‘Star Trek 4’ On The Way With Chris Pine And Co. Returning, Plus More ‘A Quiet Place’, ‘Transformers’, ‘Sonic’, ‘TMNT’

Paramount went big at yesterday’s ViacomCBS investor event, and not just for offerings on Paramount+ streaming. They had huge announcements regarding all of their biggest movie franchises, and yes, that includes Star TrekA Quiet PlaceTransformers, and even Sonic the Hedgehog.

The biggest news by far is that the Kelvin timeline lives! After years of fits, starts, contract disputes, and a diversion into Tarantino-land, Star Trek 4 is actually happening and it will reunite Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana, Zachary Quinto, and the rest of JJ Abrams’ cast. Abrams will produce the untitled sequel with WandaVision‘s Matt Shakman directing.

This will be the first Star Trek featuring Pine and co. since 2016’s underwhelming Star Trek Beyond. A true sequel directed by SJ Clarkson was planned but fell through due to contract disputes and scheduling issues.

A spinoff of A Quiet Place is still in the works for next year, with Pig director Michael Sarnoski recently named as director, but as for a true sequel? You can expect that to arrive in 2025. The news was made official by franchise creator John Krasinski, although it’s unclear if he will direct this one as he did the first two chapters. It would make sense for him to, though, as a way of finishing up the trilogy.

Transformers is coming back in a huge way. Next up is Transformers: Rise of the Beasts in 2023, expected to be the first of a brand new live-action trilogy, which takes us all the way to the franchise’s ninth movie. Sheesh. That film is directed by Steven Caple Jr., with Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback among its stars. On top of that, you can expect a new Transformers animated series on Nickelodeon, the first since 2019’s awesome Transformers: War for Cybertron. Then in 2024, a new big-screen CG-animated feature that, if it performs well, will likely be the start of a new franchise.

With more than $300M earned and a sequel on the way, Sonic the Hedgehog is definitely among Sony’s highest priorities. And they are treating this new franchise as such by already confirming a third movie, and a spinoff series featuring Idris Elba as the voice of Knuckles, who will appear in the upcoming sequel on April 8th.

And finally, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is getting a new live-action movie, which will coincide with Seth Rogen’s animated feature in 2023. Plus, look for a series of villain-centric movies exclusively for Paramount+.

Travis Hopson
Travis Hopson has been reviewing movies before he even knew there was such a thing. Having grown up on a combination of bad '80s movies, pro wrestling, comic books, and hip-hop, Travis is uniquely positioned to geek out on just about everything under the sun. A vampire who walks during the day and refuses to sleep, Travis is the co-creator and lead writer for Punch Drunk Critics. He is also a contributor to Good Morning Washington, WBAL Morning News, and WETA Around Town. In the five minutes a day he's not working, Travis is also a voice actor, podcaster, and Twitch gamer. Travis is a voting member of the Critics Choice Association (CCA), Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and Late Night programmer for the Lakefront Film Festival.