While promoting his upcoming El Rey Network series Matador, which debuts on July 15, Roberto Orci offered new details about Star Trek 3. Back in May, we reported that the Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness writer-producer had been set to make his directorial debut on Star Trek 3, but the filmmaker revealed in a new interview with Collider that he hasn't officially signed on yet.
When asked if he is already feeling the pressure as the franchise's new director, Roberto Orci had this to say.
"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."
He did talk about the pressure he is facing as a screenwriter, although he doesn't believe his co-writers John D. Payne and Patrick McKay are quite as stressed.
"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."
The filmmaker also commented on the franchise's rabid and vocal fan base, many of whom voiced their displeasure about last year's Star Trek Into Darkness. Here's what he had to say about Star Trek's community of fans.
"It takes a dedicated fan base, and that's why I do think there is such a feeling of protectiveness about Star Trek, both from the people who work on it and the fandom itself. They've kept it alive for a long time, through thick and thin. We didn't invent Star Trek. We're just taking care of it for a little bit. And there will be others who will come in and take care of it, long after we're gone. It's that amazing of a thing. You just hope, with anything you do, that you can work on it long enough that you can pay it its proper due."
