Roberto Orci, well known to readers of this site, has passed away. The writer/producer was a big Star Trek fan and instrumental in the development of the first two Kelvin-verse movies that brought Star Trek back to the big screen.
RIP Roberto Orci
News broke Tuesday afternoon in the Hollywood trades that Roberto Orci had died at age 51 after a battle with kidney disease. Orci’s professional introduction to the Star Trek universe began in 2006 when he and his writing partner at the time, Alex Kurtzman, were tapped by Paramount Pictures and producer/director J.J. Abrams to develop a Star Trek feature film. Abrams was impressed with the team’s work on his 2006 film Mission: Impossible III and Paramount was happy with their work on the 2007 Transformers movie, making them the right team to come up with a way to make Star Trek into a tentpole franchise again for the studio, just a decade after the box office failure of Star Trek: Nemesis.
The 2009 film looked to revive the franchise by going back to the original characters of Kirk, Spock and the USS Enterprise, and it was Orci who originally developed the idea of setting the 2009 film in an alternate universe (a decade before multiverse movies became common), and tying it into the “Prime” canon universe by including original Spock actor Leonard Nimoy. Orci and Kurtzman’s screenplay for the 2009 Star Trek movie garnered them nominations for a WGA Award, a Hugo Award, and a Saturn Award. After the critical and box office success the pair returned to co-write the 2013 sequel Star Trek Into Darkness which didn’t have the same critical success but is still the highest grossing film in the franchise.
Roberto Orci on the set of Star Trek
After Into Darkness, Orci and Kurtzman, who had been collaborating on film and television projects since working together in the late ’90s on Hercules: The Legendary Journey and Xena: Warrior Princess, stopped writing together, although their production company K/O Paper Products continued to produce a number of projects, including a reboot of Hawaii Five-O for CBS. Orci was tapped to return to write and possibly direct a third Star Trek feature film for a 2016 release, but after a falling out with the studio he exited the franchise and Paramount brought in Justin Lin to direct, with Scotty actor Simon Pegg penning a script with screenwriter Doug Jung.
During his time with the franchise Orci was very active here in the TrekMovie comments section, as well as on social media and at Star Trek conventions. A fan since his uncle Richard Robau introduced him to Star Trek at a young age, who he honored by naming the captain of the USS Kelvin after him. He often talked about how honored he was to be associated with Star Trek. Even after he stopped working on Star Trek, Orci would still drop by and make comments on articles as he remained a fan. Just a couple years ago he replied to a TrekMovie commenter asking why he still cares about Star Trek and he replied:
Boborci
How much do I care?
My late best wonderful uncle introduced me to this world. I would never do anything to hurt Trek. I will always care. For my Captain Robau.
The Mexican-born writer had an active career, primarily with genre projects, with his first film co-writing Michael Bay’s The Island, beginning a long relationship with that blockbuster director. In addition to multiple Star Trek and Transformers movies he also has writing credits for several other films, including The Legend of Zorro, Cowboys & Aliens, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Ender’s Game, and the two Now You See Me movies. He was also a producer for several of those films. He was reported to be developing another Sony Spider-Man universe movie in 2018, but that never panned out. His television credits include creating or co-creating Fringe, Sleepy Hollow, Locke & Key, and Matador.
Roberto Orci at the premiere of Star Trek (2009)
“He was a visionary storyteller with a boundless heart and a beautiful soul,” Orci’s brother, J.R. Orci said in a statement to Deadline. “But beyond his creative talents, he was a compassionate friend who would put his life on hold to help a stranger and find room in his home for the most overlooked pup at the shelter.”
According to Deadline, Roberto Orci survived by his father Roberto Orci Sr., mother Macuqui Robau-Garcia, siblings J.R Orci, Taylor Orci, and Courtney Ford, and his dog Bogey.
TrekMovie offers our condolences to the friends and family of Roberto Orci.
Roberto Orci in 2019 at the Saturn Awards
On a personal note, I consider Bob Orci a friend. He was always supportive of TrekMovie and of the fandom and I will miss him.
51?! Damn. Far too young.
Bob’s influence was what made ST09 good and I wish we’d have seen his vision for the third movie! It’s too bad he wasn’t involved with the new TV shows. He’d have made them more like Star Trek. He cared about the fans and gave us the time of day. I’ll miss him.
wow you guys are amazing even in honoring someone who just died you have to put down trek. it’s stunning how so many of you are unattached to reality and decency
Nope Mike Stivic’s comment was right on the button and not mean-spirited at all. He just expressed what many of us believe.
