Roberto Orci, the writer-producer behind the late 2000s reboots of “Star Trek” and “Transformers” and creator of “Fringe,” died Tuesday in his Los Angeles home from kidney disease, Variety has confirmed. He was 51.
With partner Alex Kurtzman, Orci co-wrote projects including 2007’s “Transformers” and 2009’s “Star Trek.” Orci’s other credits include producing work on the “Now You See Me” franchise, “Ender’s Game” and “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” as well as writing credits on “Mission Impossible 3.” On the TV side, Orci and Kurtzman developed the 2010 reboot of “Hawaii Five-0” which ran for over 200 episodes. He also created “Sleepy Hollow” and “Fringe” for Fox.
Born in Mexico, Orci attended Crossroads School in Los Angeles where he met fellow movie lover Kurtzman. They would go on to partner on numerous projects, starting with writing scripts for “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,” and became showrunners at the age of 24. They went on to write for J.J. Abrams’ “Alias” and then created the Fox sci fi series “Fringe,” which ran for five seasons.
In 2014, the duo announced they would no longer work together on film projects, and Orci went on to create “Matador” for the El Rey network.
In August of 2024, Orci was accused in a lawsuit of beating and sexually assaulting his wife, “Hail, Caesar!” actor Adele Heather Taylor. In the suit, she alleged that Orci was a bipolar alcoholic who would fly into fits of violence against her.
Taylor’s lawsuit was in response to a suit filed by Orci that June. In the suit, he alleged that Taylor had repeatedly assaulted him, and during his battle with alcoholism, manipulated him for financial gain.
Orci’s spokesperson Sallie Hofmeister said at the time, “Ms. Taylor’s counterclaim is an attempt to retaliate against her husband with fabricated allegations after he got a restraining order against her, filed for divorce, and sued her in June for assault, battery, and financially abusing him when he was vulnerable and trying to get treatment for alcoholism.”
Orci is survived by his parents, Macuqui Robau-Garcia and Roberto Orci Sr., his stepmother, Jeanine Orci, as well as his three siblings, Courtney Ford, J.R. Orci and Taylor Orci.
