In 2017, Quentin Tarantino sent fans into a frenzy when it was leaked that he had developed an idea for a Star Trek film and would also be set to direct the next big screen adventure in the cult sci-fi franchise. As a great admirer of the original 1960s series and the JJ Abrams-directed film reboot, he clearly felt deeply inspired. The whole thing wasn’t just talk, it actually became very concrete.
Paramount, the studio that owns the rights to ‘Star Trek’, announced at the time that it was in serious discussions with the filmmaker. He presented those responsible with a story with the current team around Chris Pine, whom he admired, as Captain Kirk in the style of the classic series. In it, the crew of the Enterprise would end up in the 1930s through some form of time travel and become involved in a gangster war.
Paramount and Abrams were so impressed with the concept that they hired The Revenant writer Mark L. Smith to write a script. Tarantino had stated that he could not write the film himself due to the preparations for “Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood”. In a 2021 interview for the podcast “Bulletproof screenwritingSmith explained that the master director was extremely enthusiastic. It is said that Tarantino was chock full of ideas and details when the men got together so Smith could learn the broad strokes of the proposed story.
“Epigons” as role models
“He read me a series he had written,” the author recalls. “It was such a great, cool gangster scene and he even played a part in it for me – it was incredible.” Apparently the idea was based on ‘Epigonen’, the 17th episode from season 2 of the old series William Shatner. In this episode, part of the crew beams to a planet that, strangely enough, has developed a culture very reminiscent of Chicago during the Al Capone & Co. era.
A few days later the two met again at the director’s house, where Smith spent the entire evening and half the night. According to him, the duo watched a lot of old gangster films and amused themselves with the sometimes very clichéd dialogues – an element that should in any case be reflected in the shared script.
Smith explained that Tarantino’s concept was really wild and would likely have received an R rating from the US certification body. Which means that no one under the age of 17 should have seen the film in theaters. Apparently it also had to be very funny and especially the main actor Pine, who Tarantino liked very much in addition to his “Star Trek” performances, especially in “Unstoppable” next to Denzel Washington, delivered many good scenes.
There was no mention of how far Smith ultimately got with his draft script. However, in January 2020, Tarantino gave one interview announced that he was no longer available for ‘Star Trek’: ‘I believe Paramount could make the movie. But I’m not going to direct it, even if it’s a good idea. You definitely have to make them happen. I will be happy to help you further and then give you my comments on the first rough draft.”
Ultimately, nothing will come of the project. They also don’t come from the scripts of series creator Noah Hawley (“Fargo,” “Legion”) and “Madame Web” director SJ Clarkson, which were commissioned by the studio around the same time. The former wanted to introduce a completely new crew, while the Brit would deliver a much more conventional, direct sequel to ‘Star Trek Beyond’.
It’s a shame we’ll never see the “Star Trek” gangster smash from the “Pulp Fiction” genius. Tarantino and Captain Kirk – that would certainly have been an exciting combination. Instead, the filmmaker is now preparing his tenth and probably final film, ‘The Movie Critic’.