14 DAY TRIAL // For a movie that’s supposed to be out in theaters in July 2016 and that plays out on such a massive scale as “Star Trek,” the third installment in the rebooted franchise seems to be progressing at an alarmingly slow pace.
Last month, Roberto Orci dropped out as director and was replaced by Justin Lin, who helmed several of the “Fast & Furious” movies. Also then, the script Lin would be working on was by Patrick McKay and John D. Payne.
Deadline reports that Simon Pegg will now be in charge of the script, and that he will be sharing writing credits with Doug Jung, who created the TNT series “Dark Blue.” Pegg, of course, is already a familiar name with fans of the franchise because he plays the adorable and very smart Scotty, the “engineering wiz.”
Pegg’s resume as a screenwriter is pretty impressive as well, so it’s not like there’s any doubt that he could pull this off: “The World’s End,” “Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz” and “Run Fatboy Run.”
Still, there’s something about the many changes to the team that delivered the first two “Star Trek” movies that makes me think the third one will come out completely different. It all started when director J.J. Abrams had to opt out of it because he had already agreed to write the script for and direct “Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.”
Then Orci, who had worked closely with Abrams on both films as writer and producer, agreed to direct it, which was a guarantee that he would maintain their direction and style.
Orci is gone too, and “Star Trek 3” will come out with a new director and an entirely new writing team. We’ll see what that will do to the feel of the franchise soon, assuming all these changes won’t push back the July 2016 release date.