Roberto Orci In Talks To Direct STAR TREK 3 Without Any Directing Experience, But Why?

Variety reports that Roberto Orci, who has been a franchise writer for the new wave of films, is now in talks to direct Star Trek 3. Orci previously revealed a desire to direct the third installment, but seemed like a long-shot, considering Roberto has almost zero directing experience. Compared to high-profiled candidates such as Attack The Block's Joe Cornish. Sure, Orci has been involved as one of the franchise's many screenwriters, but what made Paramount choose him to takeover for J.J. Abrams?

"After weeks of rumblings that he was the frontrunner, sources have told Variety that Skydance and Paramount have tapped Roberto Orci to direct Paramount and Skydance’s “Star Trek 3.” Orci is currently writing the story with J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay and had been campaigning to replace J.J. Abrams as director for some time. Abrams is busy with directing the next installment of the “Star Wars” franchise and will only be producing this pic."

The big question at the moment is why? Yes, we've recently seen Orci's writing partner land the directing gig on Sony's Venom, but Alex Kurtzman has at least directed films such as People Like Us (let's try to forget how horribly it bombed on it's tiny budget). It's sort of crazy to think a first-time director would get a shot at directing the third installment in a blockbuster franchise like Star Trek. Without any previous material to back-up his directing candidacy.

We've seen first-time directors such as Wally Pfister crash-and-burn already this year with Transcendence, you'd think that would have been a wake-up-call to some studios. Not to say this will entirely turnout to be a disaster, as we've seen people like Drew Goddard shine. He at least hasn't been dubbed a terrible writer, lacking vision which Orci has.

Vision, is a major element a director needs. We've seen from scripts for Amazing Spider-Man 2, The Island, Cowboys & Aliens and The Transformers franchise, that Orci lacks the basics of storytelling, plot structure and character development as a writer. So, how the hell could he finally muster those necessary tools now, when he's placed in the director's chair? I just don't see why he's the prime choice when there are plenty of budding directors already working for Bad Robot, who could have taken-up the director's seat and given something special to the franchise. This decision screams, a rushed production to meet a release date, rather than a solid choice for a director. It's who they could get and one that was willing to take every single note from the studio, without butting-heads over the studio's vision. There's one story that's making the rounds, which could explain how Roberto was able to get Paramount to sign-off on him.

STAR TREK 3 director Bob Orci believes the Boston Marathon Bombing and the Sandy Hook massacre were set up by the government.
— Devin Faraci (@devincf) May 14, 2014

Devin at BadassDigest has been a giant advocate against Mr. Orci. Pointing out his public break-up to longtime writing parter Kurtzman, had to do with his "alcoholism" and crazy conspiracy theories. A few including the government was involved in the Boston Marathon Bombing and Sandy Hook Massacre. Painting Orci as an unstable person that just might overshadow the craziness of Mel Gibson, as Mr. Gibson never rained-down such lunacy in his own film Conspiracy Theory. It's actually shocking that Paramount would place Roberto as the face of their squeaky-clean franchise. At least the press tour will be interesting when his crazy theories are explored in front of cameras. Devin also added the following to his own write-up on the news, which might explain why Orci was hired. It's safe to say BadassDigest won't be supporting the new film, and others just might follow-suit.

"I've already told you what I heard, that Orci cock-blocked every director who came in for meetings on the project, making it look like anyone who helmed would be his dancing monkey. Who wants that when you already have pressure from the fans and the studio? Orci made a power move to guarantee his ass in the director's chair despite a huge lack of experience. How did Paramount allow this to happen?"

SOURCE: VARIETY

SPECULATION: Could Joe Cornish Direct A Federation/Klingon War In STAR TREK 3?

It's starting to look like J.J. Abrams really won't be coming back to make the third Star Trek. As there is talk via LatinoReview on Twitter that J.J. and Paramount are possibly looking at an up and coming writer/director to direct the third installment. The name they are likely referring to is British comedian turned writer/director Joe Cornish. Joe is best known for his breakout sci-fi comedy Attack The Block and he also co-wrote Marvel's Ant-Man with Edgar Wright.

Details of the third film aren't exactly known but the seeds of a massive war between the Federation and Klingon Empire were planted in this recent installment. I wouldn't be shocked to see The Enterprise given another galaxy saving mission soon but we might not see the crew again until 2016. No word if the writers have started on turning their outline into a full fledged shooting script. If Cornish is indeed the person who takes over the franchise he has the writing chops to put a script together on his own.

Marvel Has Scripts For MS MARVEL And BLADE Reboot?

