In early 2009 Harlan Ellison sued Paramount Pictures to stop Abrams’ new Trek movie from hitting theaters. The writer was so against it that he took legal action to try and ruin the movie. Ironically, now that it’s been such a huge success and done so well at the box office, Ellison apparently wants his piece of the pie.

If you don’t know who Harlan Ellison is, he’s a revered science fiction writer who once wrote an episode of the original Star Trek. His episode, “City on the Edge of Forever”, is widely regarded as one of the best by everyone except him – because Gene Roddenberry made some changes to his story before it aired and Ellison has made no secret of his disdain ever since.

Now, Harlan Ellison wants back in to the Trek universe. Speaking out on his blog he says,

“I would jump at the chance to work with the inordinately-talented J.J. Abrams on a new STAR TREK film.”

Though, he wouldn’t want to continue in the direction they are heading, instead Ellison says,

“I would likely try to steer him toward the original film idea I was asked to pitch, by the late Gene Roddenberry and a production exec whose name I have blissfully flensed from memory (but he had been, if I recall, a hairdresser or clothing designer or ex-boyfriend of someone or other, and he kept trying to press me to include the Mayan Calendar).” But he’s not tied to ruining the franchise in order to stroke his own ego.

He concedes,

“If the very smart Abrams didn’t want to go that way, I would be wide-open to rethinking such a film from the git-go.”

“Paramount would, of course, have to pay me from the first meet git-go, but I have absolutely no attitude that would prevent me from jumping in to work with such a clever [fellow]. One is never too old to come up with fresh ideas, particularly if one has lived long enough, and cleverly enough, to know what has already been done to death, 16 times over,” Ellison said.