As Star Trek fans rejoiced at the news that Patrick Stewart was returning to the iconic role of Jean-Luc Picard, trouble was looming on the final frontier. The Hollywood Reporter is exclusively reporting that talks with stars Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth to return for Star Trek 4′ have broken down. Money might not exist on the future Earth Star Trek inhabits, but here and now it appears to be the reason both stars are threatening to walk away from the as yet unnamed sequel to 2016’s Star Trek: Beyond.
Pine has portrayed Captain Kirk for three cinematic outings Star Trek thus far, while Hemsworth appeared briefly as Kirk’s father George in the prologue to 2009’s Star Trek. Both men claim to actually already be under contract, but according to THR are being asked to take pay cuts by Paramount Studios. Pine and Hemsworth, stars of the DC (Steve Trevor) and Marvel (Thor) film franchises respectively, are balking at the request, insisting their existing contracts be honored by by the studio. Co-stars Zoe Saldana, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg and John Cho are rumored to be in line for pay cuts as well.
Paramount’s reasoning for the pay cuts concerns its bottom line. The Star Trek film franchise is hardly as successful as Marvel’s, or even DC’s line of blockbusters. For comparison sake, Star Trek: Beyond took in a mere 343 million worldwide, while only one of Marvel’s films, 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, comes in lower in at 263 million. Likewise the highest grossing Trek film, 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness, earned 467 million, while this year’s Avengers: Infinity War (with Hemsworth in a leading role), brought in over 2 billion.
With lower box office results come lower paychecks, at least that appears to the studio’s thinking. Whether the two sides will be able to come to an agreement remains to be seen, as does the status of the project if both roles need to be recast. Hopefully the two sides revisit talks, and we can see Kirk helming the Enterprise once more.
To stay up to date on everything Game of Thrones, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Watch Game of Thrones or Succession for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels