According to recent reports, blockbuster writer Roberto Orci is switching gears and is looking to make his debut as a movie director in Paramount‘s third installment of the Star Trek series.

Sources at Deadline.com say that Orci is the frontrunner for the coveted position replacing J.J. Abrams, who directed the first two films at Paramount, before agreeing to relaunch the Star Wars franchise and direct the first film at Disney.

The news comes after Orci decided to part ways with his longtime partner Alex Kurtzman. Both of the writers helped shape the franchise, which has grossed around $852 million worldwide, by penning the first two screenplays.

In addition to being involved as a writer and producer in the Star Trek films, Orci has also helped produce the "Transformers" and "Amazing Spider-Man" movies.

However, critics at ScreenCrush.com raised the alarm about Orci directing the upcoming "Star Trek 3," alleging that he will create a dark and sinister tone in the new film.

"Orci's writing has always been at odds with the ‘Star Trek' universe. His obsession with conspiracy theories and the secret evils of government have made their way into each and every one of this scripts whether they belonged there or not," writes ScreenCrush.com.

"His basic worldview, and the stories he likes to tell, are at odds with the optimistic and humanist universe Gene Roddenberry created in the first place. In ‘Star Trek Into Darkness,' the conspiracy-driven plot crippled the movie, leading to a movie that many ‘Trek' fans derided as the worst in the series. On top of basic tonal issues, the scripts for the past two films have just been flat-out bad with only Abrams' thrilling direction and spot-on casting saving them in any way."