New ‘Star Trek’ Plot Rumors August 30, 2007
by Anthony Pascale , Filed under: Rumor, STXI Plot , trackback[possible spoilers] AICN has posted an article on plot rumors for the new Star Trek film that posits much of the film takes place in an alternative timeline (possibly as a way to avoid canon violations). AICN’s Moriarty (apparently based on a dinner chat with someone at Paramount) describes the film involving Romulans going back in time to kill James T. Kirk and change history with older Spock (Nimoy) doing what he can to fix the timeline. However, it is a little hard to separate what are possible plot rumors from and what is Moriarty’s own speculation. Beyond the notion that the older Spock character is central to the film’s plot, TrekMovie.com cannot confirm (or refute) any of the details at this time.
What we do know from on the record accounts from the writers and others involved in the film is that it ‘fills a gap’ in Trek history and will portray the original crew of the USS Enterprise before the time of TOS and how they ‘came together.’ It is possible that some of AICN’s information could be based on an out of date script or story outline and even AICN acknowledge that their reporting is not ’set in stone.’
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Time travel again? Sheesh! We’ll get to a point where we won’t know if we’re coming or going!
fascinating…
FIrst!! Interesting concept. Would work since Spock has been in Romulan space working on Unification.
Okay, I missed. Third!!!
As others have pointed out, this plot is very similar to both Trials & Tribbleations and First Contact. Therefore it’s probably as bogus as Harry Mudd’s beauty pills.
Oh, I get it! After an action-packed adventure in the past to restore the timeline, an elderly Spock pulls the young Kirk aside and whispers in his ear, “years from now, when you’re invited to christen the Enterprise-B, it would be in your best interests NOT to attend”. Then, when older Spock returns to his current time, there’s an older Kirk alive and expressing his thanks! Yeah, that it!!
this kinda reminiscent of terminator to anyone?
This could also help write in Shatner if Spock changes history enough, Shatner would have never been in the Nexxis and never died. This could work… i’ll reserve jufgement until I hear more facts…and see the movie, of course. :) But yes, it would explain why Spock is so important to the film. And i would guess, why Leaonard Nimoy choose to come out of retirement for this movie. It is a great film for him to lead.
In reading this article on AICN, It really seems that there is no real place that this rumor is coming from other than that article. There is no “Someone told me” aspect to it, or anything like that. While Time travel always makes for a good story, I don;t know, I just don;t take what this guy says with a grain of salt’. Add to that that I don;t think Abrams would basically invent an alternate universe Trek to set everything in. That would kind of defeat the whole effort, and probably drive away a bunch of the fan base. Personally, I find it hard to believe that this Movie will be a complete Reboot ala Battlestar Galactica, as it would be extremely difficult selling it when there are over 900 hours of Star Trek already available with it’s history and continuity for the most part intact.
I will add that this guy has also posted “Rumors” about Cloverfield, the other JJ Abrams project that were so far off the mark when some of the info came out.
My 3 and a half cents anyway (Inflation you know)
Romulans go back in time to kill James T. Kirk !
it’s sounds familier,,,
In the Book, “The Return” by William Shatner, Judith Reeves-Stevens, and Garfield Reeves-Stevens. The Romulans form an aliance with the Borg ( and their nano’s ) and go back in time to bring Kirk back to life just after he dies in Generations.
I don’t mind the time travel concept being used as long as it is well thought out and done in an interesting and relevant manner.
If it is done as well as say Back to the Future did it, then I am hopeful. Obviously with not quite so many jokes mind you………
#6
Love your suggestion about old Spock telling young Kirk to stay away from the Enterprise-B launch. Very BTTF once again :) and an easy way to bring Kirk back. Picard will just have to sort out his nexus problem in another manner on his lonesome.
Perhaps he could come out when Soran is still on the Enterprise and just vapourise him….?
This sounds like a combination of the plots for OGAM and the new film. It also doesn’t make sense given Abrams’s statement that he wants to bring in new fans. Time travel involving Romulans and a dead Kirk require too much background Trek knowledge.
Nah, I dont buy the alternative universe thing at all.
Maybe some messing with the timeline (which I dont really want to see), but not changing it.
Defeats the point.
Having said that, if Spock is looking back upon his life - what better tool to gaze upon it than THE GUARDIAN OF FOREVER???
Now that would be cool.
#6
Then Kirk isn’t there to help Picard in Generations, Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D are killed, the Borg then invade and defeat Earth in the past. Or some other outcome from tampering with the past. However that would be one way of getting Shatner in.
I’m still trying to find it, but wasn’t there a quote from JJ or someone that time travel is not involved in this story? This was several months ago. Maybe senility is just setting in early.
NO RESET BUTTONS!
Gad, didn’t we get enough of those from Voyager and ENT?
I suspect this leak is spurious. Moreover, since there’s not a frame of film shot, I think JJ has a lot of work to do before even HE (sorry, I mean JJ, not God) knows what this film will ultimately look like.
Here’s what I said on Fark, where the headline was “Star Trek fans can breathe a sigh of relief. The new movie won’t screw up established canon because it takes place in an alternative timeline”:
This is a theory. Not a rumor. Not a fact. This is a theory from someone whose soapbox is a little bigger than, say, mine.
Whether that soapbox is deserved is another question.
Having said all that - going back in time somehow and changing the future somehow has been done to death a trillion times in Star Trek.
Star Trek : First Contact for one.
I’m dubious, especially given its your standard Terminator/First Contact/Back to the Future time-travel premise.
On the other hand, nobody in Hollywood ever seems to lose any sleep about being called too imitative, so who knows? If it were written well enough, it might work.
Not that I place a lot of stock in AICN’s story; those dummies have all the journalistic integrity of The Weekly World News at times … but it is interesting that Moriarty’s article states that the Romulans want to kill Kirk’s FATHER. Might that character actually be in the script? With the exception of his dead brother, Kirk’s family has always been a wide open mystery (on screen at least).
If the father is in the script, it would mean part of the story takes place before Kirk is even born! Note that Moriarty also implied that the story would challenge the canonical notion of who the Enterprise’s first Captain was. Does that mean Kirk’s father might be in Starfleet, serving under Robert April as he did in one of the novels?
Fun speculation, but again, I doubt much of this will prove true. When Anthony reports on the plot, then I’ll know we have something.
Don’t agree AVi. Did Back to the Future require a lot of background? The new movie would not have to do any legwork at all - Kirk is a well know pop culture character. If someone is going to kill him off and change the future that’s all that needs to be said. Its akin to the JFK assasination.
If time travel can be used to break out from the boundaries of existing canon, then go for it!
No time travel please….
Sounds highly unlikey to me.
#14–it could be even easier.
IF this is the true plotline, it’s VERY easy to fix Generations. Not the way I’d do it, but still very easy.
But let’s address your concern. Soran wasn’t evil when he was ripped out of the nexus. He was just a guy who wanted to be there. He was also a smart guy too. Suppose Kirk just said, “you, come with me,” and then Soran fixed the E-B? Then Soran gets shot into the nexus, he’s happy and not around to wreak havoc. The only thing left is that the E-D survives.
So does Kirk.
Not a major historical change except a machine is saved.
OR, Spock could arrange things to play out so that a small group of Starfleet officers is hanging out on Veridian III waiting for Soran just as the E-D crashes.
At this point, Soran is arrested, Kirk and Picard and Spock do a high five, and all is well.
Personally, I wouldn’t prevent Kirk’s death–I’d work with it. But the point is there are as many logical ways to fix Generations as there are Trek fans to think of them.
#14 “Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D are killed”
On the contrary. If Picard, when he gets to the Nexus, doesn’t have Kirk there to distract him, he would have the time to realize that the better plan would be to leave the Nexus when Soran first came on board the ship and arrest his ass in Ten-Forward! This, of course, is what the Picard from the T.V. series would have done in the FIRST place, if it wasn’t for the POOR writing of Braga and Moore for the crappy Generations!!
No, thank You.
I woudn’t get too hung up on the plot details looking similar to previous films/episodes. After almost 500 hours of Star Trek, there is bound to be repetition in plot devices and storytelling. Any two sentence summary of a two hour film is not going to give the story justice. It is how they let the story play out that matters most–what themes they choose to underline in the midst of all that action and adventure.
I just wish I could tune out the Trek sites regarding spoilers, but I can’t resist the temptation. Ah well, I appreciate all the work that goes into this site. I just wish I wasn’t so weak that I have to spoil this movie like I did with the last three by reading too much of the plot ahead of time.
Without “spoiler warnings” even visiting your main headlines page may give away too much.
#25
Good point. But then the tv show had ‘All Good Things…’ which would have been a better film than Generations, as would several other eps. I’m just hoping this will be a great movie.
People should remember we are talking about AICN…………BIG grain of salt should be taken.
People who do not want to be spoiled should NOT be visiting a site called TREKMOVIE.COM.
Thank you for your time.
Still Kirok:
If this story is true there are about a zillion ways they can bring back Kirk.
Also, didn’t Picard cause a second timeline in Generations?
Soran actually defeated Picard (and forced him to enter the nexus) and destroyed the Enterprise. In that timeline Picard,Soran and Kirk are alive in the nexus. While the Enterprise + it’s crew were destroyed.
He clearly created at least two timelines.
Timeline 1: Picard,Kirk and Soran are alive and in the nexus.
Timeline 2: Picard and Kirk exit the nexus to save what Picard thinks is his timeline. Kirk + Soran die.
