While it may be somewhat overshadowed by its flashier cousin by the name of STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, I'm still very much looking forward to STAR TREK 3; especially knowing that Simon Pegg is co-writing the film. Having such a huge fan of the series on-board gives me hope that they'll be able to course-correct the franchise back to the exploration and adventure that was sorely missing from STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS.
The name of Idris Elba has popped up several times in relation to the role of the villian, but unfortunately no official confirmation has surfaced yet; however, in an interview with MTV, Simon Pegg did say that as far as he knew, Idris Elba is in and that they're trying to write him "a kick-ass role." Whether or not they ended up succeeding, the rebooted Star Trek franchise has managed to cast some wonderful actors in villain roles and Idris Elba would make a great addition, especially as he's going to be an original creation and not one borrowed from The Original Series.
It will be [an original character], yes. I mean, this is the five-year mission now, we’re out there. We don’t always have to keep bumping into the same people… So we’re gonna try and reflect that in the movie.
Pegg also spoke on what kind of Star Trek film we can expect saying that while the franchise has become something else, there's still room for the spirit of The Original Series to come through.
We can certainly invest in it the spirit of the show and get back to the essence of what it is, so what we’re hoping to do is make a Star Trek for today that doesn’t forget where it came from.
In regards to that other Star franchise, Pegg said that he's seen a fair bit of footage from STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS and that the film will blow the world to pieces once it's released. In regards to the trailer that was released last week, Pegg had this to say:
I think the trailer is better than all the prequels put together.
STAR TREK was a fun reboot of the series I love, it wasn't without its flaws but I did enjoy it. The sequel, STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, definitely had some entertainment value but it was not Star Trek; Simon Pegg seems to understand that and will hopefully take some of the fan concerns into consideration with this new film. STAR TREK 3 begins production in June for a July 8, 2016 release.