Exclusive: CBS Products VP Van Citters On Future of Star Trek Books, Attractions, Videogames & more

In exclusive interview, CBS Licensing VP of Product Development John Van Citters gave TrekMovie.com a briefing on the state of Star Trek licensing and a peek at some of what we can expect with Star Trek novels, non-fiction books, toys, video games, and much more.

 

 

INTERVIEW WITH CBS LICENSING VP JOHN VAN CITTERS

2009 was a big year for Star Trek, which means it was a big year for CBS Consumer Products. CBS is responsible for all licensing for the Star Trek brand, including all ‘classic’ Star Trek and anything related to the new movies. This covers everything from books, comics, toys, games, attractions, events, and more. In the last couple of years we saw a big upsurge in Star Trek licensing with a lot of new licensees, including big names like Playmates and Mattel and even PEZ. For the first time in years Star Trek products could be found at big retailers like Wal-Mart, Toys R Us and Target. This resurgence even got Star Trek awarded as the Best Comeback Entertainment Property of 2009 by License! Global Magazine, which noted that CBS Consumer products "took full advantage" of the new Star Trek feature film with "an extensive and well-planned line of merchandising."

And much of that success was due to CBS Consumer Products Vice President of Product Development John Van Citters. A life-long Star Trek fan, Van Citters has been helping guide the Star Trek brand at Paramount and CBS for many years. TrekMovie sat down with Van Citters to find out some of what CBS has in store for fans and collectors in 2010 and beyond.  

 

Novels: New Star Trek movie tie-in books on the drawing board

A few weeks ago Pocket Books announced that it was postponing four books planned for 2010 that were tied into the 2009 Star Trek movie. All were stand-alone stories set after the movie. And it appears that it was the time setting of these books that was the issue. Van Citters explains:

It was decided that the upcoming sequel is best served by having JJ [Abrams] and his team tell the stories of what happens next for these characters. That doesn’t mean we wont have stories taking place in this timeline, and that doesn’t necessarily mean we wont have stories taking place in the alternate timeline before the next movie is released.

According to Van Citters, CBS, Pocket Books and Bad Robot are currently working together on a plan for books tied to the movie universe. As for the four books that have already been written, Van Citters noted that their status is "on hold" and there was still no determination on when we will see them.


Preliminary cover for "Refugees" one of the ‘on hold’ movie-tie ins – but new Star Trek movie tie-in novels currently being planned
 

Non-fiction: Haynes Guide & Star Trek 365 (maybe Encyclopedia update)

Another area of Star Trek books that fans have been asking for is more non-fiction and reference style books. The "Star Trek Encyclopedia" remains one of the most popular Star Trek products of all time. In recent years, new Star Trek non-fiction has become rarer and rare, but Van Citters says that the "future is bright" for Star Trek non-fiction, with a couple of projects currently in development. Firstly Van Citters confirmed the previously announced "Haynes Guide to the Enterprise" is still in development, and he also revealed some great info about it:

I am very excited about the Haynes Manual. Mike and Denise Okuda are working on that, which excites me even more as to what the content will be.

The book will be written like the Haynes guides for cars, but instead it will be a guide to the USS Enterprises (that is multiple Enterprises, although which ones is still being decided). It is exciting that Mike and Denise Okuda have been brought on board to help with the Haynes guide. No publication date is set yet.


USS Enterprises to get the Haynes guide treatment

Another exciting nonfiction book coming this year is "Star Trek 365", a coffee-table book all about the original Star Trek, full of behind-the-scenes images and information. The "Star Trek 365" book will be part of a series of books from Abrams publishing. Van Citters :

The 365 books are thick and packed full of all sorts of great photography. We are doing a Star Trek 365 book that is focused on the original series. That is going to be quite a great book to have. Having read the manuscript now and seen the level of material that is in it, it is going to be a very exciting book for Star Trek fans. It was written by Paula Block (who co-authored the "Deep Space Nine Companion") and she has just done a fabulous job with the book.

"Star Trek 365" will be released September 2010 and is available now for pre-order at Amazon. See this review of  the 2005 "Star Wars 365" to get a better idea what this book is all about.


