As has been well reported by this point, the sequel to JJ Abrams' Star Trek will be reaching theatres - in 3D! - during the summer of 2013. Am I the only one who feels that four years is far too much time between sequels? Prior to 2009, the franchise was in its death throes - Enterprise was canceled, Nemesis was a box office disaster, the official website was fading away, and on it went. Then Abrams' Star Trek, created with a healthy dose of the Star Wars spirit, was released and served to reinvigorate the entire thing. Suddenly Trek was back in vogue, even driving interest back in to the original series and its various spin-offs.
There was genunine excitement about Star Trek again, not only from the point of view of the fans, but from the mainstream audience (an essential component for Trek to work and thrive) and the media as well. Essentially the concept had been successfully jump-started and some momentum instilled.... but then to wait FOUR years? It will certainly be interesting to see whether or not, in this pop culture world of extremely limited attention spans, the same level of excitement will be there when it finally arrives. While admittedly comparing a film to a television show probably doesn't make sense, I remember that when Heroes went on an extended hiatus for a variety of reasons (not the least of which was a Writers Guild strike), when the show finally reeturned it had lost about a quarter of its massive audience, driving home the fact that the audience will move on.
What's the general consensus out there? Is four years too long a stretch?
On the same front, while we know Benicio Del Toro is out as the film's villain, there is the persistent rumor that the crew is going to go up against a newly-imagined version of Khan. It would seem that Trek would benefit by going in a new direction rather than rely on one of the franchise's most popular adversaries -- which is not to say that the notion of Khan couldn't be revisited down the road. Shouldn't that character be left alone for the time being?
Elsewhere, the franchise is celebrating a few anniveraries this year. For starters, this is the 20th anniversary of the final film featuring the entire crew from the original television series, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. To commemorate that release, check out the film's teaser and final trailer as well as a humorous take on how Abrams would have directed the film.
This is also the 25th annivsary of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, or, as it's more popularly known, "the one with the whales." That film was particularly significant in that because it dealt with Kirk and company coming back to the present, and it was laced with some wonderful humor, it was the first Star Trek film to break the confines of the fandom and appeal to the mainstream audience. In watching the unofficial trilogy (Wrath of Khan, Search For Spock The Voyage Home), Leonard Nimoy's desire to move away from violent action adventure to take on a lighter approach absolutely pays off. Below, check out the trailer for the film as well as its "lost ending".
And finally, today marks the latest anniversary of a day that will live on in infamy. Oh, it's "Pearl Harbor Day" as well. What we're referring to in this instance is the 32nd anniversary release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, for which we have a fan-made re-edit of the film's trailer. Opinion: is ST:TMP still considered a borefest or have feelings for it improved over the years?