THR recently broke news concerning Marvel's plans for Avengers 3. They also broke the first real confirmation that Marvel is actually pursuing a Ms Marvel (Captain Marvel) film with a script already developed. A new Blade script is mentioned as well. It's a bit of a surprise since the character is best known for being an R-rated genre based franchise. While Thor's Idris Elba (Pacific Rim) has voiced his interest in playing the daywalker in future films. Strange, Black Panther and Iron Fist are still also in development. The former confirmed as a contender for Phase Three alongside Ant-Man and Avengers 3. It's unknown at this point if Panther, Ms Marvel or Iron Fist will end up making the cut, allowing for more sequels. A Guardians sequel and new Hulk film are strong possible candidates for Phase Three as well.

There had been previous talk of the role being linked to Emily Blunt and Ruth Wilson (Lone Ranger, Luther). Along with old rumblings that Alice Eve (Star Trek Into Darkness) might also be in the running.

Images From The New UK Trailer For STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, Peter Weller Finally Revealed

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS Images In High-Rez

Slew Of STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS Images From Empire

First Official Synopsis For STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS

The official synopsis for J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Into Darkness has been released by Paramount. It seemingly gives a hint to who Benedict Cumberbatch will be playing. However, this likely won't be fully answered until the trailer is released.

In Summer 2013, pioneering director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes Star Trek Into Darkness. When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS Trailer Attached To THE HOBBIT

TrekMovie reports that the first trailer for Star Trek Into Darkness will be attached to The Hobbit on December 14th. It had been previously reported that nine minutes of footage would be shown at IMAX showing of The Hobbit. The site says the trailer will be a complete theatrical trailer and won't be a scaled down version of the footage. Perhaps, this trailer will finally answer who Benedict Cumberbatch  (Khan?) is playing and if the Klingons will be involved.

Benedict Cumberbatch Playing Gary Mitchell In 'STAR TREK 2'?

It's been a steady stream of crazy speculation when it comes to what the hell is going on with the Star Trek sequel. Most importantly the film doesn't even have an official title which would likely give away a lot of it's direction. Any who, what we do know for sure is that Benedict Cumberbatch is playing the villain. It's been rumored since day one he would be in the role of Trek baddie superhuman Khan but what happens if he's not?

Simon Pegg has come out to again confirm that Cumberbatch won't be playing Khan via TrekMovie. The only real detail here is that Pegg confirms that Cumberbatch is human. It's possible that the Khan rumor development when the thought of a series villain or human would be the villain of the sequel. So if Khan isn't on the table it doesn't leave a lot of room for human villains. Harry Mudd and Charlie Evans seem unlikely because Benedict is clearly wearing Federation gear in the set images that have leaked. There aren't a lot of Federation based villains but one does come to mind and would become a large conflict for Kirk and the crew.

Pegg is full of praise for Cumberbatch’s baddy, whom he describes [as] “not just another disgruntled alien. It’s a really interesting… sort of… thing,” he squirms. “Obviously I can’t talk about it.”

“It’s not Khan,” replies Pegg, annoyed. “That’s a myth. Everyone’s saying it is, but it’s not.”

Lt. Commander Gary Mitchell and Kirk become friends at Starfleet Academy and Gary ends up on the Enterprise. During this time Kirk is still on his way to become the captain which would fall inline with rumors of Peter Weller (Robocop) playing the new Enterprise captain. Gary ends up developing alien superpowers and turns on the crew. It's a solid enough conflict as Gary would become an enemy from within the Enterprise.

If this is true it would mean that Alice Eve's character could be the ship's psychiatrist Dr. Elizabeth Dehner. Eve's haircut for the film is very similar to the actress from the original series. Dehner was featured in the episode with Mitchell and could end up a new addition to the Enterprise crew since they clearly lacking another female character.

FIRST LOOK: Alice Eve On The Set Of 'STAR TREK 2', Speculation On Her Character

We finally have our first look at Alice Eve on the set of Star Trek 2 thanks to TrekMovie. This sort of confirms that she will be apart of the U.S.S. Enterprise crew or at the very least the Federation. Her hair seems to be hiding her ears so there could be a slight possibility of her being a Vulcan. However, unlikely as most Vulcans have dark hair. Could Alice be romantic competition or put friction between Ulhra (Salanda) and Spock (Quinto)? There have been suggestions that Eve could be the first stable relationship Kirk (Pine) gets into. Another theory is that she could be Khan's (Cumberbatch) love/wife. If she indeed is apart of the crew, Eve just might be the first original crew member added by J.J. Abrams to the original lineup.

CAST EM': New Asgardians Of 'THOR 2'

While Iron Man 3 is currently casting, we likely won't be hearing new additions for Thor 2 until around Comic-Con in July. Production is expected to begin in August with Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones) set to direct with a November 15th 2013 release date. The sequel will be mostly set in Asgard and other worlds with the cast of Asgardians being doubled according to Kevin Feige. I've come up with who should play these Asgardians, some of which are friends and some are foes.

