JJ Abrams to Direct Star Trek: Excelsior Starring George Takei as Capt. Sulu + Cameron Mackintosh Announces Star Trek: The Musical [April Fools]]

It is a big news day today for Star Trek with two major production announcements. First, it was announced this morning that George Takei will star as Captain Sulu in the next Abrams-directed Star Trek film, Star Trek: Excelsior, with Roberto Orci penning the screenplay. Not too long after that news broke, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, noted theatre producer, announced that he would be adapting Trek for the stage in his production of Star Trek: The Musical.

April Fool’s!
Yep, it’s April 1st and that means that Trek-related pranks are bouncing around the internet. We’ll keep this post updated throughout the day, so email tips [at] trekmovie [dot] com if you see a prank that we haven’t listed!

Abrams’ Star Trek: Excelsior to Star George Takei, Gilbert Gottfried, and Lisa Lampanelli
George Takei “announced” today on his Facebook page that he was excited about the new project. Here’s Takei’s “press release” below:

Friends, I’m thrilled to share this news with you today. As announced at Emerald City Comicon, where I’m appearing this weekend, Paramount Pictures has green-lit a new Star Trek Movie entitled “Excelsior” in which I will play the captain. This announcement is part of Paramount Studio’s 100th-year anniversary campaign. The studio has acknowledged the fan enthusiasm for this concept ever since I appeared in command of the vessel in “The Undiscovered Country.” J.J. Abrams will direct, with Robert Orci again writing the screenplay.

My co-star in Allegiance, Paulo Montalban, has been cast opposite me to play the mercurial “Agha,” the grandson of Khan (played by Ricardo Montalban in the Second Star Trek Movie). Also featured are Gilbert Gottfried (playing a wily Ferengi First Officer) and Lisa Lampanelli (as a Bajoran security officer).

More to come on this breaking story soon. Thanks again for the years of support, and I’ll see you on the Bridge of “Excelsior.”

Simon Pegg Announces Star Trek: The Musical on Twitter
Simon Pegg played a very obvious April Fool’s joke on his Twitter feed today, when he said that Cameron Mackintosh had announced the production of Star Trek: The Musical.


Simon Pegg tweets about new Star Trek stage musical

Not a Joke: Think Geek Offers New Trek Toys, For Real!
ThinkGeek.com, a web store that carries a lot of Trek merchandise, is known for their April Fool’s pranks. Some of their more famous pranks in past years include Canned Unicorn Meat and the Pet Petter (a machine that pets your pets for you). This year was no exception, but the website also released two Star Trek items today that are 100% real: The Star Trek Inflatable Captain’s Chair for kids and a contest to win an authentic Tricorder and $1000 ThinkGeek shopping spree. Both of these items are very real, and their authenticity has been confirmed by reps over at ThinkGeek HQ:

Yep [the Star Trek items are] 100% legit. And, we’re not trying to hide it so feel free to make it clear that they’re for real. The rest, not so much

Don’t believe us? Go and add the Captain’s Chair to your shopping cart at ThinkGeek.com, and you’ll be greeted with a message that says “We’re not foolin. This one is real!”


REAL new Trek product at Think Geek (not a prank!)


Also, enter to win a Tricorder and $1000 shopping spree at ThinkGeek.com

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Ha!

nice the chair that it is there going to be a grown up on

I knew before looking, none of that was true. Funny though.

Amazing news. Finally an excelsior movie. Been rumours regarding the script for a fare few years. Guessing this is going to be produces after star trek 2 next year.

I used a phaser for my circumcision procedure.

5. Wow.

Just for a millisecond you had me!
Nice one!

My God, that’s a big ship.

“Not so big as the captains willy I think”! (mr Scott )

You suck! Had me going. Was totally oblivious to the fact that it’s April first. I for one would love a Star Trek: Excelsior, but a tv show would be the way to go. How about an Abrams Excelsior web series?

If you’re going to try and fool people, at least make the lie plausible.

Would a real leather TOS Captain’s chair instead of an inflatable one be too Geeky? LOL.

I so wish this were true. I got up this morning and got on FB for the first time in a month and say GT’s post and was like “holy crap it’s really gonna happen” Then I realized it was April 1st.. “dammit all to hell” lol

Cool! every new movie we will have one TOS actor come back and help the new crew out!

I say a better April Fools Day joke would have been announcing the bad guys in the sequel would be the Tribbles.

12. Craiger – April 1, 2012

“Would a real leather TOS Captain’s chair instead of an inflatable one be too Geeky?”

Not if it’s covered in fine Corinthian leather and has lights, speakers and toggle switches on the armrest.

I don’t think the joke about the Captain Sulu series was funny! Fans, like myself, have wanted to see the Captain Sulu/Excelsior series for years. Instead, all we got was the crappy DS9 and Voyager.

While I will cut some slack on some levels concerning Enterprise, it still would have been great to have seen a Star trek series about Sulu and the crew of the Starship Excelsior.

Not funny, whoever came up with that April Fools prank!

Instantly I thought April Fools prank.

