The Second Trailer Has Gone Beyond

After what seems like an eternity the second trailer for Star Trek Beyond has landed, premiering at a fan event in the US in the early hours of Saturday morning, UK time. 

Initially my thoughts on the new footage is that there has been a distinct move away from the action adventure and big explosions feel that pounded through every frame of the first trailer released many moons ago.

This is much more about character, about the crew and about a story than the first and the more subtle soundtrack works a treat to emphasise the direction.

"My dad joined Starfleet because he believed in it. I joined on a dare. You joined to see if you could live up to him...You spend all this time trying to be your father now you're wondering just what it means to be you." - McCoy

So the trailer opens on McCoy giving a heart to heart with Kirk about his position in Starfleet and what has led him to this point.  There's a stunning little sequence of the Enterprise at warp as it pushes through the universe like never before and Kirk framed with the glow of a red alert hinting at the danger to come. From there we get a glimpse of what might be some giant starbase structure which resembles a city and the USS Enterprise docking with it. This is overlaid with a voiceover from Shoreh Agadashloo who only joined the cast during reshoots. We do get what may be an interior shot of that structure too and keep your eyes peeled for the Federation and Starfleet pennants that are at the bottom of the screen.

"It isn't uncommon you know. It's easy to get lost in the vastness of space. There's only yourself, your ship, your crew." - Shoreh Agadashloo

Insert shot of Kirk, McCoy and Spock looking up at what I can only surmise to either be the  Enterprise repaired or its replacement with the doctor asking "So you really want to head back out there huh?". Given their outfits this definitely has to be from a later stage of the movie either the end or when they are (possibly) given the Franklin to rescue the crew. I'd plump for the former as they look way too happy for the latter!

Cue shot of Enterprise (from a rather unusual angle) heading out from what might be that starbase structure we see a few times in this trailer. You can just see it in a fraction of a second in the background. Suddenly though that calm is shattered by a sudden and seemingly unexpected attack on the Enterprise by a horde of ships that turn the starship into Swiss cheese in a matter of moments. Shots of Kirk, Scotty and Uhura declaring they are being boarded snap between flurries of starship destruction which push home the no-coming-back for the NCC-1701.  We get our first look here at the alien armour worn by Krall's army as they board the starship firing as they go and just watch how that door is ripped open as they get onto the Enterprise. These guys are serious. Deadly serious.

We're treated to shots of Sulu, Chekov and McCoy making good their escape in one-man escape pods although Sulu's pod is picked up by one of those attacking ships. Looking at the fact we have most of the crew captured it could indicate this is how a lot of them are captured either before planetfall or while escaping.

Going from there we're shown the barren wasteland which is where the Enterprise crew are apparently marooned and it looks like a starship graveyard full of crumbling wreckage so the arrival of the Starfleet ship may not be unexpected to Krall.

"I know why you're here; why we are all here." - Jaylah

This brings in Jaylah (Sophia Boutella) as seen in the first trailer. She appears to team up with Scotty during her initial appearance and knows more than the trailer is letting us see. There's a reason everyone ends up on what I'll term as Krall's World and no one leaves it alive. There's a repeat of her combat skills from trailer one as well as a couple of nice character shots. The two aliens that she's fighting - of you freeze-frame - are the two that were pictured with director Justin Lin in one of the first promo shots for Beyond. Her scene with Scotty is revisited later when he reminds her that they can't be leaving his friends behind and also notes (on the Franklin bridge) that "everyone who goes there he [Krall] kills."

It does seem that the movie is being marketed with Jaylah very prominently part of the promotion at Cannes as well as on a limited edition poster given out at the fan event where the trailer was launched (which has close similarities to the poster for The Motion Picture). Spot later in the trailer where she's taking on Krall within the structure at the centre of that quarry-like prison camp. It's also the same one that Krall is examining data on Kirk on a matter of seconds after about 1:48 into the trailer. Minor reference that the Kirk in the holopic is wearing a uniform from the first two reboot movies with the lower collar. It also has his full name on there

Jaylah also gets the "last laugh" in the trailer, dropping herself on the captain's chair of the Franklin with no apparent respect for the chain of command. For note it's interesting how many comments I've seen that are getting excited about an NX Class ship being in the trailer. Similiar yes but not that class, the USS Franklin was unveiled (almost by accident) on a poster donors could receive for the competition to walk on the set last year. How that dynamic with Jaylah/Kirk will work has yet to be explored since any dialogue she's had has been with Scotty. 

