Chris Pine on Surprise Star Trek 4 Return With Original Cast: “We’re Ready for It”

Chris Pine is ready to boldly go back to Star Trek — as soon as the Captain Kirk actor sees a script. After Paramount and producer J.J. Abrams announced a return to the Kelvin Timeline with the original cast in February, the surprise reveal was just that: a surprise. The actors and their representatives — Pine and co-stars Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho, and Simon Pegg — were reportedly unaware they were due back aboard the USS Enterprise for a release date of December 22, 2023. In a new interview with Variety, Pine revealed his reaction to Abrams announcing Star Trek 4 with the original cast: 

“I think everybody was like, ‘Did you hear about this?’ [Laughs]. We’re usually the last people to find out, but I do know we’re all excited,” Pine said. “Whenever they want to send us a script, we’re ready for it. We haven’t seen a script. I don’t know anything about it.” 

Despite the script being a work in progress, Pine was reportedly the first to enter into early negotiations for Star Trek 4. Asked about the trust it takes to sign on without a finished script, Pine said, “I don’t trust anybody, but I’m excited. I love the story. I love Star Trek. I love my people.” 

Abrams rebooted Star Trek in 2009 and reassembled his Enterprise crew in 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness. A third film helmed by Fast & Furious filmmaker Justin Lin, 2016’s Star Trek Beyond, followed in 2016. 

In 2019, Pine and Chris Hemsworth reportedly exited negotiations to secure their returns in Star Trek 4. Abrams previously revealed the fourth film would somehow reunite James Kirk (Pine) and his father, George (Hemsworth), who died in the opening minutes of Star Trek. 

S.J. Clarkson (Marvel’s Jessica Jones, The Defenders) was attached to direct the untitled Trek, but the captain’s chair has since passed to Matt Shakman (Game of Thrones, Marvel’s WandaVision). When announcing the revived Star Trek 4 last month, Abrams said the new movie would begin shooting before the end of the year and would feature “our original cast and some new characters that I think are going to be really fun and exciting and help take Star Trek into areas that you’ve just never seen before.”

The new movie is expected to reunite Captain Kirk (Pine), Spock (Quinto), Uhura (Saldana), Scotty (Pegg), Sulu (Cho), and McCoy (Urban). The untitled Star Trek 4 takes flight December 22, 2023.