Paramount Hires Writers for Star Trek Sequel

Paramount Pictures, gearing up for the May 8 release of the STAR TREK reboot, has hired writers for a sequel, likely coming in summer 2011, according to VARIETY.

Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, who wrote the upcoming release, will be joined by LOST co-creator Damon Lindelof. J.J. Abrams, who both directed and produced the new chapter, is set to produce the sequel with Bad Robot partner Bryan Burk, but has not yet committed to direct.

Orci, Kurtzman and Lindelof will receive producer credit on the sequel, which they hope to deliver to the studio by the end of the year. Storylines will depend on how the fans react to the new movie.

"There's obviously a lot of hubris involved in signing on to write a sequel of a movie that hasn't even come out yet," said Lindelof, who produced STAR TREK. "But we're so excited about the first one that we wanted to proceed. Obviously we discussed ideas, but we are waiting to see how audiences respond next month," he said to VARIETY. "With a franchise rebirth, the first movie has to be about origin. But with a second, you have the opportunity to explore incredibly exciting things. We'll be ambitious about what we'll do."

Orci and Kurtzman have worked as a writing team for more than a decade, and are currently working with Lindelof on DreamWorks' COWBOYS AND ALIENS.