After being shelved indefinitely after director SJ Clarkson left Star Trek 4 in early January, the project is back on track with a new writer-director. Fargo creator Noah Hawley has signed on to write and direct Star Trek 4, with J.J. Abrams producing through his Bad Robot Company.
Hawley is coming off making his feature directorial debut with the sci-fi drama Lucy In the Sky starring Natalie Portman, which debuted in October.
The most recent Star Trek film was 2016’s Star Trek Beyond. Unlike the original two films in the modern iteration of the franchise, Star Trek Beyond was directed by Justin Lin; 2009’s Star Trek and 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness were directed by J.J. Abrams. Abrams was a producer on Star Trek Beyond, and will be reprising the role in the as-yet-untitled fourth film.
The project has been quite stagnant since Clarkson left in January, so she could direct the pilot for a Game of Thrones prequel series, though that was not picked up to series.
Clarkson was slated to direct in April 2018, and if she would have seen the project through, she would have been the first female director on a Star Trek movie.
