JJ Abrams Takes the Helm of a Whole New Enterprise
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Paramount, Remakes and Sequels
The last time an Enterprise crew paid a visit to the multiplexes, the result was 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis, which was
the fourth (and final) sojourn of the Next Generation gang. Prior to that we had Robert Wise's The Motion Picture in 1979, the Holy Trilogy of The Wrath of Khan ('82), The Search for Spock ('84), and The Voyage Home ('86), and then ... The Final Frontier ('89) and The Undiscovered Country ('91) before Picard's crew
(thankfully) took over. Their efforts yielded Generations
('94), First Contact ('96), Insurrection ('98), and the aforementioned Nemesis.
And for a while it looked like that was it, at least as far as the silver screen was concerned. Yeah, right.Today's Variety indicates that not only has a Star Trek 11 earned a green light, but also that J.J. Abrams will be the one behind the helm. (Abrams, as you most likely know, wrote and/or directed such entertainments as Alias, Lost, the upcoming Mission Impossible 3, the underrated Joy Ride, the certifiably insane Armageddon, and the woefully atrocious Gone Fishin'. Yes, J.J. Abrams wrote Gone Fishin'.)
And that's not all. Seems that Mr. Abrams will be joining the Federation with his MI3 writing team of Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci. (These guys also wrote The Legend of Zorro, The Island, the upcoming Transformers adaptation and, if the IMDb is to be believed, an old Nintendo game called The Goonies II.)
According to the Variety report, the new flick "will center on the early days of seminal "Trek" characters James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock, including their first meeting at Starfleet Academy and first outer space mission," and hopes to be complete in time for a 2008 release. Talk about living long and prospering, eh?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-21-2006 @ 3:04PM
joeK said...
Shatner and Nimoy better at least have cameos
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4-21-2006 @ 3:32PM
Jack Sparrow said...
Trouble with this plot is: Jimmy Kirk and ol' Mr. Spock did not meet at Starfleet Academy. Wonder how they thsat past the (other) Trekkers. And I wonder how they get past that in the plot. Do they not care about Star Trek history?
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4-21-2006 @ 4:42PM
pat miller said...
Ditto that. But Abrams LOVES TV and for the first time since Cruise got on board it looks like we actually have an IMF Force instead of a one man band. Hopefully Trek will be as inspired. How about Wil Wheaton as the young James T. Kirk ?
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4-21-2006 @ 5:15PM
Cath said...
This was a stupid idea that Paramount has been bouncing around for years. The studio had been angling to eliminate Berman for some time so that they could turn the franchise into content-free bang-bang and it looks like they've succeeded. Think Young Indy or Young Sherlock Holmes in outer space. Muppet babies with phasers. There was a time when SF was politically and socially provocative, but that time has apparently passed.
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4-21-2006 @ 6:09PM
tommy V said...
Well although it bombed I kind of liked Nemisis, so I'm kind of bummed that they couldn't have found a way to bring back the NG crew for another try but with a good solid story that would bring in the masses like the original crew did with the final frontier. A film with members of all the treks in it would be cool too.
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4-21-2006 @ 7:07PM
Dorv said...
Truthfully, I could care less about the premise. If JJ is involved, I believe he'll find a way to tell an incredible story.
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4-21-2006 @ 7:31PM
stephen said...
Are they going to select unknowns to resemble the
young Kirk and Spock? The storytelling ought to
be up at least to a good level.
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4-21-2006 @ 8:03PM
The White Tuxedo said...
Ten bucks this stars Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. Origin stories seem to be the flavor of the day.
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4-22-2006 @ 1:52AM
Elrond Hobbert said...
"Seminal" should be removed from the journalistic lexicon- especially in light of some of the Trek slash fiction gurgling about out there...
Reply
4-22-2006 @ 2:57PM
ThePete said...
yeah, if my memory serves me, I thought Spock was quite substantially older than Kirk. And no, based on Enterprise (the series) Paramount doesn't give a crap about the history of Trek.
Cath said: "The studio had been angling to eliminate Berman for some time so that they could turn the franchise into content-free bang-bang and it looks like they've succeeded."