Star Trek getting a ‘365’ book, like ‘Star Wars 365’

As for an update to the popular "Star Trek Encyclopedia," Van Citters noted that it was one of the most frequent questions he gets from fans. He also stated:

We would love to see the Encyclopedia updated. It is one of my favorite books and something I use every day, and I can’t wait for an update. That said, it is a tremendous amount of work. I don’t think fans can conceive of how much time, effort and care Mike and Denise put into creating that book and updating that book. At this time, they are not prepared to dive back in, but it is one thing they would like to see happen at some point in time.

 

Attractions: Update on Star Trek The Experience + ST: The Exhibition & ST: Live!

It was recently reported that CBS was going to auction off parts of Star Trek: The Experience which was housed at the Las Vegas Hilton up until 2008. Van Citters, expanded a on the sale, saying:

We are excited to make some of these items available to fans of The Experience. We know we are not going to use a great many of the elements that were used in the original Experience, so we are going to make them available for direct sale or auction.

And regarding the future of the Experience, Van Citters could not give any details on the timing for a return, but noted that CBS was currently working on developing the new Experience, and that getting it right is more important than getting something out quickly:

It is very important to us that we do the right kind of Experience. There was a lot of speculation from fans online about just taking what was at the Hilton and just moving it down the road and we know that would not be the right approach. We don’t want to do something that is not right for Star Trek and not right for the fans and not the right kind of Experience. So whatever we do with this, we want to make sure it is done right and correctly, and sometimes that takes time.


CBS still working on a plan to bring back a new Star Trek The Experience – in the mean time they are going to auction off much of what was in the first one

As for Star Trek: The Exhibition, the two touring exhibits of Star Trek props and replicas mainly showing at museums. Right now one of the Exhibitions is at The Tech Museum in San Jose, CA through to April. Van Citters says the other exhibit (which was most recently in Hollywood, CA) is currently undergoing refurbishment. Van Citters said that there should be an announcement of new dates and cities "shortly".

The final Star Trek attraction to discuss was Star Trek Live, which is a traveling live show filled with science demonstrations using Star Trek. CBS is working with the educational company Mad Science. Van Citters, gave a little more detail on Mad Science and what they will do for Trek:

What they do is a very high energy show, very entertaining and educational for kids, with lots of real-world applications of science, which makes it a perfect fit for Star Trek.

An announcement on where when Star Trek Live! will  be made "in the near future."


Flyer for Star Trek Live – a new educational live show coming soon


Fan Club: Not dead yet

In 2008 CBS announced they were bringing back an official Star Trek Fan Club, but nothing has been heard since. Van Citters explains there were issues that arose that he says "would have prevented the club from being all that we wanted it to be, and all that fans deserve" so they didn’t proceed with the partner they had at the time. However, he still holds out hope that a new official Star Trek Fan Club can be developed, saying:

We would like to see a fan club. We also wanted to offer value. In today’s world with the Internet and things that are constantly changing, what a fan club is, or should be, has changed as well. We are a long way from sending in for the decoder ring. We are working on what is the best way to proceed with a fan club that truly offers something to Star Trek fans.


Toys and Games: More Hot Wheels + No Playmates in 2010 + new licensees?

Regarding Toys, in 2009 Star Trek saw toys from Diamond Select, Funko, Mattel and Playmates Toys. Of course last year was a movie year and so it is expected to be much larger. Van Citters pointed to the Diamond Select showings at Toy Fair as the latest update from them. Regarding Playmates, he said he "I don’t think we will see anything new from Playmates" in 2010.  As for Mattel, Van Citters said they were still an active licensee and even though we will not see as much product from them as last year (with SceneIt, 20Q, Barbies, and more), there should still be new products, including more from the "very successful" Hot Wheels Die-cast ship line.


First wave of Star Trek Hot Wheels proved popular –
Mattel plans more to come

But what about new licensees for 2010 or 2011? Could we see Star Trek Lego or other licensees pick up the brand? Van Citters wouldn’t get specific, but did say companies are now more open to Trek:

I can’t really comment on any deals for licenses that are not announced at present. But we are constantly talking with people about developing new product lines and moving into new areas. There is a lot of interest in Star Trek, and we are very excited about what the future will hold for Star Trek toys.


