Writer/director Edgar Wright is showing off his connection to Star Trek—not for the first time—by having a bit of fun with Star Wars icon Mark Hamill. He directed Paramount’s latest big sci-fi movie; could Star Trek be in his future?
Luke, I am your troll
Edgar Wright directed Paramount’s latest franchise reboot, The Running Man, which opens in two weeks. At a celebrity-packed event on the Paramount lot over the weekend, Wright ran into Mark Hamill, the one and only Luke Skywalker, and the pair posed for some nice photos at the Vogue World Hollywood event. Then, on Monday, Wright posted a story on Instagram using one of the photos with the message “Sorry Mark Hamill,” where the director flashed a Vulcan salute. (Well, not exactly… next time, thumb out, Edgar.) Wright also included music: a disco version of the Star Trek theme by Geoff Love. The expression on Hamill’s face shows he gets the gag.
(Instagram/Edgar Wright)
Wright’s Trek connections
This is not the first time Edgar Wright has revealed a connection to Star Trek. We first reported on the award-winning writer and director back in 2008 when he revealed he had seen a pre-release version of the 2009 Star Trek movie and called himself a “lucky bastard,” summing up the experience by taking another swipe at Star Wars with “I can’t say much more than that, except that it delivers all the goods sorely lacking from a certain trio of prequels… Exciting stuff.”
Wright got a lot more connected with the sequel, as producer/director J.J. Abrams let Wright direct a scene for the 2013 film Star Trek Into Darkness. And a couple of years later, when Roberto Orci exited the third Kelvin movie project, Wright was rumored to be on the short list to direct what became 2016’s Star Trek Beyond.
There are 2120 shots in ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’. I directed one of them. Looking forward to seeing the other 2119. twitter.com/edgarwright/st…
— edgarwright (@edgarwright) May 9, 2013
Hey Paramount, need a new director?
It’s unclear if Wright is a genuine Trekkie or if his connection to the recent movies is more to do with his longtime friendship and collaboration with Simon Pegg, who played Scotty in the three Kelvin movies. Wright directed Pegg’s nerdy 1999 sitcom Spaced and the two of them, along with Nick Frost, collaborated on the “Cornetto Trilogy” of comedy films as well.
If Paramount is happy with Edgar Wright’s work as a director and co-writer on The Running Man and they are looking for a new writer/director for a Star Trek movie (which apparently is a “priority” for the new Skydance team), then Wright could be a good bet.
Check out the trailer for The Running Man.
Find more news and analysis on upcoming Star Trek feature films.