“Star Trek 4” is slowly becoming a real blockbuster trap joke. The sci-fi sequel is again without a director. The latest theatrical entry in the “Star Trek” series, directed by “WandaVision” director Matt Shakman, was set to be made late last year, but as we know, nothing has happened. The filmmaker turned his back on the project last fall to shoot the new Fantastic Four movie.
Since leaving, it’s been uncomfortably quiet about the latest entry in the Star Trek franchise. It has recently been revealed that the “Star Trek 4” theatrical release date has also been cancelled. Can fans still hope to see the Enterprise crew back on the big screen? Apparently so! At least that’s what filmmaker Matt Shakman, the same director who left the project last year for a job in the MCU, says. In an interview with Shakman noted:
“I think they’re still working on a version of what I was working on when I was involved in the project.”
Marvel or Star Trek – Shakman faced a choice
At the same time, Shakman also regretted having to make a choice between the two mega-franchise series due to time constraints:
“I’ve really enjoyed working on ‘Star Trek’ for a little over a year. I love the franchise and have worked closely with JJ Abrams and everyone at Paramount. I love this franchise and I love the cast that JJ put together and it would have been an incredible pleasure to work with them on the fourth, so when the opportunity came along for ‘Fantastic Four’ it was just really hard for me to turn down that opportunity and come back to Marvel, where I worked on ‘WandaVision’ with fantastic colleagues.”
How well the ex-director is aware of the current status of “Star Trek 4” must of course be questioned. Nevertheless, it should do the battered “Star Trek” soul good to read positive news about “Star Trek 4”, after all, the film has already had a true production odyssey. Both the substantive orientation and the creative team behind the film have already been exchanged several times.