Hollywood is all about franchises these days. Whether it's digging up and continuing long-dormant brands like Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and Indiana Jones; rebooting decades-old franchises like Ghostbusters, RoboCop, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; or looking to comics and novels to create "cinematic universes" like Marvel, DC, and Harry Potter; Hollywood is counting dedicated fandoms to guarantee success at the box office. And speaking of fandoms, the brand that practically invented the franchise concept, Star Trek, is getting a new movie this month with Star Trek: Beyond. But after that film, how many more Star Trek movies will there be?
It was revealed recently that a fourth Star Trek movie is currently in the works, with Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth starring. "In the next installment of the epic space adventure, Chris Pine's Captain Kirk will cross paths with a man he never had a chance to meet, but whose legacy has haunted him since the day he was born: his father," the announcement, released on July 18, read. It bears saying that when it comes to franchises, Star Trek is no slouch. The brand celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, which makes it 11 years older than Star Wars, 18 years older than Ghostbusters, and 31 years older than Harry Potter. But fans of the current reboot's cast, of which this is their third film, may be wondering if this particular group (Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, etc.) will return for another film. Other than Pine, That is a more difficult question to answer.
At this point in time, the odds of at least a fourth movie with all of the current cast look pretty good. According to Borys Kit of The Hollywood Reporter, Pine and Quinto signed deals last year to reprise their roles as Kirk and Spock, respectively, should Paramount pursue another film. And really, there's no reason to think they won't. Star Trek is a big money-maker for the studio, and it's unlikely that won't continue with Beyond and any future films, so it's hard to imagine that Paramount won't be more than happy to revisit the final frontier for several films to come.
Even though there hasn't been any specific chatter about more sequels to Star Trek: Beyond than the upcoming one, the fact that Paramount has its two biggest stars under contract for another film make it seem very likely that Trekkies will be treated to at least one more Star Trek movie with the current cast.
Images: Paramount Pictures; Giphy
