While J.J. Abrams will not be directing the third installment of the new Star Trek films due to his Star Wars commitments, rumors are circulating that Paramount is eyeing a possible new director for the film. Joe Cornish is not the big name director Abrams was, but he may just have the skill set necessary to pick up where his predecessor left off.

Cornish’s directorial debut was the 2011 sci-fi film Attack the Block which featured a group of inner city kids defending their neighborhood against an alien invasion. Despite working with a limited budget, the film successfully combined action, comedy, horror and social comentary in the same vein as Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. In fact Edgar Wright, the director and screenwriter of those two films, was the executive producer for Attack the Block.

Cornish and Wright have also collaborated on writing the screenplay for The Adventures of Tintin, as well as the upcoming Marvel superhero film Ant-Man, which Wright is set to direct.

As far as other future projects, Cornish has already been chosen by Paramount to adapt the 1992 sci-fi novel Snow Crash. The story takes place in an anarchic dystopian future and combines ancient themes of religion, philosophy and archaeology with computer science, politics and information technology.

In short, the British director’s resume might not be extensive, but he has a proven knack for sci-fi and may just bring the right combination of action, story and comedy to please both new Star Trek fans as well as older aficionados who  may have been disappointed with this year’s Star Trek Into Darkness.