Simon Kinberg’s name is recognizable to fans of the X-Men movies—his feature directorial debut was 2019’s X-Men: Dark Phoenix, but he’s long been a producer and sometimes writer on the franchise, starting with 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand right up through this summer’s Deadpool & Wolverine. But he’s got another blockbuster series in his sights next: Star Trek.
The Hollywood Reporter writes that Kinberg is “in talks” to produce a Star Trek movie that Paramount already has in the works, and that’s not all; “if all goes well, the door would open to him taking active creative roles on the rest of the storied franchise’s film side,” according to the trade. The movie in question is one we already knew about: it’s the Starfleet origin story set long before J.J. Abrams’ 2009 movie, directed by Toby Haynes (Star Wars series Andor) and written by Seth Grahame-Smith. Abrams is also one of the producers, and THR notes that the studio is ambitiously hoping for a 2025 release.
This news of Kinberg’s involvement comes as Paramount is potentially undergoing a sale soon—but you have to assume no matter who ends up owning the studio will want to lean into one of its most valuable properties. In March, Variety released a wide-ranging look at Star Trek’s projected future, which includes not only this Starfleet origin movie and the long-awaited Star Trek 4, but further developments on Star Trek’s TV side, including the Starfleet Academy TV show and Michelle Yeoh’s streaming film Section 31 for Paramount+. Current flagship series Star Trek: Discovery is deep into its final season now.
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