In case you’ve been living under a rock, J.J. Abrams has been making headlines everywhere because he’s signed on to direct the newest installment of the ‘Star Wars’ franchise for Disney. Despite that, he’s sticking with ‘Star Trek’, at the very least in a producing capacity. But the question remains as to when that will actually happen. Although ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ doesn’t come out until May, there’s already been talk of when the third film in Paramount Pictures’ rebooted franchise will hit theaters. Well, a milestone is coming up in the world of ‘Star Trek’, so no time looks better than 2016.

Why that year you may ask? Well, Gene Roddenberry’s iconic sci-fi series debuted back in 1966, so 2016 would mark the 50th anniversary of ‘Star Trek’. With an occasion like that coming up, it would definitely be a shame if there weren’t something new to celebrate with. In a recent interview with Digital Spy, producer Bryan Burk hinted at the possibility that it may actually happen:

“We’re definitely talking about the next one, but we haven’t talked about a release date. We don’t want to wait four years, the same amount of time between the last one and this one, but it’s going to be a big year to celebrate, hopefully.”

That’s not a definite yes, but things are looking up based on those comments. Plus, if things stay on track, Abrams should be in post for ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ by the time the next ‘Star Trek’ goes into pre-production since the new trip to the galaxy far, far away is supposed to be released in 2015. If that’s the case, then maybe the filmmaker could be more involved in the third ‘Star Trek’ movie than just a producer. Lots of things would have to fall into place for that to work out, but it’s a possibility. But with or without Abrams, a new ‘Star Trek’ movie in 2016 doesn’t sounds like it would be hard to do, unless ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ does badly in the box office, which I don’t really see happening.

In an ideal world, J.J. Abrams would direct a third ‘Star Trek’ movie for Paramount that would come out in 2016 in time for the franchise’s 50th anniversary. But do you think it will actually happen? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, Alice Eve, John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, and Peter Weller beams into theaters on May 17, 2013.