Last November, it was reported that Fargo creator Noah Hawley has been tapped to helm the fourth installment in Paramount Pictures‘ Star Trek film franchise. Two months later Hawley has finally broken his silence on his involvement, sharing the first details of his plans for Star Trek 4. Speaking with Deadline, he revealed that he will begin work on the film as soon as Fargo season 4 has finished. Although the project is still in it’s early stages, Hawley also confirmed the he already has his own vision for the script.
“I have my own take on Star Trek,” Hawley said. “and going back to what I loved about the series Next Generation, when a lot of franchises focus on ‘might makes right’, Star Trek is about exploration and humanity at its best, and diversity and creative problem solving. There’s nothing better than that moment when William Shatner puts on his reading glasses and lowers Khan’s shields. It doesn’t cost anything. But it’s that triumphant feeling about smarting your enemy. For me it’s about to getting to those elements of the show. I don’t necessarily find action in and of itself interesting unless it’s story. So, it’s early days, I’m still talking with Paramount and I have a take and I gotta write a script.”
When asked about the new installment’s connection with Alex Kurtzman’s Star Trek TV universe, the Legion creator explains “I should. I know Alex. There isn’t a mandate from Paramount to connect it. And on some levels, there’s a bit of the wall, the TV version and the film version.”
“I have my own story and want to make sure as I did with ‘Fargo’ and ‘Legion’ that I’m respectful to the underlying material. That I’m not unintentionally changing things that people love or feel passionate about. So, it’s important to do that research as I go.”
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Star Trek 4 was reportedly expected to feature Chris Pine as James Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, and Zoe Saldana as Uhura, among others. But according to a new report by The Hollywood Reporter, the new film might just feature a new cast with Hawley seemingly confirming it “It’s early days. I don’t know. But new characters often involve new cast.”
Pine’s return is somewhat surprising. Last 2018, Pine and franchise co-star Chris Hemsworth reportedly opted out of the film over salary disputes. Pine’s Captain Kirk and his crew last appeared onscreen in director Justin Lin’s Star Trek Beyond, which arrived in 2016. Like both of its predecessors, that film was a critical success. Unfortunately, it underperformed at the box office, grossing only $343.5 million against a $185 million budget.
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Hawley is best known for his work in television. He achieved mainstream success on FX when he created the Fargo TV series in 2014. Three years later, he followed this up with the X-Men-adjacent series Legion, which also aired on FX. Hawley made his feature directorial debut earlier this year with Lucy in the Sky, which he also co-wrote. He was also attached to write and direct a Doctor Doom standalone film for 20th Century Fox before Disney absorbed the studio’s IP.
