As anticipation builds for the release of Star Trek Beyond and the sixth live action Star Trek television series, two new trailers have dropped in the space of two days to remind us all that Star Trek is definitely alive and well in this, it’s 50th Anniversary year.
As well as two new trailers, there are two new movie posters, with one of them paying homage to the very first Star Trek movie poster ever, 1977’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
That poster was created by Bob Peak, a very famous Hollywood artist. You can check out Bob’s work here.
The official Star Trek website has all the news on the two up and coming Trek productions, as well as a special focus on the recent major fan event that was held in Los Angeles on the 20th of May, featuring J.J. Abrams, Justin Lin and some of the stars of Star Trek Beyond.
You can go directly to the report on the special fan event by clicking here if you’re not in the mood to navigate through the site.
Now, let’s talk about the preview for the next film.
The new trailer for Star Trek Beyond, and the second official trailer released by Paramount, is AMAZING.
I could break it all down for you, but that would be a waste of time because you really need to watch it.
As a long time fan, it feels like we might finally have a Star Trek feature film to rival the incredibly poignant and powerful Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
Whereas the first trailer focused on action, action, action and more action, and had a slightly unexpected soundtrack blare out at us when we hit play, the second trailer takes us on a deeper journey, hinting at a movie that has just as much substance to it as it does noise and bluster.
The action is still there, but more importantly so too are the characters we’ve come to love, and for at least one of them, they’re at something of a crossroads in life that has the potential to add a whole other dimension to the film.
I know that Into Darkness was meant to be something of a homage to The Wrath of Khan, and one that fell short and was ultimately a little misguided, but this preview reminded me of the tone and feel of Wrath of Khan and what made that movie great, and it filled me with a new level of anticipation.
What makes Wrath of Khan so special for me and what makes it my gold standard for Star Trek films, is that the movie has grown with me. When I first saw it, I wasn’t even a teenager. At that impressionable age, what stood out was the epic space battle, the Ceti-Eels, Khan and how ruthless he was, and how much the crew of the Enterprise seemed like a family.
As the years have passed, I’ve come to appreciate just how multi-layered the movie is. Kirk’s musings on life and his angst at being desk bound because he’s so experienced and others feel he should be guiding rather than doing, resonated with me when I found myself at a similar point in my career. Uhura’s objection to Kirk’s comment that roaming the galaxy is a game for the young, speaks to me because I’m still bucking the fact that while I feel young, I’m actually cruising toward middle age. These insights into something we all endure, the process of ageing and maturing, make me respond to the movie on a whole other level and look at life in a completely different way. Kirk’s line, “I feel young”, still moves me to this day and reminds me that at every stage of life every single one of us has something invaluable and unique to offer. Which, thanks to The Wrath of Khan, has become very much a big part of Star Trek‘s overall philosophy of inclusion.
Beyond appears to riff on similar universal experiences. Kirk is trying to discover who he is, outside of the shadow of his father. Spock cautions us on fear. McCoy reminds us that it’s okay to fear death, so long as we remember to live. The two plus minute trailer packs a whollop of emotion and action into it, from Uhura’s declaration her friend and Captain will come for her and the crew, to Shohreh Aghdashloo’s counsel on how easy it is to get lost, and her reminder that all we can really depend on in life are the people who undertake the journey with us. Add to that a villain so steeped in hatred for the Federation and the very vision and ideals we as fans so admire, and the promise of an epic but intimately personal movie is made.
To watch the trailer, click here.
Below are a series of screencaps from the preview. The first five photos show a pensive Kirk as he ponders what it means to ‘be’ Jim Kirk. There’s also a unique shot of the Enterprise departing what might be the Yorktown, a starbase somewhere far from Earth. We also see the first real new warp effect since the first movie in the reboot timeline – and it’s beautiful. The screencap does not do it justice. In any way.
The next five shots show the crew setting out, the attack by the swarm that cripples or destroys Enterprise, and a fantastic new shot of the deadly new enemy as they board the ship.
The following screencaps show what happens when you piss off a certain Communications Officer, McCoy following Jim’s order to abandon ship, and Kirk on the ground aiming a phaser at someone out of shot.
The next images show us that Uhura and Spock’s relationship is still going strong, that Spock and McCoy continue to rub each other the wrong way, and hints that Uhura and a great many of the Enterprise‘s crew fall into the hands of the film’s new villain, Krall.
The final screencaps show us an enemy learning all he can about James T. Kirk, Uhura warning that villain that their captain will come for them and he won’t be in a merciful mood, and two shots of the new heroine – Jaylah, played by Sofia Boutella.
One of the most surprising things about the new trailer was the ship it appears the Enterprise crew escapes in.
An NX class starship, last seen in Star Trek: Enterprise. Could it be the USS Franklin? The images below are grainy, but I swear it’s an NX vessel. Watch the preview, and let me know if you agree!
All in all, this preview looks incredible. I think Justin Lin has done it.
I was already excited to see this film, now I’m crazy-impatient to see it. I can’t wait for the Australian premiere. I’ll be lining up early and going multiple times.
Thank you, Paramount, Justin Lin, Simon Pegg and Doug Jung for what looks like it will be one of the best Star Trek films in a very long time, and maybe the best Star Trek film ever.
A couple of days before the second official preview for Beyond broke, equally exciting news hit Star Trek fandom.
A teaser trailer for the new television series.
The trailer doesn’t show us anything, other than the beautiful new logo for the new production and a few gorgeous shots of Earth and deep space.
But, it does possibly answer one question many of us have been asking for a few weeks now – will the new Trek be an anthology show?
The answer is in the screencaps below.
New CREWS? It doesn’t say, outright, that the new series will be an anthology series, but that’s one heck of a strong hint.
The last four screencaps from the teaser promise us new villains, new heroes and new worlds.
And I can’t wait!
After watching the teaser, I was left thinking that if it is an anthology series, it won’t just jump backward and forwards along one Trek timeline – it will also visit the alternate timeline created in 2009 by J.J. Abrams.
I have nothing to base that on, other than a lense flare effect I saw as I was watching the trailer that made me think of J.J..
When you think about it, it’s a simple way to meet every fans expectations. A lot of fans prefer what is called the Prime Timeline, and some prefer what’s often called the AbramsVerse. As well as honouring both, an anthology series opens up some very interesting story ideas as the writers explore Trek’s lengthy prime history across the 22nd, 23rd and 24th centuries, and how similar events might play out differently in the alternate timeline created by Nero.
The more I think about it, the more I hope they go the anthology route.
Things are starting to get very exciting for fans, and finally it’s starting to feel like the 50th Anniversary of Star Trek.
As more news comes to light, I’ll pop it up here… but right now, I’m just going to pop up that beautiful homage to Star Trek: The Motion Picture one more time because I am in love with the new Beyond poster.
Star Trek Beyond stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Sofia Boutella and Idris Elba, and was written by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung and directed by Justin Lin.
Star Trek Series VI is being developed by Alex Kurtzman, Bryan Singer, Rod Roddenberry, Heather Kadin, Trevor Roth and Nicholas Meyer.
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