Simon Kinberg, the screenwriter, producer, and director behind the latter years of 20th Century Fox’s X-Men movies, is in negotiations to join the Star Trek franchise and produce the next movie on the big screen. However, Kinberg is not expected to write or direct the previously announced film that is in development with Andor director Toby Haynes.
Via The Hollywood Reporter, Kinberg’s deal with Paramount has not been closed. The initial contract will reportedly call for Kinberg to produce Haynes’ Star Trek movie, which has a script by Seth Grahame-Smith. And if Kinberg successfully guides that project to fruition, he may assume a lead creative role on the movie side of the franchise while Alex Kurtzman and Akiva Goldsman maintain control of the various Star Trek series on Paramount+.
Kinberg made his directorial debut with Dark Phoenix, the final X-Men movie produced by 20th Century Fox before the studio was sold to Disney. His previous credits include Star Wars Rebels for Lucasfilm, as well as Murder on the Orient Express and The Martian.
The upcoming Star Trek movie by Haynes and Grahame-Smith is said to take place decades before the events of the 2009 Star Trek that featured Chris Pine and a much younger cast as the crew of the Enterprise. This may also sidestep the question of whether the new film is a reboot, since it’s set before the Kelvin timeline diverged from the original Star Trek timeline.
Star Trek Beyond was the most recent film in the franchise in 2016, but Paramount hasn’t given up on reuniting Pine and the rest of his fellow cast for one final adventure. For now, that sequel remains in development hell.