"Our captain will come for us. Mercy will be the last thing on his mind." - Uhura 

"I'm counting on it." - Krall

Uhura's encounter with Krall and her insistence that Kirk will come back for those he has left behind is very striking and emphasises that Zoe Saldana is still recognised as a major asset to the reboot. As with Jaylah she's been a strong component of the early marketing campaign and her romance is still on with Spock telling from the lingering kiss at 1:54. What race Krall is has not been announced. Suggestions so far have included Reman but I am inclined to suggest he's something new specifically for this movie. Good makeup though as I'd never guess it's Idris Elba under all that!

Follow that up with an attack by (what must be) Krall's armada on a Starfleet facility which could be that same starbase from earlier. It would tie everything together nicely and if you look in the background there are some rising structures that would support that theory. It's also see n later as a big space structure with what I can only describe as an atmosphere bubble as the Franklin approaches. That bubble might burst or be damaged which is why Kirk is airborne. That would hold up as if you look in the background of that scene there's a yellow shirt also flailing around in the sky. Result of an attack by Krall's ships? Definitely. I also think that the reason for his attack is that this starbase has encroached into territory that Starfleet have "claimed" and offers a secure position away from Earth for deep space explorers to return to rather than heading back to the home planet.

The situation is once again grim but luckily we're not needing the Beastie Boys not too much motor bike quarry jumping to heighten the excitement of this trailer. What is that effect that happens to Kirk on the bike though? Is that a time warp or is it a funky transporter? While it remains fairly scarce in detail and certainly chops around the sequence that the movie will come in there are some huge payout moments and a couple that are well worth rewinding and watching again.

Check out for instance the parts where Kirk is seemingly flying through the air to clutch at some sort of device above a cityscape. Is this Starfleet HQ? Is this also the same cityscape we see shortly after? Would that again be the same that we saw earlier in the trailer and if so, check out the logo at the top centre because it's embossed with the name Yorktown (credit to TheIrishTrekkie for noting this beauty!) Now that's a blatant homage to the original name for the Enterprise but I'd go as far to say it's the name of the space station structure that the Enterprise is docking with. 

"Death is what keeps us alive." - McCoy

Next up some brilliant shots of Kirk and Chekov escaping through the viewscreen of the crashed Enterprise saucer which we then get to see on fire as the pair have a sliding phaser fight down the primary hull.

Now here's a thing. Another shot of that cityscape has something being built above it and I'm going to make a bit of a leap here. Look at the angle of that arm. It seems like a white version of the Vengeance warp engine? Could the new Enterprise be something similar to that behemoth vessel from the 2013 movie? Maybe. It would also make sense that McCoy, Kirk and Spock are looking at it in that "get out there" clip right at the beginning of the trailer. How else would they pick up a ship so quickly?

"Unity is not your strength it is your weakness." - Krall

Also as the trailer runs to its end we have a planet fall of a circular object which could either be the Enterprise saucer on its way down or potentially the Franklin going atmospheric. Anyone else reminded of Generations with that part of the trailer?

The Franklin shows up quite a bit at the close of the trailer following a group standoff in the quarry (has to be the rescue since Spock is in his Franklin jacket and he's a slo injured) and we get to see the small starship skimming through the atmosphere and making its escape.

Close to credits and spot the fact that only Simon Pegg and Doug Jung are credited with writing this movie. Looks like all of the previous input was totally ditched then.

So, a great trailer that's more about Kirk finding himself and fully understanding his role as a captain rather than being the fish out of water we've had in 2009 and Into Darkness. From what I've see reaction to the trailer has been very positive and I think that the fan event that premiered it and 15 minutes of footage was key to build that belated excitement.

