Abrams Talks ‘Critical Role’ For Each Star Trek Into Darkness Character + more [VIDEO]

In a new video interview with JJ Abrams, the Star Trek Into Darkness director talks about how this movie is different than the 2009 film, secrecy, Roddenberry’s legacy and more. You can watch the full video and read some excerpts below.

 

Abrams talks Into Darkness

The Brazilian website Omelete has a video interview with Star Trek Into Darkness director JJ Abrams, conducted during last month’s press event in Brazil. The interview covers a few topics with Abrams starting off describing the film in brief…

Into Darkness is about this (now) family that is being tested in a way that they never have been before. In the first film [Kirk] gets the captain’s chair and in this film he earns it. It is really about this group being thrust into crazy intense adventure that takes them not only elsewhere but also takes place very much on Earth.

Later when talking about the challenges he had making Into Darkness, Abrams described the approach they took for the the characters in the film, saying:

Part of [the challenge] was making sure all the characters get introduced brand new. You can’t assume people know or like or relate to the character. A lot of sequels begin assuming you already love the people and to me it is really important that this is a brand new movie. If you saw the first movie – great! fantastic!..but you don’t have to. So the challenge was reintroducing everyone and establishing that everyone had a critical role in the movie. If every one of the characters wasn’t required the movie doesn’t work. So it was really a lot of different characters – and the writers and I worked together for a year to make sure it was something we all loved.

You can watch the entire video (via Omelete) below.

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I read the article, and then see “no comments yet.” I have nothing of substance to add, and by the time I finish writing this, I’ll probably won’t even be FIRST!!!!!!!!

But the temptation is to great for me.

39 days to go!

– Harry

I’m getting so excited. So hope I can get tickets to the Sydney world premier.

#1. Well done. You must be proud.

All characters have a critical role? Does Chekov do more than run through engineering in a red shirt then? We havent seen him in any other part of all 3 trailers but doing that.

So true JJ, let all the 2009 Trek haters eat shit.

Love the music. The new theme no doubt.

Does anyone else want the crew to go, oh I don’t know, exploring? There’s a lot in the Star Trek universe to explore, but it seems like this crew is wading into the proverbial waters to their ankles staying so close to Earth.

i hate all the haters of the 2009 movie!
they are not true star trek fans!
JJ<3

@6

” Does anyone else want the crew to go, oh I don’t know, exploring? ”

Sigh, that discussion again.

What a mature, thoughtful and tolerant thread of discussion here. So much ti be proud of.

I enjoyed JJ Abrams variation on STAR TREK. He brought fun to the Roddenberry universe. But, I think he went a bit too far. I was a bit surprised when I read that Abrams didn’t want to make a movie «only for Nacelles weekly readers» … I felt sad about that.

TREK has a lot of teck (too much?) and history – a lot a flesh on its bone. Not recognizing this fact would be like trying to make a period movie without considering the period. Timex were not invented during the Roman Empire !

Abrams’ idea of rebooting Star Trek within a parallel universe was great. I even accepted the destruction of Vulcan (really really bold and sad … ). But a few details – nitpicking here – were not so easily dismissed. Delta Vega was the first error … ok it was an homage to classic trek … but Delta Vega is NOT near Vulcan, It’s FAR, near the Galactic Edge (Where no man has gone before) … There is also some problems with ships in this new Trek. The Kelvin for example : when Robau leaves the bridge to get to the shuttlebay … we should see him getting out from the turbolift going upward … not from the bottom. Also … The Enterprise … is the same size as the Enterprise D !

I think it would be possible to reinterpret Trek’s canon and please a wide audience. That’s what Nick Mayer did with TWOK … hardcore fans even accepted the fact that Khan recognized Chekov …

JJ Abrams his a talented story teller, but I just hope he will treat the other franchise (STAR WARS) with a more serious attitude.

@10 Patrice Tremblay
“Abrams’ idea of rebooting Star Trek within a parallel universe was great. I even accepted the destruction of Vulcan (really really bold and sad … ). But a few details – nitpicking here – were not so easily dismissed. Delta Vega was the first error … ok it was an homage to classic trek … but Delta Vega is NOT near Vulcan, It’s FAR, near the Galactic Edge (Where no man has gone before) … There is also some problems with ships in this new Trek. The Kelvin for example : when Robau leaves the bridge to get to the shuttlebay … we should see him getting out from the turbolift going upward … not from the bottom. Also … The Enterprise … is the same size as the Enterprise D !”

Yes, these are some inconsistencies, but it would be unfair to judge the Abrams movie for things, that Braga/Berman would not have made better on Voyager/Enterprise.
And many of those things can be indeed explained with this new timeline. However i indeed think that they were a bit too sloppy but again, this is nothing new.
I hope the best for STID though.

Nice talk by Abrams. Looking forward to see this one first day first show.

It was nice to watch Mr. Abrams talk about the upcoming sequel (the way he did).

Interesting video.

Thanks for posting it!

@7 I read that in the voice of Ilia, from the Motion Picture.

To all the purest fans out there….

Whats is the best star trek movie of all time? ST wrath of Khan… No exploring there!

