Former Star Trek 4 Director Breaks Silence on His Exit

As far as we know, Paramount Pictures is still committed to making Star Trek 4 with the Kelvin timeline cast. However, the status of the project remains unknown as Matt Shakman exited as the director a few months ago in order to do Fantastic Four instead and the studio has removed it from their release calendar.

Fans have been wondering whether the film is still happening and there have also been rumors that J.J. Abrams might return and direct it instead although that remains to be unconfirmed for now. For now, the project remains to be in limbo with no director attached.

Speaking recently with TheWrap, Shakman discussed his involvement in the development of Star Trek 4 before his exit and explained why he left the project and sign on to do the MCU film instead.

"I had a great time working on Star Trek for a little over a year, working closely with J.J. Abrams and everyone at Paramount, and I love that franchise, and I love that cast that J.J. put together, and it would have been an unbelievable pleasure to work with them on the fourth installment there," he said.

"But movies have different journeys and momentums and schedules are a little bit mercurial, and so when the Fantastic Four opportunity came up, it was just too hard to pass up, and to go back home to Marvel, a place that I worked on WandaVision at, with those people who are wonderful collaborators."

Based on his comments, it sounds like Shakman did have a great time working on Star Trek 4 prior to his exit, but he took the Fantastic Four job due to his established relationship with Marvel Studios and it looks like it was a better opportunity for him in his point of view.

With the uncertainty of the project, it is really hard to tell at this point whether the film will still happen. Shakman's exit did slow down the development of the process and until now they haven't announced whether they have found a replacement.

There are fans who are still hoping that the film will still happen as they want to see the Kelvin cast reunite again for another adventure in the final frontier. We might hear more details about it in the coming months as they're still in development.

Also Read: Star Trek Actor Casts Doubt on the Movie Franchise's Future