Quentin Tarantino has previously talked about why he would not choose Star Wars as his favorite franchise. The 60-year-old actor is a big William Shatner fan and has always admired the 92-year-old actor’s acting skills and his famous franchise. Shatner was part of the Star Trek franchise for a very long time.
The Canadian actor was the protagonist in the Star Trek series. Shatner played the character of Admiral James T. Kirk. The Pulp Fiction director was such a big fan of the actor that he followed the movies he worked in after Star Trek.
Quentin Tarantino explains why he likes Star Trek more than Star Wars
Quentin Tarantino has said out loud that he will always be a Star Trek fan because of William Shatner. The Boston Legal actor’s incredible performance in the franchise made Tarantino the franchise’s biggest supporter. While explaining why he would choose Star Trek over Star Wars, the 60-year-old filmmaker said,
“I was on a bit of a William Shatner kick where I was trying to watch the TV movies and the stuff he did after Star Trek, guesting on other shows. Everything before Star Trek the motion picture.”
He further added,
“It’s why I like Star Trek more than Star Wars because William Shatner’s not in Star Wars. I think it’s one of the greatest performances in the history of episodic television, of a series lead, and rightly so, because very few series leads have ever gotten the opportunity to play all the different wild, crazy things.”
Tarantino is a die-hard fan of the sci-fi series. He also wanted to make his own version of Star Trek, but he had other actors in mind for the lead part in the project.
Quentin Tarantino wrote a script for Star Trek but never made the movie
The Jackie Brown director was so serious about making his version of Star Trek that he started writing the script with screenwriter Mark L. Smith. While talking about the sci-fi script, Tarantino said,
“It’ll be Pulp Fiction in space. That Pulp Fiction-y aspect, when I read the script, I felt, I have never read a science fiction movie that has this s*** in it, ever. There’s no science fiction movie that has this in it. And they said, I know, that’s why we want to make it. It’s, at the very least, unique in that regard.”
Tarantino and Smith, the script’s writers, both stated that Chris Pine’s portrayal of Kirk piqued their interest in developing the story. Unfortunately, the Death Proof director’s Star Trek project was never finished and never saw the light of day. Tarantino dropped his version of the famous series because he was preoccupied with other projects.
Star Trek is now streaming on Paramount+.
Source: Cheatsheet
