Joe Cornish on why he passed on the chance to direct Star Trek Beyond

After directing both STAR TREK and STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, J.J. Abrams then turned his focus towards STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, meaning that someone else would need to step into the director's chair for what would become STAR TREK BEYOND. A number of directors were considered for the gig, including ATTACK THE BLOCK director Joe Cornish. Although the studio was apparently keen to have him, Cornish passed and Justin Lin (FAST & FURIOUS) wound up taking the helm.

While speaking with Entertainment Weekly to promote THE KID WHO WOULD BE KING, Joe Cornish explained why he passed on the chance to direct a big franchise film.

I talked to J.J. about that pretty early on, but then decided I wasn’t ready for it. Because it’s a big old franchise, and I’ve had friends who’ve gone straight from indie movies into big blockbusters, and have come out the other end a little bit bruised and battered, and not necessarily feeling it’s their film. I love the idea, but then eventually I thought that if I had the opportunity to do something of scale, that it would be cooler to do my own thing.

Can't fault him for that. Although the Star Trek franchise seems to be growing and thriving on the small-screen, it's not looking nearly so good on the theatrical side of things. S.J. Clarkson (Jessica Jones) was slated to helm STAR TREK 4, but when talks broke down with Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth, who was expected to reprise his role of George Kirk, Paramount Pictures seemingly pulled the plug and Clarkson departed to direct the pilot for the Game of Thrones prequel series.

The official synopsis for THE KID WHO WOULD BE KING:

Old school magic meets the modern world in the epic adventure THE KID WHO WOULD BE KING. Alex (Ashbourne Serkis) thinks he's just another nobody, until he stumbles upon the mythical Sword in the Stone, Excalibur. Now, he must unite his friends and enemies into a band of knights and, together with the legendary wizard Merlin (Stewart), take on the wicked enchantress Morgana (Ferguson). With the future at stake, Alex must become the great leader he never dreamed he could be.

THE KID WHO WOULD BE KING is set for a January 25th release.