Wednesday 22 August 2018

So, Trek 4?

This article is a week or so old, but the issue is still not resolved. Will Star Trek 4 (or 14, depending on your mileage) actually happen? Notwithstanding the possibility of a Tarantino-directed movie, which is still a few years away if it ever happens. It's looking increasingly unlikely that a fourth Kelvin-verse film will ever happen, which is a crushing shame and is entirely the fault of Paramount.

It sounded like a great direction for the next film: get Chris Hemsworth back as George Kirk, using time travel or something similar, and pair him up with Chris Pine as James T. Father and son take on whatever galactic threat the writers bring up this time. Paramount were banking on getting the two stars onboard first, using their involvement as linchpin for negotiations with the rest of the cast. And they've fucked this up totally.

The two Christophers are now among the biggest stars in film today; Hemsworth due to his role as Thor in the MCU, and Pine because of the Trek movies themselves (with some high profile roles in Wonder Woman and A Wrinkle in Time helping considerably). Since Star Trek Beyond didn't do as well as previous Trek films, well below predictions, Paramount has cut the pay offers for both actors. Not surprisingly, they've told them to go stuff it.

What does Paramount expect? Pine's contract was for three films. Hemsworth was only signed up for the first. Neither one has any obligation to be involved. They are both much bigger fish now than they were in 2009, so Paramount has to pay up. It's the only way to ensure their involvement. And if the company is concerned about the dropping sales, getting Hemsworth involved is a sure way to excite people about it - but they've got to actually pay for him.

The stupid thing is that the poor turnout for Beyond is entirely the studio's fault. They barely trailed the film at all. Advertisement was virtually non-existent. How can a major studio fail to promote one of its biggest properties, then act all surprised when it doesn't bring in an audience?

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