Noah Hawley set to write and direct next Star Trek film

Although the Star Trek franchise is quickly expanding on the small-screen with multiple shows in development to join Star Trek: Discovery, the franchise hasn't enjoyed that same luck on the big-screen in recent years. After 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 seems that there's still life left in the project as Deadline has now reported that Noah Hawley, creator of Legion and Fargo, is currently in final talks with Paramount Pictures to write and direct the next STAR TREK film. It's Deadline's understanding that this film will once again focus on the Enterprise crew led by Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, and Simon Pegg. The original intention for STAR TREK 4 would have found Chris Hemsworth reprising the role of George Kirk, the man who sacrificed his life so that his crew and family could escape safely from Nero in 2009's STAR TREK. This would have let Chris Pine's Captain Kirk "cross paths with a man he never had a chance to meet, but whose legacy has haunted him since the day he was born: his father." It would seem that this particular story has now been shelved and that Hawley will be coming up with a new adventure for the Enterprise crew.

This new STAR TREK project will be separate from the R-rated STAR TREK film from Quentin Tarantino (ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD), which Paramount is still apparently developing. Tarantino came up with the idea for the film several years ago, and, after pitching it to J.J. Abrams (STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER), tasked Mark L. Smith (THE REVENANT) with penning the screenplay. I'm not about to hold my breath that it actually gets made, but I'll admit that I'm very curious to see what a Tarantino-fueld STAR TREK film would look like.