While arguably not quite reaching the colossal heights and popularity of its younger and more impulsive brother, Star Wars, the Star Trek franchise has been enjoying a bit of a renaissance over the past few years. From kids' shows to young adult shows to whatever Lower Decks is, the final frontier has never looked quite so shiny and new as it does right now.
But there's one aspect of the long-running Star Trek franchise that seems to have fallen by the wayside in recent times. While it's true that projects like the Paramount Plus series Star Trek: Discovery and Picard have been charming fans both old and new, it's been quite some time since there's been a proper Star Trek movie. Luckily, it looks as though one of the stars from the most recent movies has a bit of an update. Unfortunately, however, it's probably not the news fans were hoping to hear.
Simon Pegg, who has been a fixture as Scotty in the last 3 rebooted Star Trek films, recently spoke with Collider about the next movie, among other subjects. While it is true that another Star Trek film is supposedly on the way, it seems as though things aren't moving along as smoothly as many would prefer. "I don't know much," Pegg said when asked about the progress of the movie. "There's so many factors that have to align in order for these things to happen. I'm just quietly waiting for news basically. And I texted J.J. [Abrams] the other day and said, 'Tell me what's happening.' He's just like, 'We're waiting for news.' I'd love to see more adventures in the Kelvin universe. Obviously, any chance I get to work with those actors is... I'll leap at it, albeit it's going to be a little sad this time, but stay tuned."
It's not surprising, but it's probably pretty discouraging to hear for fans of the movies. Even with the numerous flourishing series on the air, it probably still stings a bit that there hasn't been a new Star Trek film since 2016's Star Trek Beyond. The "little sad" bit Pegg mentioned likely refers to the fact that the upcoming film, which was announced last year to be developed by Abrams, will be the first one with the modern Enterprise crew (the "Kelvin Universe" as mentioned by Pegg) after the tragic death of Chekov actor Anton Yelchin.
It's not difficult to see why some might be hesitant to even begin working on a new movie, especially after the death of both Yelchin and Leonard Nimoy before the previous film even released. Of course, that isn't to say plans aren't in motion to make it happen. WandaVision director Matt Shakman signed on to the project last year as well, giving fans of the surreal even more reasons to get excited about what's to come.
So hopefully Pegg's comments aren't fully indicative of what's actually happening behind the scenes. During pandemic times, it's understandable that film production can be rough business, and there are surely a lot of emotions permeating the whole deal. But Star Trek has never been a series that stays down for long.
Star Trek (2009) is now available on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Collider