John Cho Would Like To See Tarantino Star Trek Movie Include Crossover With TOS Cast

Star Trek actor John Cho was the guest on the webshow IMDB Studio at the Sundance Film Festival, with host Kevin Smith. The topic was the new Quentin Tarantino Trek film currently in development.  Smith began by noting that with three successful films, there is no reason to believe that Paramount is ready to reboot the universe and bring in a new cast, so he assumed that Cho would be involved with the Tarantino project, and Cho agreed, saying he “hoped so.”

The Sulu actor noted that he doesn’t know what is going on with the project, but he did express a view, saying:

The idea is very exciting to me, because I am a big fan of Quentin’s. I suspect that the reason he wants to make it is he doesn’t want to do Pulp Fiction in space,” he wants to make a Star Trek film. And, if that is the case, I would be so excited to see what he brings to the table because I think he has such a great sense of character and drama and I am just such a fan of his

John Cho in Star Trek Beyond

When Smith opined that his “dream” would be if Tarantino “finds a way to combine two casts, old and new” in a “crossover.”  Cho agreed, noting: 

I co-sign that. I think that would be cool

Smith noted there has already been some crossover, with the late Leonard Nimoy appearing in the first two J.J. Abrams Star Trek films. Presumably, he was imagining the return of some or all of the remaining original cast –  William Shatner, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols and Walter Koenig. Of course, a crossover could also include cast from other shows. We have already seen Patrick Stewart raise his hand to say he is ready to return to Trek for Tarantino.

Cho also contrasted working on lower budget films versus the recent Star Trek films, noting that “walking on to the Enterprise it is not even acting, it is playing.” He also spoke about some of the logistics on how they got the shake effect on the bridge.

You can watch the webisode with Smith and Cho below.

Keep up with all the news regarding the next Star Trek film here at TrekMovie.

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Tarantino directing the JJ cast in some sort of crossover with Shat, Stew etc would at least ensure people would actually to go to see it (unlike Beyond which should’ve done something like that for the 50th)

I hope not. The original TOS cast was great in their day but it’s done.

Agreed.

Disagree.

TrekMadeMeWonder is STILL waiting for a true TOS followup on the BIG screen. Sadly.

All I can say is that in my opinion, we really really something like this right now. I’d love a shot at seeing Tarantino’s vision for Trek, something nostalgic, though new, respectful of what came before and memorable. The 50th anniversary was treated shabbily.

Respectful (e.g. DO NOT DESTROY THE ENTERPRISE). AND intelligent writing. Reboot? Reboot old skool but solid techniques.

Outside of Trek fandom I don’t see this attracting wide interest from the general movie going audience. If it’s marketed as The New Film from Quentin Tarantino, then maybe there’s a shot.

Paramount and CBS have handled Trek very badly over the last decade, they failed to keep the momentum going after Trek 2009 and the large gap until STID didn’t help either. Look at Star Wars, despite the large gap between ROTS and TFA the franchise was always around in some form whether it was in merchandising or in animation.

The point is, a crossover won’t be enough to give the franchise the boost it badly needs. It will just go over the heads of the majority. We need new fans, us old timer die-hard fans ain’t gona be around forever.

Discovery is a step in the right direction, let’s hope they keep building on this and CBS + Paramount get their act together.

Never underestimate the power of nostalgia.

Yep Bring back The Shat :-)

The reboot of 2009 was fine, except for the link with the “real” continuity. But in the second film they do a remake of The Wrath of Khan, they turn Carol Marcus into a bimbo, and they get into the most sacred, Spock’s death. For me that was the end of the franchise until the appearance of Discovery.

How is INTO DARKNESS, which in my opinion is not only one of the 3 best Trek movies but a great film in the broadest sense, a “remake” of WOK? People who stick by this common, very stupid, and outright WRONG, belief are just regurgitating a kind of critical “groupthink” and is meaningless. Really, watch them and realize that their story’s have almost nothing in common so if it is a remake, its of the loosest kind that shouldn’t be watched while operating heavy machinery. And how did they turn Carol Marcus into a bimbo? Ms. Alice Eve is beautiful, and she’s also a smart, funny and talented actress who makes the character her own, and despite her somewhat limited screen time, works her into a multidimensional role with her own character “arc” that is a reflection of Kirk’s. I assume you mean she’s a “bimbo” because we see her getting undressed? Aside from your creepy puritanism, and the fact that its partly a fun throwback and subversion of one of TOS’s tropes, you misread that scene as so many so-called “high-minded” people do; the whole sequence is about how Carol has Jim’s number and plays humorously with a sense of her power over him on a personal level (she obviously comes to respect him as Captain very clearly as they grow closer – – she does call him by his first name on several occasions). And Kirk’s “death” obviously made reference to Spock’s death from KHAN – – but that was its point; it’s a meta-play on things similar and different in alternate universes (and in a classic movie and a movie that owes its general spirit to the original). And, again, this is a personal opinion, but DISCOVERY, despite its good intentions is not only a pretty bad piece of work but its a step backward and away from Abrams’ genuine inventiveness.

Speaking as someone who thought STID wasn’t horrible, but admitting it was an exercise in fan service, your continued defense of the movie as a great film is a head scratcher. It was well produced, technically, but creatively, very derivative. You are entitled to your own opinions, but that does not mean those in disagreement with you are stupid.

