After more than a decade away from the television realm, the Star Trek franchise is finally getting small screen representation again through CBS All Access’ Star Trek: Discovery, and more shows like Picard, Lower Decks and the untitled Nickelodeon series are on the way. On the film side of things, though, things are murky, as it doesn’t look like Star Trek 4, i.e. the next installment of the Kelvin timeline, is happening anytime soon, if at all.
Then there’s the mysterious Star Trek movie that Quentin Tarantino pitched to Paramount in 2017, which The Revenant writer Mark L. Smith is writing. There haven’t been any major updates on the development of this project lately, but now Tarantino has said that there hasn’t any major movement on it, the prospect of him directing a Star Trek movie is still on the table. In his words:
It's a very big possibility. I haven't been dealing with those guys for a while 'cause I've been making my movie. But we've talked about a story and a script. The script has been written and when I emerge my head like Punxsutawney Phil, post- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, we'll pick up talking about it again.
That makes sense. The news about Quentin Tarantino pitching a Star Trek movie idea came around the same time as he was starting to put together Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which included moving the film from The Weinstein Company to Sony Pictures. In the year and a half (give or take) since then, Tarantino has shot Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and is currently on the “mix-stage” of his latest movie, as he also mentioned in his interview with Slashfilm.
So for now, Quentin Tarantino’s attention remains focused on finishing Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but once that’s in the can, it sounds like he’ll be revisiting his potential future with the Star Trek franchise. There’s still no 100% guarantee that he ends up directing this movie, but it does bode well that the script is all ready to go
Considering the current state of the Star Trek film series, this Quentin Tarantino movie might be the only way to keep things going in the near future. While it initially looked like Star Trek 4 was finally moving forward, with S.J. Clarkson being tapped to direct, last summer brought things to a grinding halt due to Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth getting into a contract dispute with Paramount.
Then in January, it was reported that S.J. Clarkson had departed Star Trek 4 in order to direct and executive produce the pilot for the upcoming Game of Thrones prequel, and that Star Trek 4 had been “shelved.” Maybe that will change later down the line, but for now, this timeline’s USS Enterprise crew isn’t going on any more big screen adventures.
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Back to the Quentin Tarantino Star Trek movie, no plot details have been revealed yet, but Karl Urban, who played the latest version of Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy, said that from what little he’s heard, Tarantino’s idea is “bananas.” Much like how 2009’s Star Trek took the Star Trek film series in a new direction following over two decades of movies following the Original Series and Next Generation crews, perhaps Tarantino’s Star Trek movie could similarly revitalize the film series now that it’s in limbo.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for all the biggest updates concerning the Star Trek fans. Quentin Tarantino fans can look forward to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood coming out on July 26. Don’t forget to also look through our 2019 release schedule to learn what other movies are coming out later this year.
