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EXCLUSIVE: Even as they continue to develop the final chapter in its main Star Trek series, Paramount is looking to expand on the IPs universe as it has tapped Toby Haynes to direct a new film that expands on the Star Trek universe with Seth Grahame-Smith penning the script. J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot is producing and sources tell Deadline that while plot details are being kept under wraps this project is an origin story that takes place decades before the original 2009 Star Trek film. Insiders go on to add the final chapter in the main series, Star Trek 4 remains in active development.
Though there hasn’t been a film since 2016’s Star Trek Beyond, the brand is still strong as its ever been with popular Paramount+ shows like Picard and Strange New Worlds, earning strong reviews and big ratings in the time since the last film bowed in theaters. Brian Robbins led-regime, saw an opportunity to build on that popularity with multiple films in development the same way the streamer had multiple shows going at once.
In doing so, the studios hands over the reigns to two individuals familiar with dealing with major IP in the past. Haynes was the main director on the Star Wars series Andor, which has become one of the more critically acclaimed series in its own Universe since Lucasfilm began developing series for Disney+. Andor is up for several Emmys this Monday including Best Drama series.
Smith made his big break has a best-selling novelist with hits like Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and has since turned into one of the go to writer and producers in the genre and fan boy worlds. Some of the those credits include producing It and penning The Batman Lego Movie.
Haynes and Smith are repped by WME with Haynes also repped by Joe Phillips at Curtis Brown, and attorney Peter Nelson and Smith also repped by PJ Shapiro and Wendy Kirk.