The movie format isnt made for exploring, it’s made to be a roller coaster.

Star trek is best on tv and im sure it will come back ( season 5 enterprise netflix maybe? Join the petition if you havent)

Till then please enjoye the show. Lets be grateful its back and lured non trekkies aboard.

2. chrisfawkes.com –

Hope you get those tickets bro. I would LOVE to have that opportunity! Good luck!

“Whats is the best star trek movie of all time? ST wrath of Khan… No exploring there!”

No, the best Star Trek movie of all time is “The Undiscovered Country”.
ANd there is also no exploring.

#15. shawn – April 8, 2013

Actually, I’d say they explored the concept that our science and technology could soon give man the ability to create life from nothingness. And they did in space, away from Earth.

Excellent interview, with JJ providing wonderful explanation of his vision for us as general movie goers and also Trek fans. He has done so well with this franchise.

#18 There are scenes set on Earth in “Wrath of Khan”. Almost the entire fourth movie is Earth based. Are these not Star Trek then? I thought “The Voyage Home” was one of the most beloved Trek movies ever made. And you can’t be serious that exploring concepts and ideas is the “exploring” these JJ haters are talking about. I always assumed that they wanted to see a starship crew on an exploratory expedition. Now you say exploring means having themes? Well I’m sure you’ve got it. And before you people start attacking a movie you all have only trailers for, the trailers for your holy of holies, “The Wrath of Khan” basically just said “Beyond space, there is Khan” and had a bunch of explosions. Judging from trailers, nobody would have had any idea that actual science fictional ideas would be in the actual movie.

WAIIIIIT a minute, hold on.. “Part of [the challenge] was making sure all the characters get introduced brand new. You can’t assume people know or like or relate to the character.. the challenge was reintroducing everyone and establishing that everyone had a critical role”..

Weren’t they always touting that, in “The first movie” they had to “introduce” the characters and “set them up” for the audience and “establish” these characters for those who had never seen Star Trek? And, that “in the second movie”, they’d be more free to go balls out? So, what are they saying now? That they have to re-introduce them, every single time??

If I remember correctly, JJ’s beloved Star Wars (original trilogy) never did that. Each movie opened up where the others left off, and each following movie DID assume that the audience knew who the players were and what was going on (and, that was decades before the internet and spoilers, mind you). But, JJ has always thought of Star Trek as the “lesser” of the two franchises. Because HE was never a fan, he feels that it has to be dumbed down a bit for people, since HE never “got it” and never quite understood it.

I’ll see it in the theatre, unless it’s in 3D.

It’s time to make a stand and end this fad once and for all.

#6: Every time I see someone say that, I have to shake my head. This is the 12th Star Trek film, and NOT ONE of them have been about exploring space.

#21: Relax, dude. You’ll burst a blood vessel.

Seriously, some people seem SO determined to bash Abrams. It’s ridiculous.

@ 16. Thanks man.

Its 1am now but I plan to call the cinema in the morning and see what I can find out.

I thought Abrams Trek was the first to capture the feel of tos since tos plus their movies.

Galaxy quest felt more like Star Trek to me than some of the more recent series.

But lets remember that depending on when you first got into trek will determine what you think it is re action or exploration (though each series had a degree of both). To those who watched the original series Abrams has nailed it.

Come on May 15h. I Love the Talk about and all the leading up to Star Tre. But I am also tired of talk. I want to see the Movie and then. Let the real talking begin.

Abrams realizes the international market doesn’t like space, so that’s why he emphasized that much of the action takes place on Earth.

I wonder, if international market is anti-space, then why did Avatar do so well? Absolutely none of that movie took place on Earth.

Hi folks,

seems, a new poster is out:

http://www.filmstarts.de/nachrichten/18477936.html

@28

Avatar was not about space at all. There was like one shot from orbit in the beginning. The rest of the film was set on Pandora

well said JJ and no. 4 comment!

gETTING my tickets tomorrow here in the UK for the Glasgow IMAX!

Not exactly thrilled with either of those posters. They could be for a reboot of Blade Runner. Where is the SPACE element? Or does Paramount figure that the further they can take the posters from space opera the more tickets they will sell? OK, but just to be clear, I’m still going to go see the movie, so I’m not a JJ Hater.

I am not an unabashed JJ fan, though I do love his geekocity ™. I think he loves the characters, the family, the vision he has created with using the Original Trek as the template. I mean – that is what he did. Different actors, different interpretation, 21st century CGI, and such. I see our beloved Trek and I think about watching TOS afternoons when I got home fro school at around 4 on whatever UHF channel it came in on. I was so mezmorized by how intelligent and thoughtful and amazing the ideas were (anyone ever :transport themselves somewhere as a kid, makin the sound and thinking of sparklies? :) ) Anyway. I love JJ’s sense of adventure and geekocity ™. He takes the themes and characters and tech of a show I LOVED and gives me more. An interpretation that is full of adventure and hard sci-fi (alternate universe, wormholes, red matter, time travel, sheesh!). I am gushingly grateful. Because as I have posted before, TREK WAS DEAD as far as Paramount was concerned. No more. I enjoyed bits and pieces of the spin-offs…but this is KIRK, SPOCK, McCoy et al.! Seeing the TOS actors try to pull crap off onscreen in the later years… IDK. This is just great. I love this cast. Karl Urban especially, but Pine is a perfect cast as is Quinto. Cumberbund Bendersnatch has been amazing in everything I have seen (Sherlock is MUST SEE. I mean it. Best TV I have seen since Lost). He really seems to bring it as a villain. I am rambling. But what this post is, is really a THANK YOU to the abopve posters for a fair assesment of the job JJ has done. These are childhood heroes on the big screen – and a successful interpretation to boot. I convey my gratitude. Live long and prosper.

