Simon Kinberg in Talks to Produce ‘Star Trek’ Origin Story Movie

Simon Kinberg is currently in talks to produce a new “Star Trek” movie at Paramount with “Andor” filmmaker Toby Haynes attached to direct from a screenplay by “Dark Shadows” scribe Seth Grahame-Smith, according to an insider with knowledge of the project. J.J. Abrams is producing.

The film is described as an origin story taking place years before the 2009 “Star Trek” movie, which introduced young versions of Kirk and Spock played by Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, respectively. Abrams directed that film and its sequel “Star Trek Into Darkness,” while Justin Lin directed 2016’s “Star Trek Beyond,” which Abrams produced.

This new film does not replace the proposed “Star Trek 4,” which is still in the works. That project has been through a number of iterations, including a version that would have found Pine’s Kirk traveling back in time and teaming up with his father, played by Chris Hemsworth.

While “Trek” has been absent from theaters since the release of “Beyond” nearly eight years ago, it has become a cornerstone of Paramount and CBS’ attempts to develop the Paramount+ streaming service. The studio has released a slew of series on the service, starting with “Star Trek: Discovery,” which began in 2017 and will release its final episode next week.

Other “Trek” titles on Paramount+ include the “Discovery” spin-off “Strange New Worlds,” the animated series “Lower Decks,” the “Next Generation” sequel series “Picard” starring Patrick Stewart, the upcoming TV film “Section 31” starring Michelle Yeoh and “Starfleet Academy” with Holly Hunter.

Puck first reported the news.

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