TO BOLDY GO WHERE ORCI HASN’T GONE BEFORE!
Article by Adam Mast
Big news regarding STAR TREK 3. Despite lobbying pretty hard for the job, it looks like Roberto Orci wont be directing the next entry in the STAR TREK franchise after all. Apparently, Paramount is looking at other film-makers for the job.
I presume they’re still using Orci’s script which, at this point, we know very little about. Reportedly, Kirk makes an appearance and Shatner says he’s game to come back but beyond that, all we really know is that the movie is supposedly taking place in deep space.
So, why isn’t Orci directing? Your guess is as good as mine. Perhaps Paramount became skittish after a large contingent of TREK fans vented their disapproval at the very idea of Orci making his directorial debut with a TREK movie. There was a lot of backlash following the release of STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS and a lot of the criticism was pointed directly at screenwriters Orci and writing partner Alex Kurtzman for their blatant, unacceptable aping of WRATH OF KHAN. Personally, I thought Abrams directed the hell out of INTO DARKNESS but I was incredibly irritated by the way Orci and Kurtzman haphazardly dipped into past TREK canon. Abrams’ first TREK movie was enormous fun and it made very little sense to me that Orci and Kurtzman would mess with Khan’s legacy in the sequel. Given that this writing team went out of their way to creatively reestablish the TREK timeline in the first picture, they could have gone in any new direction with the follow-up. Instead, they chose to mess with perfection and the fans didn’t like it.
Where is Paramount sitting with TREK 3 right now? Clearly, they want a new TREK movie in theaters by 2016, so that the release can coincide with the 50th anniversary. And here is where it gets really interesting. Downright exciting if you ask me. Deadline and a few other sites are reporting that director Edgar Wright is on Paramount’s shortlist.
Edgar Wright made headlines earlier this year when he parted ways with Marvel on ANT-MAN. The parting was bittersweet, but both Marvel and Wright took the high road and went their separate ways in classy fashion.
Wright is a fantastic director! SHAUN OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ, SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD, and last year’s best comedy, THE WORLD’S END, are all brilliantly directed. While none of these films were box-office titans, they were well liked. Furthermore, Wright has managed to garner quite a fan following and you can count me as one of his biggest supporters. Quite frankly, I was holding out hope that Wright would get to play in the STAR WARS universe, but if that isn’t going to happen, I’d love to see what he’d bring to the TREK franchise. And who knows, if Paramount does decide to give this creative film-maker the job, perhaps Wright will bring ATTACK THE BLOCK director Joe Cornish back into the fold to help in some capacity. Cornish was in talks to helm TREK 3 earlier this year but for whatever reason (might Orci have had something to do with it?), it didn’t work out.
So what do you all think? Are you as excited as I am at the idea of an directed STAR TREK movie?
