Zoe Saldaña Has a Request for Uhura in the Upcoming Star Trek 4
The future of “Star Trek 4” is still uncertain, but Zoe Saldaña is making her voice heard regarding her character, Uhura. Since J.J. Abrams reinvented this iconic sci-fi series back in 2009—ushering in the “Kelvin Timeline” with a fresh cast—fans have been anticipating another adventure with this crew. The last time audiences saw the Kelvin cast was in 2016’s “Star Trek Beyond,” which struggled at the box office, and now fans are left hoping for a revival.
In a recent chat with Variety, Saldaña expressed her hope for Uhura to take on a “leadership role” onboard the Enterprise or within Starfleet at large. Intriguingly, she mentioned her curiosity about how Uhura’s relationship with Spock, played by Zachary Quinto, might evolve. After all, as a master of xenolinguistics, there’s room for her character to broaden her horizons in terms of responsibilities and relationships.
The road to a fourth installment has been strewn with challenges over the past several years. After the underwhelming performance of “Star Trek Beyond,” which raked in only $343 million against a hefty budget of $185 million, many questions arose regarding the franchise’s future. In the meantime, shows like “Star Trek: Discovery” and “Strange New Worlds” have been capturing audiences on the small screen, which complicates the notion of returning to the big screen.
Despite the ambiguity surrounding the production of “Star Trek 4,” Saldaña isn’t simply biding her time. She reflected on her initial years of waiting for news on sequels, expressing a newfound desire to pursue various projects. Now, she’s keenly interested in exploring more opportunities.
So what’s the current status of “Star Trek 4”? There hasn’t been any official update from Paramount for quite some time, and the chances of reuniting the Kelvin cast seem to diminish with each passing day. Notably, writer and producer Simon Kinberg is busy with plans for a new “Star Trek” prequel set in a much earlier timeframe. With the wealth of content available on Paramount+, the demand for another film featuring the Kelvin cast is hotly debated.
Interestingly, the cast still seems eager to return. Chris Pine has suggested that scaling down the next film could cater specifically to die-hard “Trek” fans, which might alleviate budget concerns. However, the cast members have become quite sought after, making scheduling challenging. Saldaña, who is involved with “Avatar 3” (and likely “Avatar 4”), may have more flexibility now that her stint in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has concluded.
For now, “Star Trek 4” remains without a release date, but fans should stay tuned for any developments. In the meantime, those looking to relive the excitement can still catch the first three Kelvin “Star Trek” films available in 4K or Blu-ray.
