Roberto Orci was a screenwriter and producer who worked on 2009’s “Star Trek” and its sequels, the “Transformers” film series, and other movies.
- Died: February 25, 2025 (Who else died on February 25?)
- Details of death: Died at his home in Los Angeles after fighting kidney disease at the age of 51.
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Roberto Orci’s legacy
Born in Mexico City, Orci moved to the U.S. with his parents when he was in grade school. As a boy, he planned to become a lawyer, but his plans changed in high school, when he met his friend and future writing partner, Alex Kurtzman. The two began writing scripts together, and they started getting TV jobs in their 20s. Early screenwriting credits included “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,” “Xena: Warrior Princess,” and “Alias.”
On “Alias,” Orci and Kurtzman had their first collaboration with filmmaker J.J. Abrams. The pair worked with him again on “Mission: Impossible III,” which they co-wrote, and on the TV show “Fringe,” which the three co-created. Orci and Kurtzman penned the scripts for 2009’s “Star Trek” and “Star Trek into Darkness” four years later, both directed by Abrams, and Orci was a producer on “Star Trek Beyond.” He also worked as a producer on such films as “The Proposal,” “Now You See Me,” and “Ender’s Game.”
Another filmmaker with whom Orci worked repeatedly was director Michael Bay. He and Kurtzman helped write Bay’s 2005 movie “The Island,” then worked with him again as the screenwriters for “Transformers” and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.” Other films Orci wrote with Kurtzman include “Cowboys & Aliens” and “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” plus they co-created TV’s “Sleepy Hollow,” and helped develop the return of “Hawaii Five-0” in 2010.
Orci on “Star Trek”
“The word reboot is something I used because that is what people called it, but I myself would never classify what we did as a reboot at all. I consider it a sequel. It is just a sequel that tells you an original story of how they met that could have happened in canon.” — from a 2019 interview for TrekMovie.com
Tributes to Roberto Orci
Full obituary: The Hollywood Reporter
