Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves directors John Francis Daley and Johnathan Goldstein have been tapped to helm the next Star Trek movie. Paramount has finally given up on plans to continue the Chris Pine-led movies, meaning this next chapter will be another reboot.
Now, the duo has revealed more about their approach to the beloved sci-fi property, after previously confirming that the story will be set much further into the future than those revolving around icons like Kirk and Picard.
In a recent interview with Empire Magazine (via SFFGazette.com), Goldstein and Daley explained that their Star Trek movie will feature "no legacy characters," meaning fans can forget about seeing any familiar faces show up aboard the next iteration of the Enterprise.
"No legacy characters, nobody that you’ve met before," Daley said. "A different time, not a different timeline per se, but it’s a little further in the future." Goldstein confirmed that it's "sort of a different timeline," prompting his co-director to point out, "Well, not the Kelvin timeline. It’s not the J.J. [Abrams] timeline."
This is obviously meant to serve as a fresh start for Star Trek, though how longtime fans respond to that remains to be seen. Paramount, however, is looking to find a new audience for the long-running sci-fi property, and that means appealing to more than just devoted Trekkies.
However, for anyone concerned that the filmmakers are planning a Star Trek comedy given their largely comedic background, both were quick to make it clear that's not the case.
"I would say it’s probably our darkest film that we’ve ever written. It’s not a comedy," Daley confirmed. "There is our sensibility in it, and we do find levity, but it’s in the characters who find humor in even the darkest moments, which is just true to real life."
"We both went on an aircraft carrier when we were researching Mayday, and it can be a very fraught landscape working on those ships, and people have to find levity. They have to find joy in even the most serious moments, and that’s the approach we have in this film."
Goldstein added, "You want it to be a fun watch. Doesn’t mean you’re laughing your head off. It just means you’re in it, and you’re enjoying it."
This reboot is in the works at a time when fans are both eager and nervous about Star Trek. Paramount, which is in the midst of a massive acquisition of Warner Bros., is run by the Ellison family, who are longtime supporters of President Donald Trump and what many consider right-wing or far-right politics.
For longtime fans, diversity and inclusion have been central themes of Star Trek as far back as The Original Series in the 1960s. Thus far, there's nothing to suggest that won't continue to be the case.
Daley and Goldstein's untitled Star Trek movie doesn't currently have a confirmed release date, so stay tuned for updates as we have them.