Simon Pegg is shedding some light on what Quentin Tarantino’s unmade “Star Trek” movie might have looked like.
During a panel at Fan Expo Boston on Saturday (via Collider), Pegg, who starred as Scotty in the rebooted “Star Trek” trilogy, said he got a breakdown of the film from J.J. Abrams and producer Lindsey Weber, and that it was just as wild as any of Tarantino’s previous works.
More from Variety
‘Pulp Fiction:’ Lawrence Bender Reflects on Producing Quentin Tarantino’s Modern Hollywood Classic
How ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Used a Murder Mystery to Pay Homage to Shatner, Roddenberry and the Original Series: ‘We Didn’t Have Any Adult Supervision’
Quentin Tarantino Shares Michael Madsen ‘Reservoir Dogs’ Story During Private Memorial: ‘I’m On Your Side, Buddy’
“That was what we call in the business batshit crazy,” he said. “It was everything you would expect a Quentin Tarantino ‘Star Trek’ script to be.”
Pegg explained he would’ve enjoyed seeing the world of “Star Trek” through the eyes of the “Pulp Fiction” director, but diehard fans of the franchise might have felt differently.
“I think it would have been such an incredible sort of curio to see ‘Star Trek’ through his lens,” Pegg added. “I don’t know how it would have gone over with the fans, but it certainly would have been an interesting thing.”
In late 2017, it was announced that Paramount and “Star Trek” producer Abrams had accepted Tarantino’s pitch for a new film in the franchise, and that “The Revenant” screenwriter Mark L. Smith would work on the script. However, the movie was ultimately never made.
Smith told Collider in 2023 that a major hang-up on the film’s production was that Tarantino was worried “Star Trek” would be his last movie.
“Quentin and I went back and forth, he was gonna do some stuff on it, and then he started worrying about the number, his kind of unofficial number of films,” Smith said. “I remember we were talking, and he goes, ‘If I can just wrap my head around the idea that ‘Star Trek’ could be my last movie, the last thing I ever do. Is this how I want to end it?’ And I think that was the bump he could never get across, so the script is still sitting there on his desk.”
The film would mostly take place on an Earth-like planet in a 1930s gangster setting, seemingly taking inspiration from the 17th episode of the second season of “Star Trek: The Original Series” titled “A Piece of the Action.” In the episode, which originally aired in 1968, the Enterprise crew lands on a planet with a 1920s gangster culture.
Best of Variety
New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
What’s Coming to Disney+ in August 2025
What’s Coming to Netflix in August 2025
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