The event welcomed fans to a session where they were an audience to JJ Abrams, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Justin Lin. Plus at the even we discovered that the lawsuit against Axanar is being settled not dropped with some pushing from the Beyond director to make it happen. There will be consequences and conditions going forward however. Also the event saw a street at Paramount Pictures named after Leonard Nimoy and closed with the reveal of the first official Star Trek Beyond poster. Wow. What an event and certainly different to the overkill we received for the 2013 Khan reboot.

I'm definitely optimistic after this trailer as opposed to my feelings after trailer one. Good but still not blowing my mind. It seems to be heading in the right direction so with all the 50th anniversary announcements and our first teases of the 2017 series this is going to be a real big rollercoaster of a year for Star Trek and its fans.

What did you think to the trailer? What did you spot?

All images taken from Paramount Pictures trailer

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Frantic Photos - a Host of Beyond Pics

Maybe the growing shout for a new Star Trek Beyond trailer has had an effect on Paramount with a good wad of photos being sneakily dumped onto the net via Chinese language websites (hence the watermarks) among other places. 

So while other sites will dump and run, here's my take on what these pics say about the upcoming movie.

Let's start with the one I've chosen to head up the article from that Chinese website. It must be from a later point in the film after the senior staff have regrouped from the destruction of the Enterprise. I'd suggest this is actually aboard the Franklin due to the ageing look and size of the apparent bridge unit. Pretty standard Starfleet console formation with the twin console at the front with a captain's chair in the middle. I'd hazard a guess that the jackets are the Franklin ones too. No sign of Uhura in this shot (might explain one later) and I'd also draw attention to the phaser McCoy is holding which is a very clear redesign from the previous two movies.

Next let's take this second bridge shot. Still on that other ship (Franklin?) with Sulu and Chekov in their familiar bridge positions. Not the most exciting shot released but is that a ship dedication plaque I can see just to the left of Sulu's head? When yoou zoom in it's not a control panel so I'd say this confirms its a second Starfleet vessel. That and the English numbers on the door. Could this be the crew returning to a planet to rescue those captured when the Enterprise went down?

Third shot. Another on the rusty bridge set but this time Jaylah, played by Sofia Boutella is making a relaxed appearance. Now from previous photos it seems that she'll be teaming up with Scotty and with Kirk at some point in the movie. What exactly her role is within Beyond remains clouded although the fact she's not under guard or with a phaser pointed at her suggests her alliances are with the Starfleet crew. I would hazard she will be a guide on the alien world where we will encounter Krall following the attack on the Enterprise.

Fourth pic and one which adds to the trailer sequence. Looks like Pegg has the Spock/McCoy relationship well, pegged, if you will. I'd suggest this one is post-Enterprise evacuation and pre-Franklin. One thing definitely to take from this is that Spock at least will have had some direct contact with an alien race since that weapon he's carrying is far from Starfleet issue. Could the pair have escaped from that labour camp-esque environment we saw in the trailer?

So as not to leave her out of the photos we have a shot of Zoe Saldana as Uhura. One thing that is unclear from the trailer and anything we've seen so far is that state of her romantic relationship with Spock. One pained look in a photo possibly in that prison camp, doesn't really go far in helping us get much in the way of the film. I suppose the fact that she's in her standard red uniform indicates this was not a prepped away mission! What the structure us behind her I can't say BUT the glimpse of an arm in the left hand corner does lie well with the captured crew scenario.

Adding to the rage of pics, that lovely website also provided two images from behind the camera with one of director Justin Lin leaning over the control console of the rusty ship. What I really get from this movie and the material we've received so far is just how little of it would seem to be played out on the Enterprise at all leaving the crew in a situation not so far distant from when they were without their familiar starship in The Voyage Home (although I suspect this won't hit those kind of highs...). 

Second shot has Lin in cahoots with Chris Pine again on this bridge set. From the amount of pics on it they're certainly getting their money's worth and, cleverly, it means that nothing has really been given away about the movie apart from the notion that the main cast will be, at some stage, together in one location. Only the one shot of Kirk and Krall has emerged so far and that is most certainly in the early stages of Beyond since its taking place in an Enterprise corridor section. Thoughts here - that Krall's attack turns from spaceborne into an internal fight...OR could this actually be the big climactic fight?

