Star Trek 4: Zachary Quinto reveals script is being written for anticipated sequel

Pioneering sci-fi franchise Star Trek celebrated its 50th anniversary last year with the release of Star Trek Beyond, the third film in JJ Abrams's rebooted, big screen voyages of the starship Enterprise.

Shortly before its release a fourth film was announced and now star Zachary Quinto, who plays Vulcan Starfleet officer Spock, has offered an update on how Star Trek 4, or Star Trek 14 depending on who you ask, is shaping up.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Quinto revealed that the script is currently being written and the production is coming along at around the same pace as both 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness and last year's adventure.

"It's a process. It's always this way," he said. "It's like, 'Yes, we're going to do it!' But then there are many steps in that process – writing a script being primary among them – and I know that's what they're working on now.

"I think we're all really excited to go back and we'll do that whenever the phone rings and it's JJ on the other end. But yeah, it is a process.

"There's years between the first few movies – I think four years between the first two and three between the second and the third. So we are kind of on track. It was two years ago we shot the last one and it came out last year so I feel we are still in the strike zone."

Star Trek Beyond was a different kind of sequel to Into Darkness, director Justin Lin creating a film that felt more episodic and like the original series when compared to its conventionally-bombastic predecessor.

Abrams rebooted the series in 2009 with Chris Pine as Kirk, Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Karl Urban as Bones, John Cho as Sulu, Simon Pegg as Scotty and the late Anton Yelchin as Chekov.

Chekov won't be recast following Yelchin's tragic death last year, so his character will need to be written out. The remaining Enterprise crew are all expected to return.

Star Trek 4 was announced days before Beyond's release in August 2016. The film will see Chris Hemsworth reprise his role as Kirk's father, who died in the opening sequel of 2009's reboot. Leave it to the sci-fi wizards to dream up a way for him to return.

As of yet there is no release date for the sequel.