Following up on his recent role in the Ghostbusters reboot, Paramount is reminding everyone this week that Chris Hemsworth was a part of the Star Trek franchise back before he joined the Ghostbusters and Marvel Cinematic Universes. Hemsworth played Captain Kirk’s father in the 2009 reboot, the first officer of the U.S.S. Kelvin, which was destroyed as part of a sequence of events that spawned an alternate timeline (now officially dubbed the Kelvin Timeline). It has been previously hinted that George Kirk may have survived the ship’s destruction, although the details of how that might be possible are somewhat murky. Now this week Paramount has confirmed rumours that a fourth Star Trek film is definitively happening and it will bring back Chris Hemsworth in some way, shape or form. The official press release reads as follows:

“Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Bad Robot today announced that the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise will return to the big screen for another voyage.
In the next installment of the epic space adventure, 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.

Chris Hemsworth, who appeared in 2009’s Star Trek, will return to the space saga as George Kirk to star alongside Pine.

The remaining cast is expected to return.

J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay will write the screenplay. J.J. Abrams and Lindsey Weber will produce through Bad Robot Productions. David Ellison and Dana Goldberg of Skydance will executive produce.”

No director has been announced as of yet although it seems unlikely that Justin Lin will return. Either way, there is already plenty of speculation out there about how Chris Hemsworth could figure into the story. Time travel seems like the obvious possibility, although he could also appear strictly in flashbacks. Some people are also wondering if this movie might merge the Kelvin Timeline and the original Star Trek timeline, perhaps as a way to coincide with the universe of the new Star Trek TV series. It’s an intriguing possibility, although I certainly hope this is not the only thing driving the plot of the next Trek movie. Are you excited to see Chris Hemsworth return as George Kirk?