Brit SJ Clarkson tipped to become first female director in Star Trek film history
The British director is set to helm the fourth film in JJ Abrams' reboot series
SJ Clarkson has reportedly been approached to helm the fourth instalment of JJ Abrams' Star Trek film series and, if she takes the job, will become the first female director in the franchise's cinematic history.
The news, via Hollywood insiders Variety, comes after Paramount Studios announced at Las Vegas's CinemaCon earlier this week that it was planning a new film in the series which would feature Avengers: Infinity War star Chris Hemsworth in a leading role alongside Chris Pine (Captain Kirk) and Zachary Quinto (Mr Spock). Hemsworth appeared in previous instalments as Captain Kirk's father George – and the new film would see the two running into one another in a time travel ploy.
British director Clarkson began her career on soaps Doctors, Casualty and EastEnders, before moving to the US and helming episodes of House, Dexter, Orange Is the New Black and Jessica Jones. She recently directed two episodes of Marvel's The Defenders.
In 1989, Gabrielle Beaumont became the first woman to direct an episode of a Star Trek TV series (The Next Generation) – so it's good to see that the franchise's cinematic arm is finally catching up after 13 male-directed films.
A fifth Star Trek film is reportedly in the works, too, from Quentin Tarantino and JJ Abrams. “All of us are really excited about the idea of working with Quentin on a Trek film,” Zachary Quinto told ET Canada. We'll believe it when we see it...
