Quentin Tarantino is one of the best-known directors in Hollywood. What many don’t know is that he has stated in the past that he will end his career after his tenth film. That means with Once Upon A Time In Hollywood being number nine, the Star Trek production he’s been tied to might be where he ends his directing career.
Tarantino Says There Could Be a Loophole
The director opened up about the possibility of a loophole during an interview with Cinemablend Reelblend Podcast.
In it, Tarantino talks about J.J. Abrams’ intrigue at his Star Trek script as well. He also mentioned his commitment to the Star Trek film has yet to be set in stone. But he makes it clear he’s not attempting to create a loophole for a loophole’s sake:
“I guess I do have a loophole, [if] the idea was to throw a loophole into it. Which would be [to go], ‘Uhhh, I guess Star Trek doesn’t count. I can do Star Trek … but naturally I would end on an original.’ But the idea of doing 10 isn’t to come up with a loophole. I actually think, if I was going to do Star Trek, I should commit to it. It’s my last movie. There should be nothing left handed about it. I don’t know if I’m going to do that, but that might happen.”
During the podcast, Tarantino further explains that if he chooses to end his career via Star Trek, it could be a means to highlight what his career could have been if he had taken a different approach:
There also is another thought process going on where it’s like, yes, [my last movie] could be original. On the other hand, maybe that could show a different career I could’ve had. Whereas maybe [Once Upon a Time in Hollywood] is my last original — I’m not saying this is the case — but maybe this is my last original, and Star Trek or any other thing, a book or something like this, is the career I could have had if I wasn’t just writing everything all the time. Writing always originals. Maybe I could have had a different career if I looked for other people’s scripts, or if I wanted to find a book to be inspired by, and do an adaptation of. That would’ve been a different career. And maybe that could be fun to explore on the 10th [movie]. I don’t know. I mean, I’m making all this up as I go along, but those are two different ways I could look at it.
Tarantino’s Other Career Path
There is a lot of unpacking in what he’s said. Tarantino knows that any involvement with Star Trek or any established franchise would be a completely new path for his career. A great deal of what makes him who he is will flow into any Star Trek movie, such as the fact that it would be a Rated R film. Tarantino seems to still be on the fence on his own involvement.
He wouldn’t be the only one. Currently, both Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth have unsuccessfully negotiated their return to the Kevlin timeline. Leaving Paramount with a movie franchise sans star.
So either way, it is very apparent that we are very far away from any Star Trek film, at least for the time being. What do you think, would Star Trek be a good exit from the world of directing for Quentin Tarantino?
Or would you rather see the director run his 10-movie course with an original?