"If I do it, it’ll be Pulp Fiction in space" - Quentin Tarantino talks about his vision for an R-rated Star Trek movie
To boldly go where no man has f***ing gone before
The idea of Quentin Tarantino putting his own spin on the Star Trek universe has been all over the news lately. It's still not officially happening, but there is a chance that the director takes the reins on a very special journey into space.
Rumors have swirled all over, but right now the script written by The Revenant writer Mark L. Smith is the only progress we've seen on the project. Paramount hasn't approved it and Tarantino hasn't agreed to direct anything. He has said he will work on the script once everything is done with in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, his latest movie starring Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio.
In a long interview with Deadline covering a number of topics, Tarantino spoke about his vision for an R-rated Star Trek, the script making its way around, and how annoying Simon Pegg has been.
"I get annoyed at Simon Pegg. He doesn’t know anything about what’s going on and he keeps making all these comments as if he knows about stuff," he said. "One of the comments he said, he’s like “Well, look, it’s not going to be Pulp Fiction in space.” Yes, it is! [laughs hard]. If I do it, that’s exactly what it’ll be. It’ll be Pulp Fiction in space."
"That Pulp Fiction-y aspect, when I read the script, I felt, I have never read a science fiction movie that has this sh*t in it, ever," he continued. "There’s no science fiction movie that has this in it. And they said, I know, that’s why we want to make it. It’s, at the very least, unique in that regard."
Tarantino also discussed his love for the Star Trek show and William Shatner, although he hasn't decided if he wants to helm this movie yet. He did mention that there was a "gangster" element in the current script, so I'm excited to see that play out if he chooses to direct.
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Aron Garst is a journalist and writer exploring the future of games and interactivity. Follow him on X at @GarstProduction.