Karl Urban Says Studio Would Be ‘Insane’ Not To Make Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Star Trek’ Movie

At the end of 2017, some Quentin Tarantino news piqued the interest of movie lovers. The filmmaker was not only making a Los Angeles period piece centered around the 1969 Manson family murders (now known to be this summer’s box-office hit “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”), but he was also developing an R-rated “Star Trek” movie.

J.J. Abrams, who directed two films in the rebooted franchise ― 2009′s “Star Trek” and 2013′s “Star Trek Into Darkness” ― reportedly signed on to produce the Tarantino project, which Paramount Pictures rallied behind. They met with a few writers to take on his story, and landed on “The Revenant” scribe Mark L. Smith. But, nearly two years later, the only updated information we’ve been given is it’ll be like “‘Pulp Fiction’ in space.”

So, when speaking with Karl Urban about his new Amazon series “The Boys,” HuffPost asked the actor ― who plays Leonard “Bones” McCoy in Abrams’ adaptations ― if he had heard of anything moving forward at Paramount.

“This is a project that I have no information about, really,” he said. “I haven’t read a script for it, but I understand the basic concept of it.”

Previously, Urban called the idea “bananas” and was excited about the possibility of appearing in a Tarantino movie, as the director reportedly wants to use the actors from the reboot.

“I think Quentin Tarantino doing that film would be phenomenal,” Urban told HuffPost. “He is definitely one of the most exciting filmmakers that’s currently working and if he has an interest in making a ‘Star Trek’ film, I think the studio would be insane not to let him do that.”

If Tarantino does helm “Star Trek,” it may mark his directorial end. He recently told CinemaBlend that no matter what happens, his 10th film would be his last. 

“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,” he said. “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.”

All we know is that “Star Trek 4,” which was supposed to be helmed by S.J. Clarkson, is no longer moving forward at Paramount. Clarkson is set to direct the “Game of Thrones” prequel at HBO, and stars Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth failed to reach salary agreements. Hemsworth, for his part, told Variety he just didn’t think the script was up to snuff. 

“I didn’t feel like we landed on a reason to revisit that yet,” said Hemsworth, who played Captain Kirk’s father in 2009′s “Star Trek.” “I didn’t want to be underwhelmed by what I was going to bring to the table.”

Now, with a Tarantino-esque Starship Enterprise floating around in the universe, Pine and Hemsworth could reconsider their involvement in the franchise. We know Urban would.

“Obviously, I’d very much relish the opportunity to be a part of it if it came to be,” he gushed.