Star Trekhas seen a lot of bold and interesting creative choices in its time, but one tectonic shift in the approach to how the franchise’s projects come together has fallen through, and now fans get more details on what really happened.
Star Trekhas enjoyed more longevity than most other franchises, with new shows emerging afterStar Trek: The Original Seriesone after the other, giving fans all sorts of different views on the future world of the Federation. WhileStar Trekmovies would be made intermittently, these feature-length projects would become the main focus of the franchise after it was eventually rebooted by Paramount. After three films, the franchisehas circled back to the point ofStar Trek: The Next Generation, with fans unsure where the film series will go from here, and the focus is shifted back to the small screen.
WhileStar Trekis getting its most unique projectby way of a planned TV sitcom for Paramount+, there was one rumored development that would’ve certainly given that show a run for its money. After the third entry in the rebooted film franchise, it was announced that a fourth film was on the way in 2016. While there was no clear idea what direction the franchise would be going in following that point, it became known that Hollywood icon Quentin Tarantino was dreaming up aStar Trekproject, and a writer was even attached to develop a script based on Tarantino’s idea, getting fans geared up for an R-Rated take on the often lofty franchise. “It’s never going to happen,” Tarantino revealed to Bill Maher when the proposed film came up in a recentpodcast interview. “There’s been so much misinformation about what it was going to be - nothing but misinformation. I live in a special zone and part of my zone is because I’m not on Instagram and Facebook, I’m not creating this constant dialogue with the world with what’s going on with my life.”
Consequently, if you’re Joe Schlomoka and you’re some transient reporter of some kind, if you hear Quentin is going to make a Star Trek movie or a make a movie called The Movie Critic, or any f–king thing, it’s a little bit like that guy who wrote the Howard Hughes biography that ended up being a hoax," Tarantino continued. “The thing is, they can say anything… My point being though, they write it in a show biz magazine and then that gets picked up in 140 pieces because I’m not shutting that down because I’m not connected.
Tarantino’s comments put the final nail in the coffin for the idea that he’ll ever helm aStar Trekfilm, but fans will have to turn elsewhere to understand the why. Mark L. Smith, who developed a script based on Tarantino’s ideas for hisStar Trekmovie, revealed that the director had “started worrying about the number, his kind of unofficial number of films.” This refers to Tarantino’s insistence that he will only direct ten films in his career, a number that he only falls short of due to a few oddities in his reckoning, like not counting short films and considering both volumes I and II ofKill Billas one film. Clarifying, Smith added, “I remember we were talking, and he goes, ‘If I can just wrap my head around the idea that Star Trek could be my last movie, the last thing I ever do. Is this how I want to end it?’ And I think that was the bump he could never get across, so the script is still sitting there on his desk.” While there’s a lot of potential in Tarantino directing aTrekfilm,many would agree that something likeKill Bill 3would be a more fitting final filmfor him.
Fans ofStar Trekmight be out of luck on that end, but there’s more to look forward to with the franchise. In addition to an incoming sitcom, there might be a collaboration betweenTrekandDoctor Who,withDoctor WhoshowrunnerRussell T. Davies spurring on a potentially amazing sci-fi crossover between the two. With enough time, fans might even get that R-RatedTrekfilm.
TheStar Trekfranchise is available to stream on Paramount+.
Star Trek
Star Trek is a space exploration franchise originally created by Gene Roddenberry. The series has spanned shows like The Original Series, The Next Generation, and Voyager. More recently, developer Scopely came out with Star Trek Fleet Command, a mobile title where you get to be captain of your own ship.
