The future of the Star Trek film franchise may be in limbo at the moment, but star Zachary Quinto is confident Paramount is excited to make at least one more film with his reimagined Enterprise crew.

Star Trek was successfully rebooted on the big screen by director J.J. Abrams in 2009, who also directed the sequel Star Trek Into Darkness in 2013. Both of Abrams' films were critical and commercial successes. After Abrams jumped ship to another science fiction institution to direct Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Justin Lin came on to helm the series' third installment, 2016's Star Trek Beyond. Beyond was another critical winner but underperformed at the box office, thus leaving the future of the franchise in question. Rumors have swirled over several different approaches Paramount might take, the most provocative being a potential Quentin Tarantino-directed Star Trek film, but that's not the only project in the works.

It's still not clear what form the next Star Trek film will take, but Zachary Quinto says Paramount fully intends for the franchise to continue on the big screen. In an interview with Observer, the current Mr. Spock assures fans that the studio intends to make at least one more movie with his crew.

"Which ones are going to happen, which ones might happen first? I can’t really say, I don’t know honestly. I know there are lots of conversations being had about it. I know there are plans afoot to do at least one if not more movies."

McCoy, Kirk, and Spock in Star Trek Beyond

Quinto also shares his excitement over the prospect of working with Tarantino on a Star Trek film.

“Man, I would love it. We would all love it. I’ve been a fan of Quentin since the first movie, which I think was Reservoir Dogs. I have just always been an admirer of his unique brand of storytelling, and I feel like to interlace that with the Star Trek universe would be a real dream. It would be amazing.”

It's still unclear what the non-Tarantino scripts consist of, though it's likely one of them is the long ago proposed story that would involve time travel and the return of George Kirk, who was played by Chris Hemsworth in Abrams' 2009 film. While it would seem probably that Beyond's writers, Simon Pegg and Doug Jung, would have a pitch for the next adventure, Pegg recently confirmed that he and Jung aren't writing another Star Trek script. Moreover, Pegg is also unconvinced Tarantino will direct a Star Trek film.

Star Trek is in a strange spot at the moment. As Star Wars continues to explode in popularity and cultural relevance, Star Trek has become increasingly marginalized. Star Trek: Discovery, the franchise's much anticipated return to television, has proved a divisive series, and its exclusive availability via CBS' All Access streaming service in the U.S. means it's an inherently niche endeavor with a limited audience. Beyond's quick fade from the box office seemed to signal the general public's exhaustion with the adventures of Chris Pine's Captain Kirk. If the big screen iteration of the franchise is going to continue in its current form, it needs to do something bold, which is likely why Paramount is carefully weighing their options before embarking on another journey into the final frontier.

More: Star Trek: Unresolved Mysteries And Plot Holes In The Next Generation

Source: Observer