Harry Potter is latest franchise to get the Lego treatment – will they and other licensees jump on the newly hot Trek bandwagon?


Star Trek Online ahead of expectations & ‘just the beginning’

Switching to games, Van Citters gave an assessment of how things are going with the launch of Atari’s Star Trek Online:

The game launch has been a phenomenal success. Everything from the open beta, to the launch, to the first weeks, has far succeeded our projections for it. Atari and Cryptic have already more than doubled the server capacity and adding more all the time. It is the number one PC game launch in 2010. Player response has been great, and everyone is learning about what a great experience they have made for Star Trek fans. What I am most excited about with regards to the game, as vast as it is now, is that players have not seen anything yet. This is just the tip of the iceberg. They already have the first big expansion to the game, which brings the Borg to the forefront. There is an entire galaxy to explore, and a ton of stories to tell. You will see things like Rura Penthe, and Q and a ton of new things to explore. They way it is set up for Star Trek fans is like mini-seasons of a show of Star Trek, with missions playing like episodes.

Van Citters was also very excited about the upcoming Star Trek Online tie-in novel "The Needs of the Many", saying

It is not your average Star Trek novel, in that it is told in the fashion of a Studs Turkel book or similar to Max Brooks "World War Z." It is written by Michael Martin and it plays out like a series of interviews with key figures from the Star Trek universe. It is a really new and interesting way of Star Trek storytelling and really helps take you into the world of Star Trek Online in an experiential way. It really helps explain the two political events that are going on within the game. It is really a great companion to the game.


Star Trek Online is ahead of expectations

Video Games: Things are ‘in the works’

But what about traditional video games for the PC and console? With the exception of the $10 download-only Star Trek DAC in 2009, Trek gaming has been a desert for the last few years. Bethesda Softworks released a handful of lackluster games from 2006-2007, but there is currently is no game licensee. However, Van Citters says that is going to change:

Right now we are absolutely most heavily focused on Star Trek Online and it deserves a clear playing field right now. That said, we are aware of the demand for more traditional games with Star Trek and we are working towards that end and expanding the entire world of Star Trek gaming in the long-term. There are definitely things in the works. There is a great deal of interest in developing new games for Star Trek and we will definitely have more to say about it in the future. I am very excited about what the future is going to hold for Star Trek gaming as a whole.


2007’s Star Trek Conquest – the last Trek videogame
– how long to wait for the next one?
 

Apparel: Airwalks a success + more apparel to come

One of the coolest products of 2009 was the Star Trek sneakers from Airwalk. They were very popular and supplies have become very limited. When asked if we will see more shoes or Trek apparel Van Citters commented:

The Airwalks are a great product and definitely been very successful. I can’t comment right now if there is going to be additional ones. What I can say is that if there is a product like Airwalks that people were aware of but delayed buying and they missed out, I wouldn’t recommend doing that too often. More and more we will likely be doing products like that, which are really great involving partnerships with designers and if you want something, that is the nature of the way retail works right now, you should buy it, because it might not be there in a couple of weeks


Star Trek sneakers proved popular – more Trek apparel on the way

 

More movie products in 2010 & 2011?

As noted before, 2009 was a big year for Star Trek merchandise, with Trek products at big retailers for the first time in years. Things are calming down in 2010 as we look forward to the next big push in 2012 for the Star Trek sequel. However, there is an irony that although the new Star Trek movie has made Trek more popular, there is very little merchandise related to the new movie universe slated for 2010. Van Citters explained that plans are now under way to ensure the ‘JJ verse’ gets the right attention moving forward:

There may not be a great deal in the marketplace right now. We are in fairly constant communication with Paramount and Bad Robot about plans for the next movie, and plans for upcoming merchandise. You will definitely see additional stuff, but right now we are just aren’t ready to talk about what those things are.


