Fourth 'Star Trek' film will unite Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth

Fourth ‘Star Trek’ film will unite Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth

Chris Hemsworth, left, and Chris Pine, will both appear in the fourth "Star Trek" film.

By Josh Rottenberg

July 18, 2016 9:10 AM PT

With “Star Trek Beyond” set to hit theaters July 22, Paramount Pictures announced Monday that the rebooted sci-fi series would boldly go to a fourth installment.

According to the studio, the story will bring Chris Pine’s Capt. James T. Kirk together with his father, George, a starship captain who sacrificed his own life to save his wife and unborn son in 2009’s “Star Trek.” Presumably, this will require some form of time travel, but fortunately, the “Star Trek” universe is full of wormholes for just such a thing.

Chris Hemsworth, who played George Kirk in “Star Trek,” will return, as will Pine and the rest of the franchise’s main cast members. (Actor Anton Yelchin, who played Enterprise crew member Pavel Chekov, died last month in an accident.)

No director or release date has been set for the film, which will be written by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, produced by J.J. Abrams and Lindsey Weber through Bad Robot Productions and executive produced by David Ellison and Dana Goldberg of Skydance.

Including the original series and “Next Generation” films, the next “Star Trek” installment will be the 14^th film in the long-running space adventure series.

“Star Trek Beyond,” directed by Justin Lin, will make its premiere at the Comic-Con International fan expo on Wednesday in San Diego.