The door is getting wider and wider for Kirk/Shatner to return.
What’s wrong with recalibrating the clock?
There is too much canon anyway, besides if this is the start of a TOS franchise, then everything besides ENT hasn’t happened yet, and it eliminates all the nit-picking about things that even the writers forgot they established.
Time to clean house, let’s see if this can be exciting without saturating it with
canon.
Although, having expressed that, I do like the idea of a cameo by “older” Kirk,
spared from the infernal dopey NEXUS!
Kind of explains Shatner’s behavior, “remember” Nimoy didn’t return as Spock till the end of STIII!
actually rastaman has a good point and I changed the headline and added a spoiler warning. I think for plot details that is best. But for characters and actors it is not needed.
NOTE: I may change my mind later on this one, so not a policy or precedent just yet
Alternate timeline = bad idea
Romulans = bad idea (last film to have them in didn’t do too well…)
Time travel = bad idea
It also reeks of fanboyishness.
Such a plot takes as its jumping off point the established TNG/DS9/post-Nemesis universe with an older Spock and tries awkwardly to use a time travel gimmick to set up a trip back to pre-TOS era. It also makes the story more about the gimmick - time-travel - than the *characters*.
I expect the new movie will instead be totally focused on exploring the characters of Kirk and Spock at a stage in their lives we have not seen before. This does not require any more complicated device that an older Spock narrating the story to… well pretty much anyone would do.
I also expect it will be pitched with a story that is perfectly accessible to people who have only a vague notion of Star Trek as “that show with Captain Kirk and Mr Spock - they went to planets and he sexed up the alien girls and Spock said “illogical” a lot”. An elaborate “plot across time” would be an immedaite turn-off to swathes of the movie-going public - (and I also don’t think Nimoy would buy into it)
So I think this is just a bogus rumour.
Wait a second… If Spock tells Kirk to not go on the Enterprise B that will unravel time! Think about it a second. If Kirk is not on the E-B then nobody will fix the defector and save the B. Everyone on the B dies, including Guinann, Scotty and Chekov.
Flash forward 70 years. Guinann does not work on the Enterprise and can not advise Picard on the Borg. In the alternate timeline she can not advise Picard to send the E-C back in time to prevent the Klingon/Federation war! And Wont be around to Tell Yar that her death was meaningless and therefore NO Sela (which is not really a bad thing, she was a big spacebitch)
Assuming that Sorin died on the E-B then there would be no reason for the E-D to be at Veridian III and Troi will never crash land the E into the planet and get destroyed. Therefore, NO E-E.
If Guinann of the future does not exist, then Data and Picard would not have known her in the past. When they went back in time to San Fransico they would not have known she was an alien and she would not have been able to help stop the Alien threat against humanity to suck out everyone’s souls. (With the help of Samual Clemmings)
So, you see, bringing back kirk is a HORRIBLE idea. And if they do, I hope he wears a girdle!
#34
There is no future, only the now.
No. More. Time travel! Gaggh, it’s been done to death and back again in more movies and episodes than I care to recall.
Thinking about it now. The only way Spock can save Kirk AND keep the future from falling apart is to save Guinan as well. You know what that means? Whoopie needs to be in the new movie!
For what it’s worth, Moriarty DOES hint in the talkback that he got the info from someone at Paramount.
Still though, I just can’t see either Abrams OR Nimoy being too excited for a storyline as contrived and fanboyish as that one. Their tastes are a bit more old school– they’d gravitate towards a more grounded and character-based kind of Trek movie.
Hmmm, I thought that the Next Genies turned the Romulans into misunderstood good guys?? Like they did with all the other iconic Trek villians. Don’t know if I’m opposed to the idea, I loath what the Next Genie era did to the Romulans. Could work. But only if Mr. James R. Mugatu is involved in a meaningful way.
Don’t forget Mugatu- Bring Back Mugatu
#27 LOL. I was the same- …. it … said…. possible… spoiler…. must…. not….. look….. oh damn! I’m weak, forgive me! :D
I think i’d be happy with this story.
#39
Romulans were most definitely bad guys in the TNG era right up through DS9. They didn’t turn them into ‘misunderstood good guys’. Even in TOS they showed Romulans had many different facets, and weren’t simply one-dimensional bad guys. They did, however, turn them into bumbling idiots in Nemesis.
I just want to go on record with how much I loathe this idea. I’m so tired of time travel as a plot device. There are so many different concepts & stories they could go with, I would hope they don’t take the easy way out.
#12
Never mind about the kids who haven’t got enough background knowledge. We can fill them in on the basics. There’s still enough time left…
#30
Let’s hope the floodgates are opening for Kirk/Shatner to return!
Interesting how time travel and alternate timelines = fanboy.
Without those devices some of the best ST stories would not have occurred.
Let’s keep an open mind here folks.
Time Trek Again. At least they do not have another DATA brother.
Maybe they go back in time & Kill RICK BERMAN!
Now thats a good idea!
Hmmm….I was hoping for something a bit better than this. But if it is true, then it would be easy and hell to bring Shatner back due to the whole time travel/alternate reality stuff.
#30–Ivory–there ARE two timelines.
That’s one way to show Kirk is alive without nullifying Generations. When Soran was stopped, the nexus flew by, so no one ever went into the nexus to pull Kirk out, so he should still be in there, in tact.
Another idea–if Kirk doesn’t go to the E-B, then maybe HARRIMAN shows some guts and fixes the deflector dish himself, and HE goes into the nexus and dies because Picard can’t fight and couldn’t figure out to go back a few minutes earlier and slap the cuffs on Soran.
#43–why is the term fanboy considered bad?
What is WRONG with doing incredible plots that do what so many fans want to see?
If anything, fanboy is GOOD. DO the cool plots. That’s worth paying to see.
NOTE TO ABRAMS:
Flash-forwards and flash-backs are ok. Time travel is bad!
Minor changes for a 21st century audience are ok. Screwing severely with established canon is bad!
Can I make it any simpler for him? If AICN’s report/speculation is on the money then my enthusiasm for Abrams’ film is heading down fast. They need to leak a review for the current script (positive, hopefully) or give some indication of the plot and design specifics of this film before negative speculation screws them. If nothing else the next poster needs to come out soon and be a big picture of the Enterprise that ILM is working up for the film so that the trekkies can have something to cheer for.
While AICN does have to be taken with a grain of salt, they do have connections, not unlike our good host here, and it’s not beyojnd the realm of possibility that “Moriarty” did enjoy dinner with someone from Paramount that has read the script. Now which draft he read, we don’t know, but regardless, I really like it the ideas brought forth.
Somebody jacks with the time line, Spock can fix some of it, but not all of it. With the new alternate timeline things are slightly different, the looks of things change ever so slightly, the faces change slightly, Kirk never dies and the 23rd century continues void of any 24th century influence, to start anew with a familiar, yet totally new crew.
An alternate time-line also explains how Shatner,as Kirk, could easily be brought into this movie. Brilliant! I just keep getting more and more excited about this picture. Good stuff!
#48 Exactly why is time travel bad?
Let’s think beyond this movie. What drama can there be if the new movie(s) stay inside the existing canon? We know the fates of the characters? Placing them in danger will have no dramatic value.
For time travel/alternative timeline haters - If they stay inside the existing timeline how will any suspense or tension be created knowing what lies in the future?
I am sincerely interested in seeing some valid suggestions.
This doesn’t seem to fit in with what we’ve heard in the past, IMHO. I think this is totally false, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
I don’t remember many AICN rumors becoming true….if any…
OK, it’s been a month. And I’m a geek. I need geekmonthly.com to be updated.
(I know, but how could I also be a Trekkie if I weren’t so snide.)
For Christ’s Sake, not more bloody time travel/alternate timeline stuff, its just smacks of lazy story telling. The Original Series did not use this on more than a few occasions, its the sort of thing you associate more with Voyager and, of course, Enterprise. It’s been done to death, stop it.
I hope the plot rumor turns out to be exactly that. I’m not at all thenthusiastic about more time travel and alternate timelines. If they’re going to tell the story of Kirk & co., I want it to be the real Kirk & co., and I want miniskirts.
Oh well, I guess I’ll miss seeing this one.
I am deeply disapointed.
Don’t you guys get it. Its STAR TREK not TIME TUNNEL!!! : (
Oh, no I said Time Tunnel. Guess there are several talking about that as a new movie now.
Give us the characters and the high tech hardware we all love to see.
Did anyone notice the let down after the first epsisode of ENTERPRISE.
FUTURE GUY? UGHHH!!!!
How about showing how the transporter actually works. Or show the power of the ship. The Enterprise main engines were huge! Let us all remember too how powerful the Photon Torpedos were too. Kirk used to launch them and they would have to worry about the fabric of space ripping apart. That still what makes me made about everyting post TOS.
The phasers turned into a little ray gun. PHASERS PHASE THING OUT GUYS! And they have multiple settings too. Remember the Kangs. That captain killed thousands before draining his hand phaser (and they still came, i know) :) .
MY GOD! I sat in front of the TV till 4 AM all through high school watching TOS to see the power and wonder that the show depicted. I WAS SPELLBOUND!
DOES ANYONE remember KIRK!!! CEASER travelling the stars.
This universe IS big enough!!
AND PLEASE, do not give us that rehashed sh_t of Spock assaninating JFK to fix things or something along those line. We all rememeber that plot too (even though it never made it to film - in the first movie.)