Recently announced Star Trek badges – more movie-related products coming

Watch this space

Obviously much of what was discussed with Van Citters is preliminary and so there will be more updates on each of the individual projects. And although the above interview with Van Citters was extensive, there are still active areas that we didn’t have time to cover. TrekMovie will continue to monitor all the activity with Star Trek products, events and other projects, so stay tuned.

 

103 Comments
oldest
newest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

I need a TV Series now.

BRING IT ON!

A nice set of updates. Glad to know a lot of Star Trek is in our future. Bring The Exhibition to the Midwest! Also, I love ST Online, but traditional games like those of the ’90s and early 2000’s would be awesome!

I’d like to see a good first person shooter or a real-time strategy like Armada II. Perhaps a GOOD flight-simulator? “Legacy” sucked.

And let’s get some advertising out there…. If you’re going to do Trek, do it right. It has the potential to be enormous again, even bigger than Star Wars. But it’s going to take actual effort.

Has anyone heard anything new about the Qmx Enterprise (studio or mid-scale)?

I really want a proper “botf” sequal!

Nice to know Mr. Van Critters is a fan and thanks for checking in with us. Concur with CardassiaPrimera, would like to see CBS bring some series and/or direct to DVD & TV movies into being. Don’t let Paramount have all the fun! There is a broad canvas still to paint on, and lots of talented actors who have been underutilized in the prime universe.

Good news on all fronts!

Is there any news about the Enterprise model kit? By Polar Lights, I think it was?

I was really looking forward to that. :)

“As for the four books that have already been written, Van Citters noted that their status is “on hold” and there was still no determination on when we will see them.”

Please, no rush on my account. Since Star Trek has now been turned into the dumbed down, fast pace action series, the least you would expect your audience to do is take some time out and expand their knowledge of this universe and it’s characters.

“Regarding Playmates, he said he “I don’t think we will see anything new from Playmates” in 2010.””

Thank god. Playmates’ attempts in the Trek toy line was bat crud terrible. They essentially took one figure, copied it eight times, changed the heads, and essentially you have the entire figure run. Throw in a female body and a bad Romulan just to mix things up.

And the toy Enterprise was terrible as well. Playmates, I wanted the multi-button sound effects toy like you did with the Star Trek toys of old! Pressing the bride for random sounds is crud. At least Diamond Select is offering the choice to keep the toys lights on.

And the utility belt? WOW. That was a disaster. I should not have to rub my phaser up against my belt bucker in order to use it.

“I am very excited about what the future is going to hold for Star Trek gaming as a whole.”

25th Anniversary, Judgement Rights, Elite Force and The Fallen. These are my prime examples of the types of Star Trek games I would like to see, not some plotless, storyless, “Let’s make everyone fight each other and make it canon!” mmo garbage. Last thing Star Trek needs is another Star Trek DAC.

A Star Trek RPG game in the vein of BioWare’s games would be awesome.

” including more from the “very successful” Hot Wheels Die-cast ship line.”

I want my Narada!

I am really hoping for more than this, STO, some books and a lot of wait and see’s. . . I live in Europe, and to be fair, there aint a lot of trek here in shops.
And all that is being released seems limited to the US (The experience) or more of the same merchandise.

I am looking for other things, a good game for xbox or ps3 (or ds or psp) would make a nice change. I’d love to see an affordable model of DS9, the Defiant & Voyager. Currently you have to trawl ebay for them & remortgage to afford them.

