The Screenwriter of Quentin Tarantino's STAR TREK Film Says They Had So Much Fun with Kirk

As you know, Quentin Tarantino and writer Mark L Smith (The Revenant) have been working on an R-rated Star Trek film. There’s not much known about Tarantino's vision for the classic sci-fi adventure franchise, but Smith recently talked about the film and compared it to the script of his latest movie, The Midnight Sky.

While talking to SFX magazine, Smith said: “I wrote a Star Trek with Tarantino, and that was a sci-fi script on which I could have fun and lean into some bigger, broader things.” He went on to say:

"We wanted [The Midnight Sky] to be in the future, but not so far in the future that anyone would feel that it couldn’t be happening. I went through a lot of different TED talks as far as the planets that would be chosen, and the way the ship would have to operate. As they’re going through space, I kept it where they go into blackout zones: they lose communication for a few weeks, so all the messages they were getting from home were at least a couple of weeks behind. Sure, I cheated in a few areas, but nothing major. It wasn’t like anyone was being beamed up!”

Smith went on to say to confess that he’s not a hardcore Trekkie, but explained that he was drawn to the "deep" characters in the series, saying, “The relationships all felt real, and something I could relate to.” He then went on to reveal that Captain Kirk would be in the film and that they had so much fun with the character:

“I love Picard. And Kirk is always just so fun. Tarantino and I had so much fun with him, because Kirk is just William Shatner, y’know? It’s like: you’re not sure who is who, so you can kinda lean into that! Because you watch Chris Pine and he’s playing Kirk, but he’s also playing William Shatner a touch.”

I sure would love to see what they have been planning for this movie. It was previously reported that Tarantino’s movie “is based on an episode of the classic Star Trek series that takes place largely earthbound in a 1930s gangster setting.”

The episode that this story is based on is titled “A Piece of the Action,” which was the seventeenth episode of Season 2. It aired on January 12, 1968. The story centered on Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy as they beamed down to a planet called Iotia where they discover a planetary government patterned after the Chicago gangs of the 1920s.

Tarantino previously said that he also wanted to bring some Pulp Fiction elements into the series as well. He also said:

“I don’t know if I’ll do it or not. I’ve got to figure it out, but Mark wrote a really cool script. I like it a lot. There’s some things I need to work on but I really, really liked it.”

It’ll be interesting to see if anything comes of Tarantino and Smith’s Star Trek project. I’d personally love to see it!