After losing Roberto Orci on script and directing duties, Star Trek 3 was thrown into a bit of a limbo for a moment. Justin Lin was soon tapped to direct, but he needs a script. Luckily there was already a person around who could lend a hand: Simon Pegg.
The man who plays Scotty and has geek cred a mile long is stepping in to help co-write the next feature in the Star Trek series, restoring hope that it won’t be a disaster lost in a sea of blockbuster films. From Deadline:
He will co-write the script with Doug Jung, creator of the TNT series Dark Blue. Pegg’s already a pivotal player in the JJ Abrams-produced Paramount/Skydance pic; he also will reprise his role as Scotty, the engineering wiz originated by James Doohan in the original 1960s Gene Roddenberry series. Don’t be surprised if Scotty beams up further on the call sheet…
Pegg certainly has the writing credits to back him up for such a job. With Edgar Wright, he’s scripted the Wright-directed Cornetto trilogy consisting of Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End, as well as Run Fatboy Run.
Now as The AV Club notes, Pegg is a noted Star Wars guy, much like J.J. Abrams. That should lend to the tone of the modern film series, but I don’t feel like we’ll be stuck watching Captain Han Kirk and his Vulcan Wookie pal Spockie travel the galaxy (I got a little carried away there). The track record speaks for itself and the disappointment isn’t strong. I even enjoyed Run, Fatboy, Run.
They’d got until July of next year craft the film, so let’s hope that’s enough time to provide a good entry. There’s far too many sh*t ones already.
(Via Deadline / The AV Club / Empire)
