The Star Trek prequel would focus on “the origins.”
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According to Deadline, Toby Haynes, who directed six episodes of the Star Trek: Andor series and one of Black Mirror, has taken over the reins on the new project.
Although plot details are not revealed, the film is said to be set decades before JJ Abrams' 2009 film; it will also expand the Star Trek universe.
Seth Grahame-Smith is responsible for creating the story and writing the screenplay. He is the author of the fantasy novels Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2009) and Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter (2010).
Produced by JJ Abrams' company Bad Robot, the 2009 film starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldaña and John Cho served as a reboot of the sci-fi franchise and spawned sequels Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Star” Trek: Limitless, in 2016.
This film is not expected to compete with a fourth film in the rebooted main franchise, which is reportedly still in development despite being pulled from Paramount's release schedule.
During a presentation to Paramount shareholders in February 2022, JJ Abrams announced that this fourth film was in preparation and that the main cast was expected to return to film it later in the year. However, director Matt Shakman left the project to helm the reboot of Marvel's Fantastic Four and the film was subsequently dropped from the release schedule. Chris Pine, who was surprised by the announcement, told Esquire last year that it was “frustrating” not knowing what was happening to the franchise and that he wondered if it was “cursed.” “After the last one came out and didn't make the billion dollars that everyone wanted and then Anton died, I don't know, it seemed… (It) felt like 'it's cursed,'” he said and was referring to the death of his co-star Anton Yelchin in 2016.