10 Weirdest Reasons Movie Sequels Were Cancelled

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.