A few weeks ago TrekMovie reported on the release of the official synopsis for Star Trek Into Darkness. As part of their recent promotional push for the film, Paramount has issued a new "one sheet" summary of the film with more info, and notably a new (and different) synopsis for the film. See what is new and different below but warning there are spoilers.
New Official Synopsis for Star Trek Into Darkness – With some key differences
Paramount has released a new "one sheet" summary of Star Trek Into Darkness for the press. Unlike the previously released synopsis, this sheet includes cast and creative team credits, release date info which is typical for all of their ‘one sheet’ press summaries. What is of interest is how the new ‘one sheet’ also includes new synopsis for the film, which is different than the synopsis released a few weeks ago. While it is not unusual for film synopses to change over time and with different marketing materials, at TrekMovie nothing is too small for us to analyze.
Here is the new synopsis from Paramount…
SYNOPSIS:
In Summer 2013, director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes Star Trek Into Darkness.
In the wake of a shocking act of terror from within their own organization, the crew of The Enterprise is called back home to Earth. In defiance of regulations and with a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads his crew on a manhunt to capture an unstoppable force of destruction and bring those responsible to justice.
As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.
The first and last paragraphs are actually exactly the same, however Paramount replaced two paragraphs from the original synopsis with a new single middle paragraph. While similar, there are some key differences between those previous two paragraphs and this new one:
- Added how Kirk is "In defiance to regulations…" (But hey, what else is new for Kirk? In any timeline/universe)
- Now specifies "called back home to Earth"
- Timeline of how the crew is called back was changed from "when crew of the Enterprise is called back, they find…" to "in the wake of a shocking act of terror from within…" which implies that the Enterprise is called back after (and possibly because) some kind of terrorist attack. Presumably the crew is called back following their mission on Niburu (featured in the first 9 minutes of the film which can currently be seen with special IMAX previews with The Hobbit)
- Removed description of how the act of terror "detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis" (possibly for brevity and/or clarity)
- Removed description (presumably of the villain John Harrison) as a "one man weapon of mass destruction" (again possibly for brevity and/or clarity)
- Changed "unstoppable force of terror" to "unstoppable force of destruction" (possibly to limit number of times "terror" is used)
- Removed reference to manhunt leading to a "war-zone world" (last week’s Bad Robot visit identified the Klingon home world Qo’noS as the location of the fight scenes with Harrison, Klingons and Kirk, so this could be the world mentioned in the original synopsis)
- Added "bring those responsible to justice" to Kirk’s mission. Note it says "those" implying John Harrison is not acting alone
Stay tuned to TrekMovie.com for all the news about Star Trek Into Darkness.
Qo’noS.
‘Those’ are those in those tubes, I guess…
More clear than ever that this is NOT Khan… :-(
“… within their own organization” = not Khan
I guess they realized the first PR guy was an embarrassingly bad writer.
@2
In the name of Q, I hope you are right!!
It’d certainly be nice if it was a familiar character though, Gary Mitchell or something like that.
5- Unless Khan was woken up much earlier in this time, and joined starfleet using the John Harrison alias.
Could it just be that John Harrison doesn’t what Starfleet has become and he decides to take over?
Any word on what that areyouthe1701.com site is supposed to be?
I was responding to 2, not 5.
Maybe Harrison starts a coupe within Starfleet?
I’m just glad “detonated the fleet” has been omitted. What was that? Definitely a much more fluent and grammatically correct synopsis. Like it!
Section 31?
I love how this movie seems to be pointing to present day parallels of the dangers and benefits of genetic engineering. I can’t wait to see it!
Hopefully, we won’t have to wait another 4 years to see the third installment since the 50th anniversary is in 2016.
#9: A coupe? Like the USS-Ford Escort?
I think Harrison is some kind of augment, or at least a geneticist. I think he infiltrates Star Fleet somehow — possibly with the help of the guy with the dying child. Perhaps the guy with the dying child has access to the frozen augments?
