There's been a lot of buzz surrounding the new direction of the Star Trek film franchise since it was rumored that Quentin Tarantino could be bringing his vision to the table. Although he revealed that he was moving away from directing the project in December 2019, his take on Star Trek is far from dead.
Deadline revealed on Friday that Paramount has brought production on Star Trek-related projects to a halt so that it can assess the future of the franchise. This has opened the door for a film created by The Revenant’s Mark L. Smith and Tarantino to resurface.
The movie is reportedly based on the January 1968 episode "A Piece of the Action," from the second season of Star Trek: The Original Series. The episode sees the Enterprise visit a planet with an "Earth-like 1920s gangster culture."
This idea evidently sparked Smith and Tarantino to develop a plot that "takes place largely earthbound in a '30s gangster setting," per Deadline.
While this seems interesting, Smith's take on Star Trek will probably be a film adjacent to the main saga, similar to 2017's Logan relationship to the X-Men series. Paramount is reportedly leaning toward a film written and set to be directed by Noah Hawley for the franchise's relaunch. Hawley's project will have a different cast from the J.J. Abrams entries and focus on a deadly virus that could exterminate mankind.
