There are many rumors circulating around Hollywood about the future of Star Trek beyond the upcoming series focusing on Picard. One of the most interesting, in addition to one of the most bizarre, is a Star Trek movie based on a story that was pitched by Quentin Tarantino a long time ago.
That’s right, imagine a Star Trek film along the lines of Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction or Django Unchained, with maybe Uma Thurman playing the gender-swapped role of Spock or the new captain of the Enterprise played by a Jheri-curled Samuel L. Jackson dropping F-bombs in front of the crew.
One person who seems positive that a Tarantino-esque Star Trek universe would work is George Takei, who played Hiraku Sulu in the original series. As a fan of the filmmaker, Takei believes that he has the kind of bold and inventive imagination that would work well towards pushing the Star Trek franchise out of its comfort zone and taking it to new heights.
I’m a Quentin Tarantino fan, but it seems like such a polar thing. But I think he’s got a very imaginative, inventive mind, and that is what Star Trek was about — boldly going where no one had gone before. And Quentin Tarantino bringing all of the places that he had been to and bringing it to the 23rd century is awfully exciting. I think it’s a great combo.
Takei was speaking about the film to EW at the San Diego Comic-Con where he’d gone to promote his new series, The Terror: Infamy. Star Trek had been a part of his acting resume a long time ago, but considering the original Spock managed to make a cameo in the latest Trek series, there might be a way to sneak in a surprise appearance by fan favorite character Sulu in the upcoming movie as well.
Meanwhile, the possibility of a Tarantino-led Star Trek depends on the filmmaker himself. The renowned auteur has previously talked about his plans to retire after making ten movies. But now he’s amended this statement slightly and expressed a willingness to direct an R-rated Trek before producing his tenth and final original project.
Tarantino has already voiced his preference for the world of Star Trek over Star Wars, and with his latest offering, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood slated for release, he’s now said that he’d like to make at least one Star Trek movie to serve as an example of what his career would have been like if he’d focused on adapting other people’s scripts. Time will tell if it actually happens or not, but we’ve got our fingers crossed.
