Though he still remains in the dark about most details regarding Star Trek 4, Chris Pine has only good things to say about director Matt Shakman. Following the well-received but financially disappointing Star Trek Beyond in 2016, the beloved sci-fi property's future on the big screen has remained in flux. There were talks of a fourth Star Trek film set in the rebooted "Kelvin" timeline not long after Beyond was released, but they fell apart over the years. Various Star Trek movies from the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Noah Hawley showed promise, but they too fell to the wayside eventually.
Now the current plan seems to be actually moving forward with a proper Star Trek 4, though even that has raised some questions. Shakman, who earned raves and accolades last year for directing Marvel's WandaVision, signed on to direct a Star Trek film last summer. At the time, it wasn't clear if it would follow the same characters as the previous films. Then, in February, Paramount announced it was in talks to bring back the Kelvin cast, which includes Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Zoe Saldaña, for Star Trek 4. The plan was to begin filming later this year, but evidently the cast wasn't made aware of this before the announcement.
It seems that Pine is still being left somewhat in the dark, at least based on some recent comments made to IndieWire. While promoting his new film All the Old Knives, Pine admitted he still hasn't read a script for Star Trek 4, and that he really doesn't know what's going on with the movie. However, he did have some kind words to say about his potential director. "I met Matt Shakman, the director," Pine said. "He’s a super-cool guy, very smart, I like him a great deal."
Pine's stamp of approval certainly makes Shakman's hiring for Star Trek 4 even more promising. As the film's announcement was a major surprise for Pine and his castmates, it's a bit of a relief to know he at least feels good about Shakman's involvement. Shakman's experience is primarily in television, having helmed episodes of numerous shows including Game of Thrones, The Great, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It'll be interesting to see what he brings to a major sci-fi movie like Star Trek 4; he could prove to be a breath of fresh air for the franchise.
Aside from his support for Shakman, Pine's comments don't do much else to ease any potential concerns one might have about Star Trek 4. The fact that he and his co-stars are still uncertain about what's going on might make fans nervous; most recently, Karl Urban echoed Pine in saying he hasn't read a script either. Still, filming on Star Trek 4 isn't supposed to begin until later this year, so there is still plenty of time to get things in order. Pine seems interested in working with Shakman, so hopefully they can find a way to make this all work out.
Source: IndieWire