Oh, yea. This is my first post anywhere. AND thiere are legions just like me. Trust me. Rewrite while there is still time. Please e-mail me if you guys can’t or don’t understand what the show was about. I’ll be more than happy to help in a rewite. I have low rates too! I have so many thoughts about the original show. It just takes a little imagination and a love for
the orginal. Sadly it seems that imagination is a rare commodity
these days.
Lets just make good Star Trek again. And if you are going to make all those sets again, then lets do a series again, please! WE WANT STAR TREK!! Not a reason for the studio to have a tent pole tax dodge every two years. Yes it’s that obvious. What is the budget this time? $300 mil? Lets ask Cawley how they did it. If you guys are realy interested in saving a buck (or an Amerio - look it up).
UGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Time Travel? puke. puke.
Hmmm. was’nt that the reason the creators of the show created the Warp drive in the first place? So that the ship doesn’t travel to Rigel, or where ever, and then return to find everyone a 100 years older?
Sorry I am so mad. But if I could travel back in time…la, la, la, la.
Trust me that’s Fantasy, Not Science Fiction. WE WANT SCIENCE FICTION! I have enough trouble suspending my belief and accepting everything else in the show to accept a twisted time travel plot.
We had better see Kirk in a fist fight too, boys and girls.
I am still hoping its just all a rumour.
Best regards all!
Time Travel again would be so lame. It would be like Mr. Spock being caught by Emperor Lame and his Mighty Lamebots®, bombarded with Lame Rays® and dropped head first into a frothing cauldron of Liquid Lame®.
Just, Just… NO. I don’t want to see another time travel story.
Haven’t seen Roberto in a while……of course, I doubt he would address this article…
That’s irony for you- all the shouting about Kirk and the movie is about fixing the death of the character. Strange if true.
The AICN report underscores the likelihood - reflected in public statements by the writers - that Spock is the hero and central character of the narrative and that there is probably communication between Nimoy’s Spock and Quinto’s (the “sense of guidance” that Quinto has mentioned as being part of the story).
That Nimoy’s Spock is in fact the lead seems less likely, given what Nimoy has said about the amount of screen time he has.
Some of the rest - Romulan death plots and Vulcan blowing up - sound more speculative on “Moriarity’s” part.
Nowhere in this article full of rumors and speculation is the return of William Shatner as Kirk even hinted at.
#50 Anybody?
Shatner or no, this plot leaves open the possibility to deal with Generations. Even if an older Kirk is required, they would have the younger actor who could be made up to look older. It’s a bit of leverage should Shatner be difficult in negotiations and should they want to address Generations.
Dennis:
It is not hinted at,but the fact that it involes various time lines makes it very possible.
Dennis…from what I have heard Nimoy is a key part of the script and his role is more than a cameo, but it is not the lead. He has stated “I am not the star”
Ajax –
a few threads back I threw out the same basic question. If there’s an “old Kirk and Spock” how can “young Kirk and Spock” ever really be in danger?
The general consensus was that the viewers would buy into the danger anyway, since in episodic TV we never really thought they’d die or stay dead.
I still think anything more elaborate than Nimoy and possibly Shatner doing a very brief intro from an unspecified vantage would take the focus away from the new cast. The new cast MUST become the characters for us.
I will always love TOS. But, I know the story is bigger than the original cast members in it.
If true, this is a very interesting way to establish a new timeline for a new generation of potential Trek viewers. The only thing you need to understand there: none of the afore-established is relevant anymore…
You can still watch the original 700+ hours of Star Trek and enjoy the new version. The concept of alternate timelines is genuine Trek and may be accepted by most hardcore fans. This is a very intersting development…
…and YES, there are AICN rumors that became true! Enterprise casting sheet anyone?
Timeline story does seem to open up more doors for Shat as Kirk.
AICN is usually pretty accurate
Interesting concept though it may be, I’m not too crazy about the movie taking place in an alternate timeline. Not that I believe any of these rumors for a second (not until I see something official), but if it takes place in a different timeline than the actual series then… what’s the point? It won’t be showing how the crew came together in the “real” Trek universe (the one portrayed from ENT to TOS to the TNG-era series), it will be showing how they came together in essentially a parallel universe. That means it will have no ties to the other series or movies… so who’s going to care about it?
In any case, I highly doubt this will be set in an alternate timeline. If Spock goes back in time to prevent someone from screwing with the timeline, then he’s preventing an alternate timeline from occurring. As I said before, the “going back in time to prevent Kirk from being killed” plot has been done before (DS9’s “Trials and Tribble-ations”), so I would hope it would be somewhat more original than that. If it is Spock going back to the past to save Kirk, though, I won’t mind too much so long as the story is handled well.
#63: “Dennis…from what I have heard Nimoy is a key part of the script and his role is more than a cameo, but it is not the lead. He has stated “I am not the star””
That’s pretty much the impression I’d gotten from reading.
This “fixing up time errors/becoming the guardian of the timeline” notion would explain his centrality to the plot and the importance of his communication with Young Spock. It also would explain why only a single character from the “later years” would be required - and of course the appropriateness of it being Spock who actually guards “Star Trek” is marvelous. That relates well to the idea of his “mythic” significance.
#62: “It is not hinted at,but the fact that it involes various time lines makes it very possible.”
It’s as possible or impossible, and as likely or unlikely, as it ever was. These rumors don’t add a thing to that aspect of the story.
When I first started reading about a new movie, I was so excited because it seemed we were going to get a fresh start with new actors, new themes, while set in the classic Trek era. But more and more, it’s now sounding like the producers are dragging up the old baggage from all the prior movies. I hope this isn’t so.
If this is truly going to appeal to non-Trek audiences, as it’s supposed to, then the story can’t dwell on stuff that did or didn’t happen to Kirk in some past movie. So either this rumor isn’t true, or the whole “saving older Kirk” must be a minimal part of the playing time with no prior knowledge needed by the audience.
#50 — “For time travel/alternative timeline haters - If they stay inside the existing timeline how will any suspense or tension be created knowing what lies in the future?”
There are other types of suspense/tension besides wondering about what will happen in the future — for example, wondering how that future will be created within the present of the movie. Further, a good movie/tv/book is able to make the viewer forget about the fact that he *knows* things will turn out more or less alright — even though we knew that Kirk and Spock would turn out alive and more or less unscathed at the end of the episode, we still felt the suspense during the course of the episode (at least, in the better ones…).
Each time travel story cheapens the previous time travel stories. Mind you, I like a good time travel show. *snicker* But I have a lovely British one. I’d prefer Trek to be its own man.
Gee, at this point I’d rather have the Re-Boot.
71 - Etha, So I’m sure you’ll be totally wondering what’s coming next when Tom Cruise sets out to assassinate Hitler in his next movie. Will he succeed?!?!? (Personally, I’m gonna spend that 10 bucks on pizza.)
#65: “…and YES, there are AICN rumors that became true! Enterprise casting sheet anyone?”
Actually, that was a TrekNation/TrekBBS scoop. AICN just picked up the report from them.
One thought I just had was maybe one of the Romulans involved in going back to get Kirk (IF that is even what will happen in the movie) will turn out to be Future Guy from Enterprise (Silik’s boss) and this is another front in the Temporal Cold War. I always thought he was Romulan.
Roberto Orci: Any comments?
I have often joked in response to people who cant seem to come to grips with a new ship and cast in the TOS period that they should just pretend it is an alternative timeline and sit back and enjoy it. It is hard to tell if AICN is speculating or reporting…but it appears to be a bit of both.
JJ Abrams said at comic con that they ‘walk a tightrope’ by trying to create a new movie and at the same time respect the history. I have often thought that they could avoid that by just saying ‘this is a new universe’, but they seem determined to make it all fit somehow….which is a huge undertaking. I dont envy the task, but to me making it all fit is secondary to making it be fun and exciting and amazing.
I’m sure the comment would be along the lines of “a lot of that is way off,” which would simply leave us to twist and turn and gnash our teeth about what is and what isn’t. :lol:
Ok. Real easy fix! Spock changes it so Kirk does not go aboard the Ent. B. Scotty activates the transporter a few moments later and beams aboard Guinan but Soran did not make it. Harriman activates the deflector. The ship is saved. Kirk, Scotty and chekov are alive. Soran is not around to bring the nexus back. All is well!
Very cool idea. I always approached this film as nothing more than another big screen remake….new actors playing Trek, much the same way Martin Landau played Bela Lugosi acting in Plan 9 from Outer Space. Only, instead of actors portraying real people, it’s actors portraying fictional people as if they had really existed. Just like any number of big-screen movie remakes, be it Jim Varney as Jed Clampett or Will Smith as James West…they weren’t really The Beverly Hillbillies or Wild Wild West…and we never thought they were. They were just new faces pretending to be those historic characters in a new story. A novelty, nothing more.
But now, with this clever twist of an altered timeline, I can actually wrap my mind around the new faces, new changes and still treat this story as if it were taking place within the previous “real” Star Trek universe. So in essence, it becomes true Star Trek and not just a remake of Star Trek.
Well done JJ, well done.
Folks, we love Star Trek. However, this new movie is being aimed at drawing a crowd of NEW viewers, ie. people who haven’t seen the TV series, the prior movies, etc.
While the script is supposidely honoring canon (and Nimoy vouches strongly for it, enough to participate in the project), we have to accept there will be changes. A time travel story may seem cliche, but it will explain design changes (costume/set changes, ship changes, etc.).
