Star Trek 3 director shortlist revealed

Since Roberto Orci left the director’s chair for Star Trek 3, the movie was once more up for grabs. According to Deadline, both JJ Abrams – the man behind the first two Star Trek movies – and Paramount Pictures are looking at a shortlist of five names for the job. Those names are:

• Rupert Wyatt
• Morten Tyldum
• Daniel Espinosa
• Justin Lin
• Duncan Jones

The studio have already had talks with Wyatt, who originally helmed Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the much-loved first entry in another sci-fi franchise reboot, much like 2009’s Star Trek was. Tyldum made this year’s The Imitation Game, starring Star Trek Into Darkness alum Benedict Cumberbatch, while Espinosa is making Child 44 which stars Tom Hardy. As you may already know, Justin Lin has made a name for himself in the Fast & Furious franchise, while Duncan Jones has proven his skill (to great critical praise) with high-concept sci-fi with both Moon and Source Code.

Of course, scheduling conflicts will all come into play when Abrams’ (and Orci’s) successor is eventually chosen, which we expect will be rather soon; after all, Star Trek 3 has a set release date sometime in 2016, which we imagine Paramount won’t want to change. Who do you think will make a good fit for the Star Trek universe?