Sucks on the Playmates figure front! I really wanted the 12″ versions of Scott, Uhura & Nero… some of the best ever sculpts and character likenesses, I still believe they should be released as TRU exclusives as were Pike & Sulu! If Playmates gets the figure license for the next movie, maybe then they can be released finally to complement the other figures. If not, whoever does the next film should create a complete crew in this size because these were the only good figures in the bunch IMO. Glad to see Diamond going forward with Retro figures like Chapel and Pike. Maybe Rand won’t be too far behind, and a Number One figure would be easy with the Majel likeness already produced for Chapel, here’s hoping! However, overall I am no longer impressed with any of the toy companies producing Trek as Playmates quality went down(with the exception of the 12″ dolls), diamond Select is too slow moving with too many cancellations and delays, and not enough variety ( still not enough DS9, Enterprise or Next Gen characters, and absolutely no Voyager!!!) and even the Classic Trek suffers from Kirk/Spock-centrism with little attention paid to the many other wonderful Classic characters. From a collector’s standpoint the toy companies are not catering to the fans as they claim to be because if they were we wouldn’t have to wait decades to complete a full set of characters from a single series! I believe that it is the lack of variety that is killing off sales of these items, and the timeframe it takes to get new product out. I am slowly losing interest, when in fact my and every other fans’ interests should be at an all time peak with star trek’s recent success! It baffles me, but I hope in the future whatever toy company gets the license for the new movie or TV series keeps in mind this bit of advice: create toys of all the major characters for your line-up and release them all together at the same time, and leave variants of the characters for 2nd and 3rd waves, but complete the crews in the 1st waves so that if no future waves are warranted by sales at least collectors will have a single complete set to display/play/cherish, a memento of all their favorite characters. It still drives me that playmates of the past never released a 9″
B’elanna Torres, Neelix, or Quark when they were vital to the show and same with Art Asylum’s exclusion of Dr. Phlox & Hoshi Sato figures. All major characters should be done before extras, 2ndaries, and aliens of the week! As we know all the actors are brought in for scanning, so why not use their likenesses? Finish rant!!

I hope when the action figures return that they are more like Hasbro’s action figure lines! I also hope DST will get a shot at 7″ scale movie figures ships and Tech! If Playmates can get there sculpts together I wouldn’t mind seeing more, but if not a Hasbro line would be nice! Just finish what you start and give us a real bridge playset.

Sounds awesome! I am especially excited about the 365 book, the Haynes Guide and anything even remotely similar to an Encyclopedia or Tech Manual. Its been way too long.

While it is nice to get updates especially that they want to take the time to redo trek:the experience and make it right–it sounds kinda strange to me that Van Critters acts like it was just fans speculating about taking the hilton experience and just moving it down the road and that would not be the right approach? I dont remember speculation, i remember that the owner of the downtown facility taking over said he wanted to get part of it up n running asap-with quarks bar first,stores etc–it is true cbs never officially endorsed it however–anyway personally i loved the experience and to me it kinda sounded like he was bad mouthing it–so i would be interested to find out details as to what cbs thinks is the right approach if the old experience is not the right approach

In regards to a new trek fan club they should tie it thru anthonys excellent website-it already seems like a fan club almost–maybe tie anthony in with the trek magazine?
Most of us dont want decoder rings anyhoo–badges maybe we do need the stinkin badges-

I am waiting to throw money at them, and they are waffling. Merchandise me, stat.

I hope when the new TV series happens, new writers are invited to pitch ideas like TNG and DS9 did… :D That would be logical! :D

10. Yo, Jeyl! I totally get where you’re coming from. I miss the Prime universe and have issues embracing this new direction for Trek. But wow…is there nothing except gloom and doom at your end of the galaxy? Nobody’s making you buy/watch/read any of this stuff. Take a pass and try to enjoy something that won’t aggravate you. This stuff is obviously eating away at you. Move on before you get an ulcer.

“Whoever he is, he sure talks gloomy!”

was great to see new trek products in the mainstream

but playmates really screwed up the 3inch toys & Bridge playset, selling a partial playset that u had to collect all of the figures to complete then not releasing the bridge accesssories with the toys for the international markets hurt them- nobody would get them.

I still havent, as i have to order the us ones from e-bay to get the bridge accessories.

but i did get the other figure lines, the transporter, accessories, enterprise ect ect

They need to create a console game for Star Trek similar to Mass Effect. The concept would work well in the Star Trek Universe.

Me likey toys.

Ooh yes more acquisitions! I hope they make a Scimitar model/toy of some sort.

Awwww, man! I didn’t even know the sneakers were out. I want a pair!

Star Trek apparel please. 8D I’m a huge fan of it. I’d actually rather have a shirt or accessory or whatever more than most other Trek merchandise. (Hey, I love clothes!) So bring it on!

