R-rated franchise movies are becoming all the rage nowadays, and it seemed that Star Trek would be dipping into this trend with Quentin Tarantino’s effort. Right now, it remains to be seen whether this will actually make it to screens but, even if it doesn’t, there’s a chance that Star Trek 4 will also be R-rated.
That’s right. According to our sources, there’ve been discussions about giving ST4 a mature rating, as well. This desire seems to come from writer/director Noah Hawley rather than studio execs though, as we’re hearing that Hawley’s script is “pretty bloody” and “violent” and so the filmmaker is calling for him to be allowed an R-rating. All in all, we’re told Hawley wants to make a Star Trek movie for adults, not family audiences.
At this stage, though, an R-rating isn’t set in stone and it still could sport the typical PG-13 once it eventually enters theaters. But again, this seems to be the direction they’re heading in and given that this intel comes to us from the same sources who said Bill Murray was returning for Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Tom Holland is in talks for a Venom 2 cameo, both of which have now been confirmed, we have no reason to doubt it.
If you’ll recall, November saw Hawley officially announced as taking over the project, following the previous version – with S.J. Clarkson attached – falling through. Chris Pine is expected to return alongside the Kelvin timeline cast as Captain Kirk, following a brief dispute between star and studio, and this news that Hawley is setting out to make an adult-oriented Trek film isn’t surprising considering his work on TV shows like Fargo and Legion, the latter being a Marvel series that tackles some dark, mature concepts.
As for Tarantino’s Trek, the director recently admitted that he’s considering dropping the project in order to make his much-discussed final movie an original work. However, he’s yet to officially call things off with Paramount, as confirmed by ViacomCBS’s CEO stating that two Star Trek movies are currently in the works. If both do go ahead, then, there’s every chance each will be R-rated.