“WandaVision,” “Game of Thrones,” director Matt Shakman has officially dropped out of helming fourth installment of “Star Trek” franchise at Paramount Pictures due to his schedule conflicts, franchise that began in 2009’s “Star Trek” and Chris Pine has been playing the role of Captain James T. Kirk.

The news follows right in the wake of reports yesterday that Shakman was in talks to direct the new “Fantastic Four” movie at Marvel Studios. Even though the deal hasn’t been closed yet, but his dropping the next “Star Trek” suggests it’s likely to be stepping into a directorial chair.

MCU had been looking for a new director to replace “Spider-Man” trilogy veteran Jon Watts, who stepped down from the director role last April.  MCU president,  Kevin Feige and his company are zeroing in on their choice as Shakman.

In an official statement, a Paramount rep says: “Matt Shakman is an incredibly talented filmmaker, and we regret the timing didn’t align for him to direct our upcoming Star Trek film.

We are grateful for his many contributions, are excited about the creative vision of this next chapter and look forward to bringing it to audiences all around the world.

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Shakman boarded the Star Trek movie in the summer of 2021. The latest version of the script comes from writers Josh Friedman and Cameron Squires, working from a draft from Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet, but the fourth installment is long in development, Paramount hoping to reunite Chris Pine and the crew of this franchise that was first introduced in J.J. Abrams’ 2009 film. A search for a new director will begin shortly although it is uncertain whether the release date will shift from Dec.

22, 2023 release.

“Fantastic Four” is currently scheduled as part of Phase 6, due for release on 8 November, 2024.