JJ Abrams Promises ‘Amazing Ideas’ for Star Trek Sequel

Back in the late ’90s when yours truly was pitching to the Star Trek franchise, I recall a conversation I had with writer/producer Rene Echevarria in his office. It stemmed from the difficulty writers had in trying to recapture the pioneering spirit of exploration that had so wonderfully characterized the original ’60s series. Episodes that began where the Enterprisesensors were picking up some unusual object, entity or anomaly were among the series’ most fascinating — and coincidentally — best. The opening teaser and first act of “The Corbomite Maneuver”, for example, perfectly captured the essence of what the show was about.
At its essence, this is what separated Star Trek from Star Wars. It’s all in the name, really. One is about a trek through the stars — and all that it entails — while the other is about a war amongst the stars.
By the time Star Trek: The Next Generation and its spinoffs arrived, it became increasingly difficult to tell stories that captured that pioneering “OMG…what is THAT on the view screen?!” type of feel. Character drama and morality plays — which admittedly had also been in abundance in the original series — were the norm…while episodes like the aforementioned “Corbomite Maneuver” were practically non-existent.JJ Abrams directs Zachary Quinto in Star Trek (2009).Echevarria, a routinely excellent writer, intimated that the original series had really put the lock on those types of exploration stories, and that it was subsequently very difficult to come up with fresh ideas and repeat the formula in any meaningful way, given the era in which the original series debuted, versus the 1990s.
But now we find ourselves in a new era, with a reborn Star Trek…under the stewardship of JJ Abrams. In a new interview with MTV, Abrams said that he will quickly move to the Star Trek sequel as soon as his responsibilities with Super 8 — the film he made with Steven Spielberg, due for release on June 10 — are complete.“Now that ‘Super 8′ is drawing to a close in terms of this post schedule, I’m looking forward to jumping in and hopefully getting that ready as soon as possible.”
But what kind of story can we expect…and it could it incorporate some of that “exploration of the unknown” element I alluded to above?Abrams confirmed that there still isn’t an officially approved script for the Star Trek sequel, but said “we’re working on it.” He also mentioned that for the sequel, Lost veteran Damon Lindelof is working with Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. So far, all Abrams will promise is “amazing ideas.”
“Damon is working on the script for this one. As busy as I’ve been with ‘Super 8,’ I remember that when we did the first one, Damon was that busy with ‘Lost.’ So it’s going to be very cool to have him on board as a writer…There are some amazing ideas. These are not just great friends of mine, but they’re great writers. I’m thrilled and very optimistic that it’s going to get to where it needs to get to.”
Speculation for the new film has run from Khan…to the possibility of Gary Mitchell appearing in the story. Klingons have also been discussed.For yours truly, I would like to see the Enterprise encounter something truly epic and beyond imagination. It’s a tall order, and for a tentpole franchise both the studios and the filmmakers may want to stick with the tried-and-true action-adventure mold. But Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek was also about big ideas and exploring the unknown. I’m not suggesting that the film needs to be ponderous and overtly cerebral likeStar Trek: The Motion Picture, but some of the best scenes ever shot on film for Trek are still found in the original series. For an example of what I mean, watch the below clip from “The Corbomite Maneuver”.