent in many of the action sequences, the movie saw him unceremoniously retconned into being in a same-sex marriage, a move even criticized by original Sulu actor George Takei.
It remains to be seen whether or not a Star Trek 4 will happen at all, especially considering the busy schedules of the franchise's stars. The fact that John Cho is open to the possibility of doing another one is a good sign if nothing else. Ultimately, it's up to Paramount to give the project a green light. But accounts such as Cho's, as well as the renewed interest in Star Trek as a property, do spell good things for an action-packed return to the big screen for the beloved sci-fi franchise.
Source: Fatherly