Production got underway on STAR TREK BEYOND last week with Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldana both sharing photos to kick off their return to Gene Roddenberry's universe. STAR TREK BEYOND director Justin Lin has now joined in on the fun, Lin tweeted our first look at the film in the form of a not-so-revealing closeup of one of the uniforms.
The director, who captioned the tweeted image with "Let the next Starfleet voyage begin! #StarTrekBeyond #LLAP," also seemed to confirm that STAR TREK BEYOND would indeed be the title of the film. That title had been rumoured several months ago, and Simon Pegg himself seemingly confirmed it a month later, and while it may have seemed certain that it would be the official title of this third (or thirteenth) Star Trek film, we never actually had complete confirmation. With production underway and both writer and director using it, I think it's safe to say (again) that STAR TREK BEYOND is it.
Justin Lin had previously hinted at where he wanted to take STAR TREK BEYOND:
As great as JJ’s films were, there’s still a lot to be mined from these characters, they haven’t really gone on their five-year mission, so what we experienced in the TV show hasn’t been touched on yet. That sets up an opportunity for exploration and the deeper you go, the more you are examining humanity. Those are the things that I absorbed as a kid and hope to tap into and embrace and celebrate.
STAR TREK BEYOND will open next year, which happens to be the fiftieth anniversary of the franchise, on July 8th.