by Justin Cook
Justin Lin, director of four films in the Fast and Furious series, has been tapped to direct Star Trek 3.
Lin will be replacing Roberto Orci, who was originally set to helm the film. Orci was going to make his directorial debut with the movie, but a few weeks back it was revealed that he was no longer attached to direct.
Through the Fast and Furious franchise, Lin has proven his abilities as a director. Although his first two entries in the series, Tokyo Drift and Fast & Furious, are uneven, critically panned films, both Fast Five and Fast and Furious 6 breathed life into a franchise that many thought was already dead.
Not only is he talented at filming action scenes and car chases, but more importantly he can handle a big budget and a large, diverse cast — two qualities Star Trek has in common with Fast and Furious.
On top of Star Trek 3, in 2015 Lin will direct the first two episodes of the highly anticipated season 2 of True Detective. Following True Detective season 1 director Cary Fukanaga won’t be easy, but Lin is certainly an interesting choice for the series, and seeing how he handles the show should be very entertaining.
The first two installments of the franchise, 2009’s Star Trek and 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness, were both directed by JJ Abrams. Abrams decided not to direct the next film in the series after becoming attached to another space-related franchise, Star Wars. Although Abrams decided to devote most of his efforts to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he is still attached to produce Star Trek 3.
A release date for Star Trek 3 is not yet set, but it is expected for release in 2016. The film is also untitled as of now, but it will apparently follow the Enterprise’s crew as they deal with an extreme crisis in deep space.
Source: Deadline
