Star Trek could be remade in a raunchy earthbound 1930s gangster film, according to new reports which reveal that director Quentin Tarantino has written a script for the franchise, not unlike his 1994 flick, Pulp Fiction.
Apparently, with Fargo director Noah Hawley’s version of the film on the back burner, Paramount has returned to Tarantino’s script, which the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood director has praised as “a good idea.”
Quentin Tarantino could see his 1930s gangster imagining of Star Trek come to life as Paramount puts Noah Hawley’s reboot on the back burner amidst COVID-19.
Tarantino reportedly worked with Mark L. Smith (responsible for 2015’s The Revenant), to draft the R-rated Star Trek script based on the director’s immediate vision: a movie centred around a classic episode of the series, titled A Piece of the Action. The 17th episode of the second season of Star Trek: The Original Series, the original took place mostly in an earthbound 1930s gangster setting.
Tarantino’s idea to have the intergalactic sci-fi series moved to a gangster setting isn’t too shocking, as the filmmaker revealed in a 2019 Deadline Interview that his plan for Trek was to bring in some Pulp Fiction elements.
Tarantino potentially making a Star Trek reboot that’s actually good is actually the best thing I’ve heard today
— chickadee inc. (@ChickadeInc) August 8, 2020
Currently, the Star Trek franchise is in limbo after Paramount’s new film chief Emma Watts has stepped back from the production company’s previous full-steam-ahead approach, shelving titles that were set to begin filming in the near future.
According to Deadline, the new Hawley feature that beat out Tarantino’s is apparently centred around a deadly pandemic that sweeps the world. Rumour has it that Paramount reckons now may not be the best time for a flick about an infectious virus. Hence the return back to the gangster Trek film in question.
Reportedly Quentin Tarantino’s Star Trek movie will be based on the classic Star Trek: TOS episode “A Piece of the Action” in which the crew of the Enterprise visit a planet patterned after 1930s gangsters. pic.twitter.com/o6k6FGJPWb
— GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT (@GFRobot) August 7, 2020
In January Tarantino backed his version of the film but said he probably wouldn’t direct it: “I think they might make that movie, but I just don’t think I’m going to direct it. It’s a good idea. They should definitely do it and I’ll be happy to come in and give them some notes on the first rough cut.”
Tarantino dropped the bombshell earlier this year that his tenth film would be his last, after which he would be stepping away from directing to spend more time with family.
Quentin Tarantino’s Star Trek looking like pic.twitter.com/sfyahsuO7i
— muro (@murochuu) August 8, 2020
While we wait patiently to hear about what the director’s final project will be, check out the director’s top twelve films of all time here.
