***UPDATE 12/24 8:15am(PT)***– Paramount has announced that Star Trek 3 will be released July 8, 2016. The film’s release will coincide with the 50-year anniversary of the Star Trek television series, which premiered September 8, 1966.
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[dropcap size=small]J[/dropcap]ustin Lin, you have the conn.
Paramount Pictures, Skydance Productions, and JJ Abrams Bad Robot have announced that Lin is set to direct Star Trek 3.
Best known for directing four films in the Fast & Furious franchise, Lin replaces Roberto Orci, who bowed out of the role after being set to replace JJ Abrams. Abrams, of course, left the director’s chair in favor of helming Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Both Orci and Abrams will stay on as producers for Star Trek 3.
Deadline reports that while several top-ranked filmmakers were in contention for the job, Lin was the only one offered the position.
Lin’s schedule was freed up after plans for him to direct the sequel to The Bourne Legacy spinoff with Jeremy Renner were postponed after Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass agreed to return for an installment of the pilot franchise The Bourne Identity.
Lin is credited with single-handedly revitalizing the Fast & Furious series. The four films with him in the director’s chair grossed $1.9 billion in worldwide box office. Lin was being courted to return to the franchise for a multi-part finale, but with the latest Star Trek development, it’s unclear whether that will take place.
What do you think of Justin Lin taking over Star Trek 3? Let us know in the comments below!
Star Trek 3 is slated for release in 2016.
