AceShowbiz -

"Star Trek 3" has lost its director. On Friday, December 5, Deadline reported that Roberto Orci who was signed on to direct the movie in May was no longer attached to work behind the lens. So far, there is no word on why he decided to depart the project, but he will be still around as a producer.

Paramount Pictures reportedly is now eyeing Edgar Wright for the movie depicting the adventure of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 crew. They reportedly are targeting a 2016 release to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the "Star Trek" franchise. It is set to start production early next year with the script by Orci, Patrick McKay and John D. Payne.

Orci was supposed to replace the previous two movies helmer J.J. Abrams, who passed on the project to work on "Star Wars: The Force Awakens". The previous installment, "Star Trek: Into Darkness", starred Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Anton Yelchin, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, John Cho and Benedict Cumberbatch as the villainous Khan.

Info about the upcoming movie's storyline is scarce, but Orci once said it would be "closer than they are to the original series characters that you have ever seen." He added, "They have set off on their five-year mission. So their adventure is going to be in deep space."