‘Star Trek 3′ Taking a Budget Hit, Thanks to ‘Into Darkness’

With J.J. Abrams switching teams from 'Star Trek' to 'Star Wars,' the director's chair for 'Star Trek 3' is still vacant. Though Joe Cornish of 'Attack of the Block' is being eyed to fill the void, whomever lands the job will most likely have a smaller window budget-wise through which to steer the Enterprise into a third installment.

In a piece by The Hollywood Reporter, it was revealed that Paramount is looking to cut down the budget for 'Star Trek 3' by, give or take, $20 million from where they were with 'Star Trek Into Darkness.' In terms of numbers, Abrams' second chapter of the Chris Pine-led franchise was made for $190 million and racked up $462 million worldwide, though the majority of ticket sales came from international revenues; domestic sales failed to match the first film with only $228.5 million.

In response, Paramount is now looking for a more tax-friendly location to start production on 'Star Trek 3,' as opposed to L.A. where the first two films were shot. "We're making ['Star Trek 3'] for what it should have been shot for last time if we had made it outside of L.A., which we would have done except that [director J.J. Abrams] didn't want to," stated a studio source.

As for which director will see this plan to fruition, J.J. Abrams cast his vote for 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' helmer Rupert Wyatt, saying, "He’s incredibly talented and we’d be lucky to have someone as talented as Rupert." However, the latest reports place Cornish at the front of the pack. In addition, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman have once again returned to script 'Star Trek 3,' though details are still under wraps.