Paramount Sofia Boutella as Jaylah
Thanks to a recent interview in The Hollywood Reporter, “Star Trek” boss Alex Kurtzman and Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins spoke about the various strategies and synergies which will carry the franchise into the next decade or so.
THR’s Lesley Goldberg asked Kurtzman and Robbins a few questions about the launch of “Star Trek: Prodigy” and how this new animated Trek could eventually become a feature film. This “Prodigy” movie, which would be a theatrical release, would be aimed at taking the characters from the show and presenting them in a way which all ages could enjoy — mom, dad, and the children.
A Future “Prodigy” Movie
This thinking, Robbins said, is a “four-quadrant” strategy and would allow Trek to pull off something like “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” which was able to entertain at multiple levels.
“We’re working on several fronts, and obviously Alex is the key for the franchise [on Paramount+].,” Robbins told THR in the interview. “J.J. [Abrams] has been the keeper of the franchise on the film side. We hope that as a company that we do what’s right for the franchise altogether.”
Surprisingly, Robbins said that Paramount may be working on three Trek films — the aforementioned “Prodigy” movie, the new J.J. Abrams-produced film, and a possible film from the Paramount+ side of things. This last film was implied by the following exchange:
Goldberg asked Robbins if he was “getting scripts for a live-action feature from both camps?”
Robbins replied that “there’s a lot going on, and I’m just going to leave it at that.”
Two Live-Action Films?
These comments confirm what has been a bit of a mystery over the past few months. Heavy reported on the hiring of Kalinda Vazquez to write what many thought, was “Star Trek 4.” Later, fans learned that a second Trek film would be released on June 9, 2023. Many assumed that would be the same film, but Heavy’s Robin Zabiegalski rightly surmised that these were two separate titles — not one.
The “Star Trek 4” saga is well known and originally was supposed to feature George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth) and his son, James T. (Chris Pine), reuniting. This fell apart, according to many, because of failed contract negotiations.
Kelvin Cast Moves On
As the years pass, most of the cast from the J. J. Abrams’ “Kelvin” movies have been very busy on a variety of projects. Fans can see Pine in the “Wonder Woman” films while John Cho (Sulu) will be starring in a new live-action adaptation of “Cowboy Bebop,” which will stream on Netflix.
Simon Pegg (Scotty) was on Amazon’s “The Boys” and filmed three new “Mission Impossible” films. Zoe Saldana (Uhura) has been busy with multiple Marvel films and appeared in the two “Avatar” sequels, which are now in post-production. Zachary Quinto (Spock) has lent his voice to numerous animated projects and appeared on “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.”
The person who arguably stole “Star Trek Beyond” was Algerian actress Sofia Boutella. As the albino alien Jaylah, Boutella is one of the characters many fans would like to return.
Bustle’s Johnny Brayson called Boutella the “breakout star” of “Star Trek Beyond.” Brayson also speculated that the filmmakers left her fate a bit murky, so they “could realistically result in her either becoming a franchise regular or never being seen again.”
Boutella told USA Today that she “be excited to be a part of [Star Trek] again” if she were asked.
‘Jaylah’ in a ‘Star Wars’ Movie
Instead of a new “Star Trek” film, Boutella will be a part of a new movie, which was initially supposed to be a “Star Wars” film. Zack Snyder, the filmmaker who brought us “Army of the Dead” and “Batman v Superman” is creating his new story, which he pitched to Disney as a new “Wars” film, but was rejected.
“Rebel Moon” is, according to the synopsis, a story where “the people of a galaxy sends a young woman to seek out warriors from other planets to help them from the tyrannical armies that are terrorizing their peaceful colony.”
Snyder cast Boutella to star in “Rebel Moon,” which will stream on Netflix.
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