With Roberto Orci stepping down as director on Star Trek 3, his input to the project was already dwindling. Now it looks like he'll have even less creative control on the sequel, for his script has also been scrapped.
The news of Orci's script being thrown out by Paramount comes from Orci himself, who left the following comment on TrekMovie.com following their article about Justin Lin (Fast and Furious 6) taking over directing duties on the movie:"I'm producing, nothing more or less."
Orci has been writing the new movie with screenwriters Patrick McKay and John D. Payne since last year. Their initial plan was to have Kirk, Spock and the crew going on their "five-year mission," just like the original show. Whether that is still at the basis of this movie, or if McKay and/or Payne are still writing any drafts of the script, has yet to be revealed.
Later, when a fan on the site asked "is there any hope for a good Trek movie," Orci responded, "I won’t lie, I don’t know yet, but the story we are talking about would be awesome, hang in there!”
This follows a comment he made earlier, as fans bickered about the new films, when the producer said, "Stop blaming BR [Bad Robot, J.J. Abrams' company who is still producing this new movie]. It was my idea so that you would not know what was gonna happen next. Nothing more or less. I stand behind it. And it, again, is the reason why I make movies and you don’t."
For now, Orci is on board as a producer, but that could always change. These comments suggest he's put on a good face, but there may still be some resentment behind his cards. Regardless of how involved he becomes, Star Trek 3 beams into theaters on July 8, 2016.
Image courtesy of INFphoto.com