Star Trek Beyond will be moving beyond the story of its predecessor Star Trek Into Darkness.
Director Justin Lin explained in an interview with Birth.Movies.Death, “I embraced what [director] J.J. [Abrams] has brought – without him this whole group wouldn’t be together – so I’m definitely very appreciative of him. At the same time, do we address [Star Trek Into Darkness]? No, but we don’t discount it. We don’t sit there and say it doesn’t exist, it’s part of this universe now.”
While the story in Star Trek Into Darkness will be ignored, the movie is not considered a whole new reboot. Many of the cast of characters from Into Darkness have reprised their roles including Chris Pines as Captain Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura and Simon Pegg as Scotty. Pegg also co-wrote the movie along with Doug Jung, Roberto Orci, John Payne and Patrick McKay.
The trailer for Star Trek Beyond is considered by fans to be a departure from the seriousness of Into Darkness though reactions were mixed. One noteworthy fan was particularly underwhelmed with Lin’s bold and risky take on the franchise: George Takei, the original Sulu.
“It doesn’t have that element that made Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry‘s Star Trek, what it was,” Takei said.
However, he conceded the movie “looked like a terrific action-adventure movie.” Said Takei, “A lot of clinging on cliffs and getting smashed against rocks, so it should be a very successful Star Trek movie.”
Star Trek Into Darkness was a polarizing movie for fans of the beloved series. In a survey including attendees of the 2013 Creation Star Trek Convention, Star Trek Into Darkness was ranked 13th out of the 12 official Star Trek films produced since 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The mere invocation of J.J. Abrams’ $451 million intentional hit was met with boos from the audience.
Are you excited for Star Trek Beyond? How do you feel about the direction of the series? Sound off in the comments below.
