Well that was fast. Although we’re still mighty skeptical about Quentin Tarantino actually directing this thing, his Star Trek pitch is moving along rather quickly. The director has met with a trio of writers, with one reportedly emerging as the frontrunner to script the new Star Trek movie based on Tarantino’s idea. But the most interesting part of the latest update on this wacky concept is that Paramount has agreed to Tarantino’s stipulation that the film be rated R.

This clearly isn’t your father’s Star Trek. According to Deadline, Tarantino and producer J.J. Abrams swiftly assembled three scribes for their writers’ room: Drew Pearce (Iron Man 3), Mark L. Smith (The Revenant) and Lindsey Beer (Godzilla vs. Kong). Of the three, Smith is said to be the most likely frontrunner to draft Tarantino’s pitch into a screenplay — though it’s hard to imagine Tarantino won’t revise the script before it goes into production.

Tarantino remains committed to directing the new Star Trek film, which seems to have taken the place of the previous sequel concept that involved the return of Chris Hemsworth. The director’s biggest requirement was that the Trek film be rated R — a rarity for franchise blockbusters, but Logan and Deadpool proved that the risk can definitely pay off, and Paramount is willing to make the leap for Tarantino. (Though I wonder if they’ll go back on their word if he doesn’t end up directing.)

The screenplay for the new Trek will be written while Tarantino directs his ninth film, which takes place in the late ’60s at the time of the Manson family murders. Margot Robbie is being eyed for the role of Sharon Tate, the model and actress who was pregnant with Roman Polanski’s child when she was murdered by Charles Manson’s followers. Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Cruise are also being courted for leading roles. Sony will release that film in theaters on August 9, 2019 — the anniversary of Sharon Tate’s murder.

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