That Quentin Tarantino 'Star Trek' Movie Might Not Happen After All

We probably should've seen this coming. Remember that R-rated Quentin Tarantino Star Trek movie? The one that was in the works at Paramount? The one that Tarantino said he was planning to direct on multiple occasions? Well...it's probably not happening. Tarantino now says he's "steering away" from the project, which means we'll probably never get to see his take on Trek.

While speaking with Consequence of Sound, Quentin Tarantino decided to crush the hopes and dreams of anyone hoping to see him make an R-rated Star Trek movie. "I think I'm steering away from Star Trek, but I haven't had an official conversation with those guys yet," the director said, adding that his desire to retire soon has contributed to this decision:

"In a strange way, it seems like this movie, [Once Upon a Time in] Hollywood, would be my last. So, I've kind of taken the pressure off myself to make that last big voilà kind of statement. I mean to such a degree there was a moment when I was writing and went, "Should I do this now? Should I do something else? Is this the 10th one?" No, no don't stop the planets from aligning, what are you, Galactus? If the Earth is saying do it, do it. Not that it was an argument, but a little thought, like, "Well, if I'm gonna go out like Max Ophüls style, Lola Montez, this is it, and if It's not good, then all my other work is trash, alright." This would have been the one. But in a weird way, it actually kind of freed me up. I mean, I have no idea what the story of the next one's going to be. I don't even have a clue."

This is a departure from what Tarantino was saying earlier this year. As recently as July, the director said "As long as Paramount likes the idea and the script they almost got nothing to lose right now when it comes to Star Trek. Deadpool showed that you can rethink these things, do them in a different way. So really, even before JJ [Abrams] knew what the idea was, his feeling was, if it wants to be an R rating, fine. If it wants to be the Wild Bunch in space, fine."

When I spoke to Tarantino in May and asked him about the project, he said: "It's a very big possibility. I haven't been dealing with those guys for a while cause I've been making my movie. But we've talked about a story and a script. The script has been written and when I emerge my head like Punxsutawney Phil, post-Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, we'll pick up talking about it again."

Tarantino's Star Trek was said to have a script from Mark L. Smith, based on an idea Tarantino came up with himself. This was the only element of this project giving me pause: I can't imagine Tarantino directing a movie that he didn't write himself. And apparently he couldn't imagine it either, because now he's moving away from the whole idea.