A Tease Too Far? The Week of Beyond is HERE

WTF.

Three letters that sum up my thoughts on the release of the Krall teaser trailer for Star Trek Beyond because it may well have ruined the movie for a horde of fans.

So if you're worried I might ruin it, please look away now. You have been warned.

It seems that there's a character twist that might be on a par with the messy John Harrison/Khan piece from Into Darkness because one of the latest videos features Idris Elba out of makeup and apparently in a Starfleet away mission jacket not unlike the one Spock is wearing that he acquired from the Franklin. 

Take a look at Elba's face - is he transforming into Krall or is this actually a whole different character? Is the Uhura line "It's him" taken from another point in the film and used out of correct context here? Let it be so.

Very interesting if this is the case and Krall and this unidentified character are the same as to how that transformation came about. Perhaps the other question is just who thought that it was a good idea to pump out a trailer which may well spoil the movie with less than seven days until it's full international release. Ok it might pique a few interests as to whether Krall and Mr Unidentified are connected but for others, like myself, it felt like a massive cinematic facepalm. Oh - and the video is entitled "Idris Elba is Krall" so....

Now if I do recall, there was a suggestion that the MACOs were mentioned in Beyond so it could be that the Elba Human character is one of those. I'm hedging my bets that he is in some way connected to the Franklin. If my reckoning works out though, it would mean that he's been on the planet for about 100 years...? NB - I have it on good authority that a lot of sequences are taken very out of context in the trailers!

As revelations go this is by far the biggest one in the whole of the marketing campaign. Will it backfire or is this a desperate attempt to get Idris Elba fans into the cinema with this bit of exposition?

Anyway, this final week also saw what is being termed as "Trailer 4" with a pick 'n' mix bag of goodness all the way through. Sure there are the usual Enterprise gets battered shots in there but there are some crazy new angles even in that sequence plus Chekov being thrown out of an Orion girl's room plus Spock and McCoy tooling up for action on the ship and later beaming in to assist Jaylah. 

There's a tinkling of the Shields Up sequence as the Swarm break formation and Krall declaring that he "...know(s) your kind." in relation to the human crew. One thing we've not seen before is the creatures apparently attacking Kirk and Chekov and also that fleeting glimpse of Greg Grunberg as Commander Finnegan. A great way to wrap up the proceedings ahead of the public launch on the 22nd July.

Finally on one US talk show, there was a brief sequence that confirmed there is a sort of saucer separation as part of the early segment of the movie where Uhura goes up against Krall on the remnants of the Enterprise. It's a quality scene and worth a watch for the last few seconds if nothing more!

We've also been granted a look at the IMAX marathon posters and the 3D IMAX Beyond posters this week and they look gorgeous in every way. Very retro, simple and sleek! For the 3D version we have a cunning red-green combo overlaid with Spock and McCoy(?) with the Enterprise silhouetted in the background while the Marathon version has a front shot of the movie Enterprise or Franklin with "2016" and the delta shield centre of the deflector dish. Dependant on which cinema chain you go to will determine which colour your Enterprise or Franklin will be (blue/green/red...).

While we're talking films let's also address the news that this week Star Trek 4 was greenlit by Paramount and as part of the statement it was confirmed that Chris Hemsworth will be coming back to the franchise as George Kirk. Break out the screenshots of George Kirk on the Kelvin people. You'll be seeing them everywhere for the next three years. 

So there's only a couple of ways this is going to happen. One; it's a flashback sequence and Pine and Hemsworth never meet on screen. I doubt this would be the case as Paramount will want the two stars to be together at some point. Second it could of course be time travel. There were elements of this in 2009 but as a fourth instalment from the "classic" crew this would parallel to another time travelling fourth movie wouldn't it?! 

This seems the most logical option to go with but which way? Is he coming to the present or are the crew going back in time? Finally I think the only other choice would be a holodeck simulation/recreation that would have both men on screen but would avoid any timeline issues - not that there haven't been enough with the reboot already...

So that's it. The wait it over. Three years have passed since Into Darkness and at midnight TONIGHT Star Trek Beyond goes on general release and I cannot wait. In the meantime why not take a trek back through our Star Trek Beyond archive and check out all the rumours and the path to its release - remember the possibilty of Bryan Cranston as the baddie? Orci writing and directing...? Enjoy!

Are you ready to go Beyond? Drop your first impressions here and we'll catch up tomorrow!!!

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