Quentin Tarantino has repeatedly said that he will be calling his feature-film directiong career quits after his tenth and final movie. "I think when it comes to theatrical movies, I’ve come to the end of the road," the director said. "I see myself writing books and starting to write theatre, so I’ll still be creative. I just think I’ve given all I have to give to movies." We still don't know what Tarantino's final film will be, but for a moment, there was a wild, albeit slim, possibility that he could have helmed the R-rated Star Trek project which has been kicking around.
While speaking with Deadline recently, the ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD director indicated that it's unlikely that he'll be taking the helm of the STAR TREK project.
I think they might make that movie, but I just don’t think I’m going to direct it. It’s a good idea. They should definitely do it and I’ll be happy to come in and give them some notes on the first rough cut.
Mark L. Smith (THE REVENANT) has penned the screenplay for Tarantino's STAR TREK project, but I honestly don't know if it will ever see the light of day.
Quentin Tarantino's potential film is not the only STAR TREK project which Paramount has in the works as they've also set Noah Hawley, creator of Legion and Fargo, with writing and directing a new STAR TREK film. Although it was initially expected that Hawley's film would once again focus on the Enterprise crew led by Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, and Simon Pegg, Hawley recently teased that he may go in a different direction.
I have my own take on Star Trek, and going back to what I loved about the series Next Generation, when a lot of franchises focus on ‘might makes right’, Star Trek is about exploration and humanity at its best, and diversity and creative problem solving. There’s nothing better than that moment when William Shatner puts on his reading glasses and lowers Khan’s shields. It doesn’t cost anything. But it’s that triumphant feeling about smarting your enemy. For me it’s about to getting to those elements of the show. I don’t necessarily find action in and of itself interesting unless it’s story. So, it’s early days, I’m still talking with Paramount and I have a take and I gotta write a script.
That said, although Noah Hawley has his own take on Star Trek which may not include the previous cast, he does want to be sure that he's "respectful to the underlying material. That I’m not unintentionally changing things that people love or feel passionate about. So, it’s important to do that research as I go."