It’s still hard to believe this is a real thing, but Quentin Tarantino is developing an R-rated “Star Trek” movie at Paramount. For a director who has long worked from his own scripts and never directed franchise fare, this project marks two major departures from his usual form. That’s right, while Tarantino dreamed up his still under wraps story idea, he’s passing it on to someone else to write, and it’s no slouch either.
Mark L. Smith, who penned “The Revenant,” has landed the job of writing the “Star Trek” flick, beating out Drew Pearce (“Iron Man 3,” “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation“) and Lindsey Beer (“Chaos Walking“) who were also contenders for the gig. J.J. Abrams will be producing the movie, and Smith continues his strong standing with Paramount, earning both the studio’s and Abrams’ seal of approval with his script on the upcoming WWII thriller “Overlord.”
Of course, whether or not this picture even gets made is still the big question. Certainly, if it goes ahead, it will still be a long way off as Tarantino will be spending next year shooting his Manson-era movie, which is already slated to hit cinemas in 2019. So, even if he were to jump right into directing “Star Trek” afterward, we’re looking at 2021 at the earliest that the film would hit cinemas, but it could easily be later than that. Or, not at all. [Deadline]