It’s inevitable that characters change over the course of three films, but it’s fair to say that Chris Pine’s take on James Tiberius Kirk has faced more than most.
Having become a Captain, been killed and then brought back to life, to call his life a ‘roller-coaster’ would be an understatement. Thus, it’s unsprising that by the time Star Trek Beyond – the third instalment in the rebooted series – comes about, Kirk is a changed man.
“There are a lot of big questions for Kirk in this,” says Pine. “He’s not a young man, at least as defined by the first film, dealing with rage issues, or having to prove himself. He’s been there, done that. Now he is the captain, and he’s looking around thinking, ‘What next?’ You got the award and people have told you you’re good enough, and you’re thinking, ‘Well I thought that it was going to be this thing, and it’s actually not.’ So it’s redefining boundaries and parameters and desires and interest and focus in terms of what is meaningful to him.”
All the trailers so far have been intent on showing the crew of the Enterprise in peril, which will present more challenges for Kirk. But with new villain Krall (Idris Elba), it’ll be his toughest trial yet. “This is a different film for Kirk. The first two were really dealing with the shadow of his father. He was born on the day his father died. That cast a looming amount of pressure on him to live up to someone he didn’t really know. The pressure was almost unbearable, I think.
“In this one he’s turned a corner and he’s realising now as a man who’s dealt with those issues, who is he as his own man? What is it like to be the captain of a starship and to captain these people without burdening himself with that legacy? In that new space, there’s a lot of freedom there, thinking about what he really wants to do and what will really make him happy. Then the drama ensues and stuff happens, but that I think is where you find Kirk at the beginning of this movie.”
Star Trek Beyond will be released in cinemas on 22 July 2016. You can download Star Trek: The Complete Manual from GreatDigitalMags.com now. For more news about the latest movies, pick up the new issue of SciFiNow.