Still could be Khan or an Augment anyway…..ya know Khan but NOT Khan…But if Cumber. is within starfleet is he really starfleet or did he just get into starfleet to exact revenge by assuming an identity….still think the Father of the sick girl could be legit starfleet who sells his soul to heal his daughter so he cooperates with Harrisons unknown agenda….once inside he could have recruited others in starfleet using his influence powers to do so…Maybe the guy in the ponytail leaving the storage area with the cryos is Harrison and KHAN!!! Only seen from back after revival? hehehe
Digging the TNG “Conspiracy”-esque vibe.
#13 – Sorry I shouldn’t have added the e at the end? I think I type to fast. LOL.
Or the question mark at the end of my post #16. LOL.
It’s better written, that’s for the sure. The first synopsis was clunky at best; it felt like an intern wrote it and tried too hard.
See John W Nerdy minds think alike….Ive been thinking that too and in fact When I was just posting that you were also posting so I didnt even read yours but I have mentioned this in a couple of the other anaylysis threads….a couple days ago—
I meant post #17. Man I type too fast.
Red Shirt for a Mr Pike?
just saw this on Yahoo UK site
http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-editors/exclusive-benedict-cumberbatch-talks-terrorist-star-trek-darkness-231459433.html
#3 nailed it!
`Added “bring those responsible to justice” to Kirk’s mission. Note it says “those” implying John Harrison is not acting alone`
`those` could be Cumberbatch and Clarke!!
On the picture with the tubes, you see two people leaving the room. I think they are Clarke (grey) and Cumberbatch (white).
I think those tube-people are actually Vulcans…
From Yahoo UK:
He describes Harrison thus:
“He is FED INTO the crew of the Enterprise and creates a lot of shadow play between Kirk and Spock…”
What if their are no genetic experiments at all? What if Harrison is just a regular Starfleet officer?
@23
Sorry!!! Credit goes to you!!!
Oh, not helping to get the plot. But I hope one thing: that they throw Spock’s pon farr into the game…Please, oh please!!! I would love it!!
Something to considered:
In the original Space Seed Khan was exiled perhaps in this timeline he’s imprisoned or executed by Pike. Therefore John could be Khans NO #2 or easier yet his child either by natural means or engineered.
However, I’m guessing Space Seed never occur-re’s in this timeline. Allowing for a different engineered leader to emerge John, he could be a descendant of another failed Eugenics ruler. Remember Khan only rules 1/25 of the globe.
Ok, that synopsis did it, now I’m sure it’s Khan! It’s so obvious now!
(troll level: intermediate)
Ooh, the Botany Bay is found by another crew, Harrison (Enterprise crew member from Space seed) is on that ship. Khan is revived, takes the ship that finds him and takes Harrison’s Identity… The tubes are Khan’s crew… Meanwhile, Khan returns to Earth with a long term plan for domination…
Hmm, Maybe I’m over thinking this and should just wait until May!
@31….actually, he was ruler of over 1/4 the planet….of course from 1992-1996, that is….everything BAD in TOS’s past happened in 1996
#33 – Wouldn’t Starfleet know what Harrison looks like?
@ 26. NCC-73515
`I think those tube-people are actually Vulcans…`
One (grey coat) has dark skin and the other (white coat) has white skin. I don´t think both are Vulcans.
In the first 9 minutes you see Harrison making contact with Clarke, saying to him he could save his daughter. So maybe Clarke is going to help Harisson, because Harisson is the only one who could save his daughter.
So, I think it could be Harisson showing Clarke his work (the tubes)
I think Cumby is NOT someone known to Kirk at the beginning of the movie. The personal score to settle is due to his killing Pike during that attack on a meeting using a small ship. This attack occurs very shortly after a heart to heart that Kirk and Pike have about Kirk breaking regulations to save Spock from the volcano.
Enraged by the death of his mentor and the attacks on his planet, he sets off to hunt this guy down…
(I can’t wait to see if this prediction turns out to be accurate. If it does, this comment can be proof that I’m a genius. :P)
@25-
I was thinking the same thing. I could see the Clarke character having to do some terrible thing for Harrison in exchange for Harrison saving his daughter.
It fits the overall theme of “Is there anything you would not do for your family?”.
