Three weeks after screenwriter Roberto Orci vacated the Captain’s seat for the upcoming Star Trek 3, Paramount has found their replacement. That’s pretty fast! And we can’t imagine too many Star Trek fans are going to be furious that their choice is Justin Lin, the director of Annapolis and Finishing the Game: The Search for a New Bruce Lee.
What’s that? Oh yes, and he also directed four Fast & Furious movies, revitalizing the franchise with crisp action sequences and involving relationships between the ensemble cast.
Deadline reports that Justin Lin was the studio’s first choice to replace Roberto Orci, and we can imagine why. Lin has proven he can handle a character-driven action franchise while still delivering the thrills. But can he also deliver the intelligent science fiction angles fans have come to expect from the Star Trek franchise?
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Possibly. His first feature film, Better Luck Tomorrow (later retconned into a prequel of the Fast & Furious franchise), deftly handled mature themes that his various blockbusters eschewed in favor of popcorn entertainment. We think he can bring that intelligent filmmaking back, provided that’s what Paramount actually wants from him of course.
In any case, this is good news for Justin Lin, who has struggled to find a replacement project since departing his last franchise after Furious 6. Lin was attached to direct the still-gestating Highlander reboot, a remake of Lone Wolf and Cub and even the Bourne Legacy sequel, before that project was pushed back to accommodate Matt Damon’s return to the franchise. He was also rumored to be returning to helm the final two Fast & Furious movies, but with Star Trek 3 on his plate there’s no telling whether he has room for any more.
Star Trek 3 is expected to arrive sometime in 2016, just in time for the 50th anniversary of the hit franchise.
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and the host of The B-Movies Podcast and The Blue Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
