In the wake of the news that Roberto Orci would not, as had previously been announced, be directing the 13th Star Trek movie, rumors are flying across the Internets about why he left and who might replace him. One dedicated group of fans believes that with this particular captain out of his chair, we should promote the first officer to take his place.



Twitter Campaign to #BringInRiker

Under the hashtag #BringInRiker, dozens of Trek fans started tweeting yesterday to recruit Jonathan Frakes to take over. While many of the tweets are aimed @jonathansfrakes, the “father, husband, director, and reformed actor” has not responded (at least not yet). His most recent tweet is a Nativity scene of him and his beloved Imzadi as Joseph and Mary:

Few people understand Trek as well as Frakes does. He is the only actor to have appeared as the same character in all four of the modern Trek series (if you count Thomas Riker). He has 16 directorial credits to his name, including of course First Contact, which – at 92% on Rotten Tomatoes – is the second-best reviewed film in the franchise.

More than any other member of the Trek family, Frakes seemed to be the protégé of Gene Roddenberry (with whom he shared a birthday) and talks with more personal fondness about The Great Bird of the Galaxy than anyone else. In an editorial last year, one Trek Movie writer suggested that the best person to resurrect the franchise on TV would be Frakes himself.

Orci, who had previously been screenwriter and producer to the 11th and 12th Trek films, was announced to take the director’s chair left vacant when JJ Abrams was beamed over to the Star Wars franchise. Edgar Wright’s name has also circulated as one who might replace Orci, given his long collaboration with Simon “Scotty” Pegg, his nerd street cred, and his loss of the Ant Man film project.



