Star Trek 3 Possible For 2016

Whether Star Trek 3 will actually be released in 2016 is still up in the air, but at least at the moment that appears to be the desired plan. In an interview with Digital Spy, J.J. Abrams producing partner Bryan Burk revealed as much. When asked if Paramount was pushing for a 2016 release date to tie in with the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, Bryan Burk said, "We're definitely talking about the next one, but we haven't talked about a release date. We don't want to wait four years, the same amount of time between the last one and this one, but it's going to be a big year to celebrate, hopefully." While Burk's response certainly leaves the door open, the fact that he says they don't want to wait four years and that 2016 should be a big year to celebrate certainly seems to indicate the plan is for 2016. However, this raises an interesting question. With Star Wars Episode 7 planned for 2015 with the possibility of it being pushed back to 2016, it would likely be near impossible for J.J. Abrams to direct a Star Trek 3 with a 2016 release date. If Star Wars Episode 7 hits its planned release date of 2015, then it would seem more reasonable that a J.J. Abrams directed Star Trek 3 might be possible in 2017 (assuming J.J. Abrams isn't already committed for multiple Star Wars movies).