10 Weirdest Reasons Movie Sequels Were Cancelled
8. Star Trek IV: The Trial Of James T. Kirk - It Was Too Star Trek-y
The Trial of James T. Kirk was the proposed fourth film in the Stat Trek film series, following The Search for Spock.
It was written as a whodunnit legal drama in which Kirk was put on trial for his actions in the previous film - primarily in regards to stealing then destroying the Enterprise - only to become the target of assassins hired to settle an old score.
All told, though, the film gained no traction. Paramount weren't interested in making a legal drama, worried it wouldn't fit in with the tone of the Star Trek movie series (despite a similar storyline having been done on the show), and were more concerned with making a lighthearted picture following the casualty-heavy events of the two previous films.
Soon after The Trial was cancelled, Leonard Nimoy came on board to direct Star Trek: The Voyage Home. Seeing the crew travel back to the 20th century was a brilliant and iconic plotline, but it's weird to think that the film started as a legal drama - far removed from Star Trek's usual level of space adventure - only to end up as a time travel thriller about whales.