WandaVision's Matt Shakman to direct next Star Trek movie, assuming this one really happens

At this point in 2021, there have been more failed Star Trek movies than there have been actual Star Trek movies, and no, we’re not going to do the very simple math to figure out if that’s really true. It certainly feels true, what with the J.J. Abrams reboot series stumbling when he tried to come back for a second one (funny how that happens) and then audiences largely shrugging at the basic concept of Star Trek Beyond for some reason, sending Paramount on a wild journey to throw some space-spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks (which neither Quentin Tarantino’s space-gangster movie and Noah Hawley’s space-pandemic movie both failed to do). Last we heard, Star Trek: Discovery writer Kalinda Vazquez had put together a new concept for a Trek movie, but it seems like that might have also fallen apart, because there’s no mention of her in Deadline’s story about another new Star Trek project that Paramount is putting together.

This one is coming from director Matt Shakman, whose work on WandaVision helped secure Disney+ a whole bunch of Emmy nominations this morning, and it’s based on a script by in-demand screenwriters Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet—who you may remember from the Black Cat/Silver Sable movie that’s not going to happen, the live-action Disney Bambi movie that might happen, and the female-focused Fast And Furious spin-off that seems like it could go either way.

Deadline says Shakman chose an offer to work on Star Trek over “several other” projects, which is hopefully a good sign. If he wasn’t a real Trek-head he probably would’ve chosen a franchise that is a little less cursed than this one has been. Also, about half of WandaVision was really good, so as long as he doesn’t get William Shatner to show up as a fake Captain Kirk whose real identity is just a “tee hee hee, got you!” prank, it should be okay.