Back in 2017, Quentin Tarantino was announced as a surprising choice to direct a new film in the Star Trek franchise, under the condition that he got to make it R-rated. Subsequently, the film got a writer – The Revenant’s Mark L. Smith – but from there things went pretty quiet.

Now, it’s been revealed by Deadline that the version of Star Trek written for Tarantino to direct is still on the cards, though the director himself may no longer be attached to the project. 

This appears to back up what Tarantino has previously said about the film, in a January interview with Deadline: “I think they might make that movie, but I just don’t think I’m going to direct it. It’s a good idea. They should definitely do it and I’ll be happy to come in and give them some notes on the first rough cut.”

The news that the project isn’t completely dead comes alongside the fact that another Star Trek film – helmed by Fargo’s Noah Hawley – has been put on hold by Paramount. This could be due to the fact that its plot may have revolved around a deadly virus that wipes out vast parts of the universe (an understandably touchy subject right now) according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The subject of Tarantino’s potential Star Trek film has also been revealed among Paramount’s production dilemma, and as it turns out it would have been pretty familiar territory for the Pulp Fiction director. Specifically, the film would be “largely earthbound in a 1930s gangster setting”, presumably based on a 1968 episode of the classic Star Trek series, “A Piece of the Action”.

Whether that will be the version that Paramount goes ahead with remains to be seen, as does the faint possibility of Tarantino returning to make it his tenth – and potentially final – feature film. Tarantino has also recently claimed that Kill Bill 3 is “definitely on the cards”, so there’s that to watch out for too.