Wow.. Years ago he was a very active contributor in the comments section here at trekmovie. Seemed very passionate. That’s very sad news.
Yes, his interaction with fans was remarkable and rare. It was a joy to see how intelligently he responded to Trek fans.
Very sad and shocking news. He was my age!
I remember when he would comment here at TrekMovie. My sincere condolences to those who knew him personally.
This is sad news. I enjoyed interacting with him in the TM comments sections while he was involved in the franchise. He even had a contest once or twice and I won one of his Star Trek paperback books with hand written notes throughout. The book helped him in coming up with the story for ST 2009. R.I.P. Bob.
Was it Prime Directive?
Spock’s World
makes sense, thanks
I couldn’t believe it when I saw he had passed, Bob Orci really loved Trek and would have been far better at running the franchise than his previous writing partner.
I remember he would post on TrekMovie & really engage with the fans, even brave enough to answer fan critiques like “why was the Enterprise built on land and not space?”. He was good enough to spend time doing that on here.
I also really enjoyed his Countdown comic which was written as a prequel to Star Trek (2009). I appreciated the connective tissue with the Berman era/early 25th century Trek. I was also excited about his plans for Star Trek XIII before Beyond (with Shatner/time travel).
It is a shame we will never get to see him contribute to the franchise again (like all the other franchises he’s worked on), 51 is no age.
Rest in Peace.
I always had really positive interactions with him on this site in comment sections. He was clearly a deeply committed fan. He will be missed.
Well…. sh*t. *Hand SALUTE* Condolences to the NOK.
Oh, that’s so sad.
He leaves an impressive career and wonderful memories for his loved ones. His love of Star Trek is immediately relatable to all of us, I am sure.
I can’t believe this has happened. He died too young.
This is terribly sad. The 2009 film — of which he did SO much — revitalized the franchise for a new generation and made possible all that followed.
RIP, you passed FAR too young.
May his memory be a blessing….
He was a great fan, whatever you thought about his contributions to the franchise, and was always polite even when some posts were less so towards him. Anytime someone younger than me dies its too soon. Condolences to his family and friends.
Wow, this is a shocker. I was not a fan of STAR TREK 2009, and after the film’s release Mr. Orci and I traded a fair number of pretty barbed postings on the Trekmovie forums. But I did stress that my criticisms pertained only to the film itself, and were not to be taken personally or as a general judgement of his talents as a writer. I just never felt that he (or the rest of the “Supreme Court” who worked on the script) understood what at its heart Trek was all about, but God knows that in the great scheme of things there are worse sins.
51 — damn, that’s just way too young. My sincere condolences to his friends and family.
He did not shy away from criticism of his work. Whether he agreed or not with the person doing it out, he was always up for a discussion about it, and it never seemed to get to him. I have immense respect for that.
You really have to. It’s all too easy for anger and defensiveness to get the best of most people.
I wish I knew him better, but Bob Orci struck me as a kind and good guy who loved what he did, cared about other people, e.g. fans, and loved Star Trek. I don’t think he was typical of Hollywood at all. Just a really nice guy.
He could be pretty thin-skinned at times, truth be told. Under the circumstances I won’t belabor the specifics, but I’m sure that at least some of that came out of his genuine pride in the work.
A lot will be said about how divisive his two Trek films were, as if there is a reason to qualify our respect for him as a fan. I heard him defend STID on a podcast and explain why he made certain choices in the screenplay, and that interview made me see him differently, because he put himself out there. Didn’t shy away from his choices, he owned them.. explained what he was going for. No one can deny his love for Star Trek. Personally, I will always love the closing of Spock Prime’s Arc in Trek 09. An Arc that saw Spock come full circle with his human heritage… embrace it. A seed that was planted in TMP.. but that part of Trek 09 was clearly all Orci. I thought that was beautifully handled, and quite emotionallly compromising. I wish peace to his family, and so sorry to hear of his loss. Far too young.
Very sad news. He was too young. My condolences to his family and friends.
This is so sad. He was such a generous, funny guy. I had the pleasure of meeting him several times. He will be missed.
He never shied away from interacting with fans here at TrekMovie or addressing criticism of his work. Few creators are that generous with fans.
This is what I was going to come to say. This is very sad.
This as well! Condolences to his family and friends.
This is really horribly sad news. Condolences to his family and his friends.
