Development of Star Trek 4 based on Star Trek
Star Trek 4 is the working title of an American science fiction film in development at Paramount Pictures based on the television series Star Trek by Gene Roddenberry. It is intended to be the 14th film in the Star Trek film franchise and the fourth installment in the reboot series. There have been several different iterations of the film in development since 2015.
Development of a new Star Trek film following Star Trek Beyond (2016) was revealed before the release of that film, with J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay writing. In December 2017, Quentin Tarantino pitched his own idea for a new Star Trek film to producer J. J. Abrams, and development began separately from the Beyond sequel. S. J. Clarkson was hired to direct the latter in April 2018, but negotiations with stars Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth ended that August with the actors leaving the project. Noah Hawley was hired in November 2019 to write and direct a new version of the franchise. Tarantino revealed in January 2020 that he had decided not to direct his Star Trek film. Hawley's version was placed on hold that August to allow Paramount to decide on the best direction for the franchise. Kalinda Vazquez was set to write the script for a new film in March 2021.
A separate script from Vasquez's was developed by Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet, and Matt Shakman was hired to direct that film in July. The script was being re-written by Josh Friedman and Cameron Squires in November, and negotiations for the return of Pine and the rest of the main cast from the reboot series began in February 2022. Shakman left the film that August due to a schedule conflict and Paramount began searching for a new director.