BENICIO DEL TORO AS TYR GOD OF WAR: Currently we have no idea who the main baddie of the sequel will be. However, when the cast of Asgardians is going to be doubled it could mean a rebellion in the kingdom of Asgard. Tyr, who was once a protector of the realm (like Thor) eventually leads a rebellion to overthrow Odin as King. I wouldn't be shocked to see this transpire with aligning himself with the some of the other kingdoms in Asgard which includes the rock trolls (who inhabit the undergrounds of Asgard). Benicio Del Tor (Usual Suspects, Savages, Traffic) feels a no-brainer for this role as he could bring an intensity to his powerful god-like villain. He had been in the mix for the Khan role in Star Trek 2 but ultimately walked. It was a missed opportunity to see Benicio get to be a badass villain in a blockbuster. If there was ever an actor to one-up Tom Hiddleston's menacing Loki it would be Benicio.

RUTH WILSON AS HELA: Odin's kingdom doesn't stop with Asgard as he also rules over Vahalla the realm of fallen heroes. Hela the ruler of Hel also sets her eyes on increasing her rule by invading Vahalla with an army of her own to conture it. I'd love to see an alliance between Hela and Tyr because the battles would end up more interesting with the creatures of Hel fighting Asgardians. Ruth Wilson (Luther, The Prisoner, Lone Ranger) has been a revelation from her small time as Alice in the series Luther an up and coming actress who will get her big feature film debt as the female lead in Disney's The Lone Ranger. She very well could be as interesting villainous casting choice as Benedict Cumberbatch jump to Star Trek 2 as Khan.

RICHARD MADDEN AS BALDER THE BRAVE: Just as powerful and good willed as his brother Thor. It's eventually revealed that Balder is the true heir to Odin's throne. I'm not sure if this is continuity to the film's mythology but it could play out an interesting conflict between to the two heroes. One of the more standout actors of Game of Thrones is Richard Madden who play's Robb Stark. Alan Taylor could end up having some of his Thrones actors read for roles. Balder seems like a role that should be included since the studio did do early concept art for him. The character would later be cut from the film mainly because Asgard wasn't center stage in the first installment.

ALICE EVE AS AMORA THE ENCHANTRESS: Amora could be a conflicted villainess with eyes for both Thor and Loki, while aligning herself with Tyr's rebellion to obtain power. She's just as mischievous and manipulative as Loki and could be a solid secondary villain. There could even be a bit of jealously concerning Thor's affections towards the human Jane Foster.

British actress Alice Eve has been in the mix with Marvel projects for years now. She was originally cast as Emma Frost in X-Men First Class as for Fox but ultimately exited because the role was lacking any real depth. January Jones ended up taking the part and was the worst aspect of the film. Alice was also a candidate to play Peggy Carter in Captain America before Hayley Atwell landed the role. Her connection to the Cap casting could mean she might be inline to play Sharon Carter in Captain America 2. However, fans have campaigned for her to take on the role of Echantress. She recently landed a role in Star Trek 2 which is expected to be action focused and possibly even villainous.

JESSICA BIEL AS BRUNHILDE THE VALKYRIE: Valkyrie is a standout female character from Asgard as she eventually joined the Marvel team The Defenders. That lineup included her, Hulk, Doctor Strange, Namor, Silver Surfer, Hellcat and Nighthawk. Like Sif, Brunhilde is a great warrior who is the leader of the mighty Valkyrior who take exceptional fallen human/Asgardian heroes to Valhalla. They also defend that realm from outside forces like Hela. She has powers similar to the rest of Asgardian warriors but is known as the strongest of the Valkyrior and rides a winged horse.

The Valkyrior are warrior goddesses of Asgard who ride winged horses. Originally, under the leadership of Brunnhilde, they took mortally wounded human heroes from German and Scandinavian battlegrounds and brought them to Valhalla, an area of the Asgardian dimension where the astral forms of the dead Asgardians and human heroes eternally feast and compete in friendly battles.


Jessica Biel previously played the vampire slaying daughter of Whistler in Blade Trinity. While the film was terrible it did highlight the talents of both Biel and Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool). It's not uncommon for actors to have multiple roles in superhero franchises. We'll finally be seeing Jessica back in action for Len Wiseman's Total Recall reboot. She had recently been in mix for both Man of Steel and The Dark Knight Rises but ultimately didn't join those movies. I feel like Biel could do the role justice and has the fitness level needed for the fight scenes.

CONAN STEVENS AS SKURGE OR ULIK: This Australian giant is surprisingly very steeped in the fantasy genre as an actor. He had a decently sized role on Game of Thrones as The Mountain the larger/elder/blood-crazed brother of The Hound. Conan had to leave to the show to focus on The Hobbit films where he plays a King of the orcs. While he regretfully missed out on a role in the new Conan film he did however have a reoccurring role on Spartacus: Blood And Sand. I think given this amount of experience not to mention a Game of Thrones connection he would make a decent Skurge or even Ulik the rock troll.