Noah Hawley’s Star Trek hits a snag as Paramount puts film on back burner

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Although the Star Trek franchise is currently thriving on the small-screen with a variety of shows, including Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, and Star Trek: Lower Decks, the same can't be said for the big-screen side of the franchise. When STAR TREK BEYOND wound up performing below expectations, Paramount wasn't in a big hurry to get the fourth installment of the rebooted series off the ground. S.J. Clarkson (The Defenders) was slated to helm the new entry, but Paramount wound up cancelling the project after negotiations with several of the lead actors broke down.

It was revealed last year that Noah Hawley (Fargo) would be writing and directing a new STAR TREK film, but sadly it seems that the project may be heading to the back burner. Deadline has reported that Emma Watts, Paramount's new motion picture group president, is currently re-assessing the studio's slate, and that includes the big-screen STAR TREK projects in development. Hawley's project is said to center around a virus that wipes out large portions of the universe, and given the current pandemic crisis, it could be that the studio doesn't find the topic to be suitable at the moment. It remains to be seen whether or not Hawley will stick with the project or move on.

There are two other STAR TREK projects in development as well, including the much-discussed film which emerged from Quentin Tarantino. According to Deadline, Tarantino's take is said to be based on an episode of the Original Series and would largely take place on Earth in a '30s gangster setting (think "A Piece of the Action"). That project was scripted by Mark L. Smith (THE REVENANT) and for those of you still holding out hope that Tarantino would direct the film, Deadline says that he's dropped out of that particular role. The third project would reunite the cast of the J.J. Abrams reboot for one more adventure. Paramount still considers Star Trek to be one of their biggest franchises, but they just want to be sure that they get the next film right. Deadline says that the studio should be making a decision regarding which direction to go in the coming weeks.