Today, Paramount Pictures registered the title “STAR TREK 4” with the Motion Picture Association of America, TrekMovie has confirmed. Combined with the fact that Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto already signed on for a fourth film and talk from Simon Pegg that Beyond won’t be a “trilogy ender”, it’s looking more like Star Trek 4 is in our future.



Does this guarantee that “Star Trek 4” has been green lit?

The short answer is no. But, it’s a big step. Paramount has officially registered “STAR TREK 4” as the title of a film with the Motion Picture Association of America, a step that is necessary before any major film will be released in the United States. We know that two of JJ Trek’s biggest stars, Chris Pine (Captain Kirk) and Zachary Quinto (Spock) have already signed on for a possible fourth film, although there has been no word yet on Trek’s arguably biggest rising star, Zoe Saldana (Uhura).



Pine and Quinto signed on for Trek 4 with big raises last year

The idea of movie studios planning sequels way in advance is nothing new. So, even though there is no telling how well Star Trek Beyond will fair, that doesn’t preclude the studio prepping to make another Star Trek movie. Does this signal optimism from Paramount regarding Beyond’s success? Possibly, but in today’s Hollywood, a sequel doesn’t depend so much on the success (particularly the domestic success) of it’s predecessor.

It’s no secret that Paramount has fallen on hard times lately, with a reported adjusted $136-million operating loss for the January-March quarter and its parent company Viacom’s former chariman facing a mental competency trial. Much of Paramount’s value is derived from its rights to Star Trek, and so a fourth movie might, regardless of the performance of Beyond, be a good business move for the struggling studio giant.

Does this mean the new movie will be called “Star Trek 4”?

The short answer is again, no. Most likely, the name is simply a placeholder until the movie’s production is underway and an official title can be chosen.