Quentin Tarantino’s Star Trek Movie Has A Heavy Focus On Captain Kirk

The list of projects that Quentin Tarantino never got around to making is much longer than the back catalogue of movies he’s actually helmed, covering everything from Inglorious Basterds and Pulp Fiction spinoffs Killer Crow and Double V Vega respectively, to sequel Kill Bill Vol. 3 via the likes of Luke Cage, literary adaptations 40 Lashes Less One and The Berlin Game, along with his abandoned hopes of directing Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in Casino Royale.

For years, the filmmaker has been talking about his R-rated Star Trek movie, but it seems very unlikely to happen. After all, few people were actually expecting Tarantino to direct it himself given that he’s always spoken about retiring after his tenth feature, and a blockbuster sci-fi that’s part of a franchise would be a strange way for such a unique and distinctive talent to bow out.

Of course, somebody else could always get behind the camera, and the idea of a 1930s gangster flick that just happens to take place in the Star Trek universe is an exciting prospect. It remains to be seen what’ll happen with it, but co-writer Mark L. Smith has now revealed some new details about the project. The Revenant screenwriter was working closely with Tarantino on the concept, and he admitted they had a lot of fun when it came to tackling Captain James T. Kirk, with the movie having a big focus on him.

“I love Picard. And Kirk is always just so fun. Tarantino and I had so much fun with him, because Kirk is just William Shatner, you know? It’s like, you’re not sure who is who, so you can kinda lean into that. Because you watch Chris Pine and he’s playing Kirk, but he’s also playing William Shatner a touch.”

The shadow of William Shatner will always loom large over the character regardless of who plays him, and the idea of Tarantino infusing a Shatner-esque figure with his signature dialogue in an R-rated Star Trek is something that sounds incredibly difficult to wrap your head around, but also that something longtime fans and curious audiences alike would love to see, especially with the various other movies in development having stalled.