I interacted with him a few times here on the TrekMovie discussion boards, and that was always a treat. I love his and Orci’s 2009 Star Trek, and Fringe developed into a really interesting show.
Rest in Peace Roberto Orci…
RIP BobOrci. The guy was a genuine fan. It’s hard to channel that in his line of work, where the all powerful studio exec always gets what they want. Sad to hear of his passing.
Wow this is very shocking and sad. The entire reason I’m even on this website was due to him. It was 2008 and I was on IMDB when they had message boards and was discussing the first Kelvin movie there. I wrote a post asking a question about the movie and someone responded to me saying one of the film’s writers discussed the very question I had on a site called Trekmovie. Never heard of it or Orci at the time.
I thought cool and went to find it not realizing he was basically a regular on the site just talking to fans. I thought that was so amazing and the first few months after that I just came here to see what he posted before I started reading it regularly.
It wasn’t until post Beyond I started interacting with him and would talk here and there. He was always a stand up guy and very polite to me even if I didn’t agree with him on everything. I always felt a little bad how so many turned on him after STID. I felt people were overly mean and nasty after that towards him here. Not just disagreeing with him I mean the people who became insulting towards him because they did. I was surprised he stuck around as long as he did.
I think he left a lot of quality shows and films many people still watch today. It’s sad ten years ago he was considered a hot commodity to basically producing very little since. But Hollywood is a tough business.
I suggested several times here it would’ve been great to interview him again and get his thoughts on the Kelvin films and where he felt the franchise was going today.
He definitely died too young and really enjoyed watching a lot of his work over the years.
I was a fan of his since Hercules and Xena. To say I’m shocked and saddened is an understatement. I’ve been critical of some of his film scripts and praised others. I will miss chatting with him or asking him about things.
Nice. I have never seen those shows but remembered how popular they were at the time. And actually thinking about it, I remember hearing his name when Mission Impossible 3 came out and it’s still one of my favorites in that franchise today. But yeah it was definitely Star Trek I think most of us became acquainted with him and his work.
51. What a shame, what a loss. I’ll be 59 this year, makes me feel ancient.
I just turned 61. It’s sobering when contemporaries begin to depart.
Try 66, then we’ll talk. 😝
And fifties are considered younger these days but it is a reminder this is a time health issues really do arise.
RIP Bob Orci. I remember all the great exchanges here on Trekmovie. He got right out in front of the fans, and sometimes the exchanges could get heated, but he was always a straight shooter. Thanks in part to him, Star Trek received a needed shot in the arm in 2009. 51 is way too young.
I admired Orci for his ability to put himself up in front of the fans and have engaging and sometimes even tense discussions with them. It was cool to see him interact with the people here. I was wondering why we didn’t see him for a long time and why he wasn’t very active recently producing stuff but it seems as though he was having health issues unfortunately. This is such a young age to die. May he rest in peace.
What a real shame. He was way too young. Feels weird to be the one saying that.
I’ve not posted here in a really long time, but thought of TrekMovie right away. I totally forgot he used to post here! Would be cool to see a compilation of his comments or something for posterity. I respect any creative who is willing to engage with fans on the level he did and Trek 2009 will always be a touchstone for me despite me leaning towards older Trek as I’ve gotten older.
I also did not agree with a lot of his take on Star Trek but I remember it was quite something that he was on this site. A rare and brave thing to do!
51 is far too young. Rest In Peace.
>:,>{
Hope we can see, in some form, his ST3 script. RIP…
…always wanted details on that, too.
Mr. Pascale could probably comment on that, but if there are NDA’s involved for anyone who’s actually seen it, it likely won’t see the light of day.
I asked Mr. Orci about us being able to take a look at his ST3 script and he replied something like, “Oh, I’m sure there must be someone around here who could figure out how to leak it…” but that was it.
RIP
Fifty-one? Far, far too young.
Us Star Trek fans owe Bob Orci so much. Whether you liked it or not (or any of the TV series and films that followed), it’s almost indisputable that the 2009 film revived the franchise for new generations. (Me personally, I loved the 2009 film.) So thank you, Bob. Thank you very much.
This is heartbreaking news. My very best wishes and condolences to his friends and family in their time of grief.
RIP Mr Orci.
I loved Into Darkness and I wish that Orci had been involved in the script for Beyond. I get the criticisms that people had about the film – especially the Khan scream. But STID was actually about something.
