FAST & FURIOUS Director Justin Lin to Helm STAR TREK 3

After the recent news that Roberto Orci had left STAR TREK 3, Deadline reports that Justin Lin has stepped up as director for the project. Lin rebooted the FAST & FURIOUS series and helmed four high-grossing films for the popular franchise.

J.J. Abrams directed the previous two films. Orci remains on the team as a producer for the upcoming movie.

STAR TREK 3 is scheduled to be released in 2016, in time for the franchise's 50th anniversary, with J.J. Abrams returning as producer. Filming is set to begin in early 2015.

According to recent reports, the currently untitled film will take place in deep space, with the Enterprise and her crew dealing with an unrevealed crisis. This movie will reportedly be more similar to the original Star Trek series than its predecessors

Written by Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof, the second film followed the crew of the Enterprise as a shocking act of terror on Earth sends them on a manhunt to capture an unstoppable force of destruction and bring those responsible to justice. STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS featured an ensemble cast including John Cho, Benedict Cumberbatch, Alice Eve, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Peter Weller and Anton Yelchin.