Ok, Ok, bear with me here. So the Franklin turns up and helps rescue the crew and then Kirk and co return in a new Enterprise to defeat Idris Elba's villain. Could happen and would help explain why only specific shots and bits of the film have so far been made available. Hopefully this new trailer coming in May will clear things up a bit. Or not at all.

Oh and here's another thing. By the time we were this close to the Into Darkness launch we'd had at least one movie poster (the one with Khan framed by the wreckage-shaped Starfleet delta symbol) and again, here we have...nothing. I hope that May 2016 will start answering a lot of questions.

So what are your thoughts on the plot of Star Trek Beyond? What have you gleaned from the bits of info we've had to this point? Will it be better than Into Darkness?

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Beyond a Joke?

There are 104 days left until Star Trek Beyond hits UK cinemas.

So why is it that we're still devoid of pretty much anything at all in the way of promotion?

To recap to date we have one very un-Star Trek trailer and two photos only one of which is actually from the movie, the other is behind the scenes tomfoolery.

On reflection by this time with Into Darkness we had three trailers - two long running and one slipped into the Superbowl ad break but with Beyond we really are in darkness. Are Paramount afraid that blowing the trumpet as much as they did with Into Darkness is a bad thing seeing as how that movie was received by fans (but a notable success with the mainstream audience) or are they simply waiting for a more suitable time to hit us with a full power campaign once Batman Vs Superman and Captain America: Civil War are out of the way (for example).

What we've seen already plus the reshoots doesn't instil confidence so far but early days however the fact that we are now in April and July is ever so close is worrying. By this point a lot of movies seem to have their trailers out and the big countdown is beginning whether we expect them to be or not (see Batman Vs Superman once again). Just remember though that this time three years ago we were days away from the premiere of the second reboot and that might actually be distorting our vision on when we should be seeing footage/trailers etc. If we go on that as the example then it was just a month before that we got any seriously juicy trailers, posters and the viral campaign was barely a couple of weeks before (check out the posts from March and April 2013 on Into Darkness to see just how much it ramped up). Who knows if they'll chance another Are You the 1701?

Don't forget that we also had the charity campaign where you could win a chance to go on set but that was before the advertising machine started up so we can't really count that nor can we include those tantilising set pics of a crashed starship (I don't want to say it's the Enterprise but...) nor those of apparent crowds of Federation citizens mingling in Dubai. Again more pre-promo than actual release promotion material.

That trailer did the upcoming movie no favours but the pics that followed did even less. The non-descript shot of Sophie Boutella's still unnamed alien character and Simon Pegg's Scotty staring into darkness (yes, I'm proper milking that...) is as exciting and inspiring as paint drying and begs for a caption competition. Don't get me wrong, the quality of the picture is fantastic but if I want to watch two people in pitch black with a torch I'll turn on The X-Files. Honestly, I actually felt a bit down and even hoped it might be the Stay Puft man they can see. Wow, watch out for that twist.

The second image posted on First Contact Day (April 5th) brought two new aliens and Justin Lin smiling. Apparently these are individuals he's worked with previously but no-one seemed that bothered and instead crossed their fingers/suggested/hoped that the alien to the left of the pic was a Jem'Hadar. Now I'd love for Beyond to recognise the larger Star Trek universe and the elements that shows such as Deep Space Nine brought to the franchise but, aside from the jawline tusk pieces I just don't see it. If it is then I'm horribly disappointed they've been "remastered". The second guy on the right looks like a sort of orcish prison thug/guard although if these are "secret" guest stars then they might be relegated to the background.

As fans we're crying out for more footage, more bits of information to get us excited but at the moment there really is nothing to suggest we're going to be and I cant make up my mind if Paramount/Bad Robot and everyone else involved almost wants it to be released on the quiet as if they know it ain't gonna be good. Is it an embarrassment? Is it a movie which has been dragged through the mud enough already after all the changing roles, additional writing credits? Is there a genuine concern that this won't be the offering we will relish for the 50th anniversary?

Are you desperate for more on Beyond? Worried that we seem to be getting nothing?

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This is Sabotage: The Beyond Trailer is Here

If you were thinking that the Enterprise deserved an easy ride after the battering it received in Into Darkness you'd better look away now.

