Ok, so the “bad” news is that shooting has begun on Star Trek: Beyond, and former Fast and Furious director Justin Lin is filling the shoes of J.J. Abrams for this latest installment. Lin is a peculiar choice, and when one looks at the Furious movie franchise, one doesn’t necessarily scream “let that guy direct science fiction!” However, after Star Trek: Beyond, Lin has a lot on his plate: he’s directing the next Bourne movie, leading the remake of Shaolin Temple, and producing the remake of Highlander. It seems unlikely that he’ll be able to continue with the Star Trek film franchise, so here are six directors that can take the Captain’s chair and put the Enterprise back on course:
6. Chan-Wook Park
Oldboy. Stoker. The upcoming remake of Fingersmith. When you watch these films, you see Chan-Woo Park has lots of vision. He comes up with great ways to take a piece of text and move it in directions never thought about. He’s got a style that wouldn’t be the most obvious for Star Trek, but might be the freshest. Considering that the franchise is turning an impressive 50 years old, innovation is something that should be on the top minds of the producers.
5. Neill Blomkamp
Ok, so technically Neill Blomkamp is batting one (District 9 was awesome) for three (Elysium and Chappie were box office duds), but he’s got a lot of vision. Right now he’s attached (sort-of) to the reboot of the Alien franchise, so he knows all about being able to carry through with someone else’s vision and reigniting a franchise. He has an understanding of aliens and space and technology, and his filmmaking is quite unique and innovative.
4. Danny Boyle
Star Trek is tough because it can be a lot of things; it can be cerebral, it can be allegorical, it can be action-packed, it can be horror, comedy… you name it. Danny Boyle has made a movie in almost every genre, ranging from low budget horror (28 Days Later) to big Bollywood musical (Slumdog Millionaire) to an underrated, visually stunning sci-fi (how come no one has seen Sunshine?). He can handle Star Trek’s nuances with ease and with excitement.
