Future in doubt for Pine and Hemsworth in ‘Star Trek 4’
LOS ANGELES: Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth are no longer boldly going where no person has gone before.
The two actors were in negotiations to star in ‘Star Trek 4’, but sources say that talks between the two actors and the companies making the new instalment, Paramount Pictures and Skydance Media, have fallen apart, with both sides walking away from the table.
Dealmaking with other returning cast members — including Zoe Saldana, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg and John Cho — was expected to follow.
Pine was due to reprise his role as iconic sci-fi hero Captain Kirk, which he has inhabited for three movies, while Hemsworth was to have played his father in a timetravelling adventure.
The deal points came down to the usual suspect: money. Pine and Hemsworth, among Hollywood’s A-list when starring in DC or Marvel movies, are said to be asking the studios to stick to existing deals. Paramount, according to insiders, contends that ‘Star Trek’ is not like a Marvel or ‘Star Wars’ movie and is trying to hold the line on a budget.
According to sources, both actors insist they have deals in place and that the studios are reneging on them, forcing them to take pay cuts as they try to budget a movie that is following a mediocre performer.
Pine, at least, has had a deal in place for several years. The actor, now a key player in the ‘Wonder Woman’ franchise, signed up for a fourth movie when he made his deal for 2016’s ‘Star Trek Beyond’. Hemsworth has been attached to ‘Star Trek 4’ since Paramount, then run by the previous regime headed by Brad Grey, announced the fourth instalment in 2016, although his exact status remains murky.
The studio, however, is backing its budget tough talk with past performance numbers. The last instalment, ‘Star Trek Beyond’, grossed only US$343 million worldwide on a budget of US$190 million. In fact, one insider says the companies lost money on the movie.
The 2009 reboot that kicked off this run of movies, titled simply ‘Star Trek’, made US$386 million, while 2013’s ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ is the top earner of all the ‘Star Trek’ movies with US$467 million. Meanwhile, Marvel, DC or ‘Star Wars’ films regularly gross above US$700 million. Not for lack of trying, the ‘Star Trek’ movies seem to have a ceiling, especially globally.
It is unclear what the next step is for ‘Star Trek 4’. The project could recast Kirk and his father, or perhaps the two sides could come back to the table.