Paramount Has ‘Star Trek’ Film Poised For Late 2022 Production Start; Talks To Begin With Chris Pine

EXCLUSIVE: After several fits and starts, the next Star Trek film is gearing up to begin production by year’s end. Paramount has begun talks with Chris Pine to reprise as James T. Kirk, and the intention is to engage to bring back aboard Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Lieutenant Uhura, Karl Urban as Dr. Bones McCoy, John Cho as Sulu and Simon Pegg as Scotty. Deadline revealed last summer that Paramount and producer J.J. Abrams hired Matt Shakman to direct, fresh from the triumph of the Marvel/Disney+ series WandaVision, just after the series was nominated for 23 Emmys. Shakman has been supervising a draft by Josh Friedman and Cameron Squires, based off a draft by Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet.

This was verified by Abrams during today’s ViacomCBS Investor Day conducted by Paramount Pictures president/CEO Brian Robbins.

ViacomCBS/Paramount’s Investors Day: Deadline’s Complete Coverage

They are keeping the plotline under wraps, but this firms the flight plan after scripts were done by The Revenant‘s Mark L. Smith (for Quentin Tarantino) and Noah Hawley.

Shakman, who is the artistic director of the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, has directing credits that include episodes of Game of Thrones, Fargo, The Great, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, before he did WandaVision.