oe Cornish could replace J.J. Abrams as king of the "Star Trek" universe. That's the report from Deadline.com's Mike Fleming, who writes that Paramount "is sweet" on the idea of Cornish directing the franchise's next installment.

This isn't the first time Cornish, who directed the cult hit "Attack the Block" and co-wrote the script for "Ant-Man" with Edgar Wright, has had his name attached to "Star Trek 3." Back in May, Latino Review reporter Umberto "El Mayimbe" Gonzalez tweeted that Cornish was under consideration as a possible replacement for Abrams, who is next directing "Star Wars: Episode VII."

Other reported contenders for "Star Trek 3" have included Jon M. Chu and Rupert Wyatt. In an email to HuffPost Entertainment, however, Chu's representatives denied that "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" director was up for the job. Wyatt's involvement was never confirmed or denied, but Abrams did discuss the "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" director in an interview with HitFix.

"Whomever it is that directs the film will be someone we all know is going to keep the cast and crew in good hands," Abrams told Collider back in September. "I feel very lucky to have been part of it, and it definitely feels like the right time to let someone come in and do their own thing. I certainly don’t want someone to come in and try to do what I would have done. We want to hire someone who's gonna come in and bring their own sensibility. I'm very excited to see what comes next, despite feeling jealous of whomever that person is."