Today Paramount launched the brand spanking new Star Trek Beyond trailer which is due to be unleashed in cinemas this week accompanying some small budget flick called Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Fairly logical really since both movies have the influence of JJ Abrams upon them.

Whether this trailer was going to be released today is uncertain since some unscrupulous so-and-so dropped a German-dubbed version onto the net early this morning. While it was promptly removed by order of Paramount Pictures, the official version wasn't long behind it to go live.

But what does this 90 second snapshot tell us about the third reboot movie? A fair bit and it does mean that some of those sneaky set pictures make more sense. Backed by the Jim Kirk favourite from the Beastie Boys, the first trailer focuses very heavily on four crew characters; Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Scotty with "cameos" from Sulu, Uhura and Chekov. Plus we get our first good look at Idris Elba in full alien makeup and Sophie Boutella kicking some arse.

We got no ship, no crew...

how we gonna get out of this one?

- Kirk

I'd suggest that the initial clips of Kirk and Scotty on a shuttle are from later on in the movie after some pretty catastrophic events. Kirk's narrative indicates that an unspecified number of the officers/main cast are separated from the rest of the crew after the Enterprise is attacked. At first I thought that the shots of the starship were in an asteroid field however on closer look it seems that the Enterprise is being attacked by a swarm of small fighter-like ships which in turn are responsible for tearing the warp nacelles from their pylons and the ship to be evacuated.

Importantly we see both Kirk and Scotty exiting their escape pods in a forested area and in a rocky desert expanse respectively. I think we can take it that this is the same planet since set shots have shown the pair to be together at some point I would put later in the film (plus the shuttle bit the trailer opened with). In the case of Kirk we get his perspective inside the escape pod as the Enterprise saucer spirals away from him. Kinda reminds me of those scenes of the Constitution Class ship plummeting to Earth in Beyond's predecessor. It also confirms that the pieces of saucer section we saw constructed in Dubai were indeed from the Enterprise.

We will find hope in the impossible

- Spock

What does make this movie seem more in tune with the original series is the pairing of Spock and McCoy as they are shown struggling across the rocky wasteland. The pair, with Spock injured are cornered by alien craft (potentially the same as those which attacked the Enterprise) at which point the Vulcan is beamed out by a Starfleet transporter after Bones has just had his fear eased that he won't die alone; Well that's just typical.

I suspect that what will incense fans however are the fast-paced shots of one away-team-kitted Captain Kirk launching a dirt bike across some sort of alien encampment which is as yet unspecified. It does match the set we saw being built in Vancouver but its purpose is not clear.

Let's hope this doesn't get messy!

- Scotty

Cue Sophie Boutella's arrival slicing and dicing her way through a couple of alien creatures in the forest area where, I'd suggest, Kirk landed his pod. In the shots that follow you can just make Boutlella's unnamed character out fighting at that same alien encampment - could she be helping Kirk to either escape from the surface or lead a rescue mission? Is she coming to Kirk's aid or vice versa? Plus there's a fleeting shot of a third character standing alone who might be the one played by Joe Taslim (shot below) More on that rescue mission theory in a sec. You don't get that kind of pan-in shot if you're an extra.

Now finally we get to see Elba in full makeup looking something of a cross between a Reman and Ivan Ooze from the 90's Power Rangers movie. Key here is that he appears to be on the Enterprise. SO here's the thought - the attack on the ship is led by this guy who then captures the ship and takes the crew off to some form of prison camp. That would fit since we later see a long train of Starfleet yellows, blues and reds trudging through a sandy quarry-like setting under armed guard. A place where at least Sulu and Uhura are threatened by their captors.

We do see Kirk taking a kicking from the Elba character again seemingly onboard the Enterprise as Boutella reveals that she knows why they (Kirk etc) are here - why they are all here. 

This is where it begins, Captain...This is where the frontier pushes back!

- ? (Elba)

Now what I also spotted is that we are likely to end up with the end of the film or at least some climatic sequence taking place on Earth under attack by Elba's alien race (below). Exactly why is suggested from Elba's quote here - the Federation has stretched out on the five year mission and it seems that there are those who are not too keen on their exploration of that frontier. 

