toby-haynes – Moviefone Editorial

1979's 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture.' Photo: Paramount Pictures. — 1979’s ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture.’ Photo: Paramount Pictures.

Preview:

John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein are developing a new ‘Star Trek’ Movie.
They’ve come up with a new idea not connected to previous movies or shows.
They’re also writing the script.

While the TV side of the franchise has been ticking along nicely, big-screen ‘Star Trek’ fell into something of a black hole, with little progress towards theaters.

But that hasn’t stopped Paramount from trying to shove it back into warp speed and now Deadline brings word that John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, who developed a fresh, funny and heartfelt take on fantasy with ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ for the studio, have been handed the keys to the film franchise.

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At least, they’re aboard to develop a new movie (more on that below), with the hopes of kickstarting the franchise back to life. Will they succeed? Others have tried and failed (again, see below), but we’re certainly hoping to see them give it a shot.

What has been happening with big-screen ‘Star Trek’?

(L to R) Karl Urban and Zachary Quinto in 'Star Trek Beyond'. Photo: Paramount Pictures. — (L to R) Karl Urban and Zachary Quinto in ‘Star Trek Beyond’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

The movies have been mired in development limbo since ‘Star Trek Beyond’ opened to less-than-thrilling box office in 2016.

There have been various films announced or reported upon, including a return for Chris Pine’s Kirk and co. from J.J. Abrams’ “Kelvin” timeline movies, a one-off by Quentin Tarantino (which always seemed less likely to happen) and the more recent word of a prequel/origin story to be directed by ‘Andor’s Toby Haynes with a script by Seth Grahame-Smith.

The latter may still happen (with Paramount going on a “try anything” spree), but there was more recent word of ‘X-Men’ veteran Simon Kinberg being hired as the producer overseeing the whole thing. There’s no mention of him in Deadline’s story about Daley and Goldstein’s deal, but perhaps he will be around to help out?

What’s the story for this latest ‘Trek’ development?

Chris Pine in 2009's 'Star Trek'. Photo: Paramount Pictures. — Chris Pine in 2009’s ‘Star Trek’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

Little is known about what Daley and Goldstein have planned for ‘Star Trek’, though new Paramount overseer David Ellison said on a recent earnings call that it would not be a sequel in the Pine-led series but something different with new actors.

Which is almost a shame, since Pine clearly enjoyed working with the directors on ‘Dungeons & Dragons’…