Quentin Tarantino revealed to have turned down directing “Star Trek,” but was it the only film he passed on?

When rumours broke that Quentin Tarantino was interested in creating a film within the “Star Trek” universe, it of course elicited a huge amount of interest. The rumour was that Tarantino, known for his iconic works “Pulp Fiction” and more recently “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood,” wanted to create an R-rated movie, adding a little of that Tarantino-edge that we’ve long associated with his directing and screenwriting style. 

But it wasn’t to be - and not because of any potential constraints on what he could or couldn’t do with the movie, but more that he didn’t want it to be his final project. That’s according to screenwriter Mark L. Smith in a recent interview with Collider, who revealed Tarantino’s concerns. 

Quentin Tarantino reportedly abandoned his Star Trek film because he was hesitant to make it his final project. Screenwriter Mark L. Smith, who collaborated on the script, revealed in an interview with Collider that Tarantino expressed concerns about whether Star Trek should be his last movie.

“Quentin and I went back and forth, he was gonna do some stuff on it, and then he started worrying about the number, his kind of unofficial number of films,” Smith said. “I remember we were talking, and he goes, ‘If I can just wrap my head around the idea that Star Trek could be my last movie, the last thing I ever do. Is this how I want to end it?’ And I think that was the bump he could never get across, so the script is still sitting there on his desk.”

“I know he said a lot of nice things about it. I would love for it to happen. It’s just one of those things that I can’t ever see happening. But it would be the greatest Star Trek film, not for my writing, but just for what Tarantino was gonna do with it. It was just a balls-out kind of thing.”

This wouldn’t be the first time that Tarantino turned down the opportunity to direct a film that either was part of a vast media franchise or, in the case of one 1994 blockbuster, was more than happy working with the budget he had for his artistic vision, rather than be bogged down by big-budget movie studio rangling. So from the archive of Tarantino interviews and anecdotes, what were some of the other films the “Reservoir Dogs” director has turned down previously? 

Has Quentin Tarantino turned down directing any other big film franchises?

Men In Black (1997)

At one point, there was talk that Quentin Tarantino might be in line to direct a film adaptation of the popular Dark Horse Comics franchise, “Men In Black,” and in later years the director even admitted he was offered the job. However, Tarantino turned the project down, stating "I thought it was brilliant. Just not for me.” 

Tarantino did try and work with Smith years later on “Django Unchained” but it would be Smith on this occasion turning down Tarantino. According to Smith, "Django wasn't the lead, so it was like, I need to be the lead. The other character was the lead! I was like, 'No, Quentin, please, I need to kill the bad guy!'

The Green Hornet (2011)

Originally, Tarantino was attached to write and direct a film adaptation of "The Green Hornet." However, he eventually decided to step away from the project due to creative differences with the studio. The decision to part ways reportedly stemmed from disagreements over the casting of the lead role and the overall creative direction of the film: Tarantino envisioned a unique take on the character, but the studio had a different vision, leading to their decision to go in another direction.

Following Tarantino's departure, the project changed, and Michel Gondry eventually directed the 2011 film adaptation of "The Green Hornet," starring Seth Rogen as the titular character. It wasn’t a critical success by any means…

The Man from U.N.C.L.E (2015)

In an interview with Village Voice in 2009, Tarantino revealed that at one point he had plans to adapt the popular ‘60s television series, but a certain film led his career down a different path. "I had flirted with the idea of a 'Man From U.N.C.L.E.' movie. But I grew out of the idea ... [I]f you made a film like 'Reservoir Dogs' for the studios, they'd say, 'That guy's pretty good. Maybe if we match him with more commercial subject matter, that will take it to the next step.'”

“So I do my little art thing, 'Pulp Fiction,' in my little auteur way, and maybe it makes $30 to $35 million. 'OK, now we're ready to bring him into the studio system for real. Let's give him "Dick Tracy" or the "Man From U.N.C.L.E." movie,' something like that. Well, that didn't happen. I didn't have to wrap my voice in some commercial project to get it across. My voice, me being me, became huge, so I never had to do that. I rise or fall by my ability."

Speed (1994)

Did you know that Quentin Tarantino was one of the first choices to direct Keanu Reeves’ 1994 hit, “Speed,” starring Sandra Bullock? It was around the time that major studios had seen the success the director had with “Reservoir Dogs” and the buzz surrounding that year’s “Pulp Fiction” (along with writing credits including “True Romance” and a maligned version of Oliver Stone’s “Natural Born Killers”) 

However, owing to the comments Tarantino made during his Village Voice interview, the director would happily eschew big-budget films and would go on to direct “Jackie Brown,” an adaption of Leonard Elmore’s book, “Rum Punch.”