The movie acts as a metaphor for America’s descent into moral ambiguity following the terrorist attacks of 9/11. The hunt for John Harrison is like the search for Bin Laden and the debate about whether to launch photon torpedoes at the Klingon home world is relevant to current debates regarding the morality of drone strikes.
The film concludes with Kirk realising that he lost perspective following the terrorist attack on Starfleet. He then rededicates himself to science and peaceful exploration and begins the famous five year mission, to explore strange new worlds and to seek out new life. The title “Into Darkness” refers to the moral state of American foreign policy following 9/11 (fear, vengeance, anger, and violence) and the final scenes state that it’s time row back from this.
How we could use some of that optimism right now.
I’d like to echo a defense of STID similar to this, While I don’t like the film at all, the story itself, at it’s heart has a very ‘Star Trek’ allegory at it’s heart, that I think was a very strong point to the story, but I think that point gets drowned out amongst the ‘Khan’ of it all, if that makes sense. We don’t talk about those aspects enough when discussing STID.
There seems to be a general consensus among both mainstream audiences and Trek fans on what makes a “good” Star Trek movie—except when it comes to Into Darkness. While my non-Trek friends and family really enjoy it, I’ve yet to meet a Trekkie who doesn’t rank it near the bottom of the franchise.
I had a few conversations with Roberto Orci on the old message boards about the film’s creative choices, and while he never outright blamed anyone, it was clear that Into Darkness suffered from the same “laundry list” problem that plagued Generations—a studio-mandated checklist of elements, with little time to weave them together coherently. I suspect that’s part of what led to Orci’s departure from Beyond.
Thematically, Into Darkness was the only Kelvin movie that really tried to have a clear message, but it was ultimately diluted by the broader revenge narrative. That’s a recurring issue across all three films—Nero in Star Trek (2009), Khan and Kirk in Into Darkness, and Krall in Beyond all boil down to the same basic motivation: vengeance. It’s an overused and often lazy storytelling device, reducing conflicts to personal grudges rather than moral dilemmas. Worse, their motivations were so convoluted that it was difficult to emotionally invest in them. Compare that to Wrath of Khan, where we immediately understood why Khan wanted revenge and why Kirk struggled with his own emotions toward him. The difference is night and day.
I appreciate what Into Darkness was going for with its post-9/11 themes, but by leaning so heavily on another revenge plot, it undercut its own ambitions. The film wanted to be a critique of fear-driven foreign policy but ended up being just another action movie about characters seeking payback. That’s not to say Into Darkness is without merit—it’s visually stunning, and has some memorable moments—but it’s also emblematic of why the Kelvin movies feel more like blockbusters that happen to be Star Trek rather than Star Trek films that happen to be blockbusters.
Well, now you can add 1 Trek fan who likes the movie! I give it 7/10
I disliked the Khan scream and the last 30 mins with Spock fighting.
I totally agree with you on the revenge aspects, Star Trek should move away from that.
Yup. Very smart analysis at this point .
If we could have had Cumberbach as John Harrison through and through, with Khan still frozen, or perhaps only introduced at the end (Javier Bardem LOL) fans would be less dismissive.
If they went the John Harrison/Joachim route and saved khan for the end it could’ve been CG 1966 Montalban, especially if he was still in cryo
Yes. Having Harrison end up being Khan’s right hand man would have made so much more sense to the overall franchise – and whether Khan was revealed later by another actor or as CG Montalban it would have played better.
I really liked STID too! Yeah, the Khan is Harrison reveal was weak, but the rest was really solid.
I love all three of those Kelvin movies.
I never hated the movie but yeah it’s definitely low on my list, around #10.
It’s alllll been said at this point but I do think this movie is what caused the downturn in this series so quickly. Maybe if it was the third film and not the second when people just wanted to seek out new life and civilizations and saved the Section 31 conspiracy thriller for the next one it could’ve fared better.
And yeah….’Khan’. I think they wanted something that was very allegorical at the time but it probably would’ve been a better idea to do a fun adventure story of the new crew actually exploring. STID always felt more like a DS9 type of film than a TOS one IMO.
This is so sad and shocking news, I think most fans know it was Roberto Orci who was the Spock like mastermind behind Treks triumphant return to the big screen (and pop culture) and for about a decade I’ve been fascinated to the point of obsession with ‘Orcis lost Trek 3’ with Shatner Kirk/save the timeline, and by the vague details that emerged (from Orci on twitter and TM comments) , perhaps now the script should be adapted for a novel or comic series as a way of tribute.. (or better still for the final kelvin movie)
But I’m shocked by this awful news. My condolences to his family, friends :(
Can we please mourn someone without trashing someone else? The comments here are disturbing.
