Chris Pine has no information on Star Trek 4, says franchise is 'cursed'

Sorry Trekkies, if you've been waiting on the long-gestating fourth Star Trek film, we've got some bad news for you. We don't know when it's coming, and neither does Captain Kirk himself.

In an interview with Esquire, reboot franchise lead Chris Pine, who plays Captain James T. Kirk says he hasn't heard any news about the delayed Star Trek 4 movie.

"I don't know anything," Pine said. "In Star Trek land, the actors are usually the last people to find out anything. I know costume designers that have read scripts before actors."

Pine starred in three Star Trek movies — 2009's Star Trek, 2013's Star Trek: Into the Darkness and 2016's Star Trek: Beyond and is expected to appear in the fourth movie, should it ever get off the ground. Directors Quentin Tarantino and Noah Haley developed scripts for the film but it never saw the light of day. WandaVision director Matt Shaman was the most recent filmmaker attached to the project, he left to shoot Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four reboot instead.

Despite all these mishaps, producer J.J Abrams claims that the script is in a good place. "I will say it's the first time [since the original reboot] that we have a story that feels as compelling as the first one," Abrams added.

But even still, Pine is out of the loop.

"I would say it's frustrating," said Pine. "It doesn't really foster the greatest sense of partnership, but it's how it's always been. I love the character. I love the people. I love the franchise. But to try to change the system in which things are created — I just can't do it. I don't have the energy."

The frustration is equally felt in the fanbase too, who have seen studios like Marvel release movies year after year while they await for Star Trek to hit the big screen once again.

Beyond didn't perform as well as Pine thought it would either. The movie only made US$344 million (S$463 million) worldwide.

Even if Star Trek 4 were to happen, there's no telling if it'll be a box office hit, especially in today's highly competitive post-pandemic era where films are expected to hit Marvel-level numbers at the box office.

"I'm not sure Star Trek was ever built to do that kind of business," he said. "I always thought, 'Why aren't we just appealing to this really rabid fan group and making the movie for a good price and going on our merry way, instead of trying to compete with the Marvels of the world?'"

The actor then concluded that the franchise is likely cursed.

"After the last one came out and didn't do the US$1 billion that everybody wanted it to do, and then Anton [Yelchin]... passed away, I don't know, it just seemed... feels like it's cursed."

This article was first published in Geek Culture.

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