Actually, this interview took place in the studios of Bad Robot in December 2012, apparently Omelet also spoke with the actors at the time!

@Mark,

I think the other poster is already known. ;-)

1. Careful, the site’s touchy about firsting. Spellcheck tried to take the ‘r’ out of that. Is the site touchy about that too? That I don’t know. :/

I’m a little sad this site didn’t yet do an Ebert mention. I volunteer to do a retrospective of his Trek reviews.

“Omelete” I mean!

Star Trek has throughout most of its run been about the exploration of topics and themes that reach beyond space. I’m not sure why the gripes about a lack of space when space should at best be a peripheral concern to a deeper one: does the film have ideas worth exploring?

Think of how much Star Trek takes place on a planet, or inside a ship, or among people talking in a room. Think of how often Star Trek has been about drama among people and how little has actually been about exploration. In most of its run and as we know it today, the beast it has evolved into, Star Trek need be about concepts, not the stars except in a metaphorical sense.

Star Trek claims to explore the galaxy, but the galaxy is rarely explored in any realistic scientific scenario. Those moments of exploration generally undergird humanistic and interpersonal dramas, and if this film can give us that, it’s succeeded.

This film is certainly being marketed to the mainstream, what with less emphasis on space, posters that don’t look like we’d expect of a Trek movie etc but I think that’s partly nature of the beast of promoting a movie nowadays, but I do think there’s something else to consider too. With the exception of some of the international posters for ST:4 the movies have been marketed for fans only. I would guess that we as a collective group of fans are simply not used to seeing the franchise presented in such a fashion as we are seeing with ST:ID, and that may be a bit jarring to see a Trek movie with advertising aimed away from fandom.
To a lesser extent this happened in ’09, with the editing of the commercials/trailers juxtaposing dialogue and scenes that frankly worried me a bit (“you’re captain now, mr. kirk.” “you got it!) but those proved unfounded when the house lights went down and the film rolled.
I’m guessing the same will happen here. Alot of the marketing/presentation of this movie will seem action-oriented, “dark knight-esque” and not look alot like what we expect but I’m guessing the content of the movie itself will have plenty of outer space, the big E, and will have more of a “trek”-feel than the commercials or posters ever will.

And you guys are great at Trekmovie. I love your posts, whether not I agree. Unless they are snide and pretentious. And as far as the interwebs are concerned – that ratio is pretty low here. You are a great bunch of folks. I have participated in other BBS stuff, but this is still such a goto – event hough news is a beat behind. Your assessment is always what I crave. By far the most thoughtful and civil. After a long night at work, you are my unwind time!

I can’t remember where I read this, but someone made a good point — the bigger budget means that Abrams’ Trek movies don’t have to be bottle episodes. They can go to Q’uonos (spelled wrong — man I hate that name), they can spend time in future London and San Fran. I’m sure they’re in space too. But plenty of TOS took place on matte-painted planets. First Contact/Exploration was rarely (maybe never) depicted.

“It is really about this group being thrust into crazy intense adventure that /takes them not only elsewhere/ but also takes place very much on Earth.”

Emphasis added by me for those worried this will be only Earth-based. In the trailers (let alone the nine minute preview) we already know this is not the case. They travel to Nibiru and Qo’noS. Probably not more than that, but it is something.

@#7

You are a moron.

That is all.

@45

thx

35.

Good points, and I would add that in all fairness I think when Paramount/JJ/whomever could have done a straight reboot/reimagining they actually stuck way closer to the source material than I ever hoped. It really could have been nothing like what we knew. Battlestar-ish gender swaps, a big E that might have been some amorphously shaped battle behemoth, doofy CGI-driven characters, a rap-metal soundtrack or even a “starsky & hutch”-like parody that lacked the reverence and charm of Galaxy Quest.
These were the things I feared/expected.
All things considered, we have a recognizable Enterprise, we have Characters seeming very much they way we knew them right down to the uniforms, and enough box-office revenue to keep the future open-ended.
Considering what could very well have been, I feel that we really got quite a treat, and there’s heaping seconds on the way!

BTW, Space is cheap. Planets are expensive.
If you have so much money ,use it. If the film would be primarily about the ENterprise it could be considered as a bottle-show. And why would you want do that with 150 Million?

Yeah, I may be old fashioned but to me if you’re gonna do a poster about Trek without even referring to space travel it’s like doing a poster for Deep Throat featuring the Teletubbies. :)

@49

In the 2009-movie there was an alternative Poster that showed the Golden Gate Bridge and the Beam from Neros ship.
There was also no Space in it.