Speaking with
Herald Sun at a
Star Trek Into Darkness preview screening, Bad Robot's Bryan Burk talks about the anticipated sequel and Disney/Lucasfilm's
Star Wars: Episode VII - both directed by J.J. Abrams. For the former, the frequent Abrams collaborator says that you don't have to see the 2009
Star Trek in order to understand the sequel, and expresses his hope that
Into Darkness will create a broader audience for the franchise.
"I think with the first one we got a lot of people who had dipped in and out of the Star Trek universe over the last 40 years and got a lot of new people along the way but that allows us now to go a lot further and open it up to everyone else. People went to see the last film who weren’t expecting to like it and I feel for this film that if people have adamantly avoided Star Trek and thought it wasn’t for them, they will be pleasantly surprised. It was really important to make a film where if you hadn’t seen the last one, you could just jump in."
Additionally, Burk expands on prior comments comparing
Star Trek to
Star Wars, reiterating that the two will be very different despite being handled by the same director.
"It’s very early in the process of Star Wars, but it feels like we are on the precipice of jumping into that world. The worlds couldn’t be more different. The only thing they have in common is the word ‘star’ and they take place in outer space. Star Trek doesn’t take place in a galaxy far, far away. It’s not science fiction, it’s science fact, it’s 100 per cent our future. The guy who invented the cellphone said he was inspired by watching Star Trek." This should come as a relief to those who were worried about one man having control of the two biggest sci-fi franchises of all time.
Star Trek Into Darkness hits theaters May 17th.
Star Wars: Episode VII is targeting a 2015 release.