Star Trek: Beyond was a bit of a box office disappointment, and while there are probably fixable reasons for that, Paramount may want to make a drastic shift like this to shake things up and bring in audiences.
While there are certainly questions about whether an R-rated Star Trek is truly Star Trek, this news has people excited and discussing the future of the franchise in a way that Star Trek 4 alone couldn’t muster.
The fact that there is a writer’s room means that this thing is a real possibility.
Jonathan Frakes hits on part of what makes this so interesting, too: will Tarantino turn Star Trek R-rated as has been reported, or will he work within the tamer boundaries that the franchise has resided in?