Quentin Tarantino’s abandoned plan to direct aJames Bondmovie resembles theStar Trek 4idea he also walked away from. The Academy Award-winning writer and director is a genre film aficionado who grew up loving James Bond andStar Trek,two properties that launched as movies and a TV series, respectively, in the 1960s. It’s no surprise thatTarantino tried his hand at developing both a Bond movie and aStar Trekmovie, although neither came to fruition.
As explained byBullets & Blockbusters, Quentin Tarantino wanted to directCasino Royalebefore the 2006 James Bond reboot starring Daniel Craig and directed by Martin Campbell. However,Tarantino wanted hisCasino Royaleto star Pierce Brosnan, whose last 007 film was 2002’sDie Another Day. Quentin, coming offKill Bill,intended to bring back Brosnan as 007 and setCasino Royalein the 1960s. However, EON Productions turned downTarantino’sCasino Royaleidea and rebooted James Bond with Daniel Craig.
Quentin Tarantino’s Star Trek 4 Is Like His Unmade James Bond Movie
Tarantino Wanted 1960s Throwbacks
Quentin Tarantino’sCasino Royaleidea was echoed over a decade later when the director mounted his version ofStar Trek 4.Tarantino’sCasino Royaleset in the 1960s sounds similar tohis plan forStar Trek 4to be a remake of “A Piece of the Action,” an episode ofStar Trek: The Original Seriesthat originally aired in 1968. Tarantino’s concepts for James Bond andStar Trekare both throwbacks to the 60s. However, Tarantino wanted to film hisCasino Royalein black and white, whileQuentin’s gangsterStar Trek 4moviewould presumably have been in color.
Every Pierce Brosnan James Bond Movie, Ranked Worst To Best
Pierce Brosnan was the fifth actor to play James Bond, with his run as 007 often considered one of the long-running series most divisive.
Quentin Tarantino came of age loving genre movies and TV shows from the 1960s and 1970s, as evidenced by his nostalgic 2019 hit,Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.Quentin’s preferredStar Trekis Captain Kirk (William Shatner)and Mr. Spock’s (Leonard Nimoy) set aboard the Starship Enterprise. However,Tarantino loved J.J. Abrams’Star Trek(2009) and felt Chris Pine perfectly embodied Shatner as Captain Kirk. Similarly, Tarantino was enamored with Pierce Brosnan’s 007, believing him to be the best James Bond.
Why Quentin Tarantino Didn’t Direct James Bond Or Star Trek 4
Audiences Are Left Wondering What Could Have Been
Tarantino couldn’t reconcile Star Trek as his tenth and final film.
Quentin Tarantino’sStar Trek 4didn’t move out of the developmental phase for similar reasons. Paramount Pictures and Tarantino didn’t see eye-to-eye on his idea to remake a 1960s gangster episode with Chris Pine’sStar Trekmovie cast. Further, Tarantino couldn’t reconcileStar Trekas his tenth and final film, as Quentin always promised he would only direct ten movies. A Quentin Tarantino-style James Bond movie andStar Trek 4would no doubt have been entertaining, andboth projects are intriguing “What If?” scenarios that audiences will sadly never see.
