Edgar Wright sought for 'Star Trek 3' as Roberto Orci Exits

When Roberto Orci was named as director of Star Trek 3, taking over for his pal JJ Abrams who is busy Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it seemed like an odd choice. Orci has been a screenwriter on the franchise since the beginning and has been a part of numerous franchises, including The Amazing Spider-Man, but he had never been a director. It's not often a studio like Paramount will hand the reins to such a major tentpole to someone so untested, and maybe they've decided against it because Deadline reports Orci is no longer involved.

There aren't any details on exactly why Orci has exited the project, but the site says fan-favorite director Edgar Wright is on a shortlist to replace him. Given all of the headaches Wright recently went through on Marvel's Ant-Man before he exited, chances are he won't be interested in jumping into another studio film where his creativity may be stifled. But he did direct a Klingon scene in Star Trek into Darkness so maybe Wright would be more open to this job than others.

If Wright signs on then it would probably mean a delay for Baby Driver, which had been his next film and was supposedly being fast-tracked. Orci will stay on board Star Trek 3 as a producer, and the screenplay will remain intact, so there should be no problem for it to open in 2016 as planned. What does this do to Orci, though? This is the third high-profile departure he's had in the span of months. He left Sony's The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to pursue the Star Trek 3 gig, so what does he do next?