Chris Hemsworth is returning to the “Star Trek” universe.
Paramount officially announced a fourth film in the rebooted franchise on Monday, along with the announcement that Chris Hemsworth will appear alongside Chris Pine.
In the next installment, Chris Pine‘s Captain Kirk will cross paths with a man he never had a chance to meet but whose legacy has haunted him since the day he was born: his father, George Kirk. Hemsworth played the elder Kirk in the opening minutes of 2009’s “Star Trek” but his character died shortly after being introduced.
Hemsworth currently appears in the Sony reboot of “Ghostbusters.” He is best known as Marvel hero Thor, who has appeared in the “Avengers” films as well as two standalone films. He is currently shooting “Thor: Ragnarok” and “Avengers: Infinity War — Part 1.”
J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay will write the screenplay for the new “Star Trek” film. J.J. Abrams and Lindsey Weber will produce through Bad Robot Productions. David Ellison and Dana Goldberg of Skydance will executive produce. Along with Pine and Zachary Quinto (Spock), most of the main cast is expected to return.
“Star Trek” earned more than $380 million worldwide in 2009. The second installment, “Star Trek Into Darkness” earned more than $460 million worldwide when it opened in May 2013.
The series’ third film, “Star Trek Beyond” opens in theaters on Friday.