To be blunt, the original series is engrained on most of us… but doesn’t translate to the big screen. I really want the NCC-1701 to represent the original design, but it’s more likely there will be changes. Control panels and displays are likely going to change in subtle ways. The costumes will be tweaked. Yadda-yadda-yadda…
Time travel may be a tired, old story mechanism for Star Trek. However, it’s fundamental to what is needed with this “reboot.” Accept it, embrace it and understand that we’re getting the original TOS *characters* back in action. And with any luck, we’ll see a couple of TOS *actors* (Nimoy, maybe Shatner). And new adventures will come our way for many years to come!
..actually…if this has any truth to it…I meant to say, well done JJ AND the writers…didn’t mean to leave out credit, where credit is due!
Meh….. I don’t like it. Shades of Trials and Tribble-ations, only without all the cool nostalgia. I hope this isn’t accurate, but if it is, I’ll be a bit worried. On the other hand, if Nimoy says it’s good…well, I’ll trust him, even if this turns out to be the real story.
Why go to such lengths just to do a reboot? Casual fans / non-fans won’t know or care that canon has been violated. And the rest of us have seen it all before. So why bother? Just reboot and be done with it. It worked for Batman and it could work for Trek.
And as I said on another thread, time travel plots are tired. They are not just weak dramatically, they have become hackneyed and clichéd. Not to mention they are fraught with inherent potential contradictions, the most obvious being that if a timeline changes, the characters would have no way of knowing it. Only someone outside the timestream — someone with God-like omniscience — could ever possibly sense the difference. Everyone else simply would think that that was how things always were.
One is reminded of “Yesterday’s Enterprise” where Guinan wandered around looking befuddled and muttering about how things were “not the way they’re supposed to be.” Why does she know? Only because the plot demanded it of her. Weak weak writing in an otherwise good episode.
And that better not be what they have Spock doing in the new movie, at least not without a better excuse than a “temporal wake” a la First Contact. I might accept the Guardian of Forever but even that seems tired.
Dubiosity factor is off the scale, Captain.
My problem with Generations is that, rather than pop back ten minutes before the Nexus arrives on Veridian III, Kirk should have travelled back to the Enterprise-B and thrown Soran out of the airlock. Problem solved!
Time travel stories always throw up problems, which is why I’d prefer a show called ***Star*** Trek to stick to the contemporary period other than a rare exception. If it was called Time Trek, that’d be a different matter! We’ve had three movies in ten that have had time travel as a major plot point. That’s enough for most of us.
I don’t have a problem with ‘Ultimate Star Trek,’ as such, with Nimoy playing a Selek-type role in that parallel universe. Certainly, it would free up the ‘Ultimate’ universe to reshape and retell stories and leave a certain ambiguity to the fates of its characters! Of course, that universe could also have its own Next Generation that needn’t be tied to the established one!
The producers/writers once said that there won’t be time travel. and even than it’s simply illogical not to kill Kirk as a child or not to kill his parents. Why waiting til he’s in command of the Enterprise!? ST7 had the same problem with Kirk and Picard going back in time. Why didn’t they go back before all the sad things happened? I don’t understand that kind of stuff…
I guess they will also forget about the Federation Time Cops?
86. trekmaster … Moriarty’s article does say the plot is to kill Kirk’s father. An interesting aspect of the rumor that everyone seems to have missed.
Time travel stories can be done well (”City on the Edge of Forever”) and 2 of the best ST movies used time travel decently, but Voyager and especially Enterprise have done it to death by too much reliance on time travel as deus ex mechina (to solve any problems, including lazy script-writing). Now, with Nimoy as the older Spock, of course, we are most probably dealing with time travel, but in the form of flashback/-s.
#34, the same points came to me about Enterprise B and the problems that arise from that change. I like the idea with Soran activating the deflector, problems solved, but realize that that makes other changes in the NG timeline.
More to the point is that all of these re-write ideas are requiring Paramount to remake a big chunk of Generations, which they aren’t going to do, even if they could get Malcolm McDowell to reprise the role. (They’d have to get another actor to replace Doohan, remember.). Amongst other things, it would just be too big of distraction from what they intend to do with the new picture.
[…] 30th, 2007 · No Comments Moriarty, the only writer of note on Ain’t it Cool News (with the exception of the fantasticNeil Cumpston, who may also be Moriarty) has an “exclusive” on the subject matter of the upcoming J.J. Abrams-helmed Star Trek movie. The film revolves around a young cast of characters playing the classic series regulars, but in a weird twist they’re supposedly going to be the product of a different timeline. One the one hand, this craftily dodges continuity madness and effectively reboots the franchise, which is something Star Trek desperately needs. But on the other hand, it involves time travel, which has over 40 years gone from utter coolness in “City on the Edge of Forever” to a lame crutch in…well, everything past “Yesterday’s Enterprise.” Predictably, the Trekosphere is boiling over with opinions. […]
Way back at the beginning of this article..it said RUMOR… and now look at all the comments calling it fact…just so you know..
Another point of speculation: what good would killing Kirk (or preventing his birth) do the Romulans as a whole? I know he defeated/humiliated them in a few skirmishes, but we never saw him do anything that had a long-lasting negative impact on them, did we?
Dunno sounds pretty cool and would set the table for the continuing adventures of TOS. In addition sounds like Nimoy would be integral to this movie.
You know even if Shatner is not cast for this movie, maybe its just as well, he has more accomplishments other than star trek. maybe this movie is beneath him and his talent anyways . after all he has become a cultural icon, and is enjoying one of the greatest comebacks an actor could ever hope for.He is not limited to just star trek
“One is reminded of “Yesterday’s Enterprise” where Guinan wandered around looking befuddled and muttering about how things were “not the way they’re supposed to be.” ”
We may all be doing that come December 25, 2008. I went over to read the AICN article and it comes off as incredibly convoluted. *That* is supposed to be a clean slate to bring in the hip young audience? Good luck with that. If even half of Moriarity’s “speculation” is in the script, it sounds like an effin’ mess.
Better to reboot it and be done with it. “No man can serve two masters, for he will love the one and hate the other.” I’d much prefer a straight up reboot to something that tells me the stories I’ve watched for 30 years “didn’t happen anymore”.
They wouldn’t need Spock to save Kirk. Wouldn’t they just send in the USS Relativity?
# 73 — No, I would be wondering how he’s going to fail :). But I’d rather spend the $10 on pizza too, and I don’t even like pizza.
#75 — Please, please, no temporal cold war.
Wonder if one of the 29th century time ships (VOY, “Relativity”) is going to get involved. Not much of a fan of that either, but it would be better than temporal cold war, IMO.
#47 “What is WRONG with doing incredible plots that do what so many fans want to see?
If anything, fanboy is GOOD. DO the cool plots. That’s worth paying to see.”
I agree it can be fun. I used to love the Peter David novels, with all the crossovers and cameos from every corner of the Trek universe.
But the drawback with those stories is the focus tends to be more on the flashy gimmick than the characters. If they want this new movie to appeal to wider audiences, they need to keep things more grounded and focused more on the journey of these CHARACTERS– which should be all the excitement any Trek movie needs anyway.
As JMS has said, you’ve ALREADY got people exploring the depths of space in a fantastic, futuristic starship. If you gotta use holodecks and time travel and all that other high concept crap to tell a story, you must not be very good writers.
#96 — USS Relativity needed Seven to save Voyager, so it wouldn’t be that surprising if they needed Spock to save Kirk, though I’m not a big fan of the idea.
#99 That’s not a bad idea if they did use time travel. The Federation Time Police recruit Spock to go back in time to save Kirk from being killed. I do remember that Abrams said he never saw anything after TNG but I wonder if Abrams, Orci Kurtzman have started to watch DS9, Voyager and Enterprise to do research for Trek XI? If they did use the USS Relativity would that create an alternate Universe and if so would the Federation Time Police still be in that alternate Universe?
Gar. Time for me to start fighting my temptations. Now that the script is “live”, I’ve got to not read plot rumors. I’d hate to be spoiled.
*sigh*
98–Flashy plots are great. They are fun to watch. These characters can STILL be the focus, but the plot is the most important thing.
I don’t want an alternate universe because then the movie means less.
Nimoy wasn’t in “Generations” where Shatner got to choose how to finish his legacy 15 years ago.Now it’s Nimoy’s turn to finish HIS character’s legacy in TREK 2008.I suspect that’s another reason why Shatner isn’t being more vocal.He probably realizes this is Nimoy’s thing the way “Generations” was Shatner’s
STAR TREK 11 : BACK TO THE FUTURE……
JC: 103
How much more vocal can Shatner be?
The man has no shame. (that’s part of the reason why people love him)
He is basically starting his own BBK campaign.
He puts out videos on his own website.Campaigns in the media (while at the same time downplaying the fact he wants in) and works the crowds at ST conventions into a frenzy all in an attempt to get himself in Star Trek XI.
That said, if this story is true I really think they are going to find a way to get him in this film. An alternate universe story/time travel involving Romulans trying to kill Kirk leaves the door wide open for a feasible (well..feasible in the ST universe) return for Kirk and Shatner.
When the new Kirk is introduced I would be surprised if Shatner is not far behind. Much the same way Nimoy was introduced the same day as Quinto.
This site will explode (1000 posts) if Shatner is brought back.