Berman is far from the key to making a good Trek. He's been the source of suckage for a very long time. I'm thinking two seasons into DS9 and it was downhill from there. As a former hardcore Trek fan, I'd say Paramount should have ditched Berman LOOOONG ago.
As for the story of this thing being good? I don't think so--the writers wrote Zorro, which was fun, but completely unmemorable, and The Island which was an unbelievably monumental peice of crap.
LEAVE TREK IN THE GRAVE, PARAMOUNT!
Come up with something new, why don't you?
Reply
4-22-2006 @ 4:59PM
Morbyd said...
To ThePete: Spock and Kirk are the same age
To Jack Sparrow: I don't think there's been a back story to the exact time of their first meeting, so there's some leeway to work with here.
To Scott Weinberg: I thought everyone was in agreement that the "holy trinity" was movies 2, 4 and 6 (Khan, Voyage Home, Undiscovered Country).
Reply
4-22-2006 @ 5:48PM
Scott Weinberg said...
Morby,
While I acknowledge (and semi-agree with) the well-established "even number" theory where the ST movies are concerned, I'll still stick with 2, 3, and 4. To me, they're the ones with the best plot contuinity, respect for the original cast, and entertainment value.
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4-24-2006 @ 5:30PM
Effen Maniac said...
Kirk and Spock are not the same age. According to the original series, Spock served under Captain Pike for years before Kirk even got the job. This Starfleet Academy, first-meeting story was a bad idea back when it was originally suggested by Harve Bennett way back in the day. It saddens me that Hollywood in general and the powers-that-be in the Star Trek universe in particular are this lame. I mean, if they want to tell a story about younger Starfleet officers, why not create some new characters. If the new characters are well-defined and the story is well-written, we will fall in love with them too, the way we came to embrace Picard, Data and Worf. It is lame and cheesy that it has to have Kirk and Spock in it, especially since no one will ever replace William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy.
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4-25-2006 @ 3:34PM
The Jeremy said...
RYAN REYNOLDS BETTER BE JAMES T. KIRK!!!
He's Canadian, resembles Shatner (well, sorta), and can do all of Shatner's mannerisms. He'd rock as Young Kirk.
Make it so!
Oops, wrong captain catch phrase!
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4-26-2006 @ 8:51PM
ImaTreker said...
Here goes, Why not include Shatner and Nimoy in the next movie? Nobody can replace those guys anyway. It just ain't Trek without them. How about Spock saving Kirk from the Nexus? Isn't there supposed to be a part of him still in there? Kirk Saved Spock from Genesis, now Spock can save him..Sorta return the favor. And bring back the others too, why not? Maybe Patrick Stewart can do a cameo somehow.
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4-26-2006 @ 9:08PM
Mario said...
Folks....it is over! The days of the original ST members is long gone.
There should not be a prequel much less additional ST movies.
Without Scotty and Bones, ST will never be the same...
Say what you will about DS9 or STNG or whatever, these shows will never rival the original ST series.
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4-26-2006 @ 9:42PM
Gary Cady said...
I am not one to quibble, especially after Mud and the Tribbles, but i can truley say that ANY true Trek fan will be here to stay. For some of us getting on in years it still will be entertaining to see how they Mind Meld this new story line together, any new movie will be a welcome addition to the long and hallowed grounds of Trekdom.
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4-27-2006 @ 12:07AM
Mr. Franklin said...
Okay, Kirk saved Spock in Star Trek 3. So, Spock can employ Janeway and Picard to help him rescue Kirk from dying by using the Nexis. Spock owes Kirk and he figures the honorable thing to do is to find the Nexis and rescue Kirk just before the bridge falls on him. It would be a gret plot with Admirals telling him no and Spock assembling a rogue crew and stealing (borrowing) a Star Ship to go back to the Nexis and Rescue Kirk. Unfortunately, Kirk would be coming back to a world where all of his old shipmates are dead. The final scene would be Spock and Kirk in the grave yard with Kirk shedding a tear looking at the headstones. Maybe one could still be alive but frail... What a story!
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