A few days ago it was revealed that Quentin Tarantino had pitched an idea for a Star Trek film to J.J. Abrams, the director of the first two rebooted films and producer on Star Trek Beyond. Abrams and Paramount were apparently so taken with the idea that they began putting together a writer’s room for the film’s script. The latest news from Deadline not only reveals who will be part of the writer’s room, but that Tarantino’s Star Trek will be R-rated.
No film in the Star Trek franchise has been rated R. Most have received a PG rating with a couple getting PG-13, but every single film Tarantino has made has been rated R. The R-rating was apparently an important part of Tarantino’s pitch to Paramount, enough so that it would either be that or he wouldn’t direct at all, a stipulation which Paramount has agreed to.
Meanwhile, Abrams and the studio have assembled three screenwriters for their writer’s room to adapt Tarantino’s story: Mark L. Smith (The Revenant), Lindsay Bear (Chaos Walking) and Drew Pierce (Iron Man 3). Tarantino met with each of them to kick around his idea with Smith said to be the frontrunner to write the screenplay. This would mark the first time since Pulp Fiction that Tarantino has shared a screenwriting credit on one of his films.
Previously, Paramount was interested in having Chris Hemsworth reprise his brief role as George Kirk, Captain Kirk’s father, in the next Star Trek, but its unknown if Tarantino’s pitch has made them significantly change their plans.
Originally published December 8, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