Time travel is a problem and always has been. First, it’s too easy. Sling shot around the sun or other star, use the Guardian, take a trip through a Borg style “vortex,” etc. Think people wouldn’t take advantage of it? Why wouldn’t any original timeline be screwed with all the…time? Wouldn’t every human being have a reason, selfish or otherwise to change something? Wouldn’t you love to go back in time and buy Microsoft stock?
Wouldn’t you want to go back in time and put money on Buster Douglas in his fight against Tyson? Is there a relative you wish you could warn about road conditions, or drugs, or the wrong person to marry? How many people would want to go back and convince Lincoln the play isn’t worth seeing, or warn the Secret Service about the 6th floor of the Book Depository (or grassy knoll)? How many people would want to go back to
say, 1970 and write a book from memory, about a shark that terrorizes a small island community? How many people would want to go back to 9/10? Time travel, if it is possible, would provide an out for everything.
And, in the fictional world of Star Trek, it’s not just the humans. Wouldn’t the Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians, etc., be screwing up the timeline every day of the week?
Time travel also makes people make really ridiculous decisions. Picard chooses to leave the Nexus just before Soran launches the rocket from Veridian-III. Earlier in the film, Picard experiences the tragic loss of his brother and nephew. Why not leave the Nexus and arrive at a time earlier than the fire that killed them? You would still have…time…to stop Soran, in fact you’d have more…time.
Time travel is also the cause of plot devices that pop up out of no where.
Our TNG heroes need to follow the Borg into the past to stop them from stopping first contact. They see the earth become Borg, but they are protected by…A TEMPORAL WAKE! Sure, why not. When in doubt, technobabble to the rescue.
Most scientists believe time travel is impossible. It creates paradoxes. You go back in time, kill your father. So, you never existed. So you never existed to go back in time and kill your father.
A time travel story + alternate universe does make a lot sense, from a producer/writer point of view. Nimoy/Spock and Quinto/Spock can interact but more importantly, it provides an opening for Shatner, and leaves JJ & Company having their cake and eating it; it’s a reboot without rebooting.
It’s some canon, but not all canon.
Hmmm. Let’s suppose Spock, struggling away in the Romulan underground for decades after he learns of Kirk’s death (that would account for Nimoy’s aging) stumbles upon a way to prevent Kirk’s death in the first place. Since Kirk, quite literally, risked his own career and life to bring Spock back from the dead, Spock feels a moral obligation to attempt to change history.
That would give Shatner something to do in the movie, but it certainly would not require his presence.
I don’t like it, though. It smells more like the basis of a Trek paperback than what is hoped to be the beginning of a new run of Trek films.
Still any movie with Romulans in it is OK in my book.
#84
There were numerous references in TNG prior to ‘Yesterdays Enterprise’ that Guinan had an ‘otherwordly’ sense. Hell, she had dealings with Q and he seemed halfway afraid of her. They never really built on that much, but I don’t think that aspect of YE was lazy storytelling. Just consistent storytelling. ‘Generations’ seemed to explain it away with the Nexus, but frankly I found that to be lazy storytelling myself.
#102
It depends on how you define ‘flashy’. The reason we dismiss a lot of these ideas as ‘fanboy wankery’ is because when you start having an extraordinary confluence of events (like many of the Peter David or Reeves-Stevens novels) it begins to feel so contrived you just don’t care anymore. It become totally unbelievable. And when you’re already dealing with a premise that is alread based in science-fiction (and the science part gets stretched pretty thin at times) you just can’t afford to lose your audience with what some have called the ‘high-concept’ stories. I prefer to call them the ‘we want to tie everything that’s ever happpened together’ stories, but the title isn’t as catchy.
I always enjoyed the time-trouble adventures…except for what happened in “Generations,” of course.
As long as the writers are mindful of the story making sense - and, those involved in the new film do seem mindful - then, it should be exciting.
The thrill of redeeming the mistakes of the past, most notably the bastardization known as “Generations,” is very tempting.
I don’t put much credence into these rumors.
I’m not reading all these comments, but Spock goes back in time and tells young Kirk not to go to the Enterprise-B ceremony? Spock would never do that! It would drastically change the time line. It would condemn the El Aurian refugees to death. Guinan would be dead and would not be there to tell Picard to send the Enterprise-C back in Yesterday’s Enterprise. The war with the Klingons would decimate the Federation. That’s just one scenario from going back in time and changing things. If someone else manages to save the El Aurians, Soran would still try to get back to the Nexis and w/o Kirk there to help him, a whole planet and the Enterprise-D’s crew would be wiped out.
Spock’s a lot smarter than going back in time and changing history like that.
But, yeah, I don’t buy these rumors very much either.
I just read that and realized what a geek I sound like :)
“actually rastaman has a good point and I changed the headline and added a spoiler warning. I think for plot details that is best. But for characters and actors it is not needed.
NOTE: I may change my mind later on this one, so not a policy or precedent just yet ”
Thanks Anthony, that actually makes a big difference. Knowing who the actors are and what they have to say about the production process has made me much more excited about the film. I know I won’t encounter plot details reading these pieces because the actors are pretty much completely mum on the plot.
I appreciate your responsiveness and still understand if you decide to go the other way without the spoiler alerts. If there’s anything I’ve learned from reading the posts on your site, it is that you can’t expect to please everybody or remember everything (that’s a shout-out to all you “Shatner-or-bust” and “canon-whores” out there).
Of course, I remain very pleased. Keep up the good work!
So this will be a reboot then? Just what I thought, its the only to get all that baggage out of the way so there can be some excitement again.
Re: the alleged plot - what a load of overly-complicated rubbish. It reads like fan fiction and not the “big tent appeal to all ages and demographics” story everyone’s calling for. Wanna know how to make a great Star Trek movie? Watch any one of about 25 episodes of the original series and then do that, only a little bigger. No temporal anomalies, no time-traveling assassination squads, no alternate timelines. Just the continuing voyages of the Starship Enterprise.
In nearly a quarter century of being a Star Trek fan, all I have ever really wanted was more adventures of Kirk, Spock and McCoy - the real ones, not the re-imagined ones from an alternate universe.
Please don’t screw it up.
HA HA HA HA! I KNEW they couldn’t pull this off without some sort of temporal hocus-pocus, and they couldn’t just reboot without tossing 40 years’ of bathwater out, baby and all. It would also make sense from the ‘Shatner ain’t in it’ angle - if he’s in the final scenes, they can milk the suspense for months to come.
#105: “That said, if this story is true I really think they are going to find a way to get him in this film. ”
If this story is true, then this is the script that they’ve been developing for many months and in which they have not been able to find a “meaningful role” for Shatner.
Notably, there’s no suggestion anywhere in this rumor that “Old Kirk” has any role to play in the story.
114 - Nah, there’s no excitement to be had in reboots. Continuing to grow a grand and fascinating fictional world… Now *that’s* exciting. :)
115 - I had a similar reaction. Given the idea that they want to make the movie a way to introduce the Trek world to folks who haven’t seen it before, it seems more than a little counterintuitive that they’re suddenly going to get into time travel and parallel universes and such, stuff that very often confuses the mass audience.
My guess would be that if it really does involve time travel, we’re going to see Spock the Elder and Spock the Younger working hard to preserve the continuum, not distort or otherwise mutate it. And being Spock, of course they’ll succeed. ;)
But I guess we’ll see!
Best,
Alex
Such huge outcry against time travel… Have we forgotten that some of the best episodes of TOS and any Trek for that matter are time travel epps… City on the Edge of Forever alone is well know as one of the best epps in television in general not just Trek. Stop naysaying time travel and remember that although Kahn might be your favorite Voyage Home and First Contact both time travel stories are by far the undisputed heavyweights of each respected film franchise (TOS and TNG) and nothing can change that… Numbers speak louder than words or oppinions and time travel is a proven commodity.
Aaron R.
I really hope its not Time Travel and Older spock is only there as a way for the actor to pass the torch - however because Nimoy will have a fairly big part i would think that this will involve some flash forwards or backwards.
I really hope Abrams has the sence to start again and not try to pander to the fanbase too much in weaving this story into a nook or a cranny because they don’t want to upset the timeline - honestly i doubt very much that many people other than the Internet fans care about it and just want a good movie
The “altered timeline” is basically a way to change anything they consider it necessary or desirable to change, while providing an explanation for anyone who’s overly concerned by that.
Since the “new audience” they’re supposedly trying to reach won’t even notice the differences, this shouldn’t be a distraction.
What this rumor doesn’t address, of course, is rather large: what is the main part of the story featuring Quinto and the other recast young characters *about?* What are they doing? The “killing Kirk’s father” thing is, after all, decades in their “past” and thus dealt with. Old Spock is - apparently - guiding Young Spock in some way through the story featuring Young Kirk and Young McCoy etc…but what does *that* story center on?
Dennis:
You are correct, but Moriarty did not say he read the script. I wouldn’t go over board one way or the other with the non mention of Kirk’s role. Moriarty did also hint that he was holding some major stuff back.
I am quite surprised that the film may be another time travel/alternate universe story (I kind of like the idea)
I think the nature of these type alternate universe scripts/films does offer some hope that Shatner will show up after all.
Time travel and alternate universe stories open up some unconventional avenues for the writers to explore. Especially when you consider (if these rumors prove true) that the antagonist is going back in time to attempt to kill Kirk.
When you consider that J.J. Abrams says he wants Shatner. Leonard Nimoy makes it a point to say the film would be better with Shatner in it every time he is asked about the film. Along with the whispers about Paramount trying to convince (may or may not be true)Shatner to be in the film. I think there is a reasonable chance he be in the film.
