A recent story by The Hollywood Reporter details a potential falling out between Paramount pictures and two of the lead stars of the fourth film of the “Star Trek” reboot. Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth, who play James T. Kirk and George Kirk respectively, are said to have had unsuccessful contract negotiations with Paramount for "Star Trek 4."
Other regular cast members who play the rest of the crew of the Starship Enterprise such as Zoe Saldana, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, and John Cho are expected to close their contracts without a hitch.
A pay dispute with Pine and Hemsworth is troubling for the Gene Roddenberry franchise considering that "Star Trek 4" looks to be setting up its plot for James Kirk to meet his father, George Kirk, through time-traveling shenanigans. The pay dispute may be attributed to the relatively low performance of “Star Trek Beyond” compared to the first reboot film and “Star Trek Into Darkness.”
Of the two pay disputes, Chris Hemsworth, while said to be essential to “Star Trek 4's” plot, can potentially be replaced considering that he only appeared as George Kirk in one of the three currently released “Star Trek” reboot films. Fans of the science fiction movies will remember that Hemsworth's George Kirk originally died in the first reboot movie when the U.S.S. Kelvin was attacked by Eric Bana's Captain Nero and his Romulan crew.
Chris Pine's potential dissatisfaction with Paramount's compensation offer for “Star Trek 4” is the significant blow to the franchise considering that James T. Kirk has always been the main character of the classic and reboot timeline of the series. For “Star Trek 4” to actually push through, Paramount will have to find a way to get Chris Pine back onboard.
Considering the pay dispute hiccup, fans of the “Star Trek” franchise reboot may have to wait on the edge of their seats for news about renegotiations between Paramount, Chris Pine, and Chris Hemsworth before confirmation on “Star Trek 4's” eventual production and theatrical release.
