Zachary Quinto Offers Hopeful Star Trek 4 Update

Zachary Quinto has offered a hopeful update on the development of the long-delayed Star Trek 4. Speaking with Variety about the reboot sequel, or lack thereof, Quinto is eager to reprise the role of Spock alongside Chris Pine’s James T. Kirk, with the actor declaring that he would “absolutely love” to once again boldly go where no one has gone before as part of the Enterprise crew.

“The great thing is ‘Star Trek’ is a limitless universe. Look at all the television shows, look at all the stories, look at all the characters and timelines. Anything is possible. That’s the joy of the franchise. That’s why it’s lasted for 55, 60 years. I’m open to it. I would love it. I would absolutely love it.”

Star Trek 4 has now been in development since as far back as 2015, with the sequel being written at the same time as 2016’s Star Trek Beyond. Following the release of the third outing in the reboot franchise, several different ideas have been pitched for Star Trek 4, but to no avail. For Quinto, it doesn’t really matter how long it takes to get Star Trek 4 made, as the actor points out how other Star Trek franchise leads have played their respective characters “well into their 50s” and beyond.

“There’s no cutoff. The original cast did movies for decades, well into their 50s, 60s. The stories might be different. We might not be running as fast on the other planets, but I think anything’s possible, and I think there’s nothing more fulfilling as an artist then to come back to something after time has passed, and cultivate a relationship with it from a completely different perspective, and a completely new point of view.”

Will Star Trek 4 Ever Happen?

Star Trek was rebooted for the big screen by director J.J. Abrams back in 2009, with the new “Kelvin timeline” introducing younger versions of the iconic characters James T. Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the crew at the beginning of their Star Fleet careers. Two sequels, Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Star Trek Beyond (2016), have since been released, with a fourth movie having been in development ever since.

Several different scripts with very different storylines have since been written and rejected, with the likes of Quentin Tarantino pitching his own idea for a Star Trek movie, while straight-forward sequel ideas have included bringing Chris Hemsworth’s George Kirk back using time travel. The last we heard, Doom Patrol and The Flight Attendant writer Steve Yockey had been brought aboard to write one last chapter in the Kelvin timeline series.

While we await further news regarding Star Trek 4 (and whether it will ever actually happen), X-Men writer and producer Simon Kinberg was recently hired to create a new Star Trek era for Paramount Pictures. Though details remain scarce at present, it has been revealed that this new era will begin with a prequel exploring “the creation of the Starfleet and humankind’s first contact with alien life.”