'Star Trek 4': Jennifer Morrison May Have Just Revealed a Big Spoiler

Star Trek 4 finally seems to be moving forward with the news that the film has a director, and now actress Jennifer Morrison may have offered the first spoiler about the film's plot.

Morrison was a guest at last weekend's Calgary Expo. Morrison's panel was intended primarily to involve her discussing her role in ABC's Once Upon a Time as that series approaches its end.

However, her moderator was Star Trek: Voyager star Garrett Wang and Wang began by referencing Morrison's role as Winona Kirk, the mother of James T. Kirk, in the opening scene of 2009's Star Trek movie.

Wang said, "As an actor, I think it is incredibly difficult to play the role of a mother who just gave birth to James Tiberius Kirk, knowing that your husband is 36 seconds away from death, basically…"

And that's when Morrison interrupted and corrected Wang's statement, saying "Supposed death," and then smiling to add, "Just saying."

You can see it in the video above.

This is our first hint at how George Kirk returns in Star Trek 4. Star Trek 4 was announced in 2016, shortly before Star Trek Beyond opened in theaters. The announcement confirmed that Chris Hemsworth would return to play Kirk. Considering that it'd be hard to imagine Hemsworth passing for the father of Chris Pine, who plays James Kirk in the Kelvin timeline movies, many fans assumed time travel would be involved.

Morrison's comment casts some doubt on that theory, suggesting instead that George Kirk somehow survived the destruction of the USS Kelvin that launched the rebooted Star Trek film series. Perhaps he was beamed out by another ship. Perhaps he has been living on a prison colony under the control of the Klingons or the Romulans. That could set up a rescue mission plot with James Kirk setting off to find his father, perhaps even breaking from Starfleet to cross enemy borders.

That's all speculation for now. In fact, we're not even sure how informed Morrison's comment is. That telling smile suggests that she has some inside knowledge, and if George Kirk is returning it would make sense for Morrison to reprise her role as Winona as well. After all, in Star Trek Beyond, Captain Kirk did say he was going to give his mother a call on his 30th birthday. That's a thread that could be picked up on in Star Trek 4. On the other hand, perhaps Morrison is just speculating on the same knowledge that fans have.

Star Trek 4 is one of two Star Trek movies currently in development at Paramount Pictures. The other involves a pitch by Quentin Tarantino.

All three Kelvin timeline Star Trek movies - Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Star Trek Beyond - are all available now on home media.

[H/T] Trek Movie