'Star Trek 4' Is Happening With Chris Pine In Lead Role

After months of speculation about its future, it has now been confirmed that “Star Trek 4” is finally happening. Chris Pine will be reprising his lead role as Captain Kirk, and the film has a new writer and director.

Noah Hawley is the new writer and director who will be working on the next “Star Trek” movie, Deadline reported. JJ Abrams, who directed the first movie of the reboot of the franchise, is returning as a producer. Abrams and Hawley will produce the Sci-Fi flick through their Bad Robot and 26 Keys companies respectively.

Hawley is known for writing the scripts for shows like “Fargo,” “Legion,” and “Bones.” He has also directed some of the episodes in “Fargo” and “Legion.”

The news has been confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter. Along with Pine, some of the other cast members who are expected to reprise their roles are Zachary Quinto as Spock and Zoe Saldana as Uhura. It is still unclear if Chris Hemsworth will be cast to play Pine’s onscreen father George Kirk.

A previous script that was developed for “Star Trek 4” was about time travel that reunited Pine’s character with his father. Production was supposed to start early this year with S.J. Clarkson as the first female director of the franchise. However, negotiations with Hemsworth and Pine fell apart in 2018, and the increased costs for the new deal led to the studio putting the film in the backburner.

Hawley is reportedly respected in the industry for his talents, and it remains to be seen if he will continue with the same time travel concept that will bring back George Kirk. According to The Wrap, there are currently three scripts for the movie. Hemsworth, however, is currently busy reprising his titular role in “Thor: Love and Thunder.”

A release date or a tile of “Star Trek 4” hasn’t yet been announced.