Attack the Block director turned down chance to direct Star Trek Beyond

Joe Cornish is releasing his second film this week, the modern-day King Arthur retelling The Kid Who Would Be King. It comes eight years after his debut, the alien invasion movie Attack the Block. But for his sophomore feature, Cornish almost took a trip on the U.S.S Enterprise.

In 2013, Deadline reported that the British filmmaker — and Ant-Man co-writer — was in the frame to direct the movie which became 2016’s Star Trek Beyond after J.J. Abrams decided to tackle Star Wars: The Force Awakens instead of making a third film in the Star Trek series. However, Star Trek Beyond was ultimately overseen by Justin Lin.

So, what happened?

“I talked to J.J. about that pretty early on, but then decided I wasn’t ready for it,” says Cornish. “Because it’s a big old franchise, and I’ve had friends who’ve gone straight from indie movies into big blockbusters, and have come out the other end a little bit bruised and battered, and not necessarily feeling it’s their film. I love the idea, but then eventually I thought that if I had the opportunity to do something of scale, that it would be cooler to do my own thing.”

The Kid Who Would Be King opens Jan. 25. Watch the film’s trailer above.

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