For the last two years we’ve been hearing things about a possible Star Trek film project from famed Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino — and as recently as May 2019 he was still calling it out as a possible next project — but now, it seems the situation may be fizzling out after recent comments from the filmmaker himself.

Speaking today with Consequence of Sound, the director flat-out tells the interviewer that he’s “steering away” from the long-gestinting Star Trek project after the recent release of his film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, looking instead towards doing a “smaller” film as the last entry in his now-famous “ten films and done” plan.

So, what’s next? Are you really going to stick to the 10 films?

TARANTINO: Yeah, that’s the idea.

Is ‘Star Trek’ going to be part of that?

TARANTINO: I think I’m steering away from ‘Star Trek’, but I haven’t had an official conversation with those guys yet. In a strange way, it seems like this movie, Hollywood, would be my last. So, I’ve kind of taken the pressure off myself to make that last big voilà kind of statement.

…

Is there a genre you’ve been starving for?

TARANTINO: No, I know nothing! I’ll tell you in a second, not what it’s going to be, but why I don’t know. But one of the things that it has done is that it has made me feel like I’ve made my big statement on Hollywood and that there is the accumulation of a career, accumulation of my interest, accumulation of the filmography.

If the idea that all the films are a boxcar and it’s all one train, they’re all telling one story. Well, this is the climax, so I can actually see now my 10th movie probably being a little smaller.

Like an epilogue…

TARANTINO: Yeah, yeah, like the epilogue, you know, an author’s note. And look, I might come up with a really big idea. But right now, the idea of a smaller audience almost all the way around is appealing to me.

While ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish just last week referred publicly to “two Star Trek films” being in the works — which seemed to refer to Tarantino’s project, as well as the recently-revealed Noah Hawley film — these new comments seems to indicate that Tarantino no longer has interest in helming an entry in the Trek film franchise.

DEC 16 7:30 PM ET UPDATE: Despite the comments above, Tarantino went on to tell Deadline this afternoon that “nothing is official” and that he “[hasn’t] completely decided” on whether or not he’s giving up on his Star Trek project. So… we’ll see.

This may not be the final nail in the coffin for the “R”-rated Tarantino Trek project — as the director says he hasn’t yet had “an official conversation with those guys,” likely referring to Paramount Pictures — but it’s certainly not a good sign for the film which, let’s be honest, was always going to be a long-shot in terms of actually making it into production.

What are your thoughts on Tarantino’s comments? Are you still hoping he’s going to pull through with his take on Star Trek, or are you glad things may be turning south for the project? Let us know in the comments below!