New 'Star Trek' Movie in the Works, Set in Different Era Than Chris Pine Films

The Star Trek franchise is continuing to expand. Deadline reports that Paramount has chosen Toby Haynes, known for Andor, to direct a new film in the long-running sci-fi universe. Seth Grahame-Smith will be writing the script, with J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot producing. Plot details are reportedly being kept under wraps, but sources tell the outlet that the plan is to make it an origin story that will take place "decades" before the Chris Pine-led Star Trek films. Star Trek 4 is still in active development and will close out that series.

The new Star Trek film will be the latest project for the franchise, which has been ongoing since 1966 in both film and TV. Most recently, Paramount+ has been the home to a few Star Trek shows, such as Discovery, Picard, Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, and Prodigy. Opening up the franchise to even more stories that have yet to be told will surely delight longtime fans and newer generations as the journey aboard the USS Enterprise continue, whether past, present, or future.

Chris Pine starred in the latest series of Star Trek films that began in 2009. While it was the 11th film in the franchise, it served as a reboot. Pine portrayed Captain James T. Kirk, while Zachary Quinto played Spock. There were two additional films, Into Darkness in 2013 and Beyond in 2016, with a fourth and final one in development. While there still isn't too much about this new Star Trek film, it wouldn't be surprising if it cranked out a few more movies, just like with the 2009 Star Trek film.

As of now, a release window for the new film has yet to be released. It's likely it won't come until after the fourth and final chapter in the current Star Trek movie series. Whether it will set up or at least tease the next film is uncertain, but anything is possible in the Star Trek franchise, so you never know. It will be exciting to have this expansion in the franchise. It's impressive that no matter how long Star Trek has been around, there are always stories to be told and universes to be explored. What this next journey will consist of is still unknown, but it will surely be something to look forward to.