The "Star Trek" franchise won't be completely done on the big screen. Following news that "Star Trek 4" will no longer be produced since lead stars Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth dropped out, reports now say that Paramount still has an active "Star Trek" project with Quentin Tarantino.
A profile feature of Wyck Godfrey, Paramount Pictures new president, on the New York Times indicated that the "Star Trek" project with Tarantino is still very much active. Mark. L. Smith ("The Revenant") is writing the screenplay that might be completed by the end of 2019.
Though the details are still muddled, Godfrey said that he wants Paramount to keep its long-running and well-loved brands afresh. To do that, the studio would have to work with different directors and writers, including someone like Tarantino, who is well-known for his R-rated, violently graphic movies.
It's unclear, however, if the story will feature the same cast of the rebooted franchise with writer, producer, and director J.J. Abrams. But actor Karl Urban (Dr. Leonard McCoy) told Trek Movie he knew how Tarantino came about with the "Star Trek" pitch.
He revealed that Tarantino approached Abrams to share his story idea for the next "Star Trek" movie. Urban described the story's plot as "bananas," and the plan was that Tarantino could work on the movie after he has completed his current project, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," with Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio.
But while Pine and Hemsworth won't be back for another "Star Trek" movie due to rumored pay disputes, Zachary Quinto (Spock) expressed that he would like to be part of a Tarantino film. He's been a big fan of the director since "Reservoir Dogs" so he knows Tarantino's idea for the franchise will be an amazing one.
Meanwhile, another "Star Trek" actor is optimistic that no matter what happens the franchise will never die. John Cho (Sulu) told Entertainment Tonight that "Star Trek" is such an important part of pop culture that it will never be gone.
In 2009, Abrams, along with Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman rebooted the franchise with "Star Trek." The film was an alternate reality of the original movies from the '70s and the '80s.
"Star Trek" 2009 was followed up with "Star Trek Into the Darkness" in 2013 and "Star Trek Beyond" in 2016. Aside from Pine, Hemsworth, Urban, Quinto and Cho, the movie also starred Anton Yelchin (Chekov), Eric Bana (Captain Nero), Benedict Cumberbatch (Khan Noonien Singh), Idris Elbo (Krall), Winona Ryder (Amanda Grayson), Jennifer Morrison (Winona Kirk), Bruce Greenwood (Pike).
