Justin Lin Will Direct STAR TREK 3

Star Trek 3 has found its director. Again. Paramount Pictures announced on Monday that Justin Lin will replace Roberto Orci, who left the movie recently. Orci, of course, got the job after JJ Abrams moved from the Star Trek franchise to direct Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Lin was among a handful of names of directors who could helm Star Trek 3 bouncing around last week. While Duncan Jones was my pick among those names, I knew that he would never be able to direct the upcoming Star Trek Into Darkness sequel, as he's too busy working on the Warcraft adaption.

Lin, however, has some time in his schedule. The four-time Fast and Furious director was supposed to be working on the sequel to The Bourne Legacy with Jeremy Renner, but that project has been pushed back to make way for a Bourne sequel starring Matt Damon.

Star Trek 3 is slotted to hit theaters in 2016 to line up with the 50th anniversary of the Star Trek franchise. With Lin now in place to direct, Paramount should fast-track the movie to hit that release date.