"STAR TREK Into Darkness" - 2013

[Rico]

Some updates on Trek 2 or Trek 12 - or whatever they are going to call it:

Director J.J. Abrams confirmed to us that the follow-up to his hit Star Trek won't hit theaters until 2012, speaking last night at a party at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles to celebrate today's DVD/Blu-ray release. But that could change. And the creators gave us tantalizing hints about the sequel's timeframe and other story points.
Producer/writer Damon Lindelof told us that he thinks it's impossible to be done sooner. "Yeah, I think that we would be hard pressed to get it on screens by 2011," Lindelof said. "If that's the case, we'd better get to writing right now."

But Abrams believes more time will benefit the creative process. "It's like closet space," Abrams said. "You use what you've got. The more time you have, the more time you have to use to hopefully make it a better movie."

For his part, co-writer Roberto Orci wouldn't talk about release dates. "Who knows? It could still be whenever," Orci said. "I haven't heard any firm dates. It could be sooner or later."

What about the story?

Time shifts. Lindelof suggested that the sequel may play with time in relation to the first film, much as The Bourne Ultimatum takes place largely in between events from The Bourne Supremacy. "One of the things we like to do as storytellers is drop you in the middle of something," Lindelof said. "And the question that you're asking yourself is: Where am I in relation to the last time I left these guys? Could this be something that predated even, perhaps, some of the adventures that they had in the first movie? Does it happen five years later? Is it happening two seconds later? Who knows? So we're not going to tell you."

Whatever you're expecting, you're wrong. One way to combat sequilitis is to avoid the cliche of bigger, louder and more explosions. "Do we have to do that?" Lindelof pondered. "Is there something else that we can do that's a little bit off the beaten path? When you buy your ticket and your popcorn and you go and sit and watch the second movie that we're all working on together, we want to give the audience an experience that feels like it's not a sequel in all the best ways."
Spock (Zachary Quinto) and Uhura (Zoe Saldana) will reach the next level. "Now that we've done that, you can't play that same joke again," Abrams said. "It's got to be about 'What is their relationship?' and 'Who are these people?' That's why the next one, hopefully while still maintaining the sense of fun and adventure, can go a little bit deeper in terms of the script."

Khaaaan! Abrams, Orci and his writing partner Alex Kurtzman keep hinting that they may introduce the character of Khan Noonien Singh, but haven't committed to anything. We asked Abrams to weigh the pros and cons of revamping a classic Trek villain. "We're not even at that stage yet, but the fun of where we are on the sequel is we could use some of what was done before in a new way," Abrams said. "But we haven't even figured out what we would use yet, so it's very early on." Orci added that the creative team would vote on whether Khan works for their new story. "That'll be kind of a groupthink decision," Orci said.

It's getting close. They are narrowing the ideas down, really. If it sounds like they're just not committing because they don't have anything, don't worry. They're down to the big-picture decisions, like what the philosophical theme of the sequel could be. "There's a couple themes up in the air that we're debating about," Orci said. "But we want them to be invisible, so it won't be until the movie comes out that you'd ever hear what they were. We're zeroing in some compass directions. It's still the story phase."
Abrams still wants to direct it. The last time Abrams gave a press conference, he cause a lot of speculation with the phrase "If I, in fact, direct the Star Trek sequel." Abrams clarified that he has every intention of doing it, but there's nothing to commit to. "In theory, I would be available, and it would be fun to do," Abrams said. "Since there's no script, it's hard to talk about directing a movie that the story doesn't even exist."

Could Star Trek 2 be 2012's The Dark Knight? Star Trek is already the highest-grossing Trek movie ever. It's been so well received universally that Abrams expects to have an even bigger audience for the sequel, by the time more fans discover the film on DVD. Another example of that was Batman Begins. "Certainly no one is looking to expect any kind of Dark Knight numbers on a Star Trek sequel," Abrams conceded. "Hopefully the quality of the cast of the first film, the fun of the movie, will eventually, over time, touch people who would not normally have gone to see the film in theaters. When a sequel comes out, they're converts, because they'd actually seen the film that was made originally. That would be the goal."

Start the A-list casting rumors now. Star Trek featured major stars like Winona Ryder and Tyler Perry in supporting roles. Abrams is open to bringing a movie star in to attract even more viewers. "I think that it's not a bad idea to begin thinking practically in that way," Abrams said. "What can be done to help open it up? In terms of casting, sure. Casting an international star would be a really good idea."

source: http://scifiwire.com/2009/11/8-big-spoilers-for-star-t.php

If they go with using Khan (not a great idea, in my view), this actor from "Lost" is rumored to be their front runner choice for him.  Nestor Carbonell.

