Simon Kinberg in Talks to Produce ‘Star Trek’ Prequel Film
Veteran producer Simon Kinberg, who oversaw most of the “X-Men” movies for 20th Century Fox, is in talks to produce an upcoming “Star Trek” movie for Paramount Pictures, Variety has confirmed.
The project has already been in development at the studio for some time, with Seth Grahame-Smith (“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”) handing the screenplay and Toby Haynes (“Andor,” “Black Mirror: USS Callister”) on board to direct. Insiders say the film is intended as an origin story for the main timeline of the “Star Trek” franchise (rather than the alternate, Kelvin timeline started with 2009’s “Star Trek”), set in the aftermath of humanity’s first contact with aliens.
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Kinberg started his career as a screenwriter, penning 2005’s “XXX: State of the Union” and “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” before joining the “X-Men” franchise as a co-screenwriter of 2006’s “X-Men: The Last Stand.” He transitioned to producing every subsequent “X-Men” film, and he made his directorial debut with the final movie in the franchise, 2019’s “Dark Phoenix.” He’s also produced 2015’s “The Martian” and “Fantastic Four,” and the first two “Deadpool” movies. Most recently, he produced the 2024 Netflix film “Life” with Kevin Hart.
The “Star Trek” prequel will also be produced by J.J. Abrams, who has overseen all “Star Trek” movies through Bad Robot since 2009’s “Star Trek,” which he directed. Abrams is also producing a separate “Star Trek” film intended to be the final mission of the Kelvin timeline cast, including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldaña. Steve Yockey (“The Flight Attendant”) is writing the newest draft of that script.
Puck first broke the news about Kinberg.
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