Who knows?
I for one hope he is there.
I meant to say kill Kirk’s father.
I have to laugh at the Shatner MUST be in the movie attitude generated by a small portion of the posters online… Talk of floodgates and how it just has to be this…. I have already stated in the past my position on Shatner not being in the movie and have accepted that ok I voiced my oppinion once and guess what thats all you need to do… This maniacle attept to pirate threads for express reason of non stop promoting Shatner in the film is not only a bit immature but foolish…. Oh and FYI if you have Spock whisper in his ear about the Enterprise B not to go then you have one of the most respected and truthful law abiding characters in any show ever made totally A. breaking the law… (you know the timeline continuity police that have been shown) and B. usurping his principles… Remember the good of the many (A whole planet or Starship crew) outweighs the good of the few or the one… I don’t think it would be right to show the character of Spock so blatantly cheating fate… Face it in Generations Kirk was retired and not even really a huge part of starfleet anymore… Why not let him go down heroicly dieing to save a ship and crew rather than cheat fate so the geriatric Kirk could live what a few more years in retirement. My god man let the man have some sort of death for a purpose rather than what dieing in a bed of old age useless to starfleet and decrepid of old age. The character of Kirk would have hated that thought…
You speek of fan-boyish-ness, well the uber agressive attempts the effect the plot of a movie currently being produced by professionals who I promise you know Hollywood a lot better than you seems fan-boyish to the ultimate extreme.
Aaron R.
P.S. God I am guilty to I want to not read spoilers but you just can’t stop yourself… … …
Sad when a well thought (if not well typed) arguement garners no response negative or positive… I know you must all just be overly amazed, stunned and not to mention quite taken with what I said…. Taken oh yes Anton Yelchin was in Taken… god I am on a role today… Firing on a cyllinders… Riding the horse at full speed… or as my wife might say… Just plain being feisty…
Aaron R.
Well, I believe I know what the movie could be about:
- Kirk’s father could have been the first Enterprise Captain in this timeline!
We “know” the movie jumps around in different timeframes. Maybe these Romulans have caused a course of events in which Kirk’s father becomes Captain of the Enterprise.
- This “blowing up Vulcan” thing is ESSENTIAL for creating the alternate timeline as it triggers the human, more emotional side of Spock, not just changing the internal chemistry of the Triumvirat but altering the entire political cosmos of the galaxy.
Everything will be affected by destroyed one of the founding members of the Federation. The galaxy will become an incredibly rich palying ground for many adventures to come again. You don’t know anything about THIS future, making it interesting again…
It’s kinda simple:
1. The want to have the icons Kirk, Spock and Bones and the Original Enterprise back on duty in order to exploit their recognition and mass appeal.
2. However, they can’t just do a lame 60s-style prequel to a 40 year-old series, because nothing would fit together AND everybody would know the outcome. Hence, no suspense, no real drama. A post-GEN setting is also no recommended.
3. They don’t want to ignore everything that came before by just rebooting it à la BSG.
THUS they need to establish a new timeline that features these classic characters but leaves the future an “Undiscovered Country” for a new generation of Trekkers. After this movie, new fans no longer need to know anything about 700 hours of Trek, keeping things vague for many sequels to follow while old fans will be satisfied for they can still watch the Original timeline. It’s ingenius…incredibly ingenious…
I still support this project wholeheartedly based on the talent and Nimoy’s seal of approval. That being said, I do not like the notion of an “alternate timeline” as an explanation for this new Trek. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t make that much of a difference how they explain this new crew, but the idea of this being a parallel universe Star Trek seems a bit too cute and frankly a little too “Bermanesque” for my taste. If they just came out and said “This is Star Trek reimagined” I think the sum total of the world could accept that, as they have for Batman and James Bond. But to weave a tangled web of a different dimension of the same characters 1) cheapens the new venture because everything they do has no consequence in the 40-plus years of established Trek and 2) it diminishes the established Trek as just another version of the pre-existing storyline. Is it a make or break situation? No, because in reality it is just another form of entertainment and diversion that we should all be able to accept. That being said, I think if these rumors are true, that Abrams & Co. may have gotten a little bit too cute with the plotting. This is a personal gripe I’ve had with Abrams’ “Lost” and “Alias” but at the end of the day, I want a $100 million Trek to enjoy. If they deliver a meaningful and authentic adventure, then they have my vote of confidence.
It was all the confusing alternate universe crap that turned me off from comic books. The re-imagining turned me away from Enterprise. Re-boot? God that word just makes me want to vomit with rage. But, hey, who cares what I think? I would just be one more butt in a seat opening day.
Either way, I just read the article completely. This guy’s nutz. He’s just guessing at everything.
Romulans have never been very successful on screen. Pointed ears are like seasoning. You don’t really want to go beyond Mr. Spock’s.
The plot sounds like a Terminator rip-off. Let’s hope the minds that crafted Michael Bay’s “Transformers” have thought of better ideas.
But what about Mugatu??????
If the story’s good, it doesn’t matter if time travel is involved. Beam me up and energize me.
Gotta have the mugatu.You need to please all the trekkies especially the mugatese sect.
If mugatu is not in the movie I will “want to vomit with rage”!!!
Is that a great soundbite, or what?
Vomit with rage is from The Simpsons. I’ve just always found it to be a funny saying.
Well, I speculated a while ago here that the new movie would result in an alternate timeline, based on Orci and Kurtzman’s statements about how the established fanbase would see one movie, while the newbies to Trek saw another.
It need not be THAT complicated a concept to convey, in the sense that newbie fans won’t even realize an alternate timeline is being created, but the canon-knowledgeable fanbase will. This would also reinstall the sense of jeopardy–in this timeline, you don’t know whether Kirk will live to fall off a bridge while fighting Soran, or whether Spock will spend his elder days on Romulus, so every tense, “fate of the universe is at stake” moment is legitimate and doesn’t have a preordained outcome.
That having been said, I’m not so sure what AICN is relaying is in any way part of the actual script.
D’oh!
The resurrection of Christopher Pike
It sounds like the whole film is doing without James T. Kirk. Is Abrams telling us that Shatner is so irreplaceable that instead of finding a young actor to play Kirk, they simply erase Kirk completely and . . . Captain Pike never suffers the horrendous accident that left him able to speak only in red and green lights?
It looks like this new franchise will have a very young and healthy Captain Pike replacing Kirk as the main captain of the enterprise, the way it should have been from the very beginning (CBS turned down the original pilot with Jeffrey Hunter).
Oh, man…a storyline featuring an ‘alternative timeline’ involving time-travelling ‘Romulans’?… Oh, well…at least it’s not something involving time-travelling ‘Klingons’…
I hope this doesn’t prove to be true, but whatever the storyline…if the intention is a MAJOR ‘reimagining’ of the look of the TOS-era crew and it’s surroundings, uniformes, Starship etc., but just to use the characters out of the original series, then I would just prefer for this Movie to be set in a DIFFERENT ‘era’ or with a totally different ship and crew…
It’s the not knowing either way at this point, that the killer… ;)
COTEOF is always described as the greatest ever Trek episode…
Maybe the new film is about the guardian eh?
remember that quote from the head of paramount (or someone - cant remember who) regarding the 2nd teaser poster
(this one)
http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/images/star_trek_poster.jpg
Where he said that there was a reason the logo was inverted (i.e not like this):
http://members.cox.net/stenterprise/images/Logo1.jpg
Maybe its cause of this timetravel/alternate universe/trek to the future thing…
i think the aicn alternate trek to the future rumour will be the real deal
If JJ did a flat out reboot then all prev trek would be ignored…cue pissed off Trekkies - doing it this way allows a reboot to take place within the canon…
therefore in theory Trek fans will be happy as will ur average joe movie goer with only a little knowledge of ST (so long as its a good movie - which with Nimoys participation is a good indictaor that it will be)
I think it is really bad. It is a slap in the face of Gene Roddenberry. Everything he created will be destroyed by this. His whole work will be for naught.
A changed timeline in which nothing of those things we knew don’t exist (no TOS, noe movies, no Next Generation, no DS9, no Voyager).
What a waste of time it was to watch all those movies and series if now everything is destroyed, nothing ever happened.
This would be so bad…
#10
Haven’t read the book yet but Shatner’s ‘Shatnerverse’ series have nothing to do with the ACTUAL Star Trek it is just Shatner’s vision (?)
Regarding Rumors–this could just be one giant rumor but if it happens it could save Kirk in which case Shatner’s return would be inevitable
I wonder if the destruction of Vulcan will happen (it was hinted at in a way).
I have a feeling Spock may “mentally” reach out to his younger self from the future, as opposed to physically time travelling.
If this plot is for real, it does have potential, and imo will really be creating a new, single timeline, not an alternative one.
Hmmm….142 makes a good point..
a new timeline where TOS years are changed. That means that in the new timeline, TNG and all the other spin-offs never happened, at least not as we saw it on screen.
I LIKE IT!! I LIKE IT!!
Lets think about it. Someone tries to assassinate young Kirk to alter the future/destroy the future.
So Spock travels back in time to thwart this plot but still alters/destroy the future?
So what is the point/ the logic in this?
On the other hand, if old Kirk/Shatner would be a part of the movie and travel back in time with Spock and they both become some kind of “Guardians of Time” at the end, forever travelling through time together to fix things that went wrong…. I think that would be a fitting end for both of them. Kirk and Spock together forever…
#142: “What a waste of time it was to watch all those movies and series if now everything is destroyed, nothing ever happened.”
