Roberto Orci, Star Trek and Transformers Screenwriter, Dead at 51

Roberto Orci, writer-producer for many film franchises like Star Trek and Transformers, died of kidney disease at the age of 51, Vulture confirms. Throughout his career in Hollywood, Orci had a passion for writing primarily sci-fi/action stories and reviving legendary franchises; his first writing credit was for the 1997 television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. He then left his mark writing on several beloved cult classic series like Alias and Xena: Warrior Princess. Alongside J.J. Abrams and longtime writing partner Alex Kurtzman (who Orci met in high school), the three co-wrote Mission Impossible 3 before moving on to create the TV show Fringe, about a newly formed Fringe division at the FBI. However, Orci’s greatest collaborator throughout his career was Kurtzman; together they wrote The Legend of Zorro, Transformers, Star Trek (2009), The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and more.

Xena herself, Lucy Lawless, paid tribute to the writer on X, writing, “Desperately sorry to hear of Bob’s passing. A beautiful, sweet man and outrageously talented. I send my heartfelt condolences to all the many people who loved him.” Joe Russo, writer of The Inheritance and Hard to Kill, remembered the late filmmaker in a post on X. He wrote, “Roberto Orci was a generational screenwriting talent and his death at only 51 is a tragic loss, because I’m sure there were more masterworks to come.”