Looks like studio execs really weren’t satisfied with Roberto Orci’s treatment for Star Trek 3. Weeks after the veteran producer boarded the project as director and co-writer (alongside newcomers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay), it was announced that he had vacated the director’s chair due to “creative differences” with Paramount Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment and Bad Robot. And now, we’re hearing that a new script is in the works as well.
Orci appears to have publicly confirmed that his script for the blockbuster threequel did not sit well with studio execs, which was previously believed to be the reason for his exit. Commenting on TrekMovie.com, as he has in the past, Orci noted explained that, “I’m producing, nothing more or less.”
In response to a commenter asking who will be writing the new script, Orci wrote:
“I won’t lie, I don’t know yet, but the story we are talking about would be awesome, hang in there!”
Orci also took the opportunity to defend the alternate timeline that the new Star Trek movies have explored. The producer, who isn’t known to mince words when it comes to dealing with rankled fans, wrote:
“Stop blaming BR [J.J. Abrams’ film company Bad Robot Productions]. It was my idea so that you would not know what was gonna happen next. Nothing more or less. I stand behind it. And it, again, is the reason why I make movies and you don’t.”
With the July 2016 release date fast approaching, and Justin Lin only recently attached to helm the pricey blockbuster, it’s hard to imagine that everything from Orci’s script has gone out the window.
Still, it will likely come as a relief to some pricklier fans that Orci is no longer holding the reins. As the above comments indicate, the producer doesn’t concern himself with pandering to die-hard Trekkies, which has put him at odds with them before, and Star Trek Into Darkness was (somewhat excessively, in this writer’s humble opinion) battered by fans who felt it wasn’t true to the spirit of the original series.
Tell us, is it good news that Star Trek 3 won’t use Orci’s script? Or would you rather the studio had put more faith in his ideas?