In a new interview promoting his latest film, Quentin Tarantino has opened up more than ever about the Star Trek movie he has in development with Bad Robot and Paramount.

Ready to work on ‘cool’ script for “Pulp Fiction In Space”

As part of Deadline‘s extended interview promoting Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Tarantino’s Star Trek project was also discussed in detail. Tarantino indicated that he is planning on working on the script written by The Revenant screenwriter Mark L. Smith, but has yet to decide if he will direct the film:

I don’t know if I’ll [direct] it or not. I’ve got to figure it out, but Mark wrote a really cool script. I like it a lot. There’s some things I need to work on but I really, really liked it.

Tarantino also wanted to clear the air, taking a bit of a swipe at Scotty actor/Star Trek Beyond co-writer Simon Pegg:

I get annoyed at Simon Pegg. He doesn’t know anything about what’s going on and he keeps making all these comments as if he knows about stuff. One of the comments he said, he’s like “Well, look, it’s not going to be Pulp Fiction in space.” Yes, it is! [laughs hard]. If I do it, that’s exactly what it’ll be. It’ll be Pulp Fiction in space. That Pulp Fiction-y aspect, when I read the script, I felt, I have never read a science fiction movie that has this sh*t in it, ever. There’s no science fiction movie that has this in it. And they said, I know, that’s why we want to make it. It’s, at the very least, unique in that regard.

R-rating has J.J. Abrams and Paramount support

One of the noteworthy elements of this project is that it is to be R-rated. Tarantino says he doesn’t think this is “that big of a deal,” adding that if he is going to do the project he is “going to do it my way.” He pointed to the support of producer J.J. Abrams and Paramount and cited the successful Deadpool movies as a precedent for R-rated genre movies:

The thing is, when I talked to J.J. about it, it’s not that radical. We’re just not worrying about stuff like that. J.J. said, “Quentin, I love this idea because I think with Star Trek we can go any way we want to.” Look, I’ve got a situation. As long as Paramount likes the idea and the script they almost got nothing to lose right now when it comes to Star Trek. Deadpool showed that you can rethink these things, do them in a different way. So really, even before J.J. knew what the idea was, his feeling was, if it wants to be an R rating, fine. If it wants to be the Wild Bunch in space, fine.

High Praise for Shatner, Pine, and Quinto

It has yet to be confirmed what characters and actors would be involved in the project, but Tarantino made clear how fond he is of the original Captain Kirk:

I’m a big fan of the show Star Trek. I really like it a lot, but my portal into that show is William Shatner. I love William Shatner on Star Trek. I love his performance as James T. Kirk. That is my connection. That is my umbilical cord. It’s why I like Star Trek more than Star Wars, because William Shatner’s not in Star Wars. I think it’s one of the greatest performances in the history of episodic television, of a series lead, and rightly so, because very few series leads have ever gotten the opportunity to play all the different wild, crazy things.

In another part of the interview, after he was asked about how he is known for giving opportunities for well-known actors to “resurface,” Tarantino brought up Shatner and mentioned he has met with him, but didn’t say when or for what project.

And while Tarantino has a lot of love for Shatner, he also expressed admiration for J.J. Abrams’ 2009 Star Trek film and the new Kirk and Spock:

I actually really was so taken with J.J. Abrams’ first reboot and how fantastic I thought Chris Pine channeled William Shatner. He didn’t go a serious actor-y way. He said, well no, I’m going to do my own thing. He’s playing the William Shatner version of Kirk and he’s doing a fantastic job at it. I mean perfect, frankly. And [Zachary] Quinto is perfect as Spock. Those two guys, they f*cking got it.

It does appear that with the release of his Once Upon a Time in Hollywood coming in a week, Tarantino will soon have the time to work on his Star Trek movie concept. While Paramount has expressed interest in moving forward with the project, they have yet to set a date, keeping this project still firmly in the early development stage.

Keep up with all the news on upcoming Trek films at TrekMovie.com.