Star Trek Writers Set For More Blockbusters

Star Trek is apparently far from the final frontier for the writing-producing tandem of Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The pair, who co-wrote and co-produced Star Trek (2009) and are working in the same capacities on the Star Trek sequel, have signed deals that will see them, via their company, K/O Paper Products, bringing to the screen some of Hollywood’s biggest projects over the next several years.

Earlier this week, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Kurtzman and Orci have signed a two-year, first-look production deal with Universal Pictures to produce modern re-tellings of The Mummy and Van Helsing, with Tom Cruise attached to Van Helsing as star and co-producer. In a joint statement, Universal Pictures chairman Adam Fogelson and co-chairman Donna Langley said, “Alex and Roberto are extraordinarily talented writers and producers who know the value of a great story in building successful tentpole films. They have been a major part of some of Hollywood’s biggest movies and television shows in recent history, and we’re eager to have them build on that success at Universal.”

The Universal pact is only the latest in a string of previously announced Kurtzman-Orci enterprises. Last month, Sony hired Kurtzman and Orci to pen the screenplay for The Amazing Spider-Man 2. They are also producing Now You See Me, starring Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Morgan Freeman and Isla Fisher, and the eagerly awaited Ender’s Game, starring Harrison Ford, Abigail Breslin, Asa Butterfield and Ben Kingsley. And, the two wrote and produced People Like Us, directed by Kurtzman and due out on June 29.