I’ve read most of the comments now and I don’t know what you’re talking about. These have been sincere tributes.
I’ve only seen one post that did that and yes agree, it’s unnecessary. But most have been very respectful as it should be.
I know some might disagree, but I will always remember how great it felt to walk out of the theatre after seeing Star Trek 2009. Yeah, maybe not everything was a homerun, but thanks to Orci and his passion for Trek, we not only got a rebirth of the franchise, but all the things that followed including Star Trek 12 and 13 plus SNW, Short Treks, Prodigy and Picard. RIP Mr. Orci and condolences to his family and friends.
He was only man who stopped J.J. Abrams from entirely ruining movies and kept Kurtzman on leash.
That’s very sad and far too young.
He was certainly very playful on here and took it all in his stride even when we weren’t necessarily being too generous!
Condolences to his nearest and dearest.
So sorry to hear this. Not only did he seem like a nice guy, but he totally ‘got’ what Trek is, or should be. A terrible loss. Deepest condolences to his family and all close to him. Had no idea he was ill.
Very sad RIP condolences to his family and friends
He selflessly helped countless people… and genuinely cared about the Star Trek audience… He will forever be remembered with kindness.
Very sad to lose someone that young. Star Trek ’09 and the hype leading up to it was what got me fully into the fandom (and typing “trekmovie” into the address bar is still muscle memory 16 years later). This fandom can be quite mean to it’s creators but ’09 especially has come to be appreciated more over the years- that opening scene will always be a favourite so thank you Robert.
Shocking news. Rest in Peace, Orci. Way too young to leave earth.
I am a big fan of his work with Kurtzman. Always wished the two, Orci and Kurtzman, both, worked together in the most recent Star Trek productions.
I was always hoping for the franchise to give him another chance. Very sad. To my understanding, he was Kurtzman high school pal. My deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.
Man. So young. Sorry to hear this.
Farewell, boborci!
Condolences for/to his family.
Horribly sad. I’m thankful for his thoughtful Trek work. Doing a reboot that was also a prequel and a sequel and preserved the integrity of what had come before was genius. His love and respect for the Trek universe was obvious and I always wanted to see his take on a Trek film. Such a talent.
I was thinking about him the other day and how I hadn’t seem him post here in a while. That’s awful, RIP and thanks for the good entertainment you provided us!
On this day, I will mourn. He wrote some remarkable things. I also appreciated his willingness to interact with fans on this site and elsewhere. Best wishes to his family and friends during this difficult time.
His best work, Transformers Prime. Sooo good.
He was one of the final writers on the WATCHMAN feature, so whatever else I might think about his creative efforts, I have to thank him for his part in that. (I’m the rarest of rarities, somebody who loved the graphic novel (which I consider to be literature), and loved the movie too, even though it proved to be the last thing Zack Snyder ever made that I could sit through all the way — and I have done so many many times, too.)
I love the Optimus Prime monologue at the end of the first Bay film. “With the All Spark gone, we cannot return life to our planet. And fate has yielded its reward, a new world to call home. We live among its people now, hiding in plain sight, but watching over them in secret, waiting, protecting. I have witnessed their capacity for courage, and though we are worlds apart, like us, there’s more to them than meets the eye. I am Optimus Prime, and I send this message to any surviving Autobots taking refuge among the stars. We are here, we are waiting.”
A horrible shock. He really understood the franchise and did his very best to bring happiness to the fans. He will be sorely missed.
Beyond sad, considering of all the people who have worked on Star Trek in the past 18 years, he was the one who seemed to get it the most. Just doing some quick research, the movies that he has writing credits on had box office grosses totaling 4 billion dollars – not that that’s any measure of success, but it is quite an impressive figure, and in my opinion so was he. May he rest in peace, and his legacy live long and continue to prosper.
mr orci’s ST films at least broadened the audience worldwide for the films for a while
51?!?
I never met the guy but thoroughly enjoyed his interactions here. And how brave he was to even interact with the fans on the internet.
Great Caesar’s Ghost. I’m almost 50 (this year). 51 is way too young to go to the Undiscovered Country.
Thank you Robert Orci for all of your contributions to Star Trek and everything else on your IMDB page.
RIP. 51 is way too young. Way too young…