With Roberto Orci and J.J. Abrams no longer in command of the U.S.S. Enterprise, new screenwriter Simon Pegg is coming on board with a mission that should please fans of every iteration of STAR TREK. While the first two films explored a rebooted universe featuring James Kirk and crew, STAR TREK 3 will harken back to the roots of the original series, and just in time for the show's fiftieth anniversary.
In a roundtable for KILL ME THREE TIMES with Comic Book Resources, Pegg related how his relationship with producer Bryan Burk and a discussion during production of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE ROGUE NATION led to the opportunity to write STAR TREK 3. He also shared this nugget.
"[STAR TREK 3 will] take it forward with the spirit of the TV show. [It is] about frontierism and adventure and optimism and fun, and that's where we want to take it, you know. Where no man has gone before — where no one has gone before, sensibly corrected for a more enlightened generation. But yeah, that's the mood at the moment."
With J.J. Abrams' reboot, STAR TREK has shifted from a political and sociological series about humanity to an action-oriented franchise about phasers and space battles. That is not what Gene Roddenberry's original vision was. The original television series was a western in space and I love that Pegg wants to go back to those roots. In fact, maybe shifting directions a bit is what will keep the franchise fresh and having someone as passionate and geeky as Simon Pegg may be the best decision the Paramount studio executives have made to date.
STAR TREK 3 is slated for a July 8, 2016 release.