The Timeline of Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Star Trek’ Project & What’s Happening Now

For several years, director Quentin Tarantino was working on a Star Trek movie with J.J. Abrams and Paramount Pictures. For a little while, the rumor was that Tarantino’s movie was Star Trek 4, the follow-up to 2016’s Star Trek: Beyond. However, it was soon revealed that Tarantino was working on a completely different Star Trek movie.

Like Star Trek 4, Tarantino’s project has been in development limbo for quite a while now. Every so often, rumors that it’s been canceled or that it’s going into development again start circulating. However, there don’t seem to be any concrete answers.

Here’s a look back at where the project has been and an update on where it seems to be now.

2017: Abrams and Tarantino Discussed Possibilities

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In December of 2017, Deadline revealed that Tarantino had met with Abrams to discuss the future of the Star Trek movies. The publication wrote that Tarantino wanted to take the Star Trek franchise into uncharted territory, the kind that required an R-rating instead of PG-13. According to the publication, both Abrams and Paramount agreed.

The plan was to get the script up and running while Tarantino worked on other projects already in the pipeline. Tarantino was slated to direct once it was ready for filming.

2018: Tarantino’s ‘Star Trek’ is not ‘Star Trek 4’

So for those asking, yes QT STAR TREK film still happening would happen after this latest film, would be seperate from Pine world and could essentially reboot new set of films.

— Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) April 26, 2018

When Tarantino and Abrams met to discuss Star Trek the year before, it was generally assumed that they were discussing the movie that Abrams had announced in 2016. However, in 2018, several sources confirmed that Tarantino’s movie was separate from the anticipated follow-up to Beyond.

In April 2018, The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Paramount was developing two different Star Trek movies — Abrams’ fourth installment and Tarantino’s project. They also revealed that their sources said Tarantino’s movie was set in a different timeline, meaning he could be setting up yet another reboot.

Later that month, Deadline’s senior movies reporter, Justin Kroll, tweeted that Tarantino’s movies would be separate from the established Kelvin timeline and would not be a continuation of Abrams’ story.

2019: Tarantino Had a lot to Say About his Project

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During an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast in July of 2019, Tarantino said that his film would deal with the “Chris Pine timeline.”

However, he went on to say that he didn’t really understand the timeline that Abrams had created in his movies or why it had eradicated the previous timeline. After claiming that Abrams didn’t understand it himself, Tarantino stated that he’d been given permission to do anything he wanted with his movie.

The director continued, saying that his interest in the Star Trek universe was focused on Kirk. He’d loved Shatner as Kirk when he was growing up and he loved Pine as Kirk in the new movies. So, he wanted the chance to create a Kirk story. In a quick comment, he hinted that the story could possibly be a prequel to the events of Star Trek: The Original Series. He made no mention of how that would work with the timeline Abrams had established.

So, Tarantino essentially committed to building a story with actors from the Kelvin timeline but didn’t confirm that it would actually take place in the Kelvin timeline.

By the end of 2019, rumors were flying that Tarantino was stepping away from his Star Trek project. When Deadline asked for a comment, Tarantino was vague. He said he might be moving on, but nothing was for sure.

2020: Tarantino Stepped Away

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A little over a month later, Tarantino seemed more sure of his decision. After his wins at the 2020 Academy Awards, Tarantino spoke to Deadline about the future of his career.

His involvement in the Star Trek project came up as well. The director said that the studio might be moving forward with the movie, but he wouldn’t be directing. He said he’d be open to consulting.

2021: Is Tarantino’s Project Dead?

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The latest rumor on the Star Trek movie front, which comes from Cord Cutter’s News is that Paramount is still actively pursuing Tarantino’s project.

However, the studio has not confirmed that they’re moving forward with any Star Trek movies right now. Tarantino’s project and Star Trek 4, seem to be on hold indefinitely as of right now.

The Timeline of ‘Star Trek 4’ & What’s Happening Now