Star Trek prequel movie, set "decades before" the J.J. Abrams films, is currently in development
A fourth movie in the series is also still reportedly in the works
Star Trek fans are set to boldly go back to the beginning of Starfleet with an upcoming prequel film set in the same continuity as J.J. Abrams’ series of films in the iconic science fiction franchise. While the exact details of the new film are being kept tightly under wraps by the studio, the movie is reportedly set “decades before” the events of 2009’s Star Trek.
Deadline originally reported the news, naming Andor director Toby Haynes as the director of the film and Seth Grahame-Smith, best known for writing Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and The Lego Batman Movie, penning the script. J.J. Abrams is back to produce the film, which will be the fourth in his series of Star Trek movies.
The report also included confirmation that another Star Trek movie, a sequel to 2016’s Star Trek Beyond, is still in the works despite being postponed numerous times. The pair of movies would effectively bookend the Kelvin timeline established in 2009’s Star Trek film and could serve as a send-off to the crew of the USS Enterprise, which includes Chris Pine as Captain Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Karl Urban as Bones, and Zoe Saldana as Urura.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Star Trek announcement without some pesky questions from fans. The alternate timeline that the Chris Pine-led films take place in was established in the opening moments of Star Trek, when a Romulan ship traveled back in time and destroyed the USS Kelvin, creating a branched timeline for the remaining films. Setting a movie before that moment, which seems implied by the report, risks creating a more confusing timeline that impacts events in the Original Series.
Or they will handwave the problem with a bit of pseudo-science back-and-forth, which would honestly be completely in keeping with the spirit of the franchise.
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