Uh, none of it *did* ever happen.
It’s fiction.
All of those episodes and movies will still exist after this movie is released.
When I was about five years old the classic Mother-of-the-kid-up-the-street-is-giving-away-his-comics happened to me. A pivotal event in my life and emotional/spiritual development (which my parents would doubtless undo if they could :lol: )
Anyway, up to then I’d read a few Curt Swann “Superman” comics. Suddenly I had access to years worth of”Superman” - monthlies and annuals, some dating back to the early 1950s.
At the time, I really hated Wayne Boring’s earlier version of “Superman” - though the stories of his era intrigued me more than the later ones. They were more science fiction-oriented, for one thing.
Anyhoo, that was my “Superman” - 1950s and 1960s Supes, Lara and Jor-El, Supergirl and Superboy and Krypto and Kandor and half the population of Krypton (it seemed) having survived in one way or another to chivy, harass or encourage Kal-El. I adored all of that.
And in 1986 DC Comics and John Byrne replaced it all. Rebooted it. Started over.
And it was just fine. In many respects, Byrne and post-Byrne “Superman” is a great deal better than the stuff I grew up with.
I still read “Superman” comics…occasionally. I enjoy the Hell out of them, but they’re not about the guy I grew up reading about. Not exactly. They don’t have quite the same hold on me.
And these days, I get a little thrill when I run across a Wayne Boring reprint. I love the art, relatively simple as it is. I love those funky transparent plastic Saturn’s-rings hats that every humanoid alien species including Kryptonians wear; I like the ol’ Supes “strongman” physique that featured a 3/4 inch “drop” from chest to waist, and the way Clark’s glasses hover in space about an inch in front of his nose when Boring draws him in one-quarter view is cool.
And life goes on just fine. ;)
I don’t think this is the plot.
Why ?
Joe 6-pack won’t be able to follow it, period.
If they’re making this Star Trek for “the unwashed masses” there’s no way that this could be the plot, it’s too COMPLEX for Joe 6-pack.
Nice try to get Star Trek fans shorts in a knot, but I ain’t buying this.
Joe 6-pack can’t even follow a typical time-line style film let alone a mess like this thing, so I call BS on the whole thing.
- W -
* Calling it as he sees it *
Well, we have some corroboration:
http://www.chud.com/index.php?type=news&id=10976
“Actually, it’s very true. This is the premise of Star Trek XI. I have 100% confirmed this. And the additional speculation may not be so speculative (although I’m not sure about old Spock as the protagonist). Just sayin’.”
If they create a slightly alternate universe, JJ is free to put his own spin on any stories that we know.
Maybe in the second movie it will be Kirk VS Khan again but happened much differently than what we saw in Star Trek II.
“All modern research points to the elasticity of time - rather than a brittle framework. … if nudged closely enough to course - events have a way of restructuring themselves. If the participants are the same, the venue’s the same, the motivation’s the same, - the outcome is likely to be the same.”
BTW Killing Kirk or his parents is very likely to exterminate or severely cripple the Federation forever.
Don’t forget Kirk stopped V’Ger and the Whale probe. Without Kirk earth is likely to be gone by whatever time those Romulans are from.
And *THAT* was the wrong link. Here:
http://www.chud.com/index.php?type=news&id=11635
Ok, let’s assume this is really the plot of the next movie. Let’s put aside all the illogical things, all the paradoxes it creates… how could Shatner reprise his role as old Kirk in this plot? ;)
An accident drops the enemies into the past. So Spock has to be a part of them when they go back in time, because the moment they are in the past, the wohle future is changed and Spock cannot travel back in time after these enemies reached the past. Spock has to travel back in time the exact same moment the enemies do.
So he is in the past, alone.
How to implement old Kirk in this? This is really hard.
Kirk is dead and I think there is no time at the beginning to bring him back.
It could happen sometime befor the time-travel-accident. Spock is seeking a way to bring his old friend back. Maybe trough some form of messing around with time… this would be the cause for the accident. The enemies were around him, maybe because they wanted to assassinate him at first. So Spock causes this accident to happen and catapults himself and the enemies back in time, but at the same time, his first goal, to resurrect Kirk works. So he is there, back in time and Kirk is, too.
Another idea: After reaching the past and after Spock finds out what the enemies are trying to do, he knows that he cannot deal with them alone and has to find a way to bring old Kirk to him. He seeks a way to bring old Kirk not only back to life again back into the past as well…
Why is there no edit-function for postings? ;)
My idea would be, to not make it an accident that the enemies travel back in time. It is planned. Spock is aware of this and is trying to stop them. He finds a way to ressurrect Kirk and together they try to kill the enemies. But then they activate their time-travelling device and all of the end up in the past. Old Kirk, old Spock and the enmies, trying to assassinate young Kirk…
Another idea:
If the writers choose to send the enemies back in time and Spock as to follow them (Spock doesn’t travel with them at the same time - as illogical as that may be), old Kirk could suddenly simply appear as everything around Spock begins to change. Spock realizes that something crucial must have happened in the past and he realizes that he has to stop those enemies in the past or else everything will be destroyed. So he and old Kirk travel back in time and stop the enemies, thwarting the assassination-attempt, but also causing some changes in the future (Kirk is not killed). This would explain why everything cahnged around Spock and why Kirk is alive, simply because it had to be so, because it happened this way, because Spock and Kirk saved the future… if you understand what I mean.
What Spock saw in the future was the future he created not the one the assassin created…
Focus on the young characters. The assassination attempt and Spock’s fix of it are early events, and most of the movie is about the new timeline and Old Spock/Young Spock’s interaction.
If there was a place for Old Kirk in this time-paradox story, he’d have been in it long ago - assuming, that is, that Shatner didn’t simply price himself out with a ridiculous demand.
I can see it now - Spock in a Delorean and Scotty mumbling something about needing giga-something’s of power and that a lightning strike is the only way…..
From the CHUD article: “Erasing Captain Kirk from existence is the kind of ballsy gambit the previous Trek management would’ve never dared”
This guy makes it sound as if Kirk will be gone for good. But obviously that cannot be the case. We know JJ & co are actively searching for a new Kirk (if they haven’t already found him), and Nimoy & Quinto have said this is a story of “the genesis” of Kirk and Spock.
As #121 Dennis Bailey points out, if the Romulans are going back to a time before Kirk’s birth, the big question is - what is the main part of the story featuring Quinto and the other recast characters about? If these rumors are true, the story will take place in at least 3 eras: pre-Kirk’s birth (this is likely also when Vulcan would be destroyed), the TOS years, and a time when Spock is Nimoy aged (24th century).
And I’d still like to know why the Roms believe erasing Kirk would benefit them to begin with?
Part of the problem is that Kirk should NEVER have been killed off in the first place. Paramount has owed us fans of Star Trek for a VERY long time with regard to Kirk’s death. This is their opportunity to fix it. Check out http://www.bringbackkirk.com for how this could be done.
Now, having said that, the fact remains that the character of Kirk is dead, at least in the 24th century. The scenes with Original Kirk/Spock don’t have to take place in the ST timeline of the 24th century. They can take place prior to the events of…..ST1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6…take your pick.
So in reality, if Paramount keeps it’s heels dug in on Kirk’s death, as far as the 24th century timeline is concerned, Kirk could stay dead. Let’s face it, everyone dies at some point, that’s part of life. But I agree with those at bringbackkirk, he should have had a hero’s send-off, not have been killed. Even Braga et al. have said they wished they could reverse that. IMHO, I feel that the on-screen death of Kirk was the beginning of the downfall for Braga, Berman and Co. In some ways, they committed a sacrilege by killing the character. There are certain characters whom you should never witness dying, because legends never die.
That’s my 2.5 cents worth.
Here is another article on CHUD:
http://www.chud.com/index.php?type=news&id=11638
Excerpt: “What’s the point of this alternate timeline brouhaha?…Creating a complex backstory that ties the events of this film into the other Star Trek franchises seems like more trouble than it’s worth.
“In fact, I really believe that the general audience doesn’t give a flying shit about continuity. Exhibit A must be Casino Royale, a film that just starts over at square one without having to send Bond through a Q-built time machine. Exhibits B and C would be Batman Begins, which reboots a film series still modestly fresh in the minds of the target audience and Smallville/Superman Returns, which showed that audiences wouldn’t be confused by two competing Clark Kents. They just wouldn’t like one of them very much.
“If the general audience won’t care about continuity beyond the most basic aspects (ie, don’t make Bones a jive talkin’ homeboy), who will? The Trek fanbase is at an ebb these days, pummeled out of existence by a series of increasingly shitastic television shows. The Trekkies are no force of any sort to reckoned with, and their unhappiness with the film wouldn’t register as a blip on the opening weekend take.”
There is only one show that can do timetravel stuff with out screwing evrything up… It’s Dr Who.
The whole notion of Star Trek and Time travel as a plot device really sucks. I just wish Trek would stop doing time travel stuff.
The only time I could see a show or movie that could easly fit time travel in it’s plot would be doing a show in the 29th century which they go back in time and stop villans affecting the time line (yes that was from Enterprise Temporal colwars and Voyager where 7 of nine is recrutied). That would be a great show idea and it would work.
Romulans leave linear time and try to kill Kirk’s (played by Shatner) father.a different timeline is established for the new Trek movies that isn’t beholden to canon
A 29th century Trek show would be boring and repetitious of 24th century Trek. They demonstrated that with the very “Voyager” episodes that showed that “era.”
