"It was always about making billions": Chris Pine On 'Star Trek' Past And Future
'Star Trek' film franchise is experiencing something of a rough patch. It was announced that the fourth installment of the series was in preparation and talks were underway to bring back the stars of the original film, leading Chris Pine and Karl Urban to deny ever having heard of it.
Now that the dust has settled, Chris Pine weighs in on the situation, explaining the curious place the franchise finds itself in in 2022. Captain Kirk's actor confirmed not even seeing the script, but revealed to have met with Paramount's execs about the continuation of the space saga.
"Conceptually, I love it. I love Star Trek … I love the character. I love my friends with whom I get to play… I mean, it's a gig I've had, working and not working, for 15-plus years. It cemented the career that I have now. I'm honored to be a part of it. It's given me so much. I think there are plenty of stories to tell in it…", Pine told Deadline.
But actor's fondness for 'Star Trek' still doesn't mean that the fourth film is definitely going to happen. It's no secret that the franchise's box office was a bit of a disappointment to studio executives, who were expecting something close to Marvel's level. Pine addressed this constant struggle of a race to meet producers' expectations.
"We always tried to get the huge international market. It was always about making the billion dollars. It was always this billion-dollar mark because Marvel was making a billion. Billion, billion, billion. We struggled with it because 'Star Trek', for whatever reason, its core audience is rabid… We've definitely done a good job of it but not the billion-dollar kind of job that they want."
Let's hope that despite everything 'Star Trek 4' will actually be able to get to theatres on December 22, 2023.