In January 2020, Hawley said he would begin work on the film after completing the fourth season of his television series Fargo. He added that calling the film Star Trek 4 was a misnomer and reports of the Beyond cast returning were not necessarily correct, explaining that he had approached Paramount with his own vision for the franchise that was going to be different from previous films, and would likely involve new characters. It was important to Hawley to tell a new story that was respectful of the source material as he did with Fargo and Legion, and he specifically talked about evoking the Star Trek values of "exploration and humanity at its best, and diversity and creative problem solving". He referenced a scene from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) in which Kirk "puts on his reading glasses and lowers Khan's shields. It doesn't cost anything. But it's that triumphant feeling about [out]smarting your enemy" that Hawley wanted to recreate. Hawley discussed the film with his frequent composer Jeff Russo, who coincidentally was already the composer for the television series Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard. Russo was excited about the possibility of working on Hawley's film, and said they discussed Hawley's story and intentions for the film's music. Russo began composing musical themes for the film.
