Sure, he’s not actively involved with the current state of “Star Trek,” but you can’t really think of the franchise without thinking about William Shatner. The actor not only plays the most iconic character in all of ‘Trek’ lore, but also has been a figure that has stayed involved with fandom in the decades since becoming Capt. James T. Kirk. And with that in mind, he just doesn’t understand why there are ‘Trek’ fans so scared of Quentin Tarantino.
Over the last year, word has gotten out that Tarantino pitched an idea for an R-rated “Star Trek” film that apparently excited producer J.J. Abrams. Since then, a script has been written and Tarantino has said that he’s going to provide notes. Long story short, it appears that Paramount is actively in development of a new ‘Trek’ film that is going to be produced (and possibly directed by) Quentin Tarantino.
This has led to fairly polarizing takes on social media from fans of the franchise. Some think this could be the reinvigoration that the franchise needs on the big screen and a breath of fresh air leading to a bright future. Others think that the “Pulp Fiction” filmmaker will needlessly include curse words and hyperviolence, sullying everything good about Gene Roddenberry’s creation.
Shatner appears to be closer to the first camp.
“Why are people plotzing about this? It’s my understanding that Star Trek Discovery has used expletives in some episodes. Why aren’t people melting down over that?” tweeted the actor.
In recent years, Shatner has never been afraid of stoking debate on social media, and it would seem that he’s willing to do that now with Tarantino. The actor brings up a point that is a bit of false equivalency, but also not terribly out of left field.
The CBS All Access series “Star Trek: Discovery” has been polarizing with ‘Trek’ fans since its debut last year. The streaming show has taken advantage of its freedom by including some coarse language. However, the same folks that probably debate the Tarantino news are also the people debating the quality of ‘Discovery.’
Plus, it’s a bit disingenuous to say that the content on ‘Discovery’ is anything comparable to a Tarantino film.
That being said, no one even knows what the filmmaker has planned. Sure, he’s said it’ll be R-rated, but that doesn’t mean that it’s going to include all the hallmarks of a Tarantino film. So, in that respect, maybe Shatner has a point?
https://twitter.com/WilliamShatner/status/1139173971394359296