Harrison needs some sort of classified inside information on Starfleet in order to plan and carry out his terrorist goals, but he has no access.
Harrison approaches a man (Clarke) who he knows can get him what he needs, a man who would do absolutely anything right or wrong to save his dying daughter.
Clarke makes a deal with the devil.
More emphisis on terrorism might suggest that enhanced people are sleeper agents – the question is why? I’d have to assume that there was a turn of events in Federation society that caused these agents to be activated…and the more I think about it, wasn’t 23rd century man supposed to be beyond this sort of thing?
#37….also, the Enterprise will get heavily damaged during the attack, so he has multiple reasons for wanting revenge. Pike and the Enterprise.
Well, Khan does like his henchmen to start with “J”. We had Joaquin in TOS, we had Joachim in TWOK. Now we have Johann/John. Wonder if Khan also has a Jacomo, James, Jordan, Jazanna, and all the other J’s the Duggar family can think of. Yes, it would be like “19 Henchmen and Counting”, coming soon on TLC. A reality show about a family of eugenically created clones hidden in the 1970s, and how their family life is when they finally are awakened in the 2240’s and 2250’s.
I am Jim Bob Noonien Khan!
#35 probably but using his superior intellect he could change the federation databases/records for new images, DNA samples etc…
Yep, i’m over thinking…
Well, “Those” doesn’t necessarily mean more than one person, in English when one does not specify to whom one is talking to/or about, (aka when the subject is indefinite) it’s usual the use of “them”, “their”, “those” etc.
As in:
– “Whoever exploded my ship will pay with their life.”
– “We’ll make sure to make those responsible for this explosion will pay with their life.”
– “I don’t know who exploded this ship but I’d like to congratulate them!”
It still could be Khan, and Clarke’s character would be the one who does something which brings Kirk back for all we know. We are assuming it is “John Harrison” initially.
Still, it could be — my favorite choice– Garth. Still works with him on so many levels.
I think Orci, Kurtzman and Lindelof are cherry picking elements from past episodes and not entirely from TOS, rather than taking on a entire story whole hog and revising it.
Specially three sets of two part episodes from the 4th season I see possible elements of so far.
“Cold Station 12″ &”The Augments”, “Affliction” & “Divergence”, and “Demons” and “Terra Prime”. Which in turn those episodes have connections to the TOS episodes “Space Seed” (Khan’s original appearance), and “The Savage Curtain” where we learn about a historical figure named Col. Green.
We know that part of Into Darkness takes place on the Klingon home world Qo’noS. And the Klingons tied into the whole eugenics augment thing in the episodes “Affliction” and “Divergence”. In fact those episodes finally answered the Klingon appearance change from TOS and TAS and The Motion Picture and thereafter.
Also the episodes “Demons” and “Terra Prime” introduced a xenophobic faction of humanity wanting to “purify” the Earth/Federation of aliens. This faction was led by the wealthy John Frederick Paxton, who just so happens to have been played by Peter Weller. Who also happens to be cast in Into Darkness as a wealthy businessman. So I maintain Weller may well play either the aged Paxton or one of his heirs. And Cumberbatch is his perfect human John Harrison, leading a small army of fellow augments, out to further the Paxton agenda.
Or not. We shall see.
So maybe Harrison was a friend of Captain Kirk… perhaps??? ;-) :-)
Seems less likely that it is Khan.
Still very possible it is Sybok.
and so is Winona and Sam killed, or is Jim just estranged from them and that is why it says it is his only family left?
Carol is supposed to be part of the solution, so it doesn’t seem likely that she is dispatched in the initial terror on Earth. Is possibly one of these other GFs of Kirk killed?
Also, in the trailer, is the Klingon Ship chasing the Captains Yacht? Sure looks like it!
I would have like to have seen Kirk’s Mom and Brother on the bridge of the Enterprise seeing Jim in command.
“JJ Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller”.
…VOMIT.
I seriously hope there is more to this than HERRDERRDERRRR-EXPLOSIONS!! a la Transformers.
Hmmm… we still could have Clarke as the bad guy played by Peter Weller?
Could it be that Cumby is working with Kirk to battle Clarke?