Orci Provides Star Trek 3 Updates, Quinto Ready for Next Film

Two minor updates on the Star Trek 3 front, one from Roberto Orci via Collider and another from actor Zachary Quinto (Spock) to IGN. Relevant quotes below but essentially Orci says the script is still being written and until its completed the film has not yet been officially greenlit and he has not officially signed on as director. Things will progress to official status once Paramount is pleased with the script. As for Quinto, he supported the choice of Orci as the director of Star Trek 3 and is looking forward to a story that takes place during the five-year mission.

Orci:

“Well, I don’t want to count my chickens before they hatch. The studio has yet to even read the script. I’m in the middle of writing it, with the talented team of [John D.] Payne and [Patrick] McKay. They are true Star Trek fans, as well. So, I can’t even think anything about the future until I give them a script and they greenlight it. Until that happens, everything else is just a rumor.”

“If I’m lucky enough that Paramount loves the script and that we go forward, it’ll be because I have loved Star Trek for so long and the idea of having seen one of the best guys in the business direct two of them already, and to have seen it from the vantage point of a producer too, I know where a lot of the challenges are and where a lot of the fun is. If we’re lucky enough that everything goes right, then I’ll start to feel the pressure. Once it’s really happening, it’s like, ‘Oh, my God, the 50th anniversary! Holy, moly!’ As a writer, I feel the pressure as the returning screenwriter to this franchise. I feel it at the story level. I can’t speak for Payne and McKay, but they seem to be having a good time. They don’t look as nervous as I feel, but maybe they’re just good at hiding it.”

Quinto:

I think the five-year mission will be a part of this next film in some way. We’re coming up on the 50th anniversary of one of the most iconic sci-fi series in entertainment history, so it’s inherently an ongoing story. But I do think that we’ll feel some sense of evolution in these characters that’s been building through the first few films.

Bob [Orci] is definitely sort of a purist about the Trek universe, so I’ve spoken to him a number of times about his ideas and they’re really exciting and I’m really excited that we get to be a part of his feature directorial debut. It’ll be a different world without J.J. [Abrams] on set every day, but this is a family and Bob is an essential part of that family and we’re all really excited to see where it goes.