Roberto Orci Drops Out of Power Rangers To Work on Star Trek 3

Star Trek and The Amazing Spider-Man co-writer Roberto Orci has dropped out of Lionsgate and Saban's upcoming Power Rangers film because his Star Trek 3 directing obligation has created a scheduling conflict, Deadline reports.

Orci, who will no longer serve as an executive producer on the film, had been expected to oversee the script by X-Men: First Class and Thor writers Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz. He also recently stepped away from Sony's Spider-Man franchise after a break with his longtime writing partner Alex Kurtzman, who remains involved with The Amazing Spider-Man.

Lionsgate and Haim Saban still hope to release Power Rangers on July 22, 2016 in spite of the loss of Orci.

Star Trek 3 is expected in theaters in 2016 in order to take advantage of the fiftieth anniversary of the franchise's launch. Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness director J.J. Abrams abandoned the project in order to make Star Wars Episode VII, opening the door for Orci to take over.