Lin's direction is a lot faster-paced, it seems tighter, brighter and a ton more action-orientated than I even felt from the Into Darkness trailer with explosions, bike stunts, one-on-one combat and actually, very little space-based events if the scenes here are to go by. Even his credit on the trailer makes not of his work on Fast and Furious and the addition of the backing track just emphasise that we're going to be in for a "furious" movie and we can only hope after the controversy that was Into Darkness.

For someone who wanted to scale Scotty's role back because of his involvement with the script, Simon Pegg shows up a lot in this 84 second teaser. In fact I'd say he's going to have quite a significant role in the story since he is going to be one of the few who appear to have escaped capture during that initial crippling attack on the Enterprise. Now he has promised a return to the show's origins but will that put bums on cinema seats or are we going to see the influence of more recent blockbusters that have raked in millions? The punchy soundtrack, sharp editing and constant action suggest more in line with The Expendables than a thought-provoking Star Trek akin to The Original Series. Not that I'm going to enter a slagging match or say it's rubbish because hey, it's a trailer. Lots can change, there's a ton more to a movie than 90 seconds and this is literally just a taster and confirmation that the damn thing actually got made and finished. Fan opinion that it's s**t already is a bit harsh. It's like saying you hate the taste of jam but never tasted jam (OK, I could have thought have something a bit more provocative than that but...). Let's keep the negativity away for now and pass a more solid judgement in July 2016.

While we don't get any clear shots of the Enterprise interiors we do have some better glimpses of both the toughened away team jackets sported by Kirk, Spock and Chekov plus the redesigned standard uniforms which have an odd raised-back/lowered front collar style which we see on McCoy, Spock and Kirk during the split-second editing. They look a bit strange if not uncomfortable. 

Let's not do that again...

- Kirk

The trailer closes out with Kirk and Boutella's alien character falling to the surface of the alien encampment only to be snatched by a Federation transporter beam. Could this be the same one that saves Spock earlier and leaves McCoy alone? Who's operating it?! How does this fit with the other alien worldy bits?

I'm impressed because there's a very different feel to this trailer - more humour, more character if you please and a minute and a half of new Star Trek that actually made a bit of sense in comparison to the one we received in November 2012. Do I think this is curtains for the Enterprise? Nope. Severe damage and we might not see her for a good chunk of the movie with the main cast fending for themselves and avoiding capture but I'm sceptical that Pegg would junk the starship in his first Star Trek movie script. Watch me be horribly wrong now and the A turn up at the end. Bit of a blow-out that she's getting a trouncing again...and again.

Will it have a sense of The Original Series though? Hard to tell from this and there's a teeny feel that this might have trended towards that wannabe-a-new-Guardians-of-the-Galaxy rumour we heard on the wind a while back.

It won't have given everything away; we don't know character names beyond the main cast, we don't really know the main events and the links between the worlds we're going to visit but what we can say is that this is going to be a very different experience to the last two movies. It's already splitting fans with a sizeable number of likes and dislikes but Star Trek fans are hard to please especially when it comes to anything linked to the reboots. I remain open-minded. This is one trailer, one snapshot of a two hour movie and not enough to launch a tirade at or laud praise. Maybe there's one other thing that's worth noting - I didn't spot one damned frame of lens flare in the whole trailer.

Star Trek Beyond hits screens from July 22nd 2016. Are you ready?

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The Endgame, the Good Things and Beyond

Ahhhh 1994 and 2001 are marked in your calendars aren't they?

That's because today, May 23rd, marks both the airing of The Next Generation's All Good Things... and Voyager's Endgame. If you're working out the passing of time it's 21 and 14 years respectively. My my, how time has flown and only a few weeks ago we were raising the flag to Enterprise's flawed finale episode These are the Voyages.

I'm a big admirer of All Good Things... and I'll be getting to Endgame in a few months time to close my Voyager rewatch (for those keeping track I'm hitting mid-season four and the magnificence of the Hirogen). The Voyager finale may not be the epic that The Next Generation managed but it still manages to bring the crew home even if that's only just as the titles roll. They also defeat the Borg which is nice.

