John Cho Recalls Hearing Rumors About Tarantino's Star Trek

John Cho has opened up about Quentin Tarantino's abandoned R-rated Star Trek movie, saying he only ever heard rumors about the director's interest. In an interview with Variety, Cho explained that while word of a pitch circulated, he was never given any specifics about what Tarantino had in mind.

Tarantino had previously pitched the idea to J.J. Abrams, who directed the 2009 Star Trek reboot that introduced Cho as Hikaru Sulu. Mark L. Smith wrote a screenplay based on Tarantino's concept, and the story reportedly drew from the original series episode "A Piece of the Action." Tarantino himself described his take as "Pulp Fiction in space."

In 2024, Tarantino confirmed the project would not move forward, closing the book on one of the more intriguing what-ifs in modern franchise filmmaking. Cho, who returned as Sulu in Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond, never got to see the script.

The actor's comments, first reported by comingsoon.net, add a personal note to a project that generated plenty of fan speculation before it was shelved. For now, Tarantino's Star Trek remains a pitch that never made it to the screen.