‘Star Trek 3’ Will Explore New Worlds & Alien Species

Director Justin Lin reveals that ‘Star Trek 3’ will take fans to places they have never seen as the Enterprise starts its 5-year mission.

 
The end of 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness teased that the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise would finally start its "five-year journey" that served as the basis of the iconic Star Trek TV series. While the upcoming sequel Star Trek 3 has had its ups and downs, with Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness director J.J. Abrams leaving to make Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and his replacement Roberto Orci also backing out, the production is finally on track with director Justin Lin and a new script by star/writer Simon Pegg and Doug Jung. With production set to begin in three weeks, Justin Lin confirmed that the sequel will show the crew of the Enterprise on their five-year mission.

"They haven't really gone on their five-year mission, so what we experienced in the TV show hasn't been touched on yet. That sets up an opportunity for exploration and the deeper you go, the more you are examining humanity. Those are the things that I absorbed as a kid and hope to tap into and embrace and celebrate."

While the first two movies included plenty of characters and other references from the original TV series, the filmmaker added that this sequel will show fans new worlds and species that have never been explored yet.

"It's all new and fresh. The Klingons, Romulans and other species are great, but it's time to go further. It has been fun to focus on creating whole new worlds and species."

The filmmaker also shared that J.J. Abrams, who still serves as a producer on Star Trek 3, called him out of the blue and asked him to direct the sequel, while sharing his fond memories of the original show as a child.

"I was in the last week shooting True Detective when J.J. Abrams called last December. He asked me, do you like Star Trek? If you do, you should take this, be bold, and just go for it.' I thought about how much a part of my life Star Trek was. Growing up, my parents had this little fish and chips restaurant in Anaheim in the shadows of Disneyland, and they didn't close until 9 PM. As a family, we didn't eat dinner until 10 PM, and we would watch the original Star Trek every night at 11. My dad worked 364 days a year, only took Thanksgiving off, and from age 8 to 18, the only time I could hang out with my parents was by staying up late. And every night, it was Star Trek on Channel 13 in L.A. That was my childhood. All my friends were Star Wars kids but I didn't go to the movies, so I was the Star Trek kid. Thinking about this, it became a very personal and very emotional decision."

Are you excited that Star Trek 3 will finally show the Enterprise's five year mission, and take us to new worlds? Writer Simon Pegg has previously said in interviews that the story will embrace the original show's spirit, and it's worth noting that the sequel is set to hit theaters in 2016, the same year that Star Trek will celebrate its 50th Anniversary. Chime in with your thoughts below.