Yesterday, Charlie Harger from
Komo News, spoke with
Jonathan Frakes about the recent
#BringInRiker campaign. It was created by hardcore
Trekkies with the hop of landing Frakes the
Star Trek 3 directing gig, which became available last week when
first-time director to be Roberto Orci was removed from the position. During the conversation, Frakes revealed a fondness for the campaign and that it inspired him to reach out to the powers that be to express interest.
"Hashtag, BringInRiker!" he yells to me from his cell phone. "I'm all over it. I'm all over it."
Frakes says he's made first contact with Producer J.J. Abrams, and his agent has reached out to Paramount Pictures. "I would love that job," he says.
Typically, directors are coy about their ambitions. Not Frakes. "I say, unabashedly, I'd be great at it and would love to do it."
Frakes is excited about the possibility, but he admits he is a "long shot" to get it.
Frakes is best known for playing
'Commander William T. Riker' in Star Trek: The Next Generation television series and their spinoff films. He even made guest appearances as 'Riker' on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise. But Frakes isn't just an actor, he has also directed feature films and television shows - man of them being Star Trek related. He
actually cut his teeth behind the camera with episodes of
Star Trek: The Next Generation and then made his feature film directorial debut with
Star Trek: First Contact (1996). That went so well Frakes brought back two years later to direct 1998's
Star Trek: Insurrection. Since then he has directed four more non-Star Trek feature films and a ton of television shows like
Falling Skies, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,and
Switched at Birth.
.
Star Trek VIII: First Contact - Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the Next Generation crew engage in their most thrilling adventure yet. They call themselves the Borg - a half organic, half-machine collective with a sole purpose: to conquer and assimilate all races. Led by their seductive and sadistic queen (Alice Krige), the Borg are headed to Earth with a devious plan to alter history. Picard's last encounter with the Borg almost killed him. Now he wants vengeance.
Actors: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Alfre Woodard and James Cromwell.
Director: Jonathan Frakes * Screenwriters: Brannon Braga * Ronald D. Moore