‘STAR TREK 3’ dropping in 2016. So is ‘TRANSFORMERS 5’…and ‘HANSEL AND GRETEL 2’?!

That Trekkin’ Stars‘ third flick has a release date, with Paramount announcing a cavalcade of 2016 releases. Cool! And stuff! However as much as I am excited (?) to see Roberto Orci’s directorial debut, I’m more staggered at the fact that there’s a Hansel and Gretel 2 in the works. I never saw the film, but I just sort of assumed it was a turd-splash in the vomit-pot.

“Well, they’ve talked about doing more,” Mark Wahlberg told HitFix about possible future “Transformers” films. “When you make a deal on a movie like this, they’re definitely going to want to negotiate those things in advance.” And while he’s being cagey, he’s also correct that these days, studios want to tie down their franchise actors. And let’s not forget that last year, Wahlberg was a bit more definitive about his role in the series saying, “I definitely had to sign up for three.” Of course, Paramount is banking on audiences showing up, and clearly they’re confident they will.

The studio announced today at CineEurope that they will be bringing (deep breath) “Beverly Hills Cop,” “Ben Hur,” “Transformers 5,” “GI Joe 3,” “Hansel and Gretel 2,” “Paranormal Activity 5” and “Star Trek 3” to cinemas. Basically, we really hope you like reboots and sequels. It’s not really that shocking given that major studios are pimping brands these days, but it does spell out a rather bleak future for multiplex programming (and we’re really surprised “Hansel And Gretel 2” is actually happening, though it did really well internationally, so perhaps not). Details all of these were scarce beyond their projected release, but it would seem the wheels are indeed turning. [Play List]