Star Trek Beyond

It was good news when Roberto Orci left the director’s chair on Star Trek 3. It was really good news when Fast and Furious franchise director Justin Lin took over. And it was even better news when it was announced that Simon Pegg would take over scripting duties, officially getting us excited for the third installment in the franchise after the somewhat disappointing Star Trek Into Darkness. And now Pegg is getting our hopes up even more, promising that the upcoming sequel is inspired by the original Star Trek television series.

Man, the rebooted Star Trek movie series really has this whole “casting actors we really like” thing down. The latest report from Star Trek 3 has the great Idris Elba cast as the movie’s villain, whose identity remains, for the moment, a mystery.

After the many sins of ‘Star Trek Into Darkness,’ Paramount seems dead set on righting the course of the ‘Star Trek’ franchise with ‘Star Trek 3.’ They ditched controversial director Roberto Orci, hired the great Simon Pegg to co-write the screenplay with Doug Jung, and now, word that hit the internet suggesting that the film will contain three new female characters ... and a villain fit for Bryan Cranston.

Here’s even more good news for you regarding the previously troubled production of ‘Star Trek 3’: now that ‘Fast and Furious’ director Justin Lin has taken over directing duties following the departure of Roberto Orci, the upcoming ‘Trek’ installment has just beamed itself up a new writer to course-correct the screenplay. Simon Pegg—Scotty himself—will now lend his writing talents to the script alongside Doug Jung.

A couple of weeks ago, we learned that ‘Star Trek’ writer and producer Roberto Orci would no longer be making his directorial debut on ‘Star Trek 3.’ Shortly after, ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise helmer Justin Lin was tapped to direct the film, while rumors swirled that Orci had been booted over issues with the script. Those rumors seem to have been confirmed now, as Orci has revealed that he is only acting as a producer on ‘Star Trek 3' and nothing else.

2016 marks the 50th anniversary of ‘Star Trek,’ which debuted on CBS in 1966, and Paramount has been adamant about getting the next film into theaters in time to mark the occasion. Today, they officially set the date. If all goes according to plan, ‘Star Trek 3’ will warp into theaters on July 8, 2016.

A few weeks back, Roberto Orci parted ways with ‘Star Trek 3,’ leaving the director’s chair vacant. While rumors about the reasons for Orci’s departure abounded (the script, clashes with Paramount), there was a much bigger concern: Who would step up to direct the third ‘Star Trek’ film, which is scheduled for release next year during the original series’ 50th anniversary? The answer is ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise director Justin Lin.

Boy, when they named the last ‘Star Trek’ movie ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ they weren’t kidding. The finished film received decent reviews from critics, but did only so-so in theaters, and quickly became Trekkies’ least-favorite movie in the franchise’s near-50-year history. (Yes, they hated it even more than ‘Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.’) As the series began to move ahead with ‘Star Trek 3,’ the franchise lost its director, J.J. Abrams, to its bitter rival ‘Star Wars,’ and then lost his replacement, Roberto Orci. Why did Orci leave? I don’t know; I’m a doctor, not a high-powered Hollywood agent, dammit! (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)

Last Friday news broke that writer Roberto Orci will no longer be making his directorial debut on ‘Star Trek 3.’ The sequel, which will be released the same year as the television show’s 50th anniversary in 2016, is now without a director as Paramount seeks to replace Orci. Although no details were given at the time, online reports suggest that Orci was booted due to the studio’s unhappiness with his script and vision. But what does the notoriously contentious Orci have to say about all of this? The former director popped up on a ‘Star Trek’ fan site to leave a few messages.

It’s been a while since we’ve heard much about ‘Star Trek 3,’ and it seems like that might be for a good reason: the upcoming sequel has just lost director Roberto Orci, who also co-wrote the first two films with partner Alex Kurtzman. Orci was initially given the job to replace J.J. Abrams when Abrams departed to direct ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens,’ and the third ‘Star Trek’ installment would have been Orci’s directorial debut. It looks like the sequel needs to beam itself up a new director, and fast.