Lower Decks

More than a month before Star Trek (2009) hits theaters, Paramount Pictures has already ordered a sequel, according to Variety.com. Returning will be producer J.J. Abrams (who also directed Star Trek (2009), writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman and co-producers Damon Lindelof (who will help write the sequel) and Bryan Burk. From the Variety.com article:

“There’s obviously a lot of hubris involved in signing on to write a sequel of a movie that hasn’t even come out yet,” said Lindelof, co-creator with Abrams of ABC’s “Lost” who produced the upcoming “Trek” but did not contribute to Orci and Kurtzman’s screenplay. “But we’re so excited about the first one that we wanted to proceed.”

As for potential storylines, Kurtzman stressed that the writing team will wait to take a cue from fan reaction about which direction to go.

“Obviously we discussed ideas, but we are waiting to see how audiences respond next month,” he said. “With a franchise rebirth, the first movie has to be about origin. But with a second, you have the opportunity to explore incredibly exciting things. We’ll be ambitious about what we’ll do.”

In the unlikely event that the new Star Trek movie is a flop, how embarrassing will it be for Paramount, Abrahams and all involved if the sequel winds up being scrapped?

It debuted in theaters in front of Quantum of Solace but if you weren’t able to get to the movies this weekend you can watch the brand new trailer for Star Trek (2009) at Apple.com in high definition.  The official website for the movie, StarTrekMovie.com, has been updated and redirects visitors to Apple’s website to view the trailer.

Feel free to discuss your thoughts on the new trailer in the comments section.

Across the World Wide Web this evening, six websites have each been given an exclusive image from the highly anticipated Star Trek movie (to be released May 8th, 2009).  The six websites are TrekMovie, JoeBlo, MTV Movies Blog, UGO, Ain’t It Cool News and IGN.  Among the images are a shot of the bulk of the cast on the bridge, Kirk and McCoy on the bridge, the movie’s bad guy Nero, and a ship under attack (not the Enterprise, however).

Additionally, TrekMovie reports that the first full trailer for Star Trek will most likely debut in front of Quantum of Solace, the new James Bond movie, on November 14th.  And, the next issue of Entertainment Weekly will have a cover story on Star Trek (that cover, by the way, looks off somehow — far too airbrushed and overlit, perhaps).