I suspect that when I do reach Endgame I'm going to find it a lot more fulfilling and satisfying given the way I have chosen to revisit Voyager this year. I have some good memories of watching it on VHS as I had with All Good Things... and What You Leave Behind previously. Janeway did of course appear once more after the finale in Nemesis from 2003 and the saga of that little ship still rolls on today in the novel series currently under the guidance of Kristen Beyer with Atonement only a few months away.

Those two points marked closure on the TV exploits of two of Star Trek's three seven-season adventures and here we are now in some form of Star Trek renaissance perhaps. There are a ton of superb fan-made web-series which are at such a high level of production you;d be forgiven for thinking they were the "real" thing from a CBS studio and the convention circuit is still rampant for the cast and anyone associated with the franchise.

However.

There's always that shadow and it's Star Trek Beyond. I'm not making any earth-shattering announcements here about the title, the director or whom might be playing a baddie or a Klingon but I do want to discuss the writer.

Simon Pegg we know is on scribbling duty. No big secret and nor is the story over his opinions on current "nerd culture" or on how the script for Star Trek 3 is coming along but the worry we thought might have faded away with his involvement have come back but I don't think it's Pegg's fault at all.

From what I can understand Paramount want Star Trek to remain mainstream and steer clear of heading into the fan niche that might have accounted for its TV and cinematic demise in the early 2000's. JJ Abrams first two blockbusters proved that Star Trek could appeal to the larger non-Star Trek audience and retain the fan base and give us a blow-out action adventure in the space of about two hours. 

In fact we now know that Beyond will be less Star Trek-y because Paramount want to keep it earning big bucks and bridge the billion dollar gap between it and The Avengers which is the third biggest movie of all time. Seriously? That's a big mountain for Pegg and co to even attempt to climb and while a third outing penned by his hand will have more draw for fans of his writing, I just can't see the movie making that big a dent on the profits of such a movie mammoth.

I truly fear that making it less Trek-y will take us even further down the path which was prodded and exposed to some degree in Into Darkness. There was more action and adventure, more disregard to the franchise history and exceptionally liberal mining of the script from The Wrath of Khan. Now I don't believe Pegg will homage-slaughter Beyond  and if there are nods they will be better handled but are we expecting too much and is the studio asking too much?

Probably yes. Not only does Simon Pegg need to write something which mends the bad feeling of Khan and his super-blood but he has to avoid making Star Trek into something recognisable. Ok that means no technobabble, more space battles, probably a bit of lens-flare for good measure but will it still carry the moral themes and nuances that made the series what it was 50 years ago? Let's also remember that it will be arriving six months after JJ Abrams himself has directed a certain other sci-fi blockbuster sequel called The Force Awakens which lands in December 2015.

Justin Lin will have to direct like he's never directed before as his work will be compared whether he likes it or not to Abrams Episode VII. I don't think the third Star Trek reboot movie will be the last but it will have to prove its worth. I don't expect it to please a lot of fans because the dollar signs are king and nor can we expect it to lead into a TV series (stopping right there on that point).

Frankly who cares what SImon Pegg believes about today's sci-fi fans? Heck, Scotland Yard was checking us out before the Millennium in the UK in case we all went a bit nuts in 2000 and as long as he delivers a movie which he knows is the best he can do and is precisely what the studio have asked for then he can do no more. We've all had jobs where we haven't wanted to do X, Y or Z and his is no different. Pegg has a job to do or he won't get paid so our dissatisfaction needs to be aimed higher if Beyond is a turkey.

I'm really looking forward to seeing his work begin to take form in trailers, set shots and rumours that will explode in a matter of months. We are now barely a year away from the premiere and (from what we know) not even a frame has been committed to film and that might be the biggest concern left - time. This film has to be released in 2016 to coincide with a teeny tiny anniversary but yet we are nowhere near. Flashback to Into Darkness and the 2009 movie and we were well into production by this time. Is now our ultimate fear about Beyond that whether the script is good, bad or just ok it could be slapdash to produce "something" by June next year.

So let's see this as the "official" start to our countdown. I expect whatever result we get will be a big winner at the box office.

Looking forward with anticipation to the new movie or really concerned we're going to get a garbled mess? Let's talk!

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