Star Trek 4: Jessica Jones’ SJ Clarkson On To Direct

There's been a lot of chatter in recent months about the future of the Star Trek movie franchise. Quentin Tarantino has been developing one version for Paramount, and studio executives announced they were working on both that and another potential film, angling to see which would end up on screen. It appears the in-house version is closer to launching, as the studio has hired Jessica Jones and Orange Is The New Black director SJ Clarkson to handle the film.

JD Payne and Patrick McKay have written the most recent version of this movie, which reportedly will see Chris Pine's Captain Kirk interacting with his late father George (Chris Hemsworth) through some time travel trickery. According to Variety, Zachary Quinto is also returning (with the rest of the crew subject to new contracts) and that JJ Abrams will once again produce the movie. Though Star Trek Beyond didn't perform quite as strongly as all involved had hoped, Paramount has been looking to keep the franchise moving.

As for Tarantino's rumoured effort? That will arrive, if at all, after this one.

Clarkson's hiring makes her the first female director to tackle a Trek film, and would also mark her feature directorial debut. She has a wide variety of credits on series including The Defenders, Dexter, and the recent Collateral.

In related director news, The Hollywood Reporter brings word that Marvel is searching for a female filmmaker to make its Black Widow film. Among the names mentioned are The Rider's Chloe Zao and A United Kingdom (and recent Empire Award winner) Amma Asante. According to the trade mag, the hunt is still on.