Roberto Orci of Transformers and Star Trek dies at the age of 51

The late writer and producer Roberto Orci passed away at the age of 51. He was famous for his work on the Transformers and Star Trek reboots in the late 2000s.

According to Variety, Orci died on Tuesday (25 February) at his home in Los Angeles from kidney disease. He was also a co-creator of the popular science fiction series Fringe, as The Hollywood Reporter stated.

Reboots of Star Trek, Transformers, the Now You See Me franchise, Ender's Game, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and Mission: Impossible 3 were among the many projects on which Orci and his longtime buddy Alex Kurtzman worked together.

Orci has a long list of television credits that includes Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess, Scorpion, Sleepy Hollow, Alias, and the 2010 revival of Hawaii Five-0.

He and his family immigrated to America from Mexico when he was just ten years old.

A Touching Tribute

Fellow Fringe alum Zack Stentz penned a tribute, saying: “I got to know Bob a bit while working on Fringe, an earlier version of the movie that became Star Trek Beyond and a couple of other things and always found him to be kind and generous to a fault. I’d been meaning to check in on him for a while but life got in the way. Now I regret it.

“I always felt a connection with Bob because we both loved Star Trek and cut our teeth on writing teams writing for Kevin Sorbo syndicated action hours.”

Stentz continued. “Here’s my favourite thing he and Alex wrote…the slam bang grab you by the throat opening of Star Trek 2009.

“I've loved Star Trek since I was 5 years old so getting to work on a story with Bob and have it reported as a done deal in the trades...only to tank the pitch to JJ Abrams...was a crushing career disappointment. But I'm still grateful for the experience.”

More Response from the Industry

After hearing of his passing, a few notable individuals in the business took the time to pay their respects to Orci. Xena actress Lucy Lawless posted to Twitter: “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 also offered his thoughts, saying: “My first boss in Hollywood said the script for STAR TREK was the best he’d ever read - and he wasn’t kidding.

"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. RIP to one of the greats.”

Comic-book writer and Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld also commented, saying “Terrible news. Way too young. Enjoyed much of his work. R.I.P.”