As he gears up to shoot Paramount and Skydance’s third Star Trek, director Justin Lin has simultaneously declared his love for all things Trekkie and revealed the actual title of his anticipated threequel: Star Trek Beyond.
Captioning the first image from the set, of the iconic emblem, Lin “Let the next Starfleet voyage begin! #StarTrekBeyond #LLAP.” Of course, that second hashtag is a reference to the late, lamented Leonard Nimoy, who portrayed Spock in the original series and films. It stands for his catchphrase, “Live long and prosper.”
Let the next Starfleet voyage begin! #StarTrekBeyond #LLAP pic.twitter.com/VZh9YvJgqA
— Justin Lin (@trailingjohnson) June 29, 2015
It’s been a long road to production for Star Trek Beyond. Producer Roberto Orci lobbied the studios to write and direct the pic, and they eventually gave him the green-light to write a treatment last year, only to kick him to the curb once they actually read the draft.
[zerg]Banshee scribe Doug Jung and co-star Simon Pegg were brought in to write a new screenplay, which eventually met with studio approval, and Fast & Furious helmer Justin Lin was tapped to take over from J.J. Abrams (busy in a galaxy far, far away) in the director’s chair.
Not much is known about the story of Star Trek Beyond, but Lin has stated that it will explore new worlds and species never seen before in Star Trek. That makes sense, seeing as Star Trek Into Darkness saw the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise headed out into the further reaches of space on a mission of exploration and discovery. It has been reported that Idris Elba has taken the lead villainous role, while Kingsman: The Secret Service femme fatale Sofia Boutella has a supporting part, but details on their roles aren’t yet available.
The returning cast includes Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Simon Pegg as Scotty, Anton Yelchin as Chekov, Karl Urban as Bones and John Cho as Sulu.
Star Trek Beyond will launch July 8, 2016, timed to the 50th anniversary of the franchise.