Now that they have a director in place, I guess Paramount feels confident enough to pin down a solid release date for Star Trek 3, which is exactly what they just did. We’ve heard rumors that the studio was aiming to get the next film in the rebooted franchise into theaters for summer 2016, which just so happens to coincide with the 50th anniversary, and by gum, they did it. Or at least they scheduled it for July 8, 2016, they still have to actually make the movie. Baby steps.

The fate of Star Trek 3 (not to be confused with 1984’s Star Trek III: The Search for Spock mind you, though Into Darkness was a kind of Wrath of Khan-inspired, so maybe…) now lies in the hands of Justin Lin. Most known for directing the last three Fast & Furious movies, we heard yesterday that he got the job after Roberto Orci and Paramount parted ways. There have since been a lot of jokes about the Enterprise peeling out in space, or images of hot rod cars with Federation logos Photoshopped on them.

Directing Star Trek 3 seems like a pretty plush gig, but they’re having problems getting anyone to take the job. Roberto Orci was originally going to make his debut at the helm with the next installment of the rebooted franchise, but differences with the studio led to his ouster (we think?). Edgar Wright was reportedly offered the job, but turned it down. Paramount then unveiled five names that were are the top of their wish list, but almost immediately one of them, Duncan Jones (Moon), said he wasn’t interested. Still, the studio soldiered on, and now they’ve apparently tapped one of their top choices. Justin Lin will now direct the crew of the USS Enterprise.

According to Deadline, Paramount, Bad Robot, and Skydance Productions all got together and handed the reins of the franchise over to Lin, who steps in to take over in the wake of J.J. Abrams jumping franchises to Star Wars.

There’s been a lot of noise about Star Trek 3 lately, most of it revolving around the director’s chair. Roberto Orci, who was going to make his debut at the helm, was ousted for reasons that still aren’t entirely clear, and probably never will be, and there have been a number of names thrown around as possible replacements. One of these directors, who made for an intriguing possibility, Duncan Jones, has now said that he won’t be on board the Enterprise for this voyage.

Jones was included on Paramount Pictures’ shortlist alongside the likes of Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game), Justin Lin (The Fast & The Furious), and Daniel Espinosa (Safe House). While this may be a collection of filmmakers that the studio is interested in, it doesn’t look like that interest necessarily goes both ways, as Jones took to Twitter to address the rumors.

You don’t normally associate NBC’s sitcom Parks and Recreation with science fiction. Sure, Adam Scott’s character Ben Wyatt is a total geek and has been known to expound on Star Wars, Star Trek, various comic book titles, and more, but outside of that, it’s pretty well rooted in the real world. You know, as much as any show on TV can be. As based in reality as it is, that’s not to say the gang from Pawnee, Indiana doesn’t have an eye on the future, and moving into their final season, they jump a few years beyond where we are now. And as you can see in this latest promo for the farewell season, it is a strange world indeed. We’ve also got a fun Parks and Recreation/Star Trek mash up if you’re interested in such a thing.

Yesterday we heard that there are five names on Paramount’s shortlist of directors they would like to take over the helm on Star Trek 3 now that Roberto Orci has been ousted. There are plusses and minuses to all of them, but now the motivation for the split between the studio and would-be first time director is coming into focus. A big part of the reason appears to be that Orci’s vision for the film didn’t jive with the shifting ideas the studio has about the picture, as they saw how successful Marvel was with Guardians of the Galaxy and want the next Trek adventure to be more like that.

Don’t get us wrong, we loved Guardians of the Galaxy, and it’s definitely the best attempt to make a Star Wars movie since Return of the Jedi, but it’s hard to imagine that aesthetic translating well to Star Trek. There’s plenty of action, but it’s not necessarily of the swashbuckling, serial-influenced sort, and while there’s humor in Trek, the sarcastic, smart ass silliness of Guardians would be really out of place (though Star-Lord does at times feel like a send up of Captain Kirk). And apparently Orci felt the same way.

It was an extremely controversial decision when Paramount gave Roberto Orci the director’s chair for the upcoming Star Trek 3. But it was nevertheless a genuine shock when the news broke recently that Orci would no longer be helming the sequel. With Orci sidelined, who would take up the baton to get the next Trek sequel across the finish line, ideally in time for a 2016 release timed to the franchise’s 50th anniversary? Apparently Paramount’s shortlist is now down to five potential directors: Rupert Wyatt, Morten Tyldum, Daniel Espinosa, Justin Lin, and Duncan Jones.

The names come from Deadline, who report that Rupert Wyatt is currently Paramount’s top choice, and that they have already taken meetings with him about the possibility. This wouldn’t be the first time Wyatt got to play in a beloved science fiction sandbox — he directed 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a flick that surprised many by proving to be far better than anybody had reason to expect from an Apes resurrection at this point. It was followed up by this past summer’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, directed by Matt Reeves, and the revived franchise is set to continue in a third film in 2016. Wyatt is a solid choice, if not an inspired one, but nor would he likely be a controversial hire, which might work as an olive branch to lure back Trek fans riled up by J.J. Abrams’ brand of Trek.