Filmmaker Matt Shakman is no longer boldly going into the Star Trek galaxy.
Shakman, who was set to helm a Trek movie for Paramount, has dropped out due to scheduling issues as he is jumping to Fantastic Four for Marvel Studios. The movie was a top priority at the Melrose Avenue-based studio and was dated for a Dec. 22, 2023 release.
“Matt Shakman is an incredibly talented filmmaker, and we regret the timing didn’t align for him to direct our upcoming Star Trek film,” Paramount Pictures said in a statement. “We are grateful for his many contributions, are excited about the creative vision of this next chapter and look forward to bringing it to audiences all around world.”
Shakman came up in the world of TV, most recently earning acclaim for Marvel’s Emmy-winning series WandaVision. He earlier cut his teeth on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia before moving on to Game of Thrones. The success of Wandavision (the show earned a whopping 24 Emmy nominations and won three while also becoming a pop culture fixture last year) made him one of the big, in-demand directors in town. The filmmaker boarded the Star Trek movie in the summer of 2021. The most recent version of the script comes from Josh Friedman and Cameron Squires, working from a draft from Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet.
The next Trek movie has long been in development, with Paramount hoping to reunite Chris Pine and the crew of the rebooted Enterprise that was first introduced in J.J. Abrams’ 2009 film, Star Trek. Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldaña and John Cho are among the stars, with the crew most recently appearing in 2016’s Star Trek Beyond.
Quentin Tarantino and Noah Hawley are among filmmakers who had other takes on Trek before Paramount opted to go forward with a fourth installment to the Pine series of films.
A search for a new director will begin immediately although it is unclear at this stage whether the release date will shift.
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