Chris Pine And Zachary Quinto Signed For ‘Star Trek 4’
As cameras roll onStar Trek 3, Paramount is looking ahead toStar Trek 4. The studio has reportedly signed leadsChris PineandZachary Quintofor the next installment of its sci-fi franchise, which we are just going to assume will be titledStar Trek 4everuntil Paramount says otherwise. (Star Trek 4evawould also be acceptable). More details on theStar Trek 4cast deals after the jump.
THRreports Pine and Quinto won hefty raises in their renegotiations with Paramount — about $6 million for Pine, according to their sources. In all, the new deals add about $10 to $15 million toStar Trek 3’s budget. The two major factors in the cast’s pay upgrades are timing and star power.
Back in 2007, Pine, Quinto, and the rest of the cast — includingZoe Saldana,Simon Pegg,Karl Urban,Anton Yelchin, andJohn Cho– signed on for the firstStar Trekreboot with an option for two sequels. The 2009 film performed well enough that Paramount got the cast back together for 2012’sStar Trek Into Darkness, albeit with only nominal pay raises.
AfterStar Trek Into Darkness, though, it took Paramount a while to getStar Trek 3going. You’ll rememberRoberto Orciwas supposed to write and direct, until Paramount changed course and gotJustin Linto direct from a script written by Pegg andDoug Jung. That delay meant the cast’s original deals arguably expired in 2014 under California law. And since several of the stars (notably Pine and Saldana) have become much better known in the intervening years, they were able to score big raises.
The deals don’t guarantee aStar Trek 4will happen. Paramount will see howStar Trek 3fares before it makes concrete plans for a sequel. The first two Star Trek movies were hits, but not huge ones. 2009’s Star Trek grossed $385 million on a budget of $150 million; in comparison, 2007’sTransformerscost about the same and raked in $709 million worldwide.Star Trek Into Darknessfared a bit better, making $467 million on a $190 million budget.
Even so, it’s good news for fans of the franchise. It’s a clear sign Paramount hopes to keep this ship sailing, and a confirmation that the likable cast will stay intact. In the meantime,Star Trek 3, which may or may not be titledStar Trek Beyond, opensJuly 8, 2016.
