The sense of balance and storyline integrity was clearly important to the team in the last film, so much so that Trek icon William Shatner was left out in a highly publicised move. Leonard Nimoy, however, the other leading man of the franchise, was in the film, and a question on everyone’s lips is whether or not he’ll be in the film this time around, although Nimoy himself has said that he probably won’t be needed. Abrams takes exception to this. “I can’t imagine a Star Trek movie not needing him,” he contests. “I’m sure that what he’s saying is a combination of modesty and honesty. He may actually feel that way. But, the truth is, we could never have made this movie without him, and working with him again would be a joy. It is clearly too early, given that we are just now talking story, to conclude whether or not Spock Prime is in the film or not. Do I want to work with him again? Of course, 100 per cent. I’d love to.”
One of the motifs that The Original Series was famous for was subtly commenting on real world issues, such as sexism, racism and religion. As an origin story, this was largely (if not entirely) left out of 2009’s Star Trek, but is Abrams considering a return to this style of storytelling for number two? “I do think that, whether it’s Star Trek or anything, whatever is being investigated, created or produced now, in movies or TV, needs to consider the context in which it is being distributed. It’s not a vacuum. There are certain universal themes of love, conflict, loyalty or family that are everlasting and that need to be presented in a way that makes it feel relevant, even if it’s a period piece. You need to consider what context that film, that story and those characters are being seen in.”
For Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the writers behind the first and, soon, the second films in the rebooted franchise, it’s not just the context that makes a sequel work, but also the essential spirit of the sequel itself, the expansion from origin into development. “Every franchise has a different need, so you have to look at them differently, based on whatever the mandate is,” said Kurtzman to Portal. “You need to be able to not have seen the first movie to appreciate the second one. But, for us, it’s always about going back to the sequels that we loved as kids and asking ourselves why we loved them. So, there’s Empire Strikes Back, Superman 2, Aliens, Terminator 2, Star Trek 2. What do all those movies have in common? Well, they’re amazing stories, all on their own. You didn’t have to see the first movie. And there was some incredible, emotional test of character, in all of those movies. Superman has to give up his powers for love. The Spock and Kirk relationship is tested by Khan. Ripley finds a daughter. All of those things are such big ideas, in and of themselves, and you really can’t tell those stories in movie one because movie one is very much about establishing a world.”
The next Star Trek film, currently untitled, is provisionally scheduled for a 2012 release. Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, John Cho, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban and Anton Yelchin are all signed to return.
This article originally appeared as the leader in the print edition of SciFiNow issue 35 by Steve Nash, with additional reporting by James Rundle. To buy a copy of the magazine or subscribe, go to www.imagineshop.com, or call our subscriptions hotline on +44 (0) 844 844 0245.
