Roberto Orci is allegedly in discussions to direct ‘Star Trek 3.’ The job had originally been pegged to go to J.J. Abrams, although (unless you noticed) Abrams has got his hands full directing the upcoming ‘Star Wars Episode VII.’ Abrams had directed the first two 'Star Trek' movies from the rebooted franchise, 2009’s ‘Star Trek’ and 2013’s ‘Star Trek Into Darkness,’ but the lure of ‘Star Wars’ was apparently too much for him to stick around to direct a third movie.

Roberto Orci Star Trek 3Roberto Orci is in discussions to direct 'Star Trek 3' since J.J. Abrams departure from the project

So, who is Roberto Orci? Does he have what it takes to take over from J.J. Abrams, and does he have the CV to back it up? The answer’s pretty much a straightforward ‘yes.’ Orci has also been involved with the previous two 'Star Trek' movies, working on both as an executive producer. So, it’s safe to say that he knows the project pretty well. It sounds like they’ve essentially chosen Abram’s right hand man to take his place.

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The 'Star Trek' movies aren’t the only big name projects that Orci has worked on in the past. Back in the late 90s Orci worked on such classics as ‘Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,’ and ‘Xena: Warrior Princess.’ That’s really all that we need to see to prove that he’s qualified for the job (also, cue week-long 'Xena' marathon), but in more recent years he’s certainly managed to work his way up the ladder.

Orci has worked as an executive producer on hit shows ‘Sleepy Hollow’ and ‘Hawaii Five-0,’ and more recently worked as the executive producer on ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2.’ He’s been announced as a producer on Rupert Sander’s upcoming ‘Van Helsing’ (let’s hope this one is better than the last…) and will be working on the 2016 reboot of ‘The Mummy.’ We have pretty strong feelings about the latter, why fix what isn’t broken? Let’s hope Roberto Orci will work some magic on the project, everything else he has a hand in seems to turn to gold.

Roberto Orci Star Trek 3Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman pictured together at the 2010 Writers Guild Awards

Our one reservation is that ‘Star Trek 3’ will be Orci’s first project as a director, rather than a producer. Obviously being in the industry for so long and working on so many big budget movies he will have picked up a trick or two, but is it wise to give such a huge project to a first-time director?

Let us know your thoughts, the 'Star Trek' movies have been pretty popular up to this point, it would be a shame to see them lose their appeal because of an inexperienced director.

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Watch Star Trek: Into Darkness, feature: