Star Trek 4: Chris Pine confirms he COULD return – after claims he ‘dropped out' over pay

It was claimed last month that the star, along with Chris Hemsworth, had departed the franchise amidst a disagreement over pay.

Pine was due to reprise the role of Captain Kirk, while Hemsworth would have played his father in a time-travelling twist, having first played the part in 2009.

The stars were said to have had pre-existing deals in place that the studios were backtracking on, according to The Hollywood Reporter – after the previous movies in the franchise failed to pull in the kind of money to put it in the same ballpark as Marvel and Star Wars.

Now, though, Pine has re-iterated that he hasn’t completely walked away.

Asked about the situation, he told Variety: “I don’t know, I’d love to be involved.

“We’ll see what happens. I’ll await the phone call, and until then… I look forward to it.”

Aside from Pine and Hemsworth, stars such as Zoe Saldana, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg and John Cho were all expected to finalise their deals as expected.

Should the men not return, it remains to be seen if they would be written out, their parts recast, or if the whole project would be completely derailed.

Pegg had previously said that the project was “in prep”.

“As far as I know, we are pushing ahead,” he told HeyUGuys.

“We are in prep, I think, for it, but then there’s so much to do before we start shooting, like making sure everybody is available.”

SJ Clarkson has been hired to direct, becoming the first female director in Star Trek history.

“I met the new director, SJ Clarkson, who is the first female director of a Star Trek film, which is exciting, and she is just brimming with ideas and enthusiasm,” Pegg told Larry King. “I can’t wait to work with her.

“As far I know, we’re sort of in soft prep at the moment. I would imagine [filming] next year at some point.

“Hopefully early next year.”

Star Trek 4 does not currently have a release date.