Loving that captain’s chair.

I think if anything I’d LOVE to see a new TV series based on the crew of the USS Kelvin and the adventures of Captain Robau and First Officer George Kirk.

@17 I assume that was an Aprils Fools response? I mean, you can’t actually believe that could ever happen in a million years at this point in the franchises history.

moveon.org

Lol.

Best April Fool’s Day ever! Best two April Fool jokes ever! Best actual chair ever! Happy April Fool’s Day, everyone!

And if Anthony and Kayla had wheels, they’d be wagons

Damn You, George Takei! ;-)

Wanted to post this tomorrow considering today is April fools but I could hardly sleep last night.

Believe it, or not. This ones up to you.

A friend who has since passed wrote a story nearly 25 years ago, and due to my friends condition (grade 4 Astral tumor in the brain) this story ended up in the hands of Harve Bennet. The story, that was actually pitched to Gene Rodenberry was actually given serious consideration. Then rather than canned, it was actually shelved.
Now, I get word from my friends wife that this story may be the premise to a secret Star Trek project that is currently in the early stages of pre production. Out of the blue she was payed for the 25 yo story, and asked to sign a non disclosure waiver.
Fortunately, I am well aware of the story, and will share it’s basic premise.

Star Trek: Multiverse (Or so it was called) Was a story of a mobile Starbase that was scrapped, then subsequently used as the framework for a massive starship/weapons platform to combat an intergalactic threat. Subsequently this “starship (due to it’s state of the art, and controversial technologies) becomes a threat to the balance of power in the region, and the Federations decides to use the vessel as a “colony ship” that will leave the galaxy to explore Andromeda.”
In a sub plot, Starfleet has been communicating with a mysterious world in the Andromeda galaxy and a mutual, vested interest is forged between our two intergalactic worlds.
What makes the premise unique is that this ship will have to travel over 300 years to get there. And although it is believed that the area of space that lies between galaxies is “nearly” void of stars- this new starship will discover that this is far from the facts. Not only is the Multiverse teeming with life- but some of our simple laws of physics that we rely on do not exist, and are replaced with new laws making this truly a new area of danger, and discovery in the final frontier.
You heard it here first.
Live long, and prosper…

Obviously fake, since we know there weren’t any Ferengi Starfleet officers until ~80 years after we last saw Captain Sulu. ;)

@24: Starts out interesting, but what’s the role of Enterprise? Happy April Fools, and thanks for playing:)

The ship was actually called the “Stellar Storm”

Nice to see you back, Kayla! Where have you been, girl? The headling ‘got me’ for a second. Or two. : ) I was thinking, WTF?!

Hah hah! Nice!

If my wife didn’t follow George Takei on facebook? I’d have ALMOST fallen for it….

As Soran (in Generations) would say, “Nice try….”

;-P

I wonder how many would actually go see a Star Trek musical? :)

Ha ha…..

@31. Hey, there’s always Spider-Man, the Musical.

Script almost done!

Bastards got me!

It was April Fools Day yesterday in this part of the world so I had completely forgotten all about the bloody thing.

The ol’ grey matter soon kicked in after a few seconds though….honest!

:)

@33. Good job, Bob. Keachick will be expecting a cast photo in short order.

Oviously fake, since we all know George Takei has been whining about not being able to do a Sulu series for the past fifteen or so years!

I’m sorry, but Sulu was never an interesting enough character to carry a show, and George Takei isn’t a very good actor, either.

#11.

Agreed!

#17.

Well a Sulu series would have been on par in terms of quality with “Voyager”. It would have been merely okay. “Deep Space Nine” was a great show, I don’t know why you called it “crappy”.

@33

LOL!

:)

Oviously=OBVIOUSLY

Damn typos!

Breking news. I have learned through sources that Harry Ballz has gone out on a date with Erica Durance and the two have become a couple.

I just heard. Bob Orci is the Main Villian in Star Trek 12.

“33. Boborci – April 1, 2012 Script almost done!”

Let me guess, you, Lindelof and Kurtzman are at an LA hotel finishing the Takei-Trek script this weekend, and the movie will out within a year, right? LOL

#39.

Not sure that Harry is into beastiality. I hope not, anyway. :-D

I heard that there is a new Star Trek TV series called Star Trek: Titans starring Riker, Troi, Dax, 7 of 9, Worf, Tuvok, O’Brien, and EMH doctor. Created by Shawn Lemke.

Didn’t buy it for one nanosecond!

Didn’t see the “J.J. Abrams” part of the headline at first so I figured George was taking center stage in another fan film… :p

LOL #40 Couldn’t necessarily see him as a bad guy, but Bob should make a cameo in the movie- :-D

@46: I heard his cameo is going to be on the couch at a house party. Or as a Targ.

The movie will be shot in 4D! The rest of the cast will be played by Andy Serkis!

4D? Nah, they are just going to go for broke and shoot it in the full 10 spacetime dimensions (according to superstring theory).

Thatnks for getting my Star Trek: Excelsior hopes up, damnit! I HATE April fools day!!!!!