This Star Trek Star Says Simon Pegg Is The Perfect Fit To Write Star Trek 3

By Brent McKnight | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

Chris PineStar Trek 3 has already had a bumpy road and the next installment of the revamped franchise hasn’t even shot a single frame yet. Roberto Orci was supposed to make his directorial debut on the film, something that incensed a fair number of fans, but he was ousted after disagreements with Paramount Pictures over the direction of the film, and replaced by the Fast & Furious Justin Lin, another decision many have questioned. Orci also left a void in the writing department as well, which has since been filled by Simon Pegg, who plays Scotty in the new films. We adore Pegg, but while it remains to be seen whether or not this is a good fit, at least one of his costars has given him a resounding vote of confidence.

Chris Pine, who, of course, plays the new version of Captain James T. Kirk, is in Park City, Utah for the Sundance premiere of his post-apocalyptic ride Z for Zachariah. When MTV caught up with him, they asked what he though of the Pegg hire.

At first he joked that, “We are worried. Vast, vast Simon Pegg monologues.” I’m still hold out the hope, remote as it may be, that now that Pegg has taken over the writing duties, along with Doug Jung, that somehow Scotty will wind up as the captain of the Enterprise before the end of the movie. But maybe I’m way off base.

Pegg was apparently worried about taking the job and didn’t want to rock the boat among the tight knit group. Pine said, “Yeah, he sent an e-mail to all of us, and we’re all really excited. What we enjoy about it is that we have a laugh. We want to make sure that that’s still embedded in there, so to have Simon writing it is the perfect fit.”

But don’t expect Pine to know what the new script is going to look like or what the plot involves. He continued, “We are quite literally the last people in production to read the script. I get calls from… Catering, they’re like, ‘Hey, great script man! You have some fun stuff to do!’”

One of the reasons for the split between Orci and Paramount was reportedly because the studio saw the success of Guardians of the Galaxy, with its weird creatures and sarcastic sense of humor, and thought, “hey, we have weird creatures, why can’t our movies be that successful?” Orci apparently disagreed, and the two sides went their separate ways.

Having Pegg write the script—Star Trek has a history with its stars contributing to the creative process behind the camera—is certainly a step in this direction, but many have wondered about how his aesthetic and sense of humor will mesh with the overall Star Trek tone. Then again, many have also been quick to point out that the new movies are already a drastic departure tonally from previous offerings, and now that Lin is taking over as director, it’s likely to be something else again.

Star Trek 3 hits theaters July 8, 2016, which just so happens to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the franchise.