Roberto Orci to direct Star Trek 3

Roberto Orci is to direct ‘Star Trek 3’.

The screenwriter-and-producer is reportedly in talks with Skydance and Paramount to make his directorial debut on the next installment of the sci-fi franchise, Variety reports.

Orci and his writing partner Alex Kurtzman are currently writing a script for the movie, which is expected to see stars such as Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldana return, though plot details are shrouded in secrecy.

The news comes after Orci and Kurtzman – who have previously worked on both ‘Star Trek’ films, the ‘Transformers’ series, ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ and ‘Mission: Impossible 3’ – ended their creative partnership, reportedly so they can both move into directing.

J.J Abrams directed both previous ‘Star Trek’ movies, but is too busy working on ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ to take the helm for a third time, but will still produce the new movie.

There is no release date lined up for ‘Star Trek 3’ yet, but it is expected to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the franchise in 2016.