Star Trek has always had a very inconsistent track record when it comes to its cinematic endeavors, both critically and financially. That changed in 2009 with director JJ Abrams' reboot Star Trek, which made the property something it never was before: a blockbuster.
Subsequent Star Trek films were few and far between however with a successful sequel that was maligned by fans in 2013 's Star Trek Into Darkness and then the better received but less successful 2016 entry Star Trek Beyond.
To the latter film's response, Simon Pegg who stars as Scotty in the rebooted films also served as co-writer on the 2016 film has been speaking to Geek Magazine about why he thinks the film was received poorly at the box-office.
“I think it was poorly marketed, to be honest. If you look at a film like Suicide Squad, that was around for such a long time before it finally came out and people were so aware of it. Whereas with Star Trek Beyond, it was left too late before they started their marketing push. It still did great business, but it was disappointing compared to Into Darkness."
Even at the time, the Shaun of the Dead actor made no bones about his dislike of the marketing for the film, particularly the first teaser trailer released that was Beastie Boys and dirtbike heavy. He also isn't alone in his frustrations with Paramount choosing not to capitalize on the science-fiction franchises' 50th-anniversary which passed with very little fanfare:
“I was really angry about that because it used ‘Sabotage,’ which was our surprise moment in the end. It was supposed to be a very fun and heightened twist, and something that was a big surprise and they blew it in the first trailer, which really annoyed me. They also made the film look like a boneheaded action film. And they were scared, I think, of mentioning the 50th Anniversary. It was fumbled as a thing; they didn’t know what to do with it and it’s a real shame. But I came away from it really, really happy and very proud of it.”
Despite the film's box-office failings, Pegg is still very proud of the film and it did garner a lot of praise from audiences and critics. The film currently sits at 84% / 80% on Rotten Tomatoes with the general consensus being that the film was far and away better than it's predecessor Star Trek Into Darkness and offered a fun blend of classic TOS and modern JJ Trek.
A result that Pegg and those involved were going for:
“From a professional standpoint for me, it was such a great experience in the end, because the critical response that we did get was exactly what Doug Jung and I and Justin Lin had hoped for, which was a much more favorable response in terms of being Star Trek and not just something there that’s disguised as Star Trek.”
It's uncertain at the moment whether there will be a Star Trek 4, though The Revenant scribe Mark L Smith is currently writing a new film from a pitch idea by Quentin Tarantino, who will then take the film with JJ Abrams to Paramount. Nothing is currently known about its state or content, however.
What do you think about Pegg's comments? Were you a fan of Star Trek Beyond? What would you like to see in a new Star Trek film? Leave your thoughts below.