Paramount announces fourth "Star Trek" film ahead of "Beyond" release
Paramount is apparently feeling good about this weekend's release, "Star Trek Beyond," as the studio has announced it is already working on a follow-up.
A fourth film in the rebooted "Star Trek" franchise -- following 2009's "Star Trek," 2013's "Star Trek Into Darkness" and Friday's "Star Trek Beyond" -- is on tap from Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Bad Robot, though no release date was mentioned.
In the biggest piece of news in the announcement, it was revealed that Chris Hemsworth will be returning to the series as the father of Captain Kirk (Chris Pine), George Kirk -- who died in the opening scenes of the first film.
The remaining "Star Trek" cast -- including Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho and Karl Urban -- is expected to return, though it is unclear how the franchise will handle the role of Chekov, played by Anton Yelchin, who died last month in a car accident.
J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay will write the screenplay, with J.J. Abrams and Lindsey Weber producing. There is no director attached to the project at this time. Abrams directed the first two films, while Justin Lin helmed "Star Trek Beyond."