Noah Hawley wants his Star Trek movie to be brainier than Chris Pine films

The most recent Star Trek movies have been way more action-heavy than the earlier ones. Director Noah Hawley wants to return the franchise to its roots.

Star Trek shows are a dime a dozen these days, but we haven’t had a Trek movie in a while, since Star Trek Into Beyond in 2016. Paramount is said to be mulling its options: it could bring back the cast of Beyond — Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, etc — for another movie, it could do Quentin Tarantino’s bizarre gangster planet idea, or it could tap Fargo director Noah Hawley to make a different kind of Star Trek movie.

We don’t know exactly what Hawley would do — apparently his first idea involved a deadly plagued, which was rejected for obvious reasons — but it sounds like he’s looking to pivot from the more action-oriented tone of the J.J. Abrams movies. “As much as I like the Chris Pine movies they were mostly about running from one end of the ship to the other to put out a fire, to stop a thing, and then before he could catch his breath he had to do something else,” he told Observer. “They’re much more action movies and what I wanted to get back to was this idea of humanity justifying existence in the universe by showing its best qualities.”

"What I love about Star Trek is that it’s not a war story. It’s not a story in which might makes right. It’s a story about exploration. It’s a story about creative problem solving. My favorite moment in all of Star Trek is in Wrath of Khan when Kirk puts on his reading glasses to lower Khan’s shields. It’s a brief moment that is so exhilarating because he’s using the best tool he has, which is his mind."

The excitement!

But seriously, Hawley isn’t the first person to note that the newer Star Trek movies are a little less cerebral than the older ones, sometimes feeling like they’re taking their cues more from Star Wars than classic Trek. They’re still fun, just not what long-time Trek fans are used to.

Personally, I could go for a bit more of a brainy sci-fi adventure, so I’m all for this. And Hawley intends to shake things up in more ways than one. He’s said that his Star Trek film, should it ever come to pass, wouldn’t involve Captains Kirk or Picard, but would be more of a “start from scratch” affair.

We’ll see what direction Paramount goes in, if they can ever get it together enough to make a decision.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels

h/t StarTrek.com