“Doctor Who” is a great show, but the reason it “doesn’t screw everything up” is because it pays no attention to continuity and takes nothing seriously. I love it. :)
I “think” therefore I know. Rumors. C’mon, people, If you ask me, Moriarity’s thoughts are no different than all of our own endless speculations. He just has his own medium to get it out unlike the rest of us. Nimoy said somewhere (and I’m paraphrasing) that “this was a story that needed to be told.” I think that’s what lured him back to the role and not the money as many of you think. Don’t get me wrong; the money is probably good. But unlike Shatner, who is probably a little more mercenary, Nimoy has to have more meat with his potatoes. Whatever the main conflict turns out be in this story, I believe it is chiefly about how the individuals in this particular crew came together. An origin story, if you will. How Spock’s human emotions from “The Cage” changed to be more Vulcan in nature. We’ve been given as much in things both Nimoy & QuInto have said in their interviews. Changing the Star Trek universe on it’’s collective ear is not a story that needs to be told. “Casino Royale” was fairly faithful to the original novel. It wasn’t a re-invention but a re-introduction, & Judi Dench as M served the purpose of bridging the gap between old Bond & new Bond. I really think that is Nimoy’s main purpose in this film.
Leonard Nimoy’s going to be playing M? Does Q know about this??
Just kidding. :)
Time travel stories can be very entertaining when they WORK. Look at Nick Meyer’s “Time After Time”. Beautifully done with airtight dynamics to the pacing and plot. If Abrams gets anywhere CLOSE to this type of story logic, we’ll be entertained!
Once again, I say that Star Trek cannot be compared to franchises like Superman and James Bond. That is a bad comparison. Continuity has never mattered in either case. Star Trek lives on its continuity, and I think more credit should go to the actors and writers for creating it. Not that James Bond didn’t have great actors or writers, but backstory and continuity never mattered. Although I would say that Casino Royale was true to the original Fleming novel. Movie and TV Studios hate, I mean hate continuity, but the fans love it. So they’re going to turn Star Trek into a meaningless cash cow which they can reboot every 10 years? Count me out if that’s true. In the words of Spock in ST:VI The Undiscovered Country……….Paramount can go to ****
165 - I have to admit, I’m agreeing here.
Roberto, if you’re reading this, and if this rumor is true, I also have to admit to a lot of disappointment. What happened to respecting and embracing the existing continuity? What happened to working so hard to keep track of what is and is not doable? So instead of just saying, “hey, we’re throwing out the last 40 years, 5 series, and 10 films”, you’ve concocted a whole storyline to justify blowing it all off? Sorry, it’s still blowing it off…unless you can surprise me and put it right by the film’s end. Maybe the money shot is in the climax leading to the Trek we all know and love? If you’re doing that, maybe you don’t lose me, but if this is a way of getting rid of the prior continuity for the future, then I’m very much unimpressed and saddened.
I’ll go back to the same thing I’ve said on this topic for many moons… If you don’t want to play in Star Trek’s world, don’t do Star Trek. Leave it to folks like James Cawley, who obviously still do.
But for the moment I’ll still hold out hope that I’m wrong, that either the rumor is bilge, or that the later acts have a resolution that nobody’s yet discussed that restores the timeline properly, or whatever. There’s still time not to lose me!
Best,
Alex
Another thing this story COULD do–
Find a way to return Kirk to the 23rd century post-Generations, which would actually RESTORE canon as Scotty mentioned in Relics.
There are already multiple timelines at work.
In Relics, AFTER the E-B incident, Kirk was alive to Scotty.
In Generations, Kirk died because Picard couldn’t fight his own battle and got Kirk to leave the nexus with him.
In Generations, Soran failed to reach the nexus and it sailed over Veridian III, which meant Picard did NOT go get Kirk, and there is an equal version of Kirk in there (a paradox). THAT version of Kirk could certainly be returned to the 23rd century.
This plotline can make all of that happen.
#165: “Once again, I say that Star Trek cannot be compared to franchises like Superman and James Bond.”
Sure can; I just did.
“That is a bad comparison. Continuity has never mattered in either case.”
No, it’s a good comparison. And continuity mattered *enormously* in Superman, which is why it had to be rebooted - decades of really silly and limiting stuff had accreted to the original concept. It needed to be stripped away and declared null and void.
Doing the same will be good for “Star Trek.”
They’re making this way too complicated, and if Spock sets things right, then all the new stuff is pointless. Because it never happened. Or they say TOS didn’t happen. It’s a no-win situation that lands you either at square one or a step behind. And I already saw “Yesterday’s Enterprise”. For 150 mllion dollars I would rather see some “strange new worlds and new civilizations” rather than an intergenerational time travel escapade. Send that ship somewhere it’s never been, not where it never existed. The general audience couldn’t care less about overly complicated cosmic plots. After TMP, the expansive vision of the show shrunk down; exploration of any kind just went out the window. Here we go again.
IF this is the plot….
Might as well call the new film…..
Star Trek : The Magic Reset Button To End Them All…..
- W -
* And here I thought folks were tired of the blasted reset button *
There once was a world known as Trek
With stories just like you’d expect
But they’ve wiped it away
Saying have a nice day
This news has left me a wreck!
168 - “And continuity mattered *enormously* in Superman, which is why it had to be rebooted - decades of really silly and limiting stuff had accreted to the original concept. It needed to be stripped away and declared null and void.
Doing the same will be good for “Star Trek.”
It depends on what really silly and limiting stuff you mean, Dennis. If, for example, you’re talking about stuff like Janice Lester’s whiny screed about how women can’t command starships, sure, absolutely. And “Enterprise” proceeded to ditch that bit of silliness right-off. Or if you mean stuff like using lasers in “The Cage”, well, Roddenberry unloaded that by the second pilot, and ENT’s writers felt no need to be constrained by it. Or if you agree with me that the transporter got a bit out-of-hand as a deus ex machina, and should be toned down in that respect, yup, no complaint here. All well and good, but it also doesn’t require a major reboot to accomplish.
But if you’re talking about changing characters’ genders for the heck of it, “blowing up Vulcan” when we know darn well that didn’t happen in the later series, etc. etc…. Nope, none of that is acceptable, and a reboot of that nature really can’t possibly be any good for Star Trek.
My real hope is that whatever changes they’re postulating in this film are minor enough (and, yes, I consider a certain level of upgrade in production design to be that minor) that it really wouldn’t make a huge difference which continuity you happened to be in, because they’re very similar. ‘Course, in that case, why they’re setting up a whole movie to explain it seems to escape me. Why not just do it and have done with it?
But if they’re getting as radical as some seem to be imagining, well, no, that’s entirely gratuitous and serves no useful purpose. I had thought the creative team was smarter than that. I hope I’m still right.
Best,
Alex
I have been reading about this plot rumor here on chud.com, etc. I have come to the conclusion that reboot would of been the way to go. I still feel that way. Start from the retro Star Trek look. With a reboot you can adjust the elements, keep the fun filled exciting adventure and move forward. I can live with the Star Trek of 64-91 and a new one taking the best and fun elements of TOS. Oh well my 2 cents. May what ever they go with work.
Not to confuse anyone I ment STAR TREK circa 1964-1991. The series and films of mainly TOS. I really have enjoyed most all of the TREK shows, but in the last few years I have really have gone back to appreciate the original series and such. Such great stuff. I guess in the back of my mind I would just love a film on the big screen with as much retro STAR TREK goodness as they will let by. Funny I still here these oh every element of design must be updated for todays audience. Yet I hear as many hope for a retro type TREK adventure on the big screen with updated techniques supported the style. It does not have to be 100% spot on, but at least 80-90% would be great. Remember styles and fashsions tend to recycle through generations. But in the end a strong script as the cliche goes in what is needed.
#119 — Time travel *can* be very good, I just feel kind of skeptical about it in this case. What allowed GOTEOF, TVH, and FC to work so well was that despite being about time travel, they didn’t get too ridiculously complicated or bogged down in the technical details of time travel. Recent Trek seems to have lost this (see: temporal cold war, federation time police, etc). But this is a fresh start with fresh people, so maybe things will work — I certainly hope so.
What really worries me about an AU-type series is that if this is geared to the non-fans, they will never have *seen* the original time line, which takes the alternate timeline out of context. If the story is indeed about trying to restore the integrity of the original timeline, it would seem necessary for the viewer to have at least some idea of what that original timeline was.
I have no problem with the new creative team redecorating. I don’t think you want to dupicate the 60s look of TOS; it would look like a parody.
I have no problem with recasting the roles. I think Quinto will do a superb Spock. Hopefully they do as good a job casting Kirk & McCoy.
I have no problem with Leonard Nimoy coming back. I would have no problem if Shatner follows him.
I’d be a little disappointed if Shatner doesn’t appear, but I’ll be there with my popcorn Dec. 2008, whether the Shat is there or not.
I may not like it, but if a time-travel story is necessary to facilitate either Spock’s or Kirk’s participation, I’ll accept it.
If New Trek is centered on the idea of an alternate timeline…well,
that’s the sci-fi equivalent of the soap opera Dallas, wiping away an entire season and attributing it all to a dream.
This sort of reboot doesn’t just cheapen the series, it wipes it out, and the really unfortunate thing is that the only canon that theoretically would be left is what we saw on Enterprise.
Paramount and the new production team can, and will do whatever the hell they want, and this w