[Bryancd]

Nestor Carbonell, too funny. His parent used to live in my hometown of Greenwich, CT. His parents and my beast friends parents are Cuban, and I met Nestor and his family at a party back int he late '80's. Nestor told me about his budding acting career. I had seen him in a few roles since and then obviously his success on "LOST" was great to watch. He would make a great Khan.

[moyer777]

Yeah, I guess in this case being a "Kahn" man would be a good thing.

[wraith1701]

Yeah, I guess in this case being a "Kahn" man would be a good thing.

*face-palm / rimshot*  :D

Very interesting article; thanks for the information!  Two things that have me pretty excited-

- Now that the crew has been introduced, the writers have space to explore the characters. I'm wondering if the Spock/Uhura thing might cool off & head towards a more professional relationship.  Opens the door to some nice interpersonal drama.

- I'm thrilled that the writers are trying to avoid falling into the 'sequal-itis' trap. It sounds like they care about the property as much as us fans do. Trying to break the mold & try a new approach sounds great to me. :)

I share Rico's trepidation over the possible re-booting of Khan. R.M. Owns that character; I find it hard to imagine anyone else in the role.  On the other hand, lots of folks were nervous about the reboot idea as a whole, and the writers managed to preserve the spirit of the classic show while exploring new ground & opening it up to new audiences.

I'm not going to give up faith in the writers yet. :)

[cosmonaut]

Yeah, I guess in this case being a "Kahn" man would be a good thing.

*face-palm / rimshot*  :D

Very interesting article; thanks for the information!  Two things that have me pretty excited-

- Now that the crew has been introduced, the writers have space to explore the characters. I'm wondering if the Spock/Uhura thing might cool off & head towards a more professional relationship.  Opens the door to some nice interpersonal drama.

- I'm thrilled that the writers are trying to avoid falling into the 'sequal-itis' trap. It sounds like they care about the property as much as us fans do. Trying to break the mold & try a new approach sounds great to me. :)

I share Rico's trepidation over the possible re-booting of Khan. R.M. Owns that character; I find it hard to imagine anyone else in the role.  On the other hand, lots of folks were nervous about the reboot idea as a whole, and the writers managed to preserve the spirit of the classic show while exploring new ground & opening it up to new audiences.

I'm not going to give up faith in the writers yet. :)

What he said! :)

Also, trekmovie says there's nothing about that Nestor Carbonell rumor, and this site was founded to get the facts!
(It's pretty obvious they have pretty good connections.)
http://trekmovie.com/2009/11/18/rumor-control-nestor-carbonell-not-being-eyed-for-khan-in-star-trek-sequel/

[Rico]

So set your Google Calendar's now!  The next movie has a "tentative" release date of June 29th, 2012.  Looks like they might be shooting for the mid-summer, 4th of July weekend box office this time.  I like that idea a lot!  So - start the countdown now!  Only about 2.5 years to go!!!

[billybob476]

Set up the new countdown timer!

[Feathers]

Yay! Bring the countdown timer back!

Hmmm. 4th July...why would we celebrate that again?

[VaeVictis1701]

June 29th can't come soon enough.  I loved the latest movie and have complete confidence in JJ's ability to produce a good Star Trek movie.

Hmmm. 4th July...why would we celebrate that again?

Wasn't that the day that Will Smith destroyed an Alien mother ship with a computer virus?

[startrekfan]

I can't wait until the next installment and I hope it will be as exciting and fun as Trek XI

[psikeyhackr]

Will there be any 10 foot blue aliens?  LOL

[startrekfan]

this is getting a bit boring, why are they really taking their time at this haven't they thought up a story yet for Trek XII

[Meds]

Best not to rush, look at how rubbish Quantum of Solace was, they rushed it.

[billybob476]

Some more info from an interview with the writers. Looks like they are still trying to hammer things down

Orci: Introducing a new villain in the sequel is tempting because we now have this incredible new sandbox to play in. On the other hand, some fans really want to see Klingons and it's hard not to listen to that. The trick is not to do something that's been seen before just because you think it will be a short cut to likeability.

http://trekmovie.com/2010/09/11/star-trek-sequel-update-abrams-orci-kurtzman-talk-khan-klingons-more/

[Rico]

Some more info from an interview with the writers. Looks like they are still trying to hammer things down

Orci: Introducing a new villain in the sequel is tempting because we now have this incredible new sandbox to play in. On the other hand, some fans really want to see Klingons and it's hard not to listen to that. The trick is not to do something that's been seen before just because you think it will be a short cut to likeability.

http://trekmovie.com/2010/09/11/star-trek-sequel-update-abrams-orci-kurtzman-talk-khan-klingons-more/

Discussed this on yesterday's podcast too.  ;)