(And… market to the ladies too? At least a little bit? Men’s shoes don’t fit my feet, despite how much I love those Airwalks.)

Well Mr Anthony Sir, u may be right,i may be crazee–obviously cbs agrees that the experience needed to be totally redone–and of course the wear n tear unable to relocate due to unique architecture-i git all that-but ya know a lot of attractions at disneyland for example can survive for a lonnng time-hey they even brought captain Eo 3d back haha–i just hope they know why so many of us fans loved quarks bar and the attractions–all enhanced by the talented employees crews n actors at the experience–i am hoping for the best n like i said i really want to know what cbs thinks is superior to the quarks, museum n attractions that were there cuz they were pretty awesome to me–nuff said

“This resurgence even got Star Trek awarded as the Best Comeback Entertainment Property of 2009 by License Magazine”—-
WOW. License Magazine. Must be riveting!

Lego Star Trek would be awesome!

#28
Amen. I’m 18 and I still love my Legos! I would buy EVERY set that comes out!

As far as gaming goes, I think Trek online is probably that last one that needs to be released. All they have to do is release more expansion packs that allow you to be a captain in the 22nd and 23rd centuries and that pretty much covers all of it. It would be cool if ocean Trek came out so we could command vessels in the 20th century. lol

Bring me a Bethesda Oblivion/Fallout 3 style Trek Game and I’ll be a happy trekkie.

I’m looking forward to the ship guide, allways did like the tech manuals and “Mr. Scott’s Guide to the Enterprise”. I would love a new encyclopedia…I actually have the cd-rom version of it which anymore the internet with Memory-Alpha is pretty much the way to go. Still would like to pick up an actual physical copy.

Loved the tech manuals (the DS9, for all it’s supposed errors, was my favorite canon one), but am really wishing a quality PC game would be released.

Bridge Commander was decent and gave me a glimmer of hope for the future of Trek on the PC, but that fizzled quickly. Not really an MMO guy either….

Any news about the future of the remaining star trek tv shows on blu-ray?

I read that as “CBS VP Ban Critters” and was all like, “What? No more tribbles?” for like a second.

This sounds good!

But it is a great thing, that ST-O seems to be a hit and proof, that the old timeline is not dead yet (as many people here predicted!).

Perhaps the best of the news are the annoucement of the Enterprises-tech-book. I waited for this book my entire fan-life! I hope it includes the not portrayed Enterprises: The NX-01, the TOS-Enterprise, the Enterprises A, B and C, the Enterprise-E and the Abrams-Enterprise. We allready had a very big book (and very detailed deckplans) about the Enterprise-D – but just for this ship only!

AP, that was a fantastic article. Thanks! Great news RE: 365; I already have mine on order. I would like to know more about the status of the Qmx models of the new Enterprise. The badges are nice, but I want my stinkin’ models! : )

JJ Abrams, Bob Orci and anyone else who might be involved – get HASBRO to make the toys for the next movie – Playmates were great in the 90’s but Hasbro could really do wonders with the license as they’ve shown you with their Cloverfield Monster as well as their hugely successful Star Wars line, Gi-Joe line, Marvel and Transformers line.

Playmates might be ok for babies and really really young kids but if you look at their 2009 offerings for Trek it’s clear that they just aren’t geared towards making toys for “Boys” anymore – Hasbro are and all you have to do is look at their Iron Man 2 toys and their new Star Wars toys at the 2010 TF to see how good they are. Lego would be amazing too!!! Mattel’s PLASTIC ships are alright i guess but Corgi would have been better i feel, EA games should get the license to produce video games – there also needs to be more international marketing done if Trek is to garner the same success overseas as it does in the US – perhaps “The Music of Star Trek” performed at the O2 arena – “Star Trek the west end musical” and perhaps since Trek is coming out in 2012 – an Olympic advertising campaign in London would really go down well.

loving the sound of the books – that 365 book sounds awesome!!!!

All in all i think that it was definitely a start in 2010 but if you look at the merchandising campaigns of Iron Man, Batman Begins and Transformers – there was much more done for those movies.

