Showbits

With still six months to go, Star Trek XI has already traveled a long road. The intention to develop the property was announced in April 2006, with the first poster coming out in June of that year. JJ Abrams (Lost, Alias, Mission Impossible III) signed on to direct in February 2007, and filming began in November 2007, with a wrap date of March 2008. The film-footage-free teaser trailer was released before Cloverfield in January 2008, back when we thought we'd be revisiting Roddenberry's future as early as this Christmas.

Now, with less than half a year until the May 8th release, the veil of secrecy under which the Star Trek reboot has until recently been conducted provides us with our first significant glimpse of what awaits in the form of this full-length trailer:

I was sorely tempted to not indulge in this trailer at all; if its purpose is to sell me on the film, then its very existence is superfluous. Why not leave that many more surprises until its silver screen debut?

But I'm glad I watched it, and gladder still that it is completely spoiler-free. Almost nothing of the plot or obstacles are revealed, leaving us instead with a more general look of the actors and their environment. I confess that even that little is not what I expected. The Enterprise has always faced the final frontier with a sense of wonderment, though here we find it in not the seasoned and mature crew of TOS, but a younger and less experienced crew. As a prequel, that only makes sense, but I worry that too much rebellious angst will fill the film, as suggested by the conflict between Kirk and Spock. Also, seeing Kirk on two classic means of locomotion lends an even lower-tech feeling than its temporal predecessor, Enterprise.

Other than these minor points, I have a surprisingly nondescript reaction. The fast-paced nature of the trailer left little opportunity to assess the characters in their roles, or even to get a good look at their ship, within or without. I find myself neither more eager nor more anxious about the fate of the franchise; only the final film will allow me that judgment.

The following pictures are taken from the JJ Abrams-directed film Star Trek XI, to be released originally on Christmas Day 2008, now May 8, 2009. These shots were widely distributed across the Internet earlier this week, but only tonight did Paramount lift the exclusive on the various sites that previously carried them, allowing Showbits to join their ranks.

As I'm already sold on this movie, a part of me regrets seeing these pictures. Nonetheless, I will share with you the source of my remorse:

[Show as slideshow]

What can we tell from these pictures? First, the bridge looks little like the Shatner's ship of the Sixties. Second, Spock seems indistinguishable from Sylar — at least to me, being recently off a weekend-long binge of the character. Finally, Nero sure knows how to brood, distinguishing him from every villain who has ever existed. (Not.)

Of course, it's almost impossible to judge a film from such context-free imagery, so I will reserve judgment. A full trailer is expected to be released in November, possibly prior to the new James Bond film, Quantum of Solace.

This month marks a year until the release of Star Trek XI. Fans are so excited over this relaunch of the franchise that they can't wait for the official teaser (rumored to precede next month's Cloverfield) — so they've gone and made their own trailers, of which I think this one is the best:

And before that was a fly-by of a remodeled CGI Enterprise that proved to be cool yet false. Even the rabid paparazzi have gotten in on it by snapping some shots of the supposed Kirk and an Orion slave girl.

My curiosity occasionally gets the better of me, but in general, I'd rather avoid all these grovelling for media scraps. No news, rumor, or trailer is needed to sell me on this film, nor can any dissuade me from seeing it. I'm already sold and would like to see as much of the film for the first time upon its theatrical debut next Christmas. What about you?

[Hat tip to the Trek Movie Report Web site.]

Courtesy StarTrek.com comes this article from Entertainment Weekly that the first draft of the next Star Trek film is done. Slow but steady progress, to be sure…

The credits most often associated with J. J. Abrams, the producer and possible director of this film, are Mission: Impossible III and Lost. I'm familiar with neither, though I'm told the former was the best film in the series. Does his style of directing seem to lend itself well to the final frontier? Is it about time we finally got an "outside" director (i.e., someone who isn't a Trek alumnus, like Jonathan Frakes)? Could Abrams finally be The One to bring non-Trekkies to the franchise?

In other Trek movie news, IGN has an interview with William Shatner, in which he states his interest in being in the film; and the appearance of other Trek alumni in the fan film Of Gods and Men has been postponed until April.

Courtesy Trek Nation, Matt Damon says he would consider playing Kirk in Star Trek XI, if he liked the script… and was offered the part.

Like the article says, no one but Shatner has ever played Kirk. Can any Trekker separate the two? Could we accept anyone else? If the eleventh film is to be a potential basis for a new television series, then I think it needs to not be a prequel. Sandwiched between Enterprise and TOS, it'd be too constrained. Give us something entirely new — something we haven't seen before. Surprise us. Be refreshing!

Speaking of which, why has Star Trek always stuck to one genre? Let's have a bunch of Friends hanging out in Ten-Forward — or some sort of Section 31/CSI. Klingon Eye for the Starfleet Guy, hosted by Worf, perhaps?

What are your thoughts on the direction(s) Star Trek should take?