Even if you’re not immediately familiar with the writing duo of Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman by name, you’ve likely seen some of their work. They’ve been behind the scripts for films like Transformers, Star Trek, Mission: Impossible III, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and more. Now, it seems as if they’re hoping to take their careers in a different direction as according to Variety, they will be parting ways in order to pursue separate directorial ventures.
Kurtzman has already stepped behind the camera once before, for People Like Us, and is also set to helm Venom for Sony. Orci, however, has not had the chance to direct yet. The film that he’s eyeing for his directorial debut, though, is none other than Star Trek 3.
Paramount has been looking for someone to replace J.J. Abrams on the next Star Trek sequel for a while now, but unfortunately, they’ve had no luck. Joe Cornish was in the mix at one point, but he ended up deciding to go with Universal’s Section 6. There’s no word yet on if the studio is seriously considering Orci, but apparently, he’s “heavily lobbying” for the gig.
Despite being a Trek expert and having been behind the scripts for the first two films in the franchise reboot, giving something like Star Trek 3 to a first-time director is undoubtedly a risky move. There’s a lot riding on the third instalment now that Abrams has departed, and to give it to someone like Orci might be a risk that the studio just isn’t willing to take.
Tell us, do you think Roberto Orci should be trusted with the keys to Star Trek 3?