Lunch boxes, school bags, t-shirts – adidas trainers or Nike, Trek definitely needs some global brands to take it forward if Trek is going to compete with the likes of Batman, Iron Man, Star Wars and now Avatar.

as i said, for 2012:

Hasbro rather than Playmates to hold the master toy license for the entire franchise.
Adidas to make trainers and apparel (have you seen their Star Wars stuff!!)
LEGO to make LEGO sets and LEGO computer/console games
Mattel – Barbies, RC’s, Ships
Diamond Select – Ships and Role-play for the Classic franchise – 66 – 05
Hot Toys/Sideshow – 12 inch figures
Qmx – beautiful!!
EfX – again great choice!!

perhaps even getting like simon Pegg to appear at UK universities/festivals over the spring and May Summer Balls to promote Trek!! that would be awesome!! get the target audience involved!!!

Trek on TV? create animated series in a similar style to Clone Wars to keep kids interested!!!!

plus packaging – needs to be much more eye catching and wow! rather than the dull black/grey for 2009. use the primary colours Yellow, Blue and Red.

Most importantly though – HASBRO for the WIN!!!!! it’s got to happen PLEASE!!!!!!!!!

A GAME LIKE FALLOUT FOR TREK WOULD BE EPIC!

Please finish Secret of Vucan Fury..

I have the “Art of the Film” book, which is great, and own the Blu-Ray with all it’s terrific behind the scenes features, but…..

I still miss having a true “making of” book for JJ’s film. I would be fascinated to read in much more detail about the evolution of the story and screenplay, what was changed while filming etc. We get hints, bits and pieces of that on the DVD commentary, but I kept wanting Damon to be quiet so Alex or Bob could talk LOL. ( No offense Damon, love you man!)

Anyhow, that’s my little wish, looking forward to all this other good stuff. Trek is back.

I’ll be waiting for these to come out!

I’m just gonna throw this out as a possibility for books, since a lot of folks seem to want some set in the nu-niverse: Why not produce a few that take place before the launch of the E and the destruction of Vulcan? Give a little background on exactly what changed and how, maybe get into the early career of a bright eyed Chris Pike just out of the Academy; even crotchety old canonites and traditionalists like myself might give that a shot and it still allows Abrams and Co. a free hand with their next story. Just sayin’…

Isn’t the JJ-verse Enterprise model from Polar Lights supposed to be released this June or has that been moved back? I suppose it will be 2015 before we see a USS Kelvin from anyone. I thought Qmx was working on that.

I hope that someone finishes the playmates bridge set, that was a great idea and maybe a singular package with all of the remaining parts would be great.

Wow it’s about time we the fans get some hope on this issue. I’m sickened by the way Playmates dropped the ball with the 2009 movie line. Glad to hear something regarding Mattel with the 1/50 scale ships. I hope this Van Citters does something regarding Diamonds and there absolute lack of quality control in regards to the ships. I’ve personally have given up on Star Trek and licensing products, Hasbro clean up the toy isle with Star Wars, Transformers, Marv el……It sucks for collectors who really want something good from Star Trek. I’d gladly sell all my Star Wars, Transformers, Batman if one these top toy companies would get Star Trek and do a line of toys that would have been similar to the 90’s Playmates line. Personally I would like to see Mattel get the full licensing for Star Trek, ships, figures, playsets the whole thing, Diamonds can’t seem to get there crap together with regards to release dates and quality of products and Hasbro is just to associated with Star Wars could lead to brand confusion.

@17: Thanks Anthony. In any event, much obliged for the update.

Another aspect of this article which I thought was interesting is the implied, “read between the lines”, revelation that JJ / Bad Robot did indeed have a hand in the cancellation of the four novels tied in with the 09 film.

II would would be nice if they released those four books based of the movie Timeline. A new series would be nice.

#26

Nightshade, I lean towards your stance and CBS’ current iron grip on it sure makes it hard to believe that they didn’t play a more active role in shutting down the original than they initially represented.

How bout’ they re-hire some folks to actually work on StarTrek.com?