Chris Pine Star Trek Funny Still

A month ago Paramount announced they were moving forward with a fourth film set in the Kelvin Universe. While the announcement reportedly took the cast's representatives by surprise another member of the original 2009 movie crew appears to be ready to get back on board the USS Enterprise, and this time it's Captain Kirk himself.

Pine: I love Star Trek

Chris Pine is out promoting his latest project All the Old Knives and he is fielding questions from the press about the upcoming Star Trek film, set for a Holiday 2023 release. Talking to AP on the red carpet, the actor expressed his enthusiasm for returning to Star Trek:

Yeah, of course, I would love to. I'm thrilled. I mean, this is the best gig of all time. [I'm] looking forward to reading a script, looking forward to getting back to work, looking forward to seeing the rest of the gang. Yeah.

You can watch Pine with AP below…

Variety pressed the star on his level of commitment to the project, and while he doesn't know anything about the story, in the following exchange he seemed ready to return to space:

What's the text that went around when you and your "Star Trek" co-stars all decided to do a fourth movie?
I think everybody was like, "Did you hear about this?" [Laughs]. We're usually the last people to find out, but I do know we're all excited. Whenever they want to send us a script, we're ready for it.

Have they told you anything about the story?
We haven't seen a script. I don't know anything about it.

So you trust them that much that you signed on without a script?
I don't trust anybody, but I'm excited. I love the story. I love "Star Trek." I love my people.

And speaking to Entertainment Tonight the actor talked about getting back to work with his Star Trek co-stars:

I know we are all excited to come back and would love to come back. This is a tight family. We've been working together for fifteen years… I think we're ready to get back to work and excited to see a script, whenever that should come in and excited for Matt [Shakman] to direct it and excited to work.

Pine's comments about the cast's enthusiasm echo similar sentiments from co-star Zoe Saldana (Uhura) last week. Being that Pine balking over salary renegotiations was the main reason the 2018 attempt to make a fourth Kelvin Universe film failed, his latest comments are encouraging. But with no script in the hands of the actors, it should not be seen as a done deal yet.

Chris Pine as Kirk with Anton Yelchin as Chekov and John Cho as Sulu in Star Trek Beyond

Honoring Yelchin

When talking to ET, Pine pointed out this Friday is the birthday of co-star Anton Yelchin, who passed away in 2016 in a tragic accident shortly before the release ofStar Trek Beyond. Pine noted that date means "we all have it on mind." And again echoing what Zoe said last week, Pine feels doing another film can honor the late actor's memory, saying:

I think we always have him in mind and he's part of the fabric of our family. So I think by virtue of going to work we always carry him with us.

You can watch Pine talk Star Trek with ET below.

Chris Pine talks about returning to 'Star Trek' and how they always have Anton Yelchin in mind. pic.twitter.com/LcN8wy92fs

— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) March 10, 2022

Wants Kirk to come back home

After simply replying "yeah," regarding the excitement over returning for Star Trek, Extra asked the actor where he would like to see Captain Kirk go in a fourth film, and Pine got practical, expressing his support for the film industry in his hometown:

I would like Captain Kirk to stay in Los Angeles, and to shoot in Los Angeles. So tax incentive, we're looking at you, and we want to shoot here. So, make it happen, because all of Hollywood is leaving and going to England, and we want it back here. And I love England, but we want it back here.

The 2009 Star Trek movie and 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness were shot in the Los Angeles area, but 2016's Beyond was shot in Canada. No confirmed word yet on where producer JJ Abrams plans to film the new film, but hopes are to get it into production this fall.

See Pine's Los Angeles plea below…

The film is set to be directed byWandaVision's Matt Shakman. The latest draft of the script is written by Josh Friedman (Avatar 2) and Cameron Squires (WandaVision), based on an earlier draft by Lindsey Beer (Sierra Burgess Is a Loser) and Geneva Robertson-Dworet (Captain Marvel).

Paramount has set a release of December 22, 2023.

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Keep up with all the news on Star Trek 4 and upcoming Trek films at TrekMovie.com.

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Source: https://trekmovie.com/2022/03/10/chris-pine-says-star-trek-cast-is-ready-and-excited-for-2023-movie-and-waiting-for-the-script/