Paramount was hoping to breathe new life into its Star Trek franchise by hiring Fargo and Legion showrunner Noah Hawley to write and direct a new film for the big screen. Those plans stalled earlier this year when the studio decided to put Hawley’s movie on the backburner. However, Hawley has plenty to occupy himself with until Paramount gives him the greenlight again. He’s currently gearing up for the premiere of Fargo’s fourth season on FX. And while speaking with Variety about the show’s return, Hawley revealed a few details about his vision for Star Trek.
Early reports indicated that Hawley’s movie would continue the story that began with J.J. Abrams’ 2009 Star Trek reboot. But when Paramount announced that Hawley’s project was on hold, it was confirmed that his film would be separate from previous entries. Apparently, studio execs felt his story, which dealt with “a virus that wipes out vast parts of the known universe,” hit a little too close to home during the COVID-19 era. Regardless, the screenplay was finished and Hawley had already started hiring designers by the time Paramount halted production.
Additionally, Hawley confirmed that his movie would feature a new cast of characters. But this doesn’t mean it would ignore everything that came before. Hawley actually likened his plans to his work on Fargo, specifically the first season episode where (*spoiler alert*) Oliver Platt’s Stavros Milos discovers the money that Steve Buscemi’s Carl Showalter buried in the snow at the end of the Coen Brothers’ original film.
RELATED: Paramount Puts Noah Hawley’s Star Trek Script On Hold
“We’re not doing Kirk and we’re not doing Picard,” said Hawley. “It’s a start from scratch that then allows us to do what we did with Fargo, where for the first three hours you go, ‘Oh, it really has nothing to do with the movie,’ and then you find the money. So you reward the audience with a thing that they love.”
Despite Paramount’s decision, Hawley seems optimistic about the fate of his Star Trek film. He clarified that the project is “still alive, just in stasis,” which means that it may see the light of day after all.
Would you like to see Noah Hawley’s Star Trek movie get made? Let us know in the comments down below!
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