STAR TREK Beams Up Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto for a Fourth Movie

The third movie in the rebooted Star Trek universe is just entering production, but Paramount and Skydance Entertainment are already looking forward to what comes after it. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studios have extended Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto's deals for a fourth Star Trek movie.

THR reports that Paramount and Skydance have been working to keep all the franchise's stars around beyond the next installment, which is allegedly titled Star Trek Beyond, but Pine and Quinto got the best deals from this round of negotiations.

The actor, who portrays Captain Kirk, earned only $600,000 for the 2009 movie (not a surprise considering he was still untested), but is looking to beam out with about $6 million for the new movie. Pine was paid $1.5 million for Into Darkness and was to have been paid $3 million for a third film, according to court documents filed during a 2012 lawsuit between the actor and his former talent agency. So he's doubled his money.

But Paramount also is walking away a winner. Sources say that a condition of the raises for Pine and Quinto was that the studio was granted options for a fourth movie in order to keep one of Hollywood's most iconic pairings, Kirk and Spock, intact.

These studios are smart to lock Pine down now. If recent reports are true, the actor will be splitting his time between the Star Trek franchise and playing one of several Green Lanterns in the DC Cinematic Universe.

Star Trek Beyond is set to hit theaters on July 8, 2016. Fast and Furious franchise director Justin Lin has inherited the series from JJ Abrams. In addition to Pine and Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, John Cho and Anton Yelchin are returning for Star Trek Beyond. Idris Elba has joined the franchise as the film's rumored villain.