I did not call any one “stupid” but, rather, I was referring to the bizarre notion that is somehow perceived as “truth” that ST ID is a “remake” of TWOK. I’m tired as well of “defending” something that needs no defense. Maybe I’ll just finally write that essay that explains my perceptions of the film in an interesting and informative way. As to how is was “very derivative” – – well, I don’t see it beyond the idea of a conspiracy within the upper tier of Starfleet to lead the Federation into war, a notion that was also used in TUC, yes, but is in fact a kind of trope found in many “high stakes” military dramas like “Seven Days in May” and also, by happenstance, in the real world as well. I honestly don’t mean to be a drag when it comes to my spouting off on ID, its just when one sees the same nonsense repeated again and again that tries passing itself as legitimate criticism, as a former paid film critic for a “major metropolitan newspaper,” I just take some intellectual offense. That’s all.

Personally I find STID unwatchable. To each his own, but I can’t sit through that film again.

I feel the same way about Dr. Strange. After about 20 minutes I was guessing the dialogue before Cumberbatch was delivering it. Then again, all the Marvel backstory movies are pretty derivative.

Fabio. Agreed. The casting was so good for ST09, the ‘baton passing’ was no longer necessary.

Yes, I think people would come to see this kind of movie. Would the TOS era crew or the movie era crew be interacting with Pine and Quinto? Which would be more interesting? I would go to either version. Nostalgia is a powerful thing.

Umm, No. Let this stand on it’s own, no crossovers.

I think we could get a truly extraordinary Star Trek! Not an “ok” action flick. My fingers are crossed!

Honestly I think it would feel a little too jarring. The original casts are all in their 80s now. Who would buy they are still out there space hopping in the galaxy, not to mention three of them are dead now. But I guess they can have one or two or the obvious appearance by Shatner although I seriously doubt that would ever happen since the character is dead and Paramount clearly have no interest to bring him back.

But stranger things have happened.

I don’t see how this will appeal to general audiences, let alone either die-hard Trekkers or Tarantino fans.

To get viewers, it can’t be all respectful and fan-service-y.

Back in his interview, Tarantino seemed to consider this cast of main 7 already too big to focus on ..you expect him to add even more characters?

No more cameos please. And no more remakes of other episodes and movies. Something new please.

Some trek fans are a hindrance with their being utter obsessed and stuck with irrational and unreasonable nostalgia. They just can’t let it go, they can’t let trek have its own reboot too not even when one already exists. Even with discovery, they can’t let the new cast do their thing in peace.
All fandoms have nostalgia, but trek fans are some of the worst in this aspect.

Tarantino, that bastard hack. With J.J. Abrams was not enough to ruin Star Trek on the big screen, they had to bring that thief too.

Creo que voy a vomitar.

I love the old TOS cast, but I don’t need a fan-service crossover. What I would love to see is a self-contained story that is dramatic, and has consequences for the characters. Something like City on the Edge of Forever, or Yesterday’s Enterprise. Like Tarantino discussed in that interview from a couple years ago.

Shatner spewing Tarantino dialogue. The thing of nightmares.

QT’s name on it or not, a multiple series cross over movie might be successful if they make it for 20MM. A penny more, and it’s money wasted.

It would be great to see them even in a glorified cameo…It would be so much fun to see William Shatner + George Takei reciting Quentin Tarantino’s dialogue in a ST movie lol

Denzel Washington gave it a go in Crimson Tide!!

I’d rather they simply make a Star Trek film. No crossovers, no gimmicks; just the Enterprise and her crew exploring a strange new world, seeking out a new civilisation. As far as I’m concerned, Tarantino should cast anyone he wants, so a completely new cast if necessary…

Crossover casting seems like such a transparently bad idea that I kind of want QT to do it, just to mess with our expectations (aside from the expectation that it would be well worth watching). It could maybe work if it fully leaned into how meta-ridiculous it is. Does anyone here remember “New Voyages” edited by Marshak and Culbreath? “Visit To A Weird Planet Revisited” by Ruth Berman. That kind of thing.

I mean, I don’t think it is the best idea. I would like to see a kickass adventure, the definitive space capital ship engagement of all time, and a thoughtful, dialogue-rich exploration of some new mind-bending science fiction concept. That’s all I ask.

Enough with the reboots and homages and crossovers and nostalgia. Let’s try moving forward and doing something new for a film or two. I also challenge the filmmakers to do a movie without a villain.

Just bring in the Shat. De-age him if you have to, but do something to make up for the debacle of Star Trek Generations. In a year that just saw Star Wars’ greatest hero reduced to a moronic grumpy old space cow sucking loser, it would be truly epic to see Trek’s greatest hero return for one last adventure. I’d love to see a crossover with as many as possible, but Shat should be a must. Tarantino is also fond of bringing back old actors, so maybe he can find a way to get Patrick Stewart and Shat together again.

I mentioned this on another article. Kirk’s echo is still in the Nexus. The Nexus is becoming unstable and will implode, killing everybody in it. Because of this instablilty an alarming number of Star Ships have been lost in this modern day Bermuda Triangle. Command has ordered Captain Picard and Captain Riker to investigate this anomaly. The enterprise gets sucked into the Nexus where they meet Captain Kirk and also Picard’s brother and nephew and thousands of other people. It is a race against time for Kirk, Picard and everybody else to get out of the dying Nexus. A major theme of the movie would be that everybody would have to work together to get out. The Klingons, Romulans,Cardassians and Ferengi’s as well as the Federation would need to temporarily resolve their differences and work towards an escape from the Nexus.