The Biggest Unmade Star Trek Movie Still Needs To Happen

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With the merger of Paramount and Skydance now finalized, the studio is working on its upcoming film projects under new leadership. They’re building relationships with respected directors like James Mangold, who has a new deal with Paramount, and are also prioritizing the development of new sequels and installments. As a result, executives have made a new Star Trek movie a top priority. Given the franchise’s nearly 60-year history as a major force in science fiction, it’s no surprise Paramount wants to launch a new film. The main challenge now is deciding what direction the next Star Trek movie will take.

While there aren’t any confirmed release dates yet, several Star Trek movies are currently being developed. Zachary Quinto, who played Spock in the recent films, is pushing for Star Trek 4 to finally happen. Paramount is considering different options for the future of the franchise, and they should revisit an old idea: a Star Trek movie script written by Mark L. Smith and previously developed by Quentin Tarantino. This script could be a great way to revitalize the series.

Star Trek Is in Need of Reinvention

While Star Trek has found consistent success on streaming with Paramount+, its movie franchise has faced challenges for nearly ten years. The rebooted film series began strongly with the 2009 Star Trek, which received positive reviews and earned over $385 million worldwide. However, the franchise directed by J.J. Abrams couldn’t maintain that initial excitement. After a somewhat controversial sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), Star Trek Beyond (2016) didn’t perform as well at the box office, earning only $343.4 million globally despite costing $185 million to make. During a time when Marvel and Star Wars were dominating theaters, Star Trek struggled to find its footing because there wasn’t a clear opportunity for a massive hit.

Around the time Star Trek Beyond was released, plans for a fourth Star Trek movie were being considered. One idea involved bringing Chris Hemsworth back as George Kirk for an adventure alongside Chris Pine’s Jim Kirk. However, that movie never happened, and Star Trek 4 has been stuck in development ever since. The project has gone through several directors—including Matt Shakman, who directed The Fantastic Four: First Steps—but nothing has come together. While the actors are eager to reprise their roles, Paramount Pictures has been reluctant to move forward with another film in the Kelvin Timeline series.

The new leaders at the studio might have different ideas, but it’s probably time for a fresh start with Star Trek. While the actors in the recent films consistently delivered strong performances and honored the original characters, the movies themselves were divisive because of creative choices. Star Trek Beyond showed promise, but it didn’t perform well at the box office, which halted the franchise. It’s been a long time since a new Star Trek movie, so it would likely be better to begin a new story with a clean slate, rather than try to make a sequel that relies on nostalgia and might not appeal to a broad audience.

If Paramount is truly committed to Star Trek, they likely plan to continue the franchise long-term, rather than just giving the original Kelvin timeline cast a final movie. Bringing that cast back for a single film, only to restart the series again immediately, wouldn’t be a logical move. Instead, this is the ideal moment to explore a new and innovative path for Star Trek, revitalizing the series with a fresh perspective.

Quentin Tarantino’s Movie Could Be The Fresh Start Star Trek Needs

Quentin Tarantino’s planned Star Trek movie didn’t make it to production, but some of the ideas have come to light. It would have been heavily inspired by the classic Star Trek episode “A Piece of the Action,” which featured Kirk and Spock visiting a planet styled after the 1920s gangster era. J.J. Abrams, who was working with Tarantino, envisioned something similar in tone to Thor: Ragnarok and Guardians of the Galaxy, suggesting it could have been a very different kind of Star Trek film. And, true to Tarantino’s style, it was intended to be rated R, with a level of violence reminiscent of Pulp Fiction.

The idea of a Star Trek movie blending space exploration with the style of a gangster film is really exciting. It would be a departure from the usual Enterprise adventures we’ve seen, offering something new for the franchise. A Tarantino-directed film could have brought a unique energy to the series. No matter who played Kirk and Spock, it would be fun to see them navigate a completely different world and adapt to a criminal underworld – imagine classic gangster tropes with a Star Trek twist! As Star Trek tries to attract new audiences in theaters, this kind of bold change could help it stand out, similar to how Ragnarok and Guardians of the Galaxy revitalized their respective franchises.

As a huge movie fan, I think this idea has amazing potential. If it works, it could launch a whole series of Star Trek films, each one diving into a totally different genre – kind of like what Quentin Tarantino does. He’s known for his style, but he hasn’t limited himself to just gangster films; he’s tackled war movies, action flicks, and Westerns too. Imagine if the next Star Trek movie did the same – constantly reinventing itself! It would keep things fresh and exciting, and I think fans would be hooked, wondering how they’d blend sci-fi with, say, a horror or a musical. Honestly, it could even give Star Trek an edge over Star Wars and Marvel by being so unpredictable and innovative.

Look, a Tarantino-directed Star Trek would be amazing, but there are a few big obstacles. The man himself has said it’s not going to happen, so Paramount would really need to talk him into it. He’s planning to retire after his tenth movie and doesn’t want that final film to be part of an existing franchise. But you know, thinking about how David Fincher almost directed a script Tarantino wrote – The Adventures of Cliff Booth – and remembering Tarantino’s own early career writing True Romance, maybe he’d be open to letting another director take the reins and bring his vision for Star Trek to life. It’s a long shot, but not impossible!

Paramount could broaden the film’s appeal by aiming for a PG-13 rating. While Quentin Tarantino’s films are known for their violence, they might be able to reduce it enough for a wider audience, particularly given the Star Trek franchise. If the studio is still searching for a strong Star Trek concept, revisiting Tarantino’s original idea could be a good solution.

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2025-10-22 23:15