Movie News

Star Trek, Relaunched

It's official. Paramount has finally put an end to all the speculation and announced that J.J. Abrams will indeed direct the "reboot" of the elderly "Star Trek" sci-fi franchise. Production will begin this fall with an eye towards a December 2008 release.

The IMDB listing currently contains no casting information, but IGN Film News has some intriguing information that would put Gary Sinise in the role of Dr. Bones McCoy, Adrien Brody fitted with Spock ears, and none other than Matt Damon in the Captain's chair, as James T. Kirk himself (no word on whether Damon will be asked to wear a girdle and a funny toupee.) Please note this news is NOT official.

A script, being kept under lock and key, has been completed by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, who also wrote the Abrams-directed "Mission Impossible 3." They will share production credits along with Bryan Burk, Damon Lindelof, and Abrams, who said he is "honored and excited to be part of this next chapter of Star Trek."

Early rumors had "Star Trek XI" cast in the mold of a prequel, with young Kirk and Spock in training at Starfleet Academy. Casting such as what is speculated above would instead point toward the same kind of reboot as the James Bond franchise underwent with "Casino Royale"--a continuation of the original intentions, but with appropriately modern upgrades--shedding some of the franchise baggage for the sake of relevant reinvention. One need look no farther than the new "Battlestar Galactica" to see how well this sort of thing can work.

Additional source: Star Trek dot com.

Posted by on February 27, 2007 4:05 PM
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The potential is there, but they must be very careful not to ruin Star Trek. Too many Trekkies (myself included) are sensitive to change. I do like the unconfirmed actors you listed; they seem to be good fits for their respective characters. I'm a TNG fan, and I really don't like the newer Trek stuff (then again, did ANYBODY like "Enterprise?"). A reboot might be exactly what Trek needs to get past what the series has become of late.

As long as the film crew doesn't approach it from the "super-hip space action" perspective with crazy quick cuts and an explosion every five minutes, I am hopeful. I like Star Trek because it's thoughtful; it asks the deeper questions about who people are and how they get along; it focuses on the tough decisions leaders have to make. At least, these were true at one point. Maybe a reboot, if done correctly, can get back to what made the series great in the first place. I've always preferred Picard to Kirk, but if Matt Damon works his magic, his Jim could turn out far better than Shatner's. Fingers crossed.

-- Posted by: Parker at February 27, 2007 7:21 PM

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