Ever since news broke last week that Roberto Orci would no longer be directing the next Star Trek film, there has been a great deal of confusion, speculation, and misinformation regarding Orci’s continuing role as well as the future of the feature film franchise. We don’t profess to have all the facts here, but we’re going to try and provide some clarity, using Orci’s comments here at TrekMovie, and elsewhere on Twitter.

Orci tweets about Paramount status

This week has had a whirlwind of reports and speculation about the next Star Trek feature. Last night, Roberto Orci (who has dropped out as director but is still a producer on the film) took to twitter to quash at least one of the rumors with the following tweet:

"@BillPeters30: Their is rumor going around that paramount is Abandoning Trek 3, can you end that rumor sir?" Yes! They care about Trek! — Roberto Orci (@realboborci) December 12, 2014

Orci responds: No Time-travel, still involved in film

Earlier in the week Orci has also responded to some specific reporting coming from Badass Digest. Not long after the news broke about the status of the next Star Trek movie, Badass Digest’s Devin Faraci posted a story which claimed that the plot of the next Star Trek film involved time travel. Upon seeing this, Orci responded:

boborci – December 6, 2014 no time travel was ever considered, fyi

Based on Orci’s response, whatever plot device they are/were planning to use to put Chris Pine and William Shatner on the screen together will not involve any kind of time travel.

Faraci (via his Twitter account) also claims that Orci has lost creative control of the film, and is essentially a figurehead:

@thebagwellian no he’s not. He’s gone, his script is gone, he’s got a producer credit but won’t do anything. — Devin Faraci (@devincf) December 6, 2014

Orci responded directly to this addressed the question of his involvement both here and on Twitter with two comments:

boborci – December 6, 2014 I will be very involved:) boborci – December 6, 2014 185. not at all. still excited to make Trek 3! And on time. We’ll find the right director!

“@timothydixon3: @ChrisDoohan @realboborci I'm kinda relieved. Who is directing?”me and the rest of the producers have to figure that out! — Roberto Orci (@realboborci) December 8, 2014

— Roberto Orci (@realboborci) December 8, 2014

And earlier today Orci again debunked a report from Badass in a response to a question here at TrekMovie.

56 Jack – December 11, 2014 …Faraci says you fought against Cornish/Wright. True? boborci – December 12, 2014 56. Not true! I didn’t fight against anybody!



Orci: Abrams will not be helming

There has also been speculation that JJ Abrams will drop his huge Star Wars commitments and coming riding to Star Trek’s rescue. This seems like an incredible long shot, a notion echoed by Orci when the subject came up:

boborci – December 7, 2014 499 I am so escited to see what JJ does FOR THE NEXT YEAR with Star Wars in post production.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens only recently began post-production in earnest, and since the film is due for release almost exactly a year from now, it’s very likely Abrams and his colleagues will be finessing the film until the last possible second, which would preclude JJ from directing a film that is (as far as we know) intended for a Summer 2016 release.

Orci talks of ‘bigger chairs’

The next bit of speculation is derived from Orci himself, who responded to a post here on TrekMovie with a cryptic answer that can be interpreted several ways:

428. OneBuckFilms – December 7, 2014@boborci, You seem to have forgotten Kirk’s advice to Picard: “Don’t let them do ANYTHING to take you out of that chairs. Because while you’re there, you can make a difference.” I hope you can still be heavily involved from the Admiral’s office, and I hope you get a great director, who can take us where no man has gone before. 444. Boborci – December 7, 2014 428. Have not forgotten. On the contrary, factored into decision. Their are bigger chairs to consider😜

“Bigger chairs to consider” means what? Becoming the new creative head of the entire franchise, ala Rick Berman? Launching a new television show? In television, producers wield all the power, not the directors. Perhaps the grass is greener on the small screen after all…

So far that is all that there is, on the record. TrekMovie is contacting sources and hopes to bring more details on the status of the next film soon so stay tuned.