Trek Watch: 'Star Trek 4' Shelved, Picard Show Features 'Radically Altered' Timeline, Another Animated Show Coming To CBS All Access

Trek Watch! (Please read that in Paul Rudd's Anchorman voice.) A galaxy full of Star Trek news just happened to beam itself into our laps, so I've rounded it up for you, dear reader. The biggest and perhaps most disappointing story is that Star Trek 4 has been shelved due to those contract disputes with Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth. Meanwhile, the CBS All Access show about Captain Picard will apparently feature Picard's life being "radically altered." And finally, CBS All Access is boldly going forward with another animated Star Trek series.

Word broke the other day that S.J. Clarkson was directing the Game of Thrones prequel pilot. Trek fans will likely recognize that name – Clarkson was set to become the first female director to helm a Trek movie with Star Trek 4. But according to Deadline, Star Trek 4 has been shelved. Trek 4 was to involve a plotline reuniting Chris Pine's Captain Kirk with his dead father, played by Chris Hemsworth. But Pine and Hemsworth both walked away from the project due to salary disputes, which left the fate of the film uncertain. Now, Clarkson's departure to direct Game of Thrones has allegedly shelved the project completely. Paramount responded to the report with "no comment," which isn't the best sign.

In other Trek news, Alex Kurtzman offered an update on the CBS All Access Picard show starring Patrick Stewart to THR, confirming the show will tie into the 2009 Star Trek film reboot, which Kutzman co-wrote. In the film, the Romulan home world Romulus was destroyed by a supernova, leading to the end of the Romulan empire. According to Kurtzman, the new series will reveal that "Picard's life was radically altered by the dissolution of the Romulan Empire." The THR story continues:

The destruction of Romulus would also have extra resonance for Picard, who has a long and complicated relationship with the Romulans, the alien race that split from Vulcan society thousands of years ago and founded a separate civilization. The Romulans went on to control a portion of the galaxy, and the empire was in opposition to the Federation for all of Picard's career...One of his goals as captain of the Enterprise was seeking a peace between the Romulan Empire and the Federation.

That's all we really know for now, but more will come to light as production gears up.

We already knew about one new CBS All Acess Star Trek animated series – called Lower Decks. But it's not the only cartoon Trek on the horizon. Alex Kurtzmen tells THR that there will be at least one more animated show. There will also be more Short Treks – the short little films that featured supporting characters from Star Trek Discovery. Said Kurtzman:

"Our goal is to not only expand the definition of Star Trek and what has qualified as traditional Star Trek, but also to tell stories that are both self-contained in a very short period of time that also connect to the larger picture of what we're doing, not only in Discovery but in the world building of Trek in general...And you get to tell these very intimate, emotional stories that are side stories to characters. So you get the benefit of the experience in and of itself but then when you watch Discovery you'll see that these were all setting up things in the world of season two."