The long-gestating development of Paramount Pictures’s third installment in the rebooted Star Trek franchise is currently in-limbo over who will direct it. Roberto Orci, who helped write the first two films was long rumored to direct the film before stepping aside as Cornetto Trilogy helmer Edgar Wright became the most recent notable favorite to direct after filming a scene in last year’s Star Trek Into Darkness. The response has largely been positive for Wright after fans were saddened when he and Marvel hit a creative fork in the road back in May with potentially directing Ant-Man, and so it seems now fans have something substantive to look forward to the third film. However, you needn’t look further than the most recent news mentioning the name of actor and filmmaker Jonathan Frakes who is now on record “unabashedly” sharing his interest in directing Star Trek 3, according to Komo News.
Frakes has a long history with the late Gene Roddenberry’s longstanding franchise since playing the role of Commander William Riker in the televised series, Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994), in addition to appearing in cameo for further television iterations of the show, as well as appearing in Star Trek video games, and principally starring in four feature films with much of his TNG cast, of which he himself directed two. This could be a good thing if Paramount considers it as it would be something truly rewarding for fans, particularly if they enjoyed Star Trek: First Contact (1996) and Star Trek: Insurrection (1998). Then again, it will also be good news for fans of Wright who are eager to see him back together with Cornetto co-lead Simon Pegg in his inheritance of the role of teleport operator Montgomery Scott; Personally, both are really great directors and I’ve certainly had my say on The World’s End. However, having enjoyed the series while growing up and knowing he can direct, I hope Frakes gets to sign on instead as he’s much more suited to help deliver an authentic vision for this third go-around.
Orci may not have been the best choice as some may feel, but he’s a terrific writer, and it’s good to see he’s still involved while looking for (as he puts it) “bigger chairs”, especially after parting ways with Alex Kurtzman on Universal’s Monsterverse and Lionsgate’s Power Rangers 2016 reboot. In the meantime, fans of Frakes can expect to see more of his work with his new hit action mystery series, The Librarians, which got off to a strong start following start last Sunday. The show comes on at 8:00pm EST on TNT, so check your local listings, and feel free to promote #BringInRiker on Twitter to show Paramount your support!
Watch the series trailer for The Librarians below!
