Two New Star Trek Movies Are In The Works

The direction of the Star Trek series has been uncertain following the release of Star Trek Beyond in 2016. While that movie was not a flop, it didn't match the success of the two movies that preceded it--Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness--and the recent news that Quentin Tarantino was involved with the development of a new Star Trek movie has further confused matters. Now Paramount boss Jim Gianopulos has confirmed that there are two separate films in development at the studio.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gianopulos made the comments at CinemaCon, the annual convention for theater owners. This initial story was subsequently followed by other reports from the event, including Fandango's Erik Davis, who tweeted:

While no further details about these projects were revealed, there have been rumors of two separate Star Trek projects over the past couple of years. In 2016, Paramount announced that Thor star Chris Hemsworth would star in Star Trek 4, reprising the role of George Kirk, who he played briefly in the 2009 reboot. However, this announcement was made before the release of Star Trek Beyond, and there has been little news about the project since.

More recently, it was reported that Tarantino was working with series producer JJ Abrams on a new Star Trek movie. However, earlier this month, Simon Pegg, who plays Scotty in the series, suggested that Tarantino wouldn't direct it. "He's got in his California movie [Once Upon A Time In Hollywood] to do and then I think [he's] only doing one more film after that," he told the Happy Sad Confused podcast. "And I doubt he could get around to directing a Star Trek in two or three years."

In related news, production has started on the second season of Star Trek Discovery, the latest TV version of the franchise. The show is set to screen on CBS All Access in the US and